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William Hill is dangling a carrot out there and is just daring American punters to go for it. And if you don’t like carrots, just think of Game On Dude’s 7-1 odds for the Breeders’ Cup Classic as chocolate cake or a slice of pizza. It is understandable to look at this year’s Classic as a wide-open affair and to take into consideration that Game ...

So, how crazy is this year’s Horse of the Year picture? It’s obvious no one is stepping up to claim the title that is totally up for grabs and no doubt won’t be decided until the free for all that will be the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Not only is the confusion regarding Horse of the Year reflected in the voting on the National Thoroughbred Racing ...

Dale Romans, who is having the best year of his career as a trainer having won the Pacific Classic and Arlington Million, both $1 million races, and two other grade I races, was the guest on “Talkin’ Horses with The Blood-Horse” live podcast Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012 at 2pm EDT. Currently, Romans is third among North American trainers, with ...

(Originally published in the September 8, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)  By Eric Mitchell - @BH_EMitchell on Twitter Too often conducting the people’s work results in sneaky business.We saw an example of this Aug. 27 when the Interim Joint ...

Early Sunday morning, in lieu of the morning workouts, three turf writers introduced a maiden first-time golfer named Micah to words that they wouldn’t dare use in their columns.  The lesson in blue language took place at the Saratoga Spa Golf Course. Early morning on the Spa Gold Course is where you'll find turf writers now.Photo by Vic ...

An old racetrack goer who’s visited this track for 47 straight summers said the 2009 Woodward Stakes (gr. I) won by Rachel Alexandra was the best Saratoga horse race he’s seen.  Stonestreet’s Preakness Stakes-winning filly beat the boys in the “Year of the Girl.”The New York Racing Association beat the drum for the Woodward that summer−first, ...

There were three stakes races, each with a purse of $100,000, on Wednesday.  But it was a maiden special weight 1 1/16 mile turf race run between the second and third stakes that took the prize for the most exciting.  The 21-1 Hedonemewrongsong, a bay 2-year-old filly by Bluegrass Cat trained by Jonathan Sheppard, topped a superfecta ...

Freelance horse racing writer Teresa Genaro epitomizes a press corps that never puts its pencils down.  Her work is popping up all over, from the pages of Forbes, to The Saratogian, to The Blood-Horse−a spread that’s as wide as the Hudson.   On Monday, the indefatigable reporter had a front page story about the planned modernization of ...

(Originally published in the September 1, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)  By Eric Mitchell - @BH_EMitchell on Twitter The Juddmonte International Stakes (Eng-I) Aug. 22 at York Racecourse (View photos here) had no shot to be considered ...

I received a beautifully written column recently from a Facebook acquaintance and horse enthusiast Erika Parry, which is being printed below as a guest blog. Erika’s stirring words inspired me not only to publish her story about her relationship with her father, but to briefly acknowledge something I should have acknowledged a long time ago. As a ...