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In 1998, I made several visits to Michael Dickinson’s Tapeta Farm and witnessed first-hand the struggle Dickinson and his crew had getting Da Hoss back to the Breeders’ Cup Mile off only one minor race in two years. I wound up covering the Mile; my final assignment for the newly purchased DRF, for whom I had worked for 29 years. My family and ...

U.S. trainer Wesley Ward, who nearly took yesterday's Queen Mary Stakes (Eng-II) with Sweet Emma Rose, by City Zip (TrueNicks,SRO), gained compensation with the Scat Daddy (TrueNicks) colt No Nay Never in the Norfolk Stakes (Eng-II). Ward's 2-year-olds usually break like greased lightning, but No Nay Never dwelt leaving the stalls. He was was soon ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) Animal Kingdom's quest to become the first grade or group I winner on three different surfaces--and on three different continents to boot--fizzled ingloriously June 18 in the Queen Anne Stakes (Eng-I) at Royal Ascot. Nonetheless, it was a noble attempt and a sporting gesture by the colt's owners. It was also one of the ...

The Royal Ascot seven-furlong Jersey Stakes (Eng-III) for 3-year-olds who have yet to win a group race went to Gale Force Ten, who produced a super-game effort to prevail after being headed close home. The result was a significant boost for the form of both the Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas, Fr-I), in which Gale Force Ten ...

At around halfway in the opening day's Queen Anne Stakes (Eng-I), Animal Kingdom (TrueNicks) and Declaration of War were about the same distance off the lead. From that point, however, the duo went in opposite directions: Animal Kingdom, who had pulled hard in the early stages and found no cover, fading out of contention, while Declaration of War ...

(Originally published in the June 22, 2013 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) By Evan Hammonds - @BH_EHammonds on Twitter Close your eyes, click your heels together three times, and repeat after me: There’s no place like Santa Anita, there’s no place ...

Through the remainder of the year, I am going to recount some of my most memorable experiences/moments in racing over the past 40 years. Some will be recycled from past columns (at least 3 years old for those who didn’t read them the first time) with new material added. Some, such as this, will be long, but that should be expected from this often ...

I’ll never forget the night my father walked into my bedroom and asked me a question that would change my life forever. I had left Wall Street and had been out of work for nine months. My mother no longer was speaking to me, and my father finally came in and asked me point blank what I wanted to do with my life. “What are you interested in; ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) Forty years ago, Secretariat blazed his way to one of the milestone performances of American Thoroughbred racing. Those who watched his breathtaking run in the 1973 Belmont Stakes (gr. I), whether live or on TV, could only marvel as the big red horse thundered home all alone. Even on a day on which the track had been playing ...

(Originally published in the June 15, 2013 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) By Eric Mitchell - @BH_EMitchell on Twitter Breaking the 35-year Triple Crown drought would have been special, no doubt, but the Thoroughbred racing community still got a deeply ...