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 By Michele MacDonald      Royal Delta galloped around Meydan Racecourse just after sunrise on March 25 and then returned to school in the paddock as the last rays of daylight tickled the towers of Dubai’s emphatic skyline.      Through it all, she maintained her regal bearing, never showing signs of ...

By Michele MacDonald      Even in the dim half light between night and morning, there was no mistaking her.       Royal Delta strode on to the Meydan Racecourse track for the first time on March 24 like the champion she is, thrusting her strong shoulders forward and gazing at the vast grandstand ...

It is no secret that the growing trend over the past few years is for connections to take a cautious approach to the Kentucky Derby, especially with top-rated contenders. A win in a lucrative 2-year-old race often dictates a lightly-raced schedule as a 3-year-old leading up to the first Saturday in May. Having three starts leading up to the Derby ...

Tapit Photo: Gainesway Jerry and Ann Moss announced today that 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta, who foaled a colt by Bernardini (TrueNicks,SRO) on March 8, will be bred back to Tapit (TrueNicks,SRO) in 2012. The Mosses already have some familiarity with Tapit, having raced 2011 Lady's Secret and Las Virgenes (both gr. I) winner Zazu. Out ...

As of today, or better still, as of this hour, Alpha is running in the Wood Memorial (gr. I)…again. If Alpha was a person planning a vacation, he’d have a room full of brochures from different places and probably would be driving his travel agent batty. No one can claim the Alpha Adventures have been boring, and he hasn’t even gone anywhere.It is ...

Continuing on the Secret Circle theme from today's Blood-Horse Pedigree Weekly Newsletter, there is certainly no question about the speed and courage possessed by this 2012 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) hopeful. Secret Circle's potential distance capacity – a weekend win in the 8½ furlong Rebel Stakes (gr. II) not withstanding – remains something of a ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) I was talking last week to a new coworker, a nurse practitioner who was once a groom in Kentucky. She loved Thoroughbreds then and still does. But she wants nothing to do with American racing. ''A lot of it's the drugs,'' she said. ''They give the stuff to all of them and they don't care whether the horse really needs it or ...

Press the Play button below to listen to the full interview. This edition of BloodHorse.com’s popular Talkin’ Horses live podcast featured Michael Hernon and Brian Graves, from the Lexington-based Gainesway Farm. The podcast was recorded at 2 p.m., on Tuesday, March 20. Owned by the Beck family, Gainesway Farm’s stallion roster includes ...

A few years ago when I started doing this blog I used to put out a Kentucky Derby top 10 list every few weeks beginning in February. Then I realized what a fruitless task it was and I stopped. We all have enough difficulty picking a winner on the first Saturday in May, so to say a horse is ranked seventh on Feb. 22 or fifth on March ...

More Than Ready Photo: Vinery Hindsight is always 20/20, but when the Vinery Stud stallion More Than Ready (TrueNicks,SRO) shuttled to Australia, he looked to be a ‘lock’ to suit mares by then-leading sire Danehill. Invariably within breeding populations, the next great sire establishes himself with the daughters of a previously great ...