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It's still very early on the Triple Crown trail, but for now we have a good start on which 3-year-olds to watch for at the top barns. Todd Pletcher has three good ones (Uncle Mo, Stay Thirsty, and Brethren) including the early Kentucky Derby favorite; Bob Baffert has several that could turn out to be special when the dust settles (The Factor, ...

 Evasive maneuvering displays how much skill jockeys must have, to weave in and out of tractors near full speed. Amazing.Apparently, after one trip around the track, the maintenance crew thought the race was over. ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) In his article ''Class Action'' (The Blood-Horse, 10-23-2010), Evan Hammonds surveyed the Jockey Club database to draw a number of statistical conclusions regarding the likelihood of getting a stakes winner from any particular mare. Among his findings was a definite dropoff in racing quality among foals born late in a mare's ...

The following is a continuation from last week's article Close Race for Second-Crop Sires. There seems to be something of a blight on Saint Ballado’s branch of the Halo line. Saint Ballado himself died at the age of 13, and his best son, Horse of the Year Saint Liam (the sixth leading second season sire), was euthanized after a paddock accident ...

The votes are in and the 2010 Eclipse Award finalists have been named.  The 2010 Eclipse Awards ceremony is now set for January 17 at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach in Miami Beach, Fla.  The list of finalists contains few surprises but sets up some real contests to see who comes out on top.   First and foremost is the race for ...

The stallions at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds in Saratoga Springs, New York, have joined TrueNicks for 2011. Unlimited, complimentary nicking reports are now available to breeders. Catienus, Coal Play, and Utopia join the New York-based Adena Springs stallions who also stand at the farm. Catienus (TrueNicks,SRO) is a son of Storm Cat and the ...

By Jennifer Wirth, of The Saturday Post On January 1st, an Arkansas-bred filly named Gretl turned three-years-old in her barn at Oaklawn Park.  She didn’t receive any birthday cakes, fancy cards and fans didn’t line up for a photo outside her stall.  January 1st was simply an ordinary day in her life. Gretl didn’t seem to mind one ...

How is it that so many successful and well-known horses can so quickly fade out of importance and somehow find themselves homeless and unwanted? This was the question asked by Anna Ford of New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program when she called last week to inform me that Hotstufanthensome, a dual graded stakes winner and earner of more than ...