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In 2008, when the economy took a turn for the worse, Dale Simanton of the Newell, S.D.-based Horse Creek Thoroughbreds brainstormed creative solutions to stay afloat in the industry. ''One day I was watching the races at Turfway Park on TVG and I saw this gorgeous little grey gelding...he was a 35-1 shot and I thought if he ran as bad as he was ...

Since January, we have seen pretty much the same names on the Derby Dozen and other rankings, but it is important to note that we see that every year, and very often the Derby winner is not on those early lists. Who, at this time, had heard of or paid any attention to Animal Kingdom, Big Brown, Mine That Bird, Funny Cide, War Emblem, Grindstone or ...

If undefeated Purple Egg fails to run well in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) on Saturday, it won't be because of an injury or a lack of fitness, says trainer Jane Cibelli.Scratched from the Gulfstream Park Derby on January 1 and the Pasco Stakes on January 12, Purple Egg will be making his first start in more than three months. Maybe it's partly ...

(Originally published in the March 9, 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 Thoroughbred racing fans had a busy weekend with lots of options from which to choose: the Gotham Stakes (gr. III) at Aqueduct ...

1 Itsmyluckyday Eddie Plesa Jr. Lawyer Ron—Viva la Slew, by Doneraile Court Let’s face it, no one has really stamped himself as a bona fide Derby favorite. What prompted the switch this week was the impressive Swale score by Clearly Now, who had been trounced by 13 1/2 lengths by Itsmyluckyday in the Holy Bull. On a lesser scale were the ...

15.33%. That's the coefficient of relatedness between Frankel and Chrysanthemum, the first mare scanned in foal to the champion racehorse during his first season at stud. As a point of comparison, first cousins are 12.5% related and half siblings are 25% related. Chrysanthemum, owned by the Coolmore team of Tabor, Magnier, and Smith, won a pair ...

The Kentucky Derby is like a mountain. It never changes and never withers with time. But in some ways it does change, as every year, new climbers gather on its slopes and attempt to reach the summit, disregarding the many perils along the way. There is no greater feeling an owner can have than to see his or her colors planted atop that mountain. ...

The public is likely to view the 2013 Santa Anita Handicap (G1) as a two-horse race between Ron the Greek and Game On Dude. They might be right, but I doubt there will be any value in going along with that opinion.I like a pair of improving four-year-olds Called to Serve (6-1 ML) and Stephanoatsee (8-1 ML) to run big. Called ...

   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 these characters. My requisites in the selection: I had ...