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There was a column written recently about the “decline” of the American superstar and the “ascendancy” of the English superstar. According to the column, America’s “liberal use of drugs” is the culprit for the U.S. decline, while the exportation to England of young horses with Northern Dancer blood was said to be the contributing factor to the ...

A chilly, cloudless October morning at Beautiful Belmont provided the setting for trainer Bill Mott and his band of Breeders' Cup big guns. First it was Royal Delta who hit the track at 6:45 for her half-mile work, followed by Flat Out, then Ron the Greek, and finally To Honor and Serve, who completes Mott's imposing trio for the Breeders' Cup ...

Bob Burton kept fiddling with his cell phone until he found what he was looking for. There was something he had stored away that was very special to him and he wanted to share it. When he finally found it, he turned on his speaker phone and played back the message he had received in September, 2010 from his longtime buddy Jack Wolf, who was ...

How can an owner who finishes second in all three Triple Crown races, two of them in photos; loses the Pimlico Special by a nose; and loses his three best horses to injury claim to have had his greatest year ever? Ahmed Zayat hasn’t come right out and made such a claim, but the truth is, 2012 has indeed been his best year as an owner, because ...

By popular demand (lol) and a few specific requests, I am posting another batch of photos of Mandy and some of the great horses she has met over the years. Hope you enjoy. Next week it is back to Countdown to the Cup. First horse photo at 10 months old with Northern Dancer Another shot with Secretariat Meeting the horse who ...

In recent months, I’ve been posting a number of photos to accompany my blog, and they seem to be well received. I came across several photos of great horses that are special to me because of their personal nature and thought I would share them. My daughter grew up with these horses and expressed her feelings in a guest blog that I posted ...

A full-length motion picture originally titled “Wild Ride,” now called ''50-1,'' about the improbable story of Mine That Bird is scheduled to be released in 2013. The story has so much potential to make a compelling movie, much like the anticipated film about Canonero II, due to be released at a later date. Following is one person’s ...

Most people would think that winning the Hopeful Stakes with a horse that your friend told you to buy at auction because it wore a hip number that matched your football uniform number was dumb luck.  But Jack Wolf’s good fortune with the horse Shanghai Bobby doesn’t compare in the least with the human Shanghai Bobby’s. Robert Burton won a ...

The 2:30 p.m. post time for Friday’s first race seemed to make the crowd friskier, if not significantly different in size from prior summers.  But there was no waiting for things to unfold at a new pace.  A flow of energy cursed through the clubhouse and grandstand, unlike the last several days. The music began playing at Siro’s ...

Steeplechase racing makes every Thursday special.  But this Thursday there were two steeplechase races and at least two other occurrences to make the day extra special.   As part of the 11-race card, Saratoga hosted the grade II, $200,000 With Anticipation Stakes and the debut of Archwarrior.  Archwarrior, of course, was Alto ...