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(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 ...

Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt Sir Henry Cecil, one of the most prominent international horse trainers over the last four decades, left behind a stellar legacy when he died June 11 at age 70. The self-effacing Cecil was respected by his peers and well-liked by the racing public. As a tribute to Cecil, BloodHorse.com is offering ...

If this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands and Preakness Stakes taught us anything it is that Thoroughbred racing has its own unique way of transporting the past into the present, recycling great achievements and sometimes surpassing them.In the Derby and Preakness, we saw how names like Phipps, Janney, and McGaughey, and Lukas and ...

While he is now considered an ''elder statesman'' of the Coolmore Australia stallion roster, there can be no doubt that Encosta de Lago (AUS) (TrueNicks,SRO) is one of the premier stallions standing in Australia this year. The son of Fairy King has amassed a sensational record at stud with 6.3% stakes winners to foals and 7.6% stakes winners to ...

Let’s try and get through this with as little pain as possible. If you think you can nail this year’s Belmont Stakes winner through conventional handicapping methods you’re most likely in for a rude awakening. But in our case the alternative is a blank space where the Friday column should be.You can decipher all this in whatever manner you choose, ...

We are ~48 hours out from the Belmont, and here's how I see the race. From the rail out...Frac Daddy’s best race remains his 9 ¾-length maiden win going 8.5f last Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs. His soft 2nd in a slowly run Arkansas Derby (G1) is the lone bright spot in his 3yo campaign, and he was a non-factor in the Derby.He’s by Scat Daddy, a ...

Happy almost Belmont weekend! While the following story of Nick Martinez isn't directly OTTB-related, this jockey-turned equine artist does donate a portion of the proceeds from his work to retired racehorse efforts. I hope you enjoy this story of Martinez' colorful journey in the Thoroughbred industry. ...

Here are some of the players in one of the most perplexing Belmont Stakes in years. Jennifer Patterson is happy with the way Orb has been training, as is trainer Shug McGaughey. The Kentucky Derby winner had a spirited gallop Thursday morning in which he was feeling good down the stretch. Trainer Wayne Lukas and Oxbow have become quite a ...