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Sarah Palin, where are you? Two weeks ago: Spent a couple of days at Atlantic City Race Course. No promotion, no advertising, but crowds so big there were lines outside the restrooms. This week: Covered part of an equine industry conference with the typical pronouncements—can’t fix the betting model; can’t agree on how to approach this or that; ...

By Kevin Stafford, the Aspiring Horseplayer Surprise, surprise - another Derby week dawns and another round of shocking news and updates is not far behind.  The updates themselves are surprising - Eskendereya out of the Kentucky Derby - but the notion that such events will unfold this time of year should not be so.  Yet, we seem ...

Now that we know Devil May Care is definitely going to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), and the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) field has been drawn, I decided to start zeroing into some of those fillies, namely one that has very much been under the radar: Ailalea. A stablemate to Devil May Care, Ailalea’s resume isn’t close to the ...

After my first Derby experience as a photographer in '85, I was hooked. Event photography is very exciting; it takes a lot of planning and work, but it’s well worth the results. During the early years of my time at The Blood-Horse, Martin Jessee (a Lexington Herald Leader photographer for many years) led the publication's photography team. He ...

(Originally published in the May 1, 2010 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)     If you toss a coin 24 times, and it lands on heads each time, what are the odds it will come up heads on the 25th try? Since odds are based on the ...

The 2010 Kentucky Oaks A slideshow of the Oaks runners. Who will win this year's Kentucky Oaks? Who will finish last? Now is your chance to see how your picks stack up against the rest of the BloodHorse.com community. ...

Fifteen of the most recent 25 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winners were reported as being sold at public auction one or more times prior to their victories in the Run for the Roses. The most expensive was 2000 Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus, who brought $4 million at the now defunct Keeneland July select yearling auction in 1998. But many others sold ...

By Alex Waldrop, President and CEO of the NTRA  If you read my blogs, you know that I spent more than 12 years as part of the management team at Churchill Downs.  During those years, I held several titles including President of the racetrack that shares its name with Churchill Downs Incorporated.  It was my privilege to view ...

Just a few short days ago it was a nice, tidy Derby picture. We had the Todd Squad, led by the big, bad morning-line favorite Eskendereya. Baffert was playing the role of underdog. There were the customary ''bubble'' horses whose connections were doing their annual complaining about the graded earnings system. And there was no mention of a filly. ...

By Rob Fundter, aka Amateurcapper  The G.3 Sunland Derby looked very competitive going in.  Last year's 4th place finisher, MINE THAT BIRD, went on to win the Kentucky Derby - presented by Yum! brands.  When the New Mexico track's dust had cleared on March 28, 2010, ENDORSEMENT, not AMERICAN LION, RULE or SUPER SAVER, was the ...