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While many of the leading 3-year-olds were competing in the warm, sunny climes of Florida and Louisiana, a silent assassin was laying low up in the chilly confines of Belmont Park. His name has barely been mentioned in the past few weeks, but he appears to be well armed to do some damage in the Wood Memorial, and if he gets lucky, even more damage ...

Manuel Ycaza won his second Florida Derby in 1969 with Top Knight (Blood-Horse Archives) I first profiled Hall of Fame jockey Manuel Ycaza in 2009 when Churchill Downs' old website was running a series called ''On The Muscle'' and Ycaza's four victories in the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) merited a trip down memory lane. A look through the clippings ...

The pressure will be on the favorites in this weekend's major Kentucky Derby preps -- Itsmyluckyday in the Florida Derby (G1) and Revolutionary in the Louisiana Derby (G2) -- to earn their way to Louisville. Although both are consensus top-five three-year-olds, Itsmyluckyday's fleet run in the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) and Revolutionary's ...

Sunland Park's big day turned into a benefit for Bob Baffert and Mike Pegram, who took the Sunland Park Derby (gr. III, VIDEO) with Govenor Charlie (also bred by Pegram) and the Sunland Park Oaks (VIDEO) with Midnight Lucky (owned by Pegram in partnership). The duo—who both scored in track record time—are both from the first crop of the ...

(Originally published in the March 30, 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 For three years the owners of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.—home of the New York Giants and New York Jets—have been ...

If you’ve been following this year’s Kentucky Derby trail, you no doubt will recognize the names Verrazano, Orb, Flashback, Will Take Charge, Govenor Charlie, Lines of Battle, Normandy Invasion, Mr. Palmer, Super Ninety Nine, He’s Had Enough, Shakin It Up, Capo Bastone, and My Lute.What they have in common is they all carry the John Nerud ...

Competition for MarketWatch Broodmare of the Year is always fierce, and 2012’s contest is no exception. Contenders include the dam of a dual classic winner; the mare that foaled 2012’s Horse of the Year; several producers of last year’s Eclipse champions; the dams of a few multi-millionaires; and even multiple grade I producers. Easter Bunnette ...

[brightcove videoid=''2252522863001''] 1 Itsmyluckyday Eddie Plesa Jr. Lawyer Ron—Viva la Slew, by Doneraile Court This is it. If you’re going to put all your eggs in one basket, you might as well do it on Easter weekend. Had his final Florida Derby tuneup with a half in :49 2/5. It’s simple: first or second and he’s in; third and ...

Photo: Three ChimneysFlower Alley, who is inbred 3x3 to Mr. Prospector, has had success with mares carrying Mr. Prospector or Raise a Native. There are plenty of examples in racehorse breeding when popular opinion turns out to be wrong. I was looking through an old racing book, The Spell of The Turf (1926) by Hildreth and Crowell, and ...