BloodHorse.com

Next week, Blood-Horse magazine officially kicks off its Kentucky Derby coverage with a Derby preview cover story, the Derby contenders’ racing and pedigree profiles, and, of course, the Derby Dozen.And, as usual, coming up with a top 12 list is not going to be easy. Once you get past the four major contenders – Uncle Mo, To Honor and Serve, ...

Alex's Pal, photo by Louise Reinagel With winter weather advisories issued across the state of Pennsylvania, at least value-seeking Northeast breeders can warm up to the intriguing stallion Alex's Pal (TrueNicks,SRO). After standing his first few seasons in Florida, the half brother to Successful Appeal (TrueNicks,SRO) has had a solid ...

Mary Lou Whitney's acceptance speech upon receiving the 2010 Eclipse Award of Merit, Jan. 17, 2011, Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel: I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award. I have loved the sport of Thoroughbred racing ever since Sonny Whitney introduced me to it in 1958.  I am grateful for the honor—in a small ...

For small-time Thoroughbred race owners, the chances of picking out one graded stakes winner is slim. To do it a second time is even rarer. And to do it a third time is unheard of, especially if you are only buying one horse per year. Apparently, Chris Walters doesn't know how hard this sport really is because he is making it look ...

Late December brought the news that WinStar Farm had acquired a significant interest in Harlan's Holiday (TrueNicks,SRO) and would now be standing the son of Harlan. Previously, Harlan’s Holiday had held court at Airdrie Stud, the Midway nursery having done an excellent job of guiding the early stages of his career. Irrespective of where he would ...

Mark Taylor of Taylor Made Sales Agency said recently that he had ''gone back and forth on how to feel about the (racetrack) medication issue over the years.'' Now he's leaning toward a ban of race-day treatment even though some of the horses he sells  might have a better chance for racing success with approved medication to treat ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) What determines value in a stallion's asking price? To some, it is the ability to produce commercially appealing offspring that sell for much more than the price of the season. To others, it is the ability to produce early winners that can get a mare's produce record started or be sold for a profit from off the track. Still ...

by Ian Tapp When Tapizar won last weekend's Sham Stakes (gr. III, video) in easy, front-running style, he became the newest graded stakes winner to emerge from the successful breeding program developed by late Verne Winchell. Winchell's son Ron races Tapizar under the Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC banner, the same group that campaigned that colt's ...

January is a busy month for the NTRA staff.  The Eclipse Awards and the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship – two of our industry’s biggest occasions - both fall in the first month of the year.  Making sure that these important events happen each year in a professional, well publicized way, is one of our top ...

Some of the early stakes for 3-year-olds, which have had trouble luring more than five horses in some cases, have been a bit underwhelming so far. The grade III Lecomte on Saturday at Fair Grounds is one example. Though the Lecomte is the marquee 3-year-old race this weekend, the best field of sophomores could be running in the ninth race at ...