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There is no doubt that maidens often run big and can win graded stakes races for two -year-olds. But it still feels like a bit of wiseguy play when I land on one. Such is the case in the $100,000 Debutante Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs on Saturday. Slated for 5:25 p.m. ET, the six-furlong dirt race drew a field of 10 two-year-old ...

''He's not a horse, he's a bloomin' steam engine...'' We were reminded of that statement, made by the legendary jockey Fred Archer, after being run off with on the Newmarket heath by the mighty St. Simon. Frankel didn't quite bolt off on Ascot heath yesterday, although it did take Tom Queally about half a mile to pull up after the finish of the ...

So, after nearly 40 years, the Maryland Jockey Club, after hearing two hours of testimony and forensic analyses, finally has awarded the Preakness stakes record to Secretariat. When Penny Chenery first began her crusade to change Big Red’s time in 1973, it appeared as if the true time was 1:53 2/5 instead of 1:54 2/5 instead of 1:55.It was ...

With the Triple Crown over, the road to the Breeders' Cup begins. I thought I'd take an early shot at ranking the candidates for the Breeders' Cup Classic. My #1 ranked horse -- the 4-year-old Empire Maker filly Royal Delta -- is currently being aimed for a repeat victory in the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic, but there is plenty of time ...

(Originally published in the June 23, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) An early foray into Thoroughbred racing spoiled breeder and owner Mike Anderson. The second horse purchased at auction by the 60-year-old Illinois car dealership owner developed ...

(Originally published in the June 23, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)  By Eric Mitchell - @EJMitchellKy on Twitter Churchill Downs shook up the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) trail last week by tossing out its requirement to ...

A couple of recent observations drew our attention to E Dubai (TrueNicks,SRO), who we've noted before as a very good value-for-money sire. One was the upset victory last weekend of the progressive 3-year-old filly My Gi Gi in the Honeymoon Handicap (gr. II). The other was a look at the leading Beyer speed figures, where we noticed that in among ...

An all-graded stakes Pick 4 highlight's an excellent Saturday night card at Churchill Downs this week. Here's what I noted on my first pass through the PPs. The Pick 4 begins at 7:57 ET with the Matt Winn Stakes (G3), for three-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on dirt. I could see myself going deep in this five-horse field on my main ticket (four of ...

As has been the custom the last few years, I spent Preakness day as guest of Thoroughbred owner Lee Einsidler in the International Pavilion in the infield, just a stone’s throw from the finish line and the Preakness winner’s circle.I mention this only because of an odd piece of memorabilia I took home with me – a cloth napkin from our table. The ...

Better than a bucket, The Soaker, a new product that automatically fills, soaks, and drains hay.  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 14, 2010  - Granite Bay, CAMade in the U.S.A., ''The Soaker'', created by Jennifer Azevedo, is a nonelectric automatic hay and feed soaker that has standardized hay soaking. It is a timed, portable, ...