BloodHorse.com

Last week I had the opportunity to sit in on a ''round table'' discussion of a few prominent breeders, hosted by Blood-Horse Publications.  In addition to several fascinating theories presented during the formal discussion, it was a thrill to interact with these successful horsemen during a long break in the afternoon. It was during the ...

The influence of Sharpen Up's son Diesis was strongly felt on the Thursday of Newmarket's July meeting. Last year's St. Leger (gr. I) winner Lucarno -- out of a mare by Diesis -- led throughout to take the Princess of Wales's Stakes (gr. II), while 2-year-old Classic Blade (by a son of Diesis) employed similar tactics to take the July Stakes (gr. ...

The recent loss of blue hen Winter's Gone (article on BloodHorse.com) (pedigree) brings up an interesting question. Are the best producers usually well-bred mares that fared poorly in their own race careers? Winter's Gone is an unplaced half-sister to grade I winner Bien Bien and two other stakes winners. After six starts in which her average ...

  As racing fans, we can't ask for much more than what's on tap this weekend. We get Curlin in his first turf start in the Man o' War, a full day of stakes at Calder, a full weekend of stakes at Delaware, great turf racing at Arlington and the Swaps at Hollywood. What a stellar card! For our purposes we will focus on the Breeders' Cup ...

Announcers have grown on me. Especially Mr. Tom Durkin. Announcers have a unique job in communicating the actions on the race track clearly to spectators. Tom takes that communication to another level in providing great entertainment to a potentially tedious and repetitive task. There are other announcers who do a great job at building excitement ...

[image url=''http://cdn.bloodhorse.com/images/content/tschrupp_large.jpg'']Todd Schrupp[/image] With a father in the Marines, Todd Schrupp, born in Edina, Minn., lived many places during his boyhood. The place he remembers best is Camp Pendleton, near San Diego and not far from Del Mar Race Course. In the summers of 1975 and 1976 he and his ...

OK, I've finally figured it out. I have figured out how to deal with this year's and next year's Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita as it relates to Eclipse Awards. After all, there are several possible scenarios this year that could have a major impact on the various championship categories. For instance, what if either Mast Track or Go Between wins ...

Courtesy of Becky Johnston In The Beginning In the mid 1960's, Stephen Calder, a Miami Beach based real-estate executive and architect Stephan Zachar envisioned summer racing in Florida.  In 1965, supported by all three south Florida tracks, Gulfstream Park, Hialeah Park and Tropical Park, the state legislature agreed to ...

For those of you who have been regular readers and interactive members of Triple Crown Talk, I thank you. The blog has ended for the year, but will return in January when we begin taking a closer look at the contenders for the 2009 Kentucky Derby. For now, please join me on Breeders' Cup Chat, where we will delve into the second half of the ...

 For six weeks in late summer, top Thoroughbreds, owners, and trainers assemble in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., to put on a one-of-a-kind equine display. Saratoga Race Course is often referred to as “America’s Great Race Place” or simply “The Spa.” My wife and I have made the sojourn each August since 1999 and we admit—we’re hooked! As we bask in ...