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Is Aidan O’Brien loaded this year? Are baked potatoes with cheddar cheese, bacon, garlic, butter, and sour cream loaded? Let’s just say that dish is not nearly as rich as the Master of Ballydoyle, whose success in less than four months of racing might be considered bordering on obscene by rival trainers. But here in the States, no one gives a ...

The Breeders’ Cup Filly Friday concept had its flaws from the beginning. The Breeders’ Cup has always prided itself as the self-anointed World Thoroughbred Championships, and the ultimate of all the championships is Horse of the Year.Racing’s top honor normally is decided in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I). On occasion it has been decided in the ...

 (Originally published in the July 2, 2011 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)  Growing up on the sidewalks of New York, Peter Callahan thought he’d like to win the race named after his hometown of Astoria, Queens. The grade III race for 2-year-old ...

 (Originally published in the July 2, 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   Competitors on the track, comrades on the backside—Thoroughbred racing is a sport of contradictions. That dichotomy was brought into sharp ...

This was to be the year. You could feel it. Divine forces were guiding Smarty Jones up the sacred slopes of Mt. Olympus. Only a quarter mile away, the pantheon was in sight. Every step to this point had been perfectly orchestrated, and Smarty's ascent to immortality seemed written in the stars. The vast majority of the record 120,139 in ...

The following story first appeared on Bloodhorse.com on Aug. 15, 2004.Once again, the fans flocked to the glitter palace that for a brief moment in time was Philadelphia Park. They came to get one final glimpse of the equine king who ruled there for three glorious months, and who was now abdicating his throne at the height of his reign. Despite ...

 The following two stories first appeared on Bloodhorse.com on May 5 and May 8, 2004 Hail the Conquering HeroThe full moon had all but faded from the morning sky, and a salmon pink sunrise was now illuminating the tan sheet-metal barns on the Philadelphia Park backstretch. Inside Barn 11, peering out of his once-familiar stall 38, was ...

 (Originally published in the June 25, 2011 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 2004 South African study that identified a genetic link to exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhaging (EIPH) was one of the ...

(Originally published in the June 25, 2011 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)    On the surface Sweet Halucination’s victory in the fifth race April 23 at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races hardly seemed special. The colt won by 81⁄2 ...