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 The following story first appeared in the April 28, 2007 issue of Blood-Horse magazine, with a few additions thrown in. This feature, about Team Smarty and what became of everyone, will kick off our “Smarty Jones Tribute Week,” in preparation for his departure for Uruguay next month. Each day we will reprint some of our favorite Smarty Jones ...

Thirty-three years. The number now stands out in bold type, an unimaginable figure; one that lifelong horse racing fans never imagined possible. For many, 1978 seems like another lifetime ago. Heck, I was four years old at the time when Affirmed won the Triple Crown, still another eight years away from going to my first horse race. For me, it ...

One of the most eagerly awaited contests of the week was the first day’s opening contest, the Queen Anne Stakes (gr. I, video below). Run over the straight mile, it brought together the 6-year-old mare Goldikova, winner of three straight runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. I), and the 4-year-old colt Canford Cliffs, coming off four consecutive ...

I spent a weekend in Aiken, South Carolina with Corinne Ashton and Erica Larson during March 2011. Corinne Ashton is a world class, four-star eventer and now Grand Prix dressage hopeful. Erica Larson worked with Corinne for a year as an assistant. My purpose was to investigate the world of Eventing and Dressage at the three and four-star level, ...

Earlier this week Breeders' Cup announced a new Juvenile Sprint, thereby expanding its suite of races to 15. The $500,000 race will be run at six furlongs on the dirt and is open to colts, geldings, and fillies. I'll admit my first reaction was ''do we really need another Breeders' Cup race?'', but considering the race's potential to identify good ...

Eleven are scheduled to compete in the grade I Stephen Foster. Can you predict the order of finish? Need more information about the Stephen Foster? Read the race preview, or watch That Handicapping Show. writeRanker(''http://i.bloodhorse.com/xml/ranking/2011StephenFosterOrder.xml''); To participate, use your cursor to drag the selections ...

A muddy renewal of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I, video below) always seemed to have the potential to deliver an upset, and so it proved, with the unheralded Ruler On Ice (TrueNicks B+) defeating Stay Thirsty and Brilliant Speed, with the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and Preakness Stakes (gr. I) winners Animal Kingdom and Shackleford off the board (as an ...

Transcript is now available, read below or Download a PDF document here. Thank you for your time!   Steve Haskin is an award-winning Turf writer renowned for his Kentucky Derby commentary, with weekly articles, Classic Spotlights, and the ''Derby Dozen'' all found on the BloodHorse.com website's special Triple Crown Mania ...

Champagne Glow, dam of Belmont Stakes winner Ruler On Ice, was in her stall when I arrived at Jim and Pam Robinson’s Brandywine Farm near Paris, Ky. I took their portrait with their dogs Tyler and Einstein. Then Pam and I walked to the barn and the afternoon light was shining through on Champagne Glow, highlighting her beautiful coat. Pam ...

Nice to see experiments with reductions in pari-mutuel takeout, but this one really caught my eye. Mardi Gras West Virginia, a Greyhound racetrack and casino near Charleston, received approval recently to lower the takeout rate on win, place, and show bets from 16.3% to 9.4%. In effect, the rate is similar to that of the rate on video lottery ...