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(Originally published in the May 2, 2009 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)   This time of year people invariably talk about, and write about, the “racing gods” and “Derby gods.”Of course, we all know what really wins Kentucky Derbys is horses and ...

The historic Haunui Farm of Auckland, N.Z., has become the first Southern Hemisphere farm to subscribe its sire roster to TrueNicks, allowing breeders to run complimentary matings with the stallions Iffraaj, Elusive City, and Don Eduardo. Iffraaj (GB) (TrueNicks,SRO) was a three-time group II winner over seven furlongs in England, taking the ...

There’s lots to catch up on, with several works of interest over the weekend and a star-studded array of works this morning. Read full column here.

Courtesy of Susan Dalebroux, Post Parade   The grooms call him ‘Superpony'. Less than year ago, 2001 Texas Horse of the Year, Lights On Broadway, was purchased off the back of a slaughter truck for $200.  And after a few lackluster cheap claiming races, he was acquired by a group of energized horse lovers and shipped off ...

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 ...