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Courtesy of Becky Johnston In order to remove myself from the problems that are confronting American racing right now, for one weekend, I am intent on going across the pond for my action.  I dutifully download a copy of The Racing Post dated June 26 to begin my fantasy trip.  Flipping through the pages until ...

Q: I was looking for nicks with a mare by Abaginone. Your reports show an A++ for a Seeking the Gold/Halo crossing but all the stakes winners listed are by one sire, Mutakddim, out of Southern Halo mares bred in Argentina. Is this a statistical quirk or a valid basis for generalizing about a Seeking the Gold/Halo nick? A: Thank you for the ...

Yesterday, I outlined what I feel are fair (and perhaps even rather strict) guidelines for a top breed-to-race stallion. Today, I'm posting my list of the very cream of the crop. I'll start by giving ''honorable mention'' to a few stallions frequently cited as a good value for breed-to-race programs.  Rahy (on SRO) works great for those with ...

That under-appreciated Nijinsky II line stallion, Hernando (by Niniski), is having an excellent run with his current crop of three-year-olds, which include the English Oaks (gr. 1) victress Look Here (A+ TrueNick Rating); Casual Conquest (A+), winner of Derrinstown Derby Trial (gr. II) and third in the English Derby (gr. 1); and most ...

[image url=''http://cdn.bloodhorse.com/images/content/abrown_large.jpg'']Alex Brown[/image] Alex Brown has worked in horseracing on-and-off in North America for twenty years. He spent most of this time at the Fair Hill Training Center. Alex also runsalexbrownracing.com, a site that initially focused on Barbaro's recovery shifted it's focus to ...

  The question that I will pose to readers is very simple: Did a dislodged shoe cause Big Brown to run so poorly the Belmont Stakes? After weeks of speculation - Was it the quarter crack? Steroids? A poor ride by Desormeaux? Questionable training methods by Dutrow? Was he simply worn out by the grueling Triple Crown trail? - It now seems ...

Picture Thoroughbred racing as a multiplex cinema, showing a wide variety of movies over the past several months. Unfortunately, many of them have been ill-timed and offensive to a number of people. Therefore, it is important during these precarious times for the sport to tread carefully when it comes to public perception.Any one of the films the ...

In theory, racehorse breeders are all striving for a similar primary goal:  foals that will go on to successful race careers.  In practice, it's not so simple.  Here's one of racing's open secrets:  there are stallions that are primarily ''commercial,'' and others that are ''breed-to-race.'' We'll leave aside - for today - ...

Courtesy of Becky Johnston Have you ever tried explaining to a friend who is attending the races for the very first time, why these majestic animals that are bred to run, must be whipped?  You feel that familiar flush of embarrassment, knowing what you are about to say is something you don’t believe yourself.  You can ...

On Saturday, improving 3-year-old Tiz West scored his first graded triumph when he prevailed by a nose in the Cinema Handicap (gr. III). A son of Gone West, Tiz West is out of the Cee's Tizzy mare Tizso, a full sister to Tiznow (TrueNicks, SRO) (and is A++ rated by TrueNicks). What makes this particularly interesting is that one day earlier ...