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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 ...

New Jersey-based Unbridled Jet (TrueNicks) has joined TrueNicks, allowing breeders to run unlimited nicking reports for the stallion. The son of Unbridled stands at Sleeter Farm in Clementon, N.J. A $360,000 yearling purchase, Unbridled Jet was competitive in graded stakes throughout his career. He was fourth in the Sapling (gr. III) and Nashua ...

E-mail note from a friend and racing fan about the Eclipse Awards, “where the first African-American champion jockey since the 1800s doesn’t even get a mention … on Martin Luther King Day.” … That would be DeShawn Parker, who led all jockeys by wins in 2010 riding predominantly at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort. DeShawn is a good story ...

 (Originally published in the January 22, 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 TwitterOwner Jerry Moss raised the issue of fan voting during a press conference four days prior to the Eclipse Awards ceremony ...