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Their names echoed throughout Saratoga Springs in the summer of 1978. From the whispers through the elms to the shouting down Broadway and Union Avenue, the Spa pulsated with the names of Affirmed and Alydar. You could even feel it at the National Museum of Racing, the ultimate destination for these two magnificent horses; their Hall of Fame ...

If anyone can tell us what will transpire in the next six months, they’re kidding themselves—and us. That’s one of the many lessons we’ve learned in the last few weeks as our world, sponsored by COVID-19, has turned everything topsy-turvy. As most racing jurisdictions and meets have closed for the time being, and the March 17-18 Ocala Breeders’ ...

Kudos to Oaklawn Park for taking the initiative and making its Derby THE Derby on the first Saturday in May. Provided the Arkansas Derby (G1) goes as scheduled -- racing across the country is fluid amid COVID-19 -- this will be the biggest live sporting event in the country that will have extensive TV coverage. It would seem poised have ...

With the current crisis shaking up the entire world, and with a handful of racetracks still conducting live racing, what better time to focus our writing on nostalgia. In the upcoming weeks I am planning on reprinting and re-working my old Kentucky Derby (G1) recaps, and a few Preakness Stakes (G1) recaps just to keep in the spirit of the ...

History buffs have been quick to point to the post-World War II Kentucky Derby in 1945 as the last time the Run for the Roses wasn’t contested on the first Saturday in May. In early January 1945 War Mobilization director James Byrnes had ordered racing to cease. The ban was lifted May 9, the day after VE Day, or Victory in Europe Day, May 8, ...

There are a lot of decisions to be made in the next few weeks or months regarding the rescheduling of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) and the ramifications it will have on the other two Triple Crown races and several major race meets, especially Saratoga. Well, there are two potential decisions that are not out of the ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman If you ask me, Saturday's $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds is ripe for an upset—perhaps an upset of monumental proportions. Seemingly all the requirements are in place to trigger an unexpected outcome. The race has drawn a full field of unpredictable 3-year-olds, with ...

In 2016 I wrote a story for BloodHorse documenting how 16 horses that registered clenbuterol positives following 18 starts in Florida in 2012-13 when trained by Kirk Ziadie enjoyed success they never registered again. The positives led to a six-year-suspension recommendation for Ziadie, who had watched those horses earn $154,275 in purse money in ...