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The details outlined in the March 9 federal indictment of Jorge Navarro suggest a years-long scheme in which cheating trainers were well ahead of racing’s attempts—heavily reliant on post-race testing—to keep the game fair. To Kentucky’s credit, the commonwealth will not stand pat. Lawmakers this month committed $1.5 million to a testing lab ...

This column is dedicated to producer/director Jim Wilson and his wonderful film ''50-1,'' one of the best racing movies I've ever seen and one which still brings a tear to my eye at the end. Watching it for the umpteenth time last night was what inspired me to tell the Mine That Bird story from a personal perspective. It was time to start ...

A few months ago we all looked forward to the first weekend in April. Students from the University of Kentucky would have flocked to the opening Saturday of Keeneland and its full slate of graded races, including the Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) and Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2). Aqueduct had the Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) on tap and Santa ...

With little action to write about in the upcoming weeks, we’re going to focus a little more on speed ratings that we follow to detect patterns that could suggest where these horses might be on the first Saturday in September, which right now seems like an eternity. They also can tell a great deal about a horse’s strengths and weaknesses, and ...

For centuries the most admirable trait of the Thoroughbred has been speed. Their ability to carry that speed is what separates the good ones from the great ones. As we soldier our way through the COVID-19 pandemic, the skills, talents, and, most of all, patience of everyone in the industry will be asked to stretch out from sprinting to going two ...

Their names echoed throughout Saratoga Springs in the summer of 1978. From the whispers through the elms to the shouting down Broadway and Union Avenue, the Spa pulsated with the names of Affirmed and Alydar. You could even feel it at the National Museum of Racing, the ultimate destination for these two magnificent horses; their Hall of Fame ...

If anyone can tell us what will transpire in the next six months, they’re kidding themselves—and us. That’s one of the many lessons we’ve learned in the last few weeks as our world, sponsored by COVID-19, has turned everything topsy-turvy. As most racing jurisdictions and meets have closed for the time being, and the March 17-18 Ocala Breeders’ ...

Kudos to Oaklawn Park for taking the initiative and making its Derby THE Derby on the first Saturday in May. Provided the Arkansas Derby (G1) goes as scheduled -- racing across the country is fluid amid COVID-19 -- this will be the biggest live sporting event in the country that will have extensive TV coverage. It would seem poised have ...

With the current crisis shaking up the entire world, and with a handful of racetracks still conducting live racing, what better time to focus our writing on nostalgia. In the upcoming weeks I am planning on reprinting and re-working my old Kentucky Derby (G1) recaps, and a few Preakness Stakes (G1) recaps just to keep in the spirit of the ...

History buffs have been quick to point to the post-World War II Kentucky Derby in 1945 as the last time the Run for the Roses wasn’t contested on the first Saturday in May. In early January 1945 War Mobilization director James Byrnes had ordered racing to cease. The ban was lifted May 9, the day after VE Day, or Victory in Europe Day, May 8, ...