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By Laura Pugh, of Horsin' Around I believe in tradition, despite my young age. I've always believed that dirt and turf should be the only two surfaces in racing. I believe that a great horse should push the envelope and take risks before s/he can be called great. However, not everything can stay the same; all industries, all sports must learn to ...

By William Shanklin  Individuals doing business in the racing industry have found that mobile communications devices are simultaneously a boon and a burden. Trainers, for example, can more easily update their owners, but the downside is they can be swamped by incoming messages. Utilizing cell phones, computers, and e-mail without becoming a ...

The weekend provided the first ever dead heat in a Japanese grade I event as Champion Two-Year-Old Filly and Japan 1,000 Guineas (gr. I) victress Apapane could not be separated from Saint Emilion, who we had noted as one to watch here after her win in the Sankei Sports Sho Flora Stakes (gr. II). Apapane (TrueNicks A++) is one of four stakes ...

In the last 10 years of the Belmont Stakes, we have seen favorites and longshots triumph; and close finishes and runaway winners. But, what if they were all in the same race? How do you think that they would finish? Assume a fast track and clean trips for all. writeRanker(''http://i.bloodhorse.com/xml/ranking/Belmont2000_2009.xml''); To ...

As we touched on in the last blog, without the Derby and Preakness winners involved, the 2010 Belmont Stakes lacks the star power that would attract the casual sports fan. In that respect, the third leg of the Triple Crown won't draw many newspaper or SportsCenter headlines and will likely see TV ratings take a significant dip. The good news for ...

On a quiet weekend for U.S. racing, Treat Gently gave another example of just how versatile the excellent trio of sprinter/milers by Green Desert – Oasis Dream, Invincible Spirit, and Cape Cross – are as sires, with her win in the 11-furlong Sheepshead Bay Stakes (gr. II). Oasis Dream, who was a pure sprinter, and whose third crop are currently ...

(Originally published in the May 29, 2010 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) You have to give Frank Stronach points for consistency. Since he embarked on his supermarket sweep of North American racetracks a dozen years ago, his mantra has ...

It was big—not as big as the total wagering of $9.3 million—but a big enough development on opening day of the Monmouth Park experiment, which came together in only a few months. Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was on hand to sign into law the legislation that made the one-year “million-dollar meet” possible.  He didn’t ...

Preakness Stakes (gr. I) winner Lookin At Lucky, who was 2009's champion 2-year-old male, should teach shoppers at Thoroughbred auctions an important lesson, according to Jerry Bailey. ''It says to me that when people are buying horses, they should look for reasons to buy a horse rather than for reasons not to buy a horse,'' said the Florida ...

After a spectacular win in the Coventry Stakes (gr. II) was followed by a third in the Prix Morny (gr. I) – his final outing at two – a second in the seven furlong Greenham Stakes (gr. III), and a third in the English 2,000 Guineas (gr. I), there were many who questioned Canford Cliffs’s ability to get a mile. However, his connections never ...