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Greetings from Al, the turkey vulture that decided to hang out on the window sill at my Blood-Horse office this morning! Needless to say, I was quite surprised to see this large bird come swooping over to visit me as I was writing stakes recaps this morning and had to share this funny photo. I apologize for being MIA the last couple ...

John Donnelly, an employee of Darley America and keen pedigree student, has penned the following guest post for TrueNicks. He takes a slightly different look at the influence of Northern Dancer on the Epsom Derby. With the 50th anniversary of Northern Dancer's birth, May 27, 1961, just recently passing, and the Epsom Derby being run and won, we ...

Because of the nature of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) and its unknown factors, mainly the distance, any win selection must be made pretty much on pure speculation...or guess.Judging from what we’ve seen over the past week, there is no reason not to like Animal Kingdom. There are fewer unknowns surrounding him than any of the others, he’s already ...

When Nehro’s connections decided to skip the Preakness and wait for the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), the first thought was that the son of Mineshaft–The Administrator, by Afleet was going to be the buzz horse in the Test of the Champion.Despite having run second in his last three starts–the Louisiana Derby (gr. II), Arkansas Derby (gr. I), and Kentucky ...

At this point in the season, I think most would have to agree that the current 3-year-old class has been far from overwhelming. The parity that exists amongst them, coupled with the average speed figures and final times, has made this an ordinary group so far. A superstar may still come out of the class of 2011, but that has not happened in the ...

.commentForm, .postComments, #comments{display:none;} <a href=''http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=26f44b6a59'' >Belmont Stakes Live Blog</a>

The last pieces of the puzzle in the Triple Crown races are the post positions, and horsemen cannot wait until they can get that out of the way. The main drama in Wednesday’s draw for the June 11 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) came when two post positions remained in the 12-horse field – Post 1 and Post 9.  One of the two horses who still had not ...

Complimentary TrueNicks Enhanced reports are available for the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) field listed below. Click on the horse's name or letter grade to view the report. To help analyze which horses may have the profile for the 12-furlong Belmont distance, each cross's average winning distance is included in the table—see the full report for ...

Who will win the Belmont Stakes? Will it be Derby winner Animal Kingdom, Preakness winner Shackleford, or a new face? How will the others finish? Need more information about the Belmont Stakes? Read the race previewThat Handicapping Show.--> writeRanker(''http://i.bloodhorse.com/xml/ranking/2011BelmontOrder.xml''); To participate, use ...

Blue Gum Farm near Euroa, Victoria, has a 30-year history, and is famed for nurturing the early career of one of Australia’s outstanding sires, Encosta de Lago. Today, the farm is at the forefront of the Victorian breeding industry, and is home to one of the strongest stallion rosters in the state. That roster includes the only European classic ...