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The morning of the Kentucky Derby, in a corner of Barn 43, all was right with the world. Larry and Cindy Jones were still beaming over the impressive victory of Proud Spell in the previous day’s Kentucky Oaks. Their African Gray parrot, Buddy, was whistling up a storm outside his cage in the office. Proud Spell was having her picture taken with ...

Racetrack representatives are passing out rainbow-arced lapel pins to people who register in NYRA Nation, the new data-based marketing initiative aimed to co-op fans in the struggle to make horse racing in New York relevant.  But the pins are as useless to a racetracker without a lapel as a stadium cushion without an imprint of “Saratoga” is ...

The day began with a race – more specifically, a 5K through the streets of Saratoga Springs to raise money for the Healthy Transportation Network. And like so many of the races at the thoroughbred track during this rain-plagued August, it was lacking participants.Only about 100 men and women partook in the event won by Catherine Rossi, a sophomore ...

Proud Spell (pedigree), winner of today's $600,000 Alabama Stakes (gr. I), is a representative of family 4-m.  Her distant cousin, family 4-k member Music Note (pedigree), finished a neck behind in Saratoga's historic race (full race coverage here). Croft's Spinster (a.k.a. the Widdrington Mare, born 1735) is Proud Spell's 25th dam and ...

The classy folks at TVG anxiously looked on, awaiting Mr. Durkin and his call for race 6 at Saratoga. As the TV audience, the announcers, and the spectators at the Spa witnessed a great stalking/closing to the race. Arrrrr found a spot right up the middle to win his second race in a row. He is on a roll after trying to break his maiden ...

There is a guy named Don who sits alone in a clubhouse box and charts the odds with each click of the tote board.  His is a lost art, as much a throwback as anything else to the bygone days when bookmakers set the line on a blackboard with chalk.  But this is Saratoga, and not everything needs to make sense or fit into a logical ...

Just when you think you’ve said all there is to say about Big Brown and/or Curlin, another revelation pops into your head, and the way this volatile soap opera is going, God help you when it does.This, however, has nothing at all to do with Curlin. It is about the three choices for Big Brown’s prep for the Breeders’ Cup Classic – an undetermined ...

Breeders now have access to complimentary ratings for the 12 stallions at Ashford Stud, as another top Kentucky farm enrolls its stallions on TrueNicks. Ashford's powerful roster is headed by Giant's Causeway (TrueNicks, SRO), who is both Storm Cat's most outstanding runner and his leading stallion son. To date, Giant's Causeway is already sire of ...

The hallways of Blood-Horse Publications are a gallery of spectacular equine art. A couple of weeks ago, I challenged you to name a horse based on a painting in one of our conference rooms.  Who's up for another challenge? This time, let's make it interesting:  the winner (randomly selected from the best responses) will receive a $20 ...

I had a conversation with my coworker Amidala the other day. She and I talked about how once you are in the Thoroughbred industry, it is tough to get away from it. Sometimes even if you try.See, I never paid any attention to the industry or noticed the equine world prior to my introduction to this industry. Now that I am in the know, it seems ...