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The Kentucky Juvenile Stakes (gr. III) to be run April 30 at Churchill Downs offers the first shot at serious black-type for 2-year-olds, and as such we thought it interesting to have a look at the TrueNick ratings for a field of stakes contenders that have yet to earn black type. Topping the likely runners with an A++ rating is Mission ...

  If one of my favorite bands of all time is The Police, then why can't one of my favorite sweets of all time win...Chocolate Candy? Truthfully I expect Pioneerof the Nile or Quality Road to win the derby. Photo: S. DormanCaption: Giacomo Many of you have negative thoughts on closers in the race with no ''speed'' represented in the Derby ...

While the majority of the winners of the Kentucky Derby have been bred in the Bluegrass state, history has proven that a great horse can come from anywhere.  Listed alphabetically below are the eight Derby-winning horses that were bred west of the Mississippi River, with the state they were bred in listed just below the poll.  Take a ...

It is quite common in Thoroughbred breeding to see the success of one sire or sire line ride off the back of the success of a nick or in particular the presence of a stallion in a genetic population. There seems to be, at least in Europe, a strong genetic tie between the former stablemates Danehill and Sadler’s Wells with the most recent ...

Courtesy of Esther Marr Last month I was presented with the opportunity to host a series of videos featuring all the past Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winners still residing in Kentucky. As a staff writer who has never considered a career in television, I was nervous at first about being on camera, but in the end, it seemed like it would be well ...

Desert Party, who is scheduled to run in the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I),  was a star in the sale ring in 2008. He brought $2.1 million from John Ferguson to top the Fasig-Tipton Florida select sale of 2-year-olds in training. Since then, the son of Street Cry has become a standout for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin ...

...And just when I was getting ready to finalize my pick, the winding and unpredictable Derby road throws a nasty curveball. This morning's news of Quality Road's latest quarter crack was a shocker. As far as I was concerned, the first one had completely healed and it was no longer an issue. It was a done deal. He was going to be my ...

Courtesy of Rob Fundter, The Amateur CapperAn Embarrassment of Riches: Part 1 Great horses, Kentucky Derby winners in this case, possess the ability to adapt to different circumstances and win.  This year's Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands 3y.o. crop, thanks to the absence of Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome, has quality that we ...

I was poking around a couple of the online Thoroughbred listing sites last evening and a name jumped out at me.  Charedi's Gold (pedigree) has been in my Virtual Stable for years because her pedigree incorporates several of my favorite bloodlines.  (If ''Virtual Stable'' is new to you, check out this post I wrote last ...

Surprisingly, the richest race of the past weekend wasn’t one of the graded contests. Instead that honor went to the inaugural Charles Town Classic, a nine-furlong contest with a purse of $500,000. The winner, who more than doubled his lifetime earnings, was the Two Smart (by Two Punch) gelding Reseacher. This was the sixth win in his last ...