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 (Originally published in the October 22, 2011 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) By Evan Hammonds   The decade-long ban and $50,000 fine handed down to trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board Oct. 12 ...

(Originally published in the October 22, 2011 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) Carol Holden recalled a fall day in 1986 when she and partner Sam Huff traveled to Laurel Park for the inaugural Maryland Million. The championship day for state-bred racehorses ...

For many, the highlight of each year’s live racing calendar is the summer season and the annual pilgrimage to Saratoga or Del Mar to enjoy top class racing in a picturesque setting. They are journeys worth taking for a variety of reasons, and I encourage you to do so if you have never been.  But now that Fall weather is here and both Saratoga ...

 Jim Weigel is the role model for every owner whose stable begins and ends with a $16,000 claimer and every breeder with two mares and a prayer.Weigel, 69, a former sonar engineer who worked with navies from Australia to Europe, bred and raced millionaire and grade I winner Dream of Summer out of a $7,000 mare he bought at auction. And now he ...

 Getting a seat at the grade I Kentucky Derby currently presented by Yum! Brands has always been tough, but getting tickets for the 2012 edition just got tougher, particularly on fans’ wallets.Churchill Downs introduced a new policy last month requiring everyone applying for tickets online—now the only way to apply—to pay a $100 application ...

Most will think we’ve taken leave of our senses with our No. 1 ranking of the Breeders’ Cup Classic horses, but if you see this horse kick in on the far turn on Nov. 5, it means he’s handling the dirt and the race might very well be over at that point. He’s that good. But that’s still a big ‘if’ and we have no idea if he’ll even show up. Call it a ...

It is safe to say that never before have three consecutive graded stakes on a single card – at a mile, 1 1/8 miles for fillies and mares, and 1 ¼ miles – produced the three favorites for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.Beginning with Uncle Mo’s brilliant victory in the Kelso Handicap (gr. II) and continuing with Havre de Grace’s Beldame Stakes (gr. I) ...

September 28 was widely hailed as the greatest day of action in Major League Baseball history, quite amazing since it featured only regular season games as opposed to the playoffs or World Series. Yet, with four teams attempting to squeeze into two post-season berths, the sudden reversals of fortunes and late-inning heroics that lifted Tampa Bay ...

 Twin Creeks Farm has become a double threat. Its racing stable made it to last year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) with Louisiana Derby winner (gr. II) Mission Impazible, and over the past few years the Twin Creeks breeding operation has made headlines as breeder of 2009 Darley Alcibiades (gr. I) winner Negligee and ...

With ESPN’s impeccably researched documentary on the wild ride of Charismatic and Chris Antley, titled “Charismatic.” scheduled to air Oct. 18 on ESPN, here is a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most enthralling and bizarre Triple Crowns in history. When it was over it had left a trail of conflicting emotions – both scarred and uplifting.The ...