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Anyone who breeds to a first-year stallion must be considered a high-stakes gambler. Entering sires are an unknown quantity. They might be the next A.P. Indy (on SRO) or Unusual Heat (pedigree) -- but more likely, they're going to be on the other end of the spectrum and will never amount to anything great.  So why do breeders send ...

If Big Brown wins the Belmont and makes it a ''Brown Crown,'' many in the industry will breathe a collective sigh of relief.  ''It's about time,'' they'll say.  ''Racing needs a hero.'' What better tale could be told than that of a 12th winner of the Triple Crown? And after 30 long years!  Books will be penned, scores of ...

First, some old business.  The results of last week's poll (''We Are Family'') asked if/when a horse's female family influences your purchase decisions.  Not surprisingly (you're reading a pedigree blog, after all), most of you said the family affects all purchase decisions, and the rest said it affects decisions on specific types of ...

The start of the week brought the double-whammy news that both Sadler's Wells (pedigree) and Storm Cat (on SRO) (pedigree) were pensioned. It would be hard to overstate the impact that these two Northern Dancer-line studs have had, both in their respective homes and worldwide. Read more about Sadler's Wells' retirement here.  View the ...

Back in late March, I wrote a couple of posts (March 28 and March 29) in which I expressed interest in the Buck Pond Farm stallion Seattle Fitz (ARG).  For those of you who agreed (or already shared that opinion, or have since discovered him), you won't want to miss Dede Biles' feature article ''Seattle Surprise'' in this week's edition of ...

This poll has ended.  The question was:  Does the female family influence your purchase decisions?

Eight Belles.  We all send condolences to her connections, whose dreams were shattered only moments after such an exhilarating performance. The event will be examined from every angle over the next many days:  industry insiders will whisper about the breakdown of ''another'' high-profile runner from the Unbridled line... ...

A few minutes ago, I posted some notes about Saturday's Kentucky Derby and name my favorites.  I'd like to know who you think should win it, based solely on pedigree.  Check out this week's poll.

This poll has ended.  The question was:  Derby 134 Pedigree Picks: Whose pedigree do you like best?

BloodHorse.com experiences a predictable and understandable bump in traffic in the days leading up to the Kentucky Derby.*  This year, fans would need to set aside a whole day to see all of the content available on the Web site. I've mentioned my friend Jason Shandler's Triple Crown Talk blog and the Triple Crown Mania home page before; now I ...