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The Kentucky Derby trail and short memories go hand in hand. Remember not too long ago when Mark Valeski was the next up-and-coming star, grabbing everyone’s attention with his gutsy nose defeat to El Padrino in the Risen Star Stakes (gr. II)? Well, following one throw-out loss in the Louisiana Derby (gr. II), it’s now Mark who?Even owner Brereton ...

OK, so you don't know anything about Mike Harrington, trainer of Creative Cause, right? Sure you do. You've seen him a million times in one Western movie or another. You know the scene in almost every movie where the stranger rides into town and approaches an old timer leaning back on his chair, whittlin' a piece of hickory, and asks if there's a ...

In terms of depth, this year's 3-year-old crop is shaping up to be the best since 2007, which gave us Street Sense (TrueNicks,SRO), Curlin (TrueNicks,SRO), Rags to Riches, Hard Spun (TrueNicks,SRO), and Any Given Saturday (TrueNicks,SRO). Nine days out from the Kentucky Derby, the field looks to be highly competitive with most of the top ...

It's a wide-open Kentucky Derby 138 folks. You can make a legitimate case for more than half the field. Here's an analysis of the pros and cons for each of the top 20 horses, pre-final works and post positions of course. Alpha Why he can win: He's earned 100+ Bris speed ratings in his last three starts. He has the right running style, which we ...

Elliott Walden, president/CEO and racing manager of WinStar Farm, said when he looks into Gemologist’s eye, he sees the colt’s “daddy,” Tiznow, looking back at him.If any of Gemologist’s opponents in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) look into his eye and sees Tiznow in there, they’re in big trouble. Many have looked into ...

According owner Rick Porter, recently-retired Havre de Grace is currently for sale, and she could be offered at a broodmare sale this fall. Given that Royal Delta, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2011 realized $8.5 million at last year's Keeneland November Sale, we should expect fireworks if Havre de Grace—Horse of the Year and champion older ...

Between injuries, workouts, the final Derby preps (if you want to call them that), and other happenings, not unexpectedly there was an overload of Derby news last week. Though it didn’t go unnoticed, there was one potentially major story that probably did not receive the attention that it deserved. Last Saturday, the connections of Trinniberg ...

(Originally published in the April 28, 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 Kentucky recently took up the race-day Salix debate and once again illustrated how difficult it will be to pass state rules ...