BloodHorse.com

While folks were hanging out at Fasig-Tipton or at Keeneland over the last week, it was the first thing they wanted to talk about…but not on the record. It’s not exactly a new story, but with this year’s rising market for Thoroughbreds, it is one everyone has an opinion on. We’re talking about the “rivalry” between a certain pair of sale ...

Thoroughbred racing is all about information and the constant quest for answers. We are provided with information in the past performances, in the pedigrees, in the workouts, in backstretch gossip and tips, and to the less informed, in names and lucky saddlecloth numbers. We delve into speed figures, pace figures, trip notes, observational ...

For most of us that live east of the Pecos, the Breeders’ Cup weekend of Nov. 3-4 at Del Mar was like stumbling onto the lost city of the Incas. Who knew it was the best-kept secret in racing? As stunning as the two-day sun-soaked backdrop was the number of industry people and fans who had not previously been to Del Mar. There were plenty of ...

Unlike children who fall in love with horses at an early age, it took me 20 years to discover my love of horses and horse racing and embark on the path I was destined to take. Growing up in Brooklyn in the ‘50s and early ‘60s meant sports of all kinds, mostly baseball and my beloved Dodgers and the hallowed ground known as Ebbetts Field. And ...

Once again, this is about longshots and value. I don’t have enough money to bet favorites and pick 6’s and superfectas, so I’ve got to take a few stabs. There are just too many races to go into with in-depth analysis, so I will concentrate mostly on the longshots. JUVENILE FILLIES – STAINLESS (20-1) has had some horrible luck on the dirt and ...

Last weekend’s Wall Street Journal (Oct. 28-29) featured an article “101 Things to Do Before You Die (At Age 101),” that includes such items as No. 1: “Drive cross-country. Any country,” and No. 76: “Accept that there is nothing you can do about the traffic.” In that bent, we’ve thought this through and have come up with a few “Things to Do in ...

This has to be one of the deepest contingents of European invaders, with a number of proven contenders, such as defending BC Turf winner Highland Reel; the leading miler in Europe, Ribchester; Juddmonte International and Eclipse winner Ulysses; English and Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Churchill; Nunthorpe Stakes winner Marsha, conqueror of Lady ...

Few, if any, owners and trainers have been more on a mission to win a single race than Coolmore and Aidan O’Brien when it comes to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which has eluded them for 17 years. Here they are still trying to avenge the neck defeat of Giant’s Causeway at the hands of Tiznow back in 2000. In between, there has been another ...

So here is trainer Brian Lynch’s dilemma. He has a brilliantly fast grass horse named Oscar Performance who used that brilliance to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf last year. The colt then overcame a rocky start to his 3-year-old campaign by having a terrific summer, stretching out to a mile and a quarter. But when stretched out to a mile and ...