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Don’t be surprised if the Keeneland paddock crowd around the tree listing “number six” is a bit thick before the Sycamore Stakes (gr. III) Thursday, Oct. 17.That tree will be the temporary home of 9-year-old Rahystrada, who will try to secure a Keeneland stakes win for the first time in his eight seasons of racing in the 1 1/2-mile turf test for ...

“Winner’s circle; Ken Ramsey speaking.”Ken Ramsey’s greeting on the phone shortly after Kitten Kaboodle’s victory in the Jessamine Stakes pretty much summed up the amazing run of victories he’s been on this year, especially the last four months.It’s as if Disney has made a feline version of “1001 Dalmatians.” Racing has been literally overrun by ...

Now that Princess of Sylmar has elevated herself to new a plateau atop not only the 3-year-old filly division, but the rankings of best filly or mare in the nation, her connections, mainly majority owner Ed Stanco, have to carefully weigh their options as to what the next step will be.It is a decision racing fans, reporters, Breeders’ Cup ...

(Originally published in the September 21, 2013 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) By Eric Mitchell - @BH_EMitchell on Twitter The Keeneland September yearling sale is an important market barometer, not only for yearlings but for the commercial ...

(This is an expanded version of a condensed piece in the September 21, 2013 issue of The Blood-Horse) Gibson Carothers is a longtime horseplayer who grew up at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. He worked as Creative Director of Y&R Advertising in Los Angeles and BBDO in Minneapolis, owned racehorses in Southern California, served on the Board ...

I never thought I would ever say this about any horse or any race, but the feeling here is Wise Dan is unbeatable at a mile on the grass, and probably unbeatable up to 1 1/8 miles.Every horse, no matter how great, can be beaten, whether it be due to an off day, a fluke pace, too much of a weight concession, or a surface not to his or her liking. ...

(Originally published in the September 14, 2013 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) By Eric Mitchell - @BH_EMitchell on Twitter The group’s goal is simple, according to Keeneland president Bill Thomason, a founding member: to provide excellent experiences ...

by Vic ZastIf anyone had doubts about what kind of racing surface awaited the 129 horses listed in the overnights for Saratoga’s final day, those doubts were obliterated at 6:25 AM Monday. A morning storm passed through the region in an hour and a half, but all hell broke loose in the first 15 minutes.  The rain fell so hard it created the ...

by Vic ZastHow will Saratoga’s 150th year of Thoroughbred horse racing be remembered?  Probably not by the cumulative effects of the many minor events that were organized.  But by the few standout days on which something out of the ordinary happened.No doubt this was the summer of Marylou Whitney.  She established her rightful place ...