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His first introduction was made via a whiskered muzzle snuffling for peppermints, and by curious ears pricked at the hubbub outside Barn 20 at Belmont Park. There was 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird rolling off a Brookledge van, trainer Chip Woolley hobbling down the ramp on crutches, a media throng gathered to observe… ...

It doesn’t take much for me to rev up my built-in time machine and transport myself back to the late 1960s and early ‘70s and the halcyon days of Darby Dan Farm. In this case, the catalyst was the death this week of Loyd “Boo” Gentry, who trained the ill-fated phenom Graustark and 1967 Kentucky Derby winner Proud Clarion. Boo was the nephew ...

Today, I bring you the story of the up-and-coming off track Thoroughbred-turned show horse Constant Star, as told to me by Kimberly Clark: In December 2009, Constant Star was a 2-year-old filly who had two unplaced efforts at Charles Town and Laurel Park and meager earnings of $280. As the promise of having a successful career on the racetrack ...

The list of challenges the sport of horse racing faces is long. Not appearing on that list of problems: ''Field sizes are too big!''The correlation between field size and handle is proven. The more horses in a race, the higher the payoffs and the more attractive the betting propositions. But that didn't deter the New York Racing ...

(Originally published in the July 7, 2012 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 As we flip the calendar to July, the cycle of the Thoroughbred industry turns over and the gears shift into sales mode. The ...

(Originally published in the July 7, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)   Wally and Terry Leong’s homebred Strait of Dover did more than just win the 153rd running of the Queen’s Plate Stakes at Woodbine June 24. The 3-year-old son of champion ...

The slump in the North American yearling market finally came to an end in 2011. Now, the bigquestion is this: How long will the rebound last? Well, as the Pitbull song from the movie ''Men in Black 3'' tells us: To understand the future we have to go back in time. By tracking the public auction yearling average for more than 60 years, we can see ...

So, you’ve had it with drugs and wish racing was like it used to be – just hay, oats, and water. Well, we hate to disillusion anyone, but America was never the way it used to be.From its very beginning, racing in America has been plagued by drugs, most of them a great deal more potent than the ones that have received all the headlines the past ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) This year's Royal Ascot meeting saw two coronations. One was that of Frankel as possibly the best miler Europe has ever seen--rarefied air indeed when one considers the likes of Brigadier Gerard, Miesque, and Goldikova. The other was that of Black Caviar as not only the world's best sprinter but as a champion whose heart ...