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For at least 18 years The Blood-Horse has been providing the industry with its most comprehensive schedule of stakes races in the National Stakes Conditions Book quarterly supplement. We've faced challenges for a couple of years now in compiling the NSCB because racetracks have begun waiting closer and closer to the start of their meets to set ...

1 Revolutionary Todd Pletcher War Pass—Runup the Colors, by A.P. Indy Castellano’s decision to drop him for Normandy Invasion has forced me to keep him at No. 1. I’m just a sucker for the disrespected. Bottom line is I still see no reason to replace him. He has had as atypical a Derby campaign as any top horse in memory and still ...

By Tom LaMarra If you bet Java's War in the grade I Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, you probably let out a groan when the 3-year-old War Pass colt missed the break. But Java's War is one of a growing number of horses that have overcome such starts to win races at the Keeneland spring meet. Last-to-first victories haven't been unusual on the ...

Keeneland    Race 10    5:40 ETBlue Grass S. (G1)    3yos    1 1/8 miles Polytrack As always, handicapping a Polytrack race at Keeneland is not about identifying the most talented horse. It is about identifying the horse that will like the track and figures to get a manageable trip. ...

By Frank AngstLEXINGTON, Ky (April 10, 2013)While Shug McGaughey prepares his usual strong string of horses at the Keeneland spring meeting, more than a few of his thoughts are occupied by the stable’s big 3-year-old Orb. Orb will not be making an appearance at Keeneland, as the Besilu Stables Florida Derby (gr. I) winner currently is training ...

(By Avalyn Hunter)Calling a horse a ''breed-to-race sire'' might be damning him with faint praise in the commercial market. But for the small owner-breeder looking for a reliable source of winners, there is no higher praise. In the vocabulary of the latter, a breed-to-race sire represents value for the money invested in a stud fee, promising ...

Never before have I seen an undefeated Kentucky Derby favorite so maligned after having won a race. Following Verrazano’s three-quarters of a length victory in the Wood Memorial over proven stakes horses Normandy Invasion and previously unbeaten Vyjack, many on the colt’s bandwagon began jumping off, and many who wanted to wait for the Wood before ...

(Originally published in the April 13, 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 Enhanced security measures for both the Wood Memorial Stakes (gr. I) and Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) were announced and implemented ...

You never know who is going to show up in this sport to stir the memories. Last Saturday, lost on the big Wood Memorial card, which included the Carter, Bay Shore, and Gazelle, was the little-known Withgreatpleasure’s upset victory at 14-1 in the Ruffian Handicap early in the day. Withgreatpleasure, who is based at the Overbrook Training Center in ...