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(Originally published in the February 9, 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 Thirty points. Under Churchill Downs’ new points system, 30 points is expected to be the minimum a horse will need to get ...

It might be a bit too early to say that ''The Winds of Change are Blowing Through the Nation,'' but with frequently expressed concerns about the durability and stamina of the U.S. Thoroughbred, there appears to be a move that indicates stallion masters and breeders are willing to at least consider standing or breeding to something other than ...

[brightcove videoid=''2141887310001''] 1 Violence Todd Pletcher Medaglia d’Oro—Violent Beauty, by Gone West Resisting the temptation to replace him on top with one of the brilliant winners from this past weekend. Can’t forget the fact that he won his career debut in 1:22 4/5 at Spa and then won the Nashua in 1:35 1/5, so he’s pretty ...

1. Itsmyluckyday: He's run two very fast races in a row, and I love the way he gradually doles out his energy. Just enough quality in the family tree for me to believe. He's my market leader for now. 2. Verrazano: Pure brilliance. On some level he reminds me of Quality Road or Curlin, both of whom delivered huge performances ...

First of all, thanks to everyone that entered the giveaway. It was really enjoyable to read your favorite 2012 moments in racing, and, not surprisingly, it seems like Paynter's recovery was among the most popular. In a random drawing, Alicia McQuilkin was the winner of the contest. Congratulations! You should feel special as this is the very last ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) Stallions just don't have much better days than Tapit did Feb. 2, when three of his progeny rolled home in graded stakes at three different tracks and over two different surfaces. First, Tapicat sailed home in the Florida Oaks (gr. IIIT) at Tampa Bay Downs, stamping herself as a filly with a future on the grass. Then ...

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 dealings with them, ...