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(By Avalyn Hunter) Whether or not Unlimited Budget can cash in on her shot at history in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), Mike Repole's willingness to test her against the boys is welcome. Barring solid evidence that racing fillies against males carries a higher risk of breakdown than racing them in sex-limited competition, there are actually ...

When you get right down to it, the Belmont Stakes is all about stamina; horses running a distance they likely will never run again. You can throw out speed figures and any other handicapping tool you use. They don’t apply here. At least most of the time.That is why a favorite hasn’t won the Test of the Champion since Afleet Alex in 2005. And that ...

There certainly is no pressure on Kiaran McLaughlin as he prepares Goldolphin’s Incognito for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. For McLaughlin and the Godolphin/Darley brain trust, this is one of those typical “everything to gain and nothing to lose” scenarios. McLaughlin is relying strictly on pedigree in his belief that the regally bred son of A.P. ...

As Andrew Bensley tweeted, Australian champion More Joyous has been retired. The More Than Ready (TrueNicks,SRO) mare earned $4.5 million while racking up eight group I wins, capped off by her impressive run in the 2012 Queen Elizabeth Stakes shown below. Owner John Singleton will send More Joyous to England in July or August to be ...

The charm of horse racing lies primarily in the animals that do it—their beauty, grace, power and their degree of class. But there is an undeniable attraction to the colorful human beings that make it happen. The purpose of this blog is to share my stories about some of ...

It has been 991 days since a big bay colt with a smashing white blaze hauled his handler through the ring at Keeneland’s 2010 September yearling sale, hammer falling on the winning $4.2 million bid of Benjamin Leon. You could feel the electricity and then a breath of fresh air, of revitalization, through the entire pavilion. Sold in the midst of a ...

Hello readers! One of our talented West Coast-based correspondents, Tracy Gantz, has written a great guest blog peice about the Thoroughbred Classic Horse Show in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. I hope you enjoy! Photos will hopefully be added soon. Have a wonderful ...

The interpretation of Thoroughbred pedigrees is no simple matter. The multi-factorial elements that might be considered include nicks, inbreeding, linebreeding, the positions of ancestors relative to one another, the relationship of the pedigree to the female line, and the class of the individuals involved. Given the volume of the data, and the ...

(Originally published in the June 1, 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 Few in the industry would disagree that Belmont Park’s spring/summer stand offers the best quality of racing from top to bottom ...