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Long-time breeder Ted Kuster found himself in a slump a few years back. After having devoted more than four decades to breeding and raising Thoroughbreds, a venture he stumbled into, he was getting discouraged. The economy was struggling, and he hadn’t had a big horse in several years. His enthusiasm for the industry waned.Then Hilda’s Passion ...

It is incredibly complicated to figure out what makes a Thoroughbred a gifted racehorse. If the Second Annual Pedigree, Genetics and Performance Conference held recently in Lexington had a theme, this was it.Even with genomics research advancing so quickly, every scientist at the conference talked about genetics testing in terms of helping ...

Last weekend marked the start of the NFL season, and while most football fans were focusing on the NFL for the first time this season, others were already well aware of rookies like Cam Newton and Randall Cobb—in part because they had closely followed the NFL Draft back in April.  Thoroughbred racing has a “draft” as well.  ...

With less than two months until the Breeders' Cup, here is a quick ranking of the leaders in some of the divisions. It's unclear what race some of the top contenders will point for, so here is a general breakdown of horses that have had at least one start in North America. Handicap Males 1. Tizway--A clear leader now. JCGC win would make him BC ...

  The video below is a trailer for Steven Spielberg's new movie War Horse. I was pleasantly surprised, because I feel like the past few horse bonding movies, outside of Secretariat and Hidalgo, are very much aimed at kids or the female audience. Maybe I should also throw in True Grit or western themed movies with good horse presence. A ...

We’ve all heard or used the expression, “No one would have beaten him today.” Throughout history, there have been numerous horses who, for one or two races, turned in performances so extraordinary, you can’t imagine anyone beating them. Often, these horses were meant for great things, but were hampered by a variety of problems, such as ...

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Three-year-olds from all over the country compete in the Super Derby (gr. II) at Louisiana Downs. Will Bob Baffert take another one, or will a local favorite prevail? How will the rest finish? Need more information about the Super Derby? Read the race preview, or watch That Handicapping ...

(Originally published in the September 10, 2011 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)  By Lenny ShulmanAs thousands of visitors from around the continent and the world descend on Kentucky for Keeneland’s September yearling sale and October race meeting and ...

Rustin and Juliana Kretz are a little young at 32 and 27, respectively, to have a bucket list. But because they started on the list early with a trip to the 2010 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), they now own about 25 horses. It took only a year for them to experience their first stakes victory when John Johny Jak took the Harry F. ...