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(Originally published in the September 11, 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 Keeneland has successfully developed the September sale into the largest international marketplace for Thoroughbred yearlings. But whether the sale ...

TrueNicks is pleased to announce the addition of Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner Monarchos (TrueNicks,SRO). Breeders are now able to run unlimited TrueNicks reports courtesy of Nuckols Farm. Monarchos burst onto the 2001 Derby scene with three authoritative victories at Gulfstream Park, including an explosive move around the turn in the Florida ...

So, Quality Road is back on track and headed to the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I). Todd Pletcher loved his race in the Woodward (gr. I). Johnny Velazquez loved his race in the Woodward. In fact, everyone close to the horse loved his race in the Woodward. But their initial reaction to the colt’s 4 ¾-length victory was more relief than ...

At the time the exportation of Trippi to South Africa looked to be a major loss to the Florida breeding industry, and he’s continued to underline the point since. In fact, that point became an exclamation mark after his daughter R Heat Lightning scored an impressive win in the weekend’s Spinaway Stakes (gr. I). R Heat Lightning is the first ...

The Five-Cross Files is back from a lengthy sabbatical. I promise many fun and informative posts will again steal your attention for a few minutes a couple of times each week -- but I wanted to start out with something considerably more serious. As you've probably read, 27 horses were killed in a barn fire Labor Day morning at a property adjacent ...

Last summer, just before he went into Saratoga Hospital to have a hip repaired, Dr. Leo Hoge, local racing historian and former medical practitioner, recounted his memories of Secretariat to library assistant Victoria Garza. Hoge and Garza met by chance beneath the colorful WPA frescoes that decorate the main entrance to the Post Office. “I took a ...

Jeff Rosen of East Meadow, NY said “the lines for the tee-shirts were six furlongs long.”  NYRA should go into the apparel business, if the deal for the Aqueduct casino doesn’t happen. An editorial in The Saratogian warned readers on Sunday that the politicians are still fumbling around with the details. “What are details but the bad ends of ...

The meet’s been a tough go for Kent Desormeaux. “The Kid” rode well but the facts don’t show it.  His acknowledgement that he had a drinking problem came on the first day.  Breaking a bone in his neck when a horse had a heart attack was the way it all finished. In the fourth race, Cornelio Velasquez rode a winner that the Hall of Fame ...

For a Friday that was billed as a ''Party at the Spa,'' things got off to a traumatic start. A horse was euthanized after breaking down in the first race. A horse had a heart attack and died in the second. Jockey Kent Desormeaux broke a bone in his neck.Only six New York-bred fillies partook in the $70,000 Saratoga Dew. The stake was supposed to ...

Undefeated in 19 starts, Peppers Pride won 14 stakes and was a four-time champion in New Mexico. Bred and raced by Joseph Allen, Peppers Pride raced at four different tracks in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment. She was trained by Joel Marr.   A fan favorite, Peppers Pride was retired after her last race in December, 2008. The mare ...