BloodHorse.com

Good stories, racing, and its flip side. For this entry, I have a hodgepodge of feel good stories.In case you missed this, visit ESPN's My Wish page and under the video headline, choose My Wish:Smarty Jones.This video is going to touch you, so watch this when you want a heartwarming story. ...

Driving over the Verrazano Bridge into Brooklyn on the morning of Sept. 15, it was apparent why the New York Racing Association decided at the last minute to cancel racing until Sept. 19. Any thoughts of Belmont Park or Thoroughbred racing were obliterated by the sight of the seemingly naked skyline of Lower Manhattan off to the left and the ...

The Blood-Horse and TrueNicks have released a useful guide to the top seven tips that will help you select winners at the fall yearling sales. With Keeneland's uber-sale only days away, you don't want to miss out on your free copy of this special report. Some of the secrets revealed in A Guide to Buying Thoroughbreds at the Keeneland September ...

The long held practice of keeping track of the date in flowers at the head of Union Avenue each morning was abandoned by the city of Saratoga Springs in what must have been a cost-cutting measure.  The result of this action is that no longer can one enjoy the dreamy satisfaction of knowing it’s a new day by walking past the garden toward ...

One of my favorites for this year's Derby was Anak Nakal (pedigree) -- and four months later, he proved to be Derby-quality. Well... Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II), anyway.  (Pennsylvania Derby write-up.) I wrote briefly about Anak Nakal a couple of times (here and here) before this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).  ...

  Let me first start by acknowledging that Peppers Pride is a remarkable horse. To win 16 races consecutively, no matter whether running against New Mexico-breds, stakes horses or claimers, is not to be taken lightly. She and her connections should be celebrated for their accomplishments and if they go on to win one more and break the mark ...

The emphasis was on good racing again, the day after the circus left town.  Oh, sure, the NYRA marketing team trotted out a nifty cooler tote giveaway to inflate the attendance numbers.  But people who love the sport were treated to one of racing secretary P.J. Campo’s better cards – this, with only one day left on the Saratoga docket. ...

Saratoga officials didn’t set an attendance goal for Saturday’s invasion by Curlin.  But a projected crowd of 30,000 was bandied about in many corners, and 30,000 must have been the number intended.Well, only 22,572 people showed up.  The shortfall was not NYRA’s fault.  The track’s marketing team pulled out all stops.  If John ...

The police blotter in the newspaper is what all the guests at Carmel Grey’s 75th birthday party were talking about when Grey, a visitor from Indianland, South Carolina, returned from the racetrack to her son Ken’s house for the surprise event, held earlier this closing week.Granted, to delight in somebody else’s troubles may be a little twisted. ...

Hidden Brook is consigning 173 Adena Springs horses to the Keeneland September yearling sale. The huge consignment is one of the results of Adena Springs owner Frank Stronach's decision to cancel  his sale of 2-year-olds in training in Florida for 2009 and concentrate instead on selling the young horses he breeds as ...