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Like everyone, the announced sale of Rachel Alexandra on Wednesday evening was a shocker for me. I guess I should have seen it coming, but it never entered my mind until I heard the news. My initial reaction was sadness. For me, part of what made Rachel Alexandra so special was her connections. Yes, her unbelievable talent is the main reason she ...

Those who have been reading articles on this blog and posts by Alan Porter and me on the PedigreeConsultants.com site will have noticed some time ago that we are big fans of the Deputy Minister stallion Dehere (TrueNicks,SRO) as a broodmare sire. We know we are not alone in this admiration. Dehere's first stakes winner as a broodmare sire was ...

In England this past weekend Sea The Stars (IRE) captured the Stanjames.com Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-I) at Newmarket, adding another chapter in the remarkable story of the late Urban Sea. The 1993 CIGA Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) heroine, a daughter of Miswaki, has been represented by eight starters, and all eight of them are stakes ...

I often disagree with the way that The Jockey Club is administered.  And I know I'm not the only one who alternates between ''annoyed'' and ''baffled'' and ''exasperated'' about some of the organization's policies.  But one area where I applaud The Jockey Club is its firm adherence to the rule of live cover (The Jockey Club Rule ...

Mine That Bird's stunning Kentucky Derby win at odds of 50-1 provided the second highest payoff in the history of the race, but where does it rank in terms of great horses that lost the Derby to ''lesser'' opponents.  We've put together a list of some of the upset Derby winners, with a brief explanation of each race below the poll, to help ...

  A lot of media has covered the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) this year. Therefore a lot of images and video has been created across the web about the wonderful event and here are a few morsels you should taste. Here is a red carpet interview by Alex (Stable Boy) with the Lonely Island guys aka Andy Samberg from ...

Man, that didn't take long. The Churchill Downs meet will be into its ninth day May 7, and already the horse population is a question mark. The May 7 program consists of eight races, instead of an expected nine, and the May 8 program has 10 races instead of 11. Field size is light--there are five six-horse fields May 8--even though the Kentucky ...

Since 2003 The Blood-Horse MarketWatch has published an annual analysis of the top 400 broodmare sires by their Average Earnings Indexes (AEI). This year's study, which is featured in the April issue, includes Smart Strike for the first time because his daughters' progeny met the minimum criteria of five North American runners in ...

Giant's Causeway (TrueNicks,SRO) had no luck with his son Hold Me Back in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), but he was still represented by a weekend classic winner when his daughter Ghanaati captured the Stanjames.com One Thousand Guineas (Eng-I). Ghanaati was making her seasonal debut -- her last start came in October -- ...

Several recent posts inspire us to take a quick look at some similarities -- perhaps coincidental -- between the pedigrees of Birdstone (TrueNicks,SRO), Medaglia d'Oro (TrueNicks,SRO) , and Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) third Musket Man. As we've mentioned (here), Birdstone's sire Grindstoned is out of a mare by Drone (whose ...