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(Guest Post) This spring, the American Graded Stakes Committee decided that because Colonial Downs' Colonial Turf Cup would be opened to older runners, after having been for 3-year-olds only previously, it would be stripped of its grade II status. The committee judged that this was a ''material change and therefore the committee considers the ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) Forestry is one stallion that has been through more ups and downs than a good rollercoaster. One thing that has remained constant, however, is his apparent affinity for Fappiano, whose sire line is responsible for the dams of five of Forestry's 40 stakes winners. Those stakes winners include three of the stallion's 10 graded ...

(By Avalyn Hunter)  This spring, both Distorted Humor and Giant's Causeway have reached the milestone of 100 stakes winners--once a rare event indeed in the days of 40-mare books.  Even now, it is not an everyday occurrence. For Giant's Causeway, such success was to be expected from the beginning.  A son of popular sire of sires ...

(By Avalyn Hunter)  Much has already been made of Animal Kingdom's pedigree, which is by far the most Euro-oriented of any recent Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner.  True, his sire, Leroidesanimaux, is Brazilian-bred, but like many Brazilian pedigrees, his has a strong Anglo-French flavor.  He is by Candy Stripes, a son of French ...

By Scot T. Gillies Broodmare sire leadership based on lifetime progeny statistics doesn't tend to change much from year to year. Two new stallions breaking into top positions, therefore, are significant news. In my review of 2010 broodmare sire AEI rankings (cover story), I identify changes in the top 20 positions and predict a few stallions to ...

By Avalyn Hunter Life has been good for A.P. Indy.  A royally-bred horse who became a sales topper as a yearling, he went on to highly successful careers as a racehorse and stallion.  Thanks to the quality of his connections and his visibility, he will now live out the rest of his life as a well-cared-for pensioner. For thousands of ...

By Scot T. Gillies A few changes at the top make the 2010 leading trainers lists an interesting study. Eric Mitchell's cover story introduces MarketWatch's exclusive--and exhaustive--statistical charts of the nation's top 200 trainers and subcharts identifying leaders by category. Racing fans know Bold Irish as ancestress of Ruffian, but ...

Every Thoroughbred breeder or student of bloodlines has a favorite candidate for annual broodmare honors. Each spring for many years The Blood-Horse MarketWatch editors have reviewed leading dams from the previous year and presented a MarketWatch Broodmare of the Year award. Two years ago we opened the polling to our readers, making the award ...

By Scot T. Gillies Pollard's Vision enters the picture, Birdstone maintains a slight edge over Medaglia d'Oro, and Mineshaft makes a determined move to the top of his class. It's the annual AEI leaders issue and we present the top 200 North American stallions by Average Earnings Index (cover story). Additional statistical charts in the ...

(By Avalyn Hunter) Each spring, The Blood-Horse MarketWatch selects a Broodmare of the Year by vote of MarketWatch subscribers from candidates selected based on accomplishments of their progeny during the preceding racing season.  This year, the strong sentimental choice is likely to be Vertigineux (Kris S.-For the Flag, by Forli), whose ...