BloodHorse.com

 It is time again for my annual Thanksgiving holiday blog.  Knowing that I tend to get caught up in the fun – family, friends and food – I like to take a few minutes before it all begins to express my gratitude too.Here is my list of things in the horse industry for which I am grateful.Horseplayers.  Always, you are at the top of ...

The $1,000,000 Delta Jackpot (gr. III) often throws up a later-developing youngster who has been flying under the radar. This time it was a more exposed type who got the job done. Calder shipper Gourmet Dinner was making his fifth career start, and had already won two stakes—the Dr. Fager Stakes and Affirmed Stakes—before suffering his first ...

 (Originally published in the November 27, 2010 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 Twitter  David Vance, racing manager for Candy DeBartolo, is looking for the answer to two questions: 1. Should ...

I don’t often feature jockeys on this blog, so I figured it was about time when I discovered this sweet story about Robby Albarado while scanning through some old emails I had saved. Albarado, who as of Nov. 23 has won 4,256 races and amassed earnings of $170,076,795, was recently a special guest at the first grade class at Squires Elementary ...

As today's breeders and buyers of racehorses become increasingly savvy, they demand more information when making decisions. Our TrueNicks customers have asked for more, and today we are proud to present the new TrueNicks Enhanced report. The Enhanced report adds a second page of multiple cross-specific data points. Through the end of January, ...

  With the official announcement that Zenyatta has been retired from racing, it's time for her to move on to a new role in her life, producing little Zens. Jerry and Ann Moss haven't announced which stallion she will be bred to, but it's a fun topic to discuss.   Is her perfect mate at Lane's End Farm, where the great race mare will ...

The full roster of 26 stallions at the Turkish Jockey Club have joined TrueNicks. Since TrueNicks is the only nicking system that considers all international starters and stakes winners, it is a useful resource for planning matings in any market. Deputy Minister son Always a Classic (TrueNicks) won the 1997 Turf Classic (gr. I) and Explosive Bid ...

With the announcement of Lookin At Lucky's retirement on Friday, and the previous decisions to retire Rachel Alexandra, Blame, Quality Road, and Zenyatta, arguably the five best and most popular North American-based horses of this year will no longer be running in 2011. Other than the soon-to-be 3-year-olds revving up for the Triple Crown (And ...

Like many of you, I have heard and read lots of opinions in the wake of the events surrounding the very disappointing performance by Life At Ten in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at Churchill Downs two weeks ago.  Understandably, the owner is upset that Life At Ten was allowed to start. Bettors are mad that she was not scratched by the ...

By Frank Vespe, www.thatsamorestable.net/blog In the end, it seemed to me that the tale would be told in details: the red-rimmed eyes of a nearby horseman, the hundred-yard stare of a disappointed fan, the 72,000 voices suddenly gone silent. The tale, of course, was the oldest racing tale of all, that of the dream dashed, the mountain ...