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With the recent announcement that Holy Bull has been retired from stud duty, I thought this would be a good time to recycle and update a column written four years ago, recalling the remarkable story of the The Bull and his owner/trainer Jimmy Croll. I’m sure many people are familiar with the story of Holy Bull and Jimmy Croll, but in keeping with ...

Imagine if Beethoven had retired after his Fourth Symphony. There would be no Fifth; no Ninth. Imagine if Hemingway had stopped writing after “The Sun Also Rises.” There would be no “Farewell to Arms;” no “For Whom the Bell Tolls;” no “The Old Man and the Sea.” Who knows what great accomplishments would have awaited I’ll Have Another, who now ...

It doesn’t take much for me to rev up my built-in time machine and transport myself back to the late 1960s and early ‘70s and the halcyon days of Darby Dan Farm. In this case, the catalyst was the death this week of Loyd “Boo” Gentry, who trained the ill-fated phenom Graustark and 1967 Kentucky Derby winner Proud Clarion. Boo was the nephew ...

(Originally published in the June 23, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) An early foray into Thoroughbred racing spoiled breeder and owner Mike Anderson. The second horse purchased at auction by the 60-year-old Illinois car dealership owner developed ...

As has been the custom the last few years, I spent Preakness day as guest of Thoroughbred owner Lee Einsidler in the International Pavilion in the infield, just a stone’s throw from the finish line and the Preakness winner’s circle.I mention this only because of an odd piece of memorabilia I took home with me – a cloth napkin from our table. The ...

(Originally published in the June 16, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)  By Eric Mitchell - @EJMitchellKy on Twitter A remarkable array of circumstances threatened to derail this year’s Belmont Stakes (gr. I), yet Thoroughbred racing prevailed, ...

.commentForm, .postComments, #comments{display:none;} <a href=''http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=87e9a3ada8'' >Belmont Stakes Live Blog</a>

Will I'll Have Another be crowned as Triple Crown winner number 12? Or will there be a spoiler? How will the rest of the field finish? writeRanker(''http://i.bloodhorse.com/xml/ranking/2012BelmontOrder.xml''); To participate, use your cursor to drag the selections on the left (currently arranged in post position order) to the blank ...

(Originally published in the June 9, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) By Evan Hammonds - @BlackCat30 on Twitter It’s doubtful any horse in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) will stumble as badly from the gate as the New York State Racing and Wagering ...

So, I’ll Have Another will gallop up to the Belmont Stakes. Well, that’s what we’ve been told. Officially, that is correct, as there will be nothing on the worktab under the name I’ll Have Another.But if you’re concerned that the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner will be compromised by not having a work, unlike the past three Triple Crown ...