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Over the years, I've picked up on a rather common opinion amongst the race crowd that performance is closely tied to attitude. Specifically, there's a widespread belief that the unrestrained behavior of a fiery young colt or a feisty little filly somehow presages racing potential. I see the logic -- the unruly foal is likely to be an energetic ...

By Vic Zast Finally, the breakfast brigade had a morning on which it could enjoy bacon and eggs railside.  The day was crisp in the manner required for those photos on postcards of horses emerging from the mist, their nostrils flaring with steam like locomotives.  But the rain had stopped, and everyone let out with a sigh.On a dawn such ...

  Four Breeders' Cup Challenge races to handicap this week - all at Saratoga. Aside from the Go For Wand, they all look like good betting races. Let's get right to work. Diana Stakes This is a terrific race. On paper it looks as if no less than eight horses have a legitimate shot here. There are four grade I winners in the field - Wait a ...

After watching the July 24th episode of That Handicaping show, the Equiform peeps had Obi Wan Kenobi as a good price in his upcoming race. The suggestion was to play him as money potential on an exacta and with Obi Wan's past performances, that is a smart bet. After reading the PDF with their predictions I just had to return to a topic which is an ...

Courtesy of Becky Johnston Saratoga will run the 81st edition of the Whitney Handicap on Saturday, a race named for a family that has meant much to the sport of Thoroughbred horseracing.  The Whitney name has been a fabric of this country for over 300 years through service, philanthropic acts and their sportsmanship. William Collins Whitney ...

By Vic Zast Inclement weather is wreaking havoc with Saratoga.  Yesterday, two men in tights from the New York City Ballet called off their trophy presentation to the winners of the third race because the rain would have ruined their costumes.  Tonight, the trainers opted out of their softball game against the Saratoga Springs ...

Representatives of the Sales Integrity Program Monitoring Committee and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association have been making the rounds recently, talking to members of the media about the past and future efforts to make public auction transactions involving horses more transparent. It's clear that a lot of thought and debate have gone ...

The conference rooms in the Blood-Horse building are all named for famous racehorses.  If you've watched ''Part I'' of the Losing the Iron Horse? video, you know that the Breeders' Roundtable was held in one of these meeting rooms.  Several times throughout the 14-minute show, you'll see a painting of a stallion (the first glimpse comes ...

In a strange instance of synchonicity a pair of stakes at Lone Star Park, Texas, on the same day were taken by horses whose pedigrees - and close inbreeding - are virtual reverses. The first of these was the Allen Bogan Memorial Stakes, won by Wrenice. By Uncle Abbie, a brother-in-blood to Lemon Drop Kid (TrueNicks, SRO), Wrenice (now an earner ...

The French Colonial Stakes, run over nine furlongs on turf at Belmont Park July 10, resulted in a first stakes win for Willsboro Point, a son of Point Given (TrueNicks, SRO) out of the Red Ransom mare Petrouchka. Rated A by TrueNicks, Willsboro Point is bred on the same Thunder Gulch/Roberto cross as grade I winners Balance and Tweedside. Point ...