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This week's Triple Crown trail takes us to New York for the grade III Gotham Stakes, which is the only Kentucky Derby prep of the weekend. The feeling here is that the outcome of this race will probably not produce major contenders come the first Saturday in May, but one never knows. At the very least, the $240,000 winner's share will guarantee ...

We're always happy to see TrueNicks customers succeed on the racetrack, and we were especially thrilled when Derby prospect El Padrino won the Risen Star Stakes (gr. II) over the weekend. Emory Hamilton, breeder of El Padrino, uses TrueNicks broodmare reports for her mares, and a report for El Padrino's dam, Enchanted Rock, identified Pulpit ...

News Pending burst on the scene with his surprising second-place finish in the Fountain of Youth Stakes at odds of 27-1. But who exactly is this horse? Watching his races, he is a horse you cannot handicap, because he still hasn’t figured out who he is or what he is. And that in its own odd way is what makes him so dangerous and what makes his ...

Union Rags, who remained winter favorite for the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) despite a narrow loss to Hansen (TrueNicks) in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), made his keenly-awaited seasonal debut in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II, video) at Gulfstream Park. The wait proved worthwhile, as Union Rags could hardly have been more impressive, ...

The second-place finish of News Pending in Sunday's Fountain of Youth surprised most people, as reflected by his 27-1 odds. But don't count trainer Dale Romans among those, and in fact, if observant handicappers have been paying attention to the Triple Crown trail over the last few years they should have been aware that Romans' under-the-radar ...

(Originally published in the March 3, 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 If Toyota contacted Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and said it was moving its manufacturing plant out of the state, would ...

(Originally published in the March 3, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) Even by jockey standards Rafael Bejarano spent a busy President’s Day weekend in mid-February. He began it Feb. 16 in Kentucky, taking and passing his U.S. citizenship test. Feb. ...

Optimism outweighs pessimism heading into the selling season for select 2-year-olds in training, which begins with the Barretts auction in Southern California March 5. Sale company officials and consignors are feeling good for several reasons. No. 1, the American economy, while still far below where it used to be, is doing better. No. 2, purses ...

[brightcove videoid=''1476621994001''] 1 Union Rags Michael Matz  Dixie Union—Tempo, by Gone West Well, we’ve got ourselves a legitimate, top-class Derby favorite. This was as dominating and effortless a victory as you’ll see on the Derby trail, or any other trail. Most important, he ran a straight course and did everything perfectly. ...