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When trying to find West Coast Derby contenders, you always start with Bob Baffert and then work your way down from there. That tried and true rule didn't look so good after Liaison and Sky Kingdom, thought to be two of his top 3-year-olds, turned in clunkers in the Robert Lewis Stakes on Feb. 4. But this is Baffert we're talking about, so those ...

When Kiaran McLaughlin announced that Alpha would skip the Gotham Stakes (gr. III) and go directly to the Wood Memorial (gr. I), the connections of Hansen might have thought they were all but home free over Aqueduct’s speed-favoring inner track. But as it turns out they might be looking over their shoulder in the final furlong after all. My Adonis ...

The brilliant victory of Black Caviar in the MRC C.F. Orr Stakes (gr. I, video below) - which took her record to 18 wins in 18 starts - gives us an excuse to post an article of her pedigree that ran in the Australian publication Inside Breeding last year, which explored the potential reasoning behind the mating that led to her. Why is Black ...

(Originally published in the February 18, 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 Thoroughbred racing associations and commissions get their fair share of criticisms for either moving too fast or not being ...

That’s El, as in El Padrino, and Al, as in Algorithms. When Todd Pletcher sent both these talented Kentucky Derby prospects to the gate in separate races on Jan. 29, no one had more interest in the outcome than Pletcher’s father, J.J., who broke both colts at his 80-acre Payton Training Center in Ocala.J.J., who has provided the early training for ...

 (Originally published in the February 18, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) Pat Klussman, breeder of Algorithms, had a decision to make. She could accept co-owner Jack Wolf’s invitation to travel from California to Florida to watch the colt tackle ...

There wasn't a true Kentucky Derby prep run last weekend, but there was still major news on the Triple Crown front. It involved top rider Javier Castellano, who through his agent, Matt Muzikar, announced that Castellano would ride Algorithms and not Union Rags in the key Fountain of Youth Stakes on Feb. 26 at Gulfstream Park. The decision sort of ...

Bearing in mind that stud fees have been ticking up again, and that proven horses are in demand, we were pretty surprised to hear recently about a stallion that you can still book to. While many other proven stallions are already full, this stallion can still be bred to for as little as $13,500 live foal (or $15,000 stands and nurses). He is sire ...