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The most important lessons Chuck Simon learned as an assistant trainer to Allen Jerkens were not about horses—though those were plentiful. What Simon learned most were lessons about being a good person. “Outside of my own father, he had more influence on me than any other person,” said Simon, who worked for Jerkens from 1994 through 1999, when he ...

Allen Jerkens dropped back to pass. His son Steve was in the open briefly, but the ball was knocked down at the last minute by jockey Richard Migliore. Jerkens, visibly upset at himself for waiting too long to throw, uttered a few choice words of displeasure, then promptly called the next play. God forbid if he threw a perfect pass and you ...

Ruidoso Downs’ efforts this year to rebuild its reputation could be a model for racetracks throughout the U.S. The New Mexico track, which is home to the world-renowned All American Futurity for Quarter Horses, has suffered body blows recently to the integrity of its marquee events. Last June nine horses racing at Ruidoso Downs tested ...

Saigon Warrior boasted one victory in 17 career starts and was beaten 31 lengths in his only stakes appearance. Fourulla was a maiden in four career starts. Big Brown Bear had one victory in 17 career starts with his last win coming the year before when he was claimed for $15,000. Majestic Needle had won two races in 21 career starts and in ...

It has been 30 years since a blazingly fast 3-year-old named Spend a Buck changed the face of the Triple Crown. The colt’s journey began on a small farm in Western Kentucky and would end on a small farm in Western Louisiana, near the town of Coushatta, about 30 miles from the Texas border and finally on a farm in Brazil. This nondescript son ...

Picture a deep blue sky, a slight late winter’s chill in the air, warmed by the sun, and rows of colorful tulips bringing the first images of the impending spring. Picture a kaleidoscope of familiar colors atop noble steeds who have migrated north with the robins. Picture cigar smoke-filled buses and trains arriving one after another from all ...

What happened to a Thoroughbred after it finished racing barely registered as an issue with most industry stakeholders 25 years ago. “Nobody cared,” said Delaware owner/breeder Herb Moelis, a New York businessman who bought a farm he named Candyland in 1986. What awoke Moelis and his wife, Ellen, to the fate of ex-racehorses was an article about ...

If there is one rewarding aspect of Thoroughbred racing today it is the number of horses whose lives were changed for the better because of people who cared and their determination to make a difference and prevent a horse from meeting an unfortunate fate. Anna Simms, a small animal veterinarian from Floyd, Va., and her husband were at ...

This feature appeared in the Oct. 25 issue of Blood-Horse magazine, but because of all the recent negative comments about Bayern and his controversial Classic, I thought it would be an appropriate time to share this story about Gate Dancer, arguably the most disrespected and under-appreciated horse in the past 30 years. If there was ever a ...