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Continuing with the theme of “What is the role of the NTRA?” with an emphasis on “the horse side” of the business,” this week’s topic is safety and integrity.  The year 2008 presented horse racing with some of its greatest challenges to date.  Eight Belles’ catastrophic injury before a world-wide television audience in the Kentucky ...

I don’t know about you guys, but when it comes to handicapping a race, the name of a horse is a huge factor for me. Even though I can read a program and tell you what each statistic means, and whose past performances are the best, the name still stands out above everything else on the page. Second to a horse’s name are its connections, whether or ...

By Rob Fundter, aka Amateurcapper ICE BOX ran the most compelling internal fractions of the Kentucky Derby prep season en route to his 20-1 Florida Derby upset on March 20.  What is the likelihood he can repeat that effort on May 1 at Churchill Downs?  Considering multiple Kentucky Derby winning trainer Nick Zito is calling the ...

While Ghostzapper (TrueNicks,SRO) was represented by his first grade I winner when Stately Victor upset the Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I), his older half-brother City Zip (TrueNicks,SRO) , continued his progress when his daughter Unzip Me captured the Las Cienegas Handicap (gr. III). City Zip – who’s advertised stud fee for 2010 is just $10,000 – ...

We don’t see a lot of graded winners bred in New Jersey, but one who hails from the Garden State is the Commonwealth Handicap (gr. II) winner, Together Indy, a four-year-old by Maryland’s perpetual leading sire, Not For Love (TrueNicks,SRO), out of I Ain’t P T, a daughter of A.P. Indy (TrueNicks,SRO). Rated B+ by TrueNicks, Together Indy has a ...

The rush to judgement that we mentioned last time with regard to Ghostzapper (TrueNicks,SRO), along with the current economic climate has led to opportunities for some countries to purchase stallions that would have been well-beyond reach a year or two ago. One such example is Lion Heart, who was exported to Turkey for the 2010 breeding season. ...

Okay, so I have some major adjusting to do from my last Top 10 on March 14. Odysseus (previously No. 1) was injured in a disappointing Blue Grass, Noble's Promise (No. 4) was banged up after a disappointing Arkansas Derby, Interactif (No. 6) might not even be entered in the Derby after a disappointing Blue Grass, Drosselmeyer (No. 7) does not have ...

(Originally published in the April 17, 2010 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)    Purses at Keeneland are among the highest in the country, and the Central Kentucky track offers a wide array of graded stakes during its 16-day spring ...

Many 2-year-olds in training are still scheduled to go through the sale ring this year, but the five major select juvenile auctions ended their 2010 run in early April at Keeneland after kicking off in February with the first of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s two elite sales. In general, the results were much more encouraging than 2009's ...