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Back in mid-June, we blogged that “On the West Coast, Bob Baffert has a potential good 'second season' 3-year-old in Coil (TrueNicks A++), who took his record to three wins in four starts by capturing the Affirmed Handicap (gr. III). Coil was apparently under consideration for the Woody Stephens, but he shouldn’t have much trouble carrying his ...

Light bulbs are shining in attics. The yearlings are back and the bats are leaving the barns for a new cozy dark spot to live in for the next week or two.  Homeowners experienced in bat control know that if they steal the night away the nocturnal critters won’t trespass.  Failing that simple deterrent, they open a door and escort their ...

Eleven horses will meet in the 1 1/8 mile Whitney (gr. I), with a trip to the Breeders' Cup Classic on the line. Can you predict the order of finish? Need more information about the Whitney? Read the race previewThat Handicapping Show-->. writeRanker(''http://i.bloodhorse.com/xml/ranking/2011WhitneyOrder.xml''); To participate, use your ...

Few in the crowd of several hundred people watching the end of the NYRA Jockeys vs. Philadelphia Orchestra softball game Monday evening noticed the shiny black Mercedes Benz S-Class sedan roll up to the Saratoga East Side Rec Center stadium and park within feet of the backstop.  The score was tied 11-11 after seven innings of regulation play, ...

This year's Perfect Trip Award will recognize a Breeders' Cup Challenge race winner from this season's North American races that best exemplifies a ''Perfect Trip''. The winner will be selected from a panel of racing experts and will have the opportunity to experience his or her own ''Perfect Trip'' through Sentient Jet, with ...

Newsflash: Todd Pletcher is a pretty good trainer and horses tend to move up when he gets them in his barn. Prediction: Sidney's Candy will have a monster second half. Opinion: Sidney's Candy is the most talented horse in the country. Okay, so the opinion is a bold one, especially for a horse that has just one grade III turf win through seven ...

Rapid Redux may not carry with him the same glory as the mighty Zenyatta, but after a spotty start to his career, the 5-year-old son of Pleasantly Perfect has an impressive win streak going. A hard-knocking 5-year-old gelding, Rapid Redux has won 14 straight races mostly in starter allowance company on the northeast circuit. He is thriving in the ...

 (Originally published in the August 6, 2011 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 The 3-year-old male who can nail down at least one more grade I stakes before the end of the year is almost assured the ...

Bob Baffert has performed so many extraordinary feats of magic over the years nothing he does should ever come as a surprise. But since the White-Haired Wonder hooked up with new jockey, Garcia the Great, even he is amazed at what he and Martin Garcia have been able to accomplish.That amazement reached a new high in the $1,020,000 Haskell ...

The goal of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale isn't to be the largest auction of its kind in the world. Instead, its focus is quality over quantity, making it a boutique market designed to appeal to the wealthiest Thoroughbred shoppers. But the size of this year's catalog is small enough to raise some questions about how the auction ...