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 1 Uncle Mo Todd Pletcher Indian Charlie—Playa Maya, by Arch Breezed an easy half in :49 2/5, working behind horses. Looks like his main threat in the Wood will be Jaycito. The more competition the better. Can’t emphasize enough how much he needs to get something out of this race. From this work, the obvious intention is for him to ...

Looking for a potential Derby contender coming out of this weekend’s races? You might want to look outside the winner’s circle.It is difficult finding fault with the winning performances of Pants on Fire in the Louisiana Derby (gr. II), Animal Kingdom in the Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes (gr. III), Twice the Appeal in the Sunland Park Derby (gr. ...

(Originally published in the March 26, 2011 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)       One of the most distinct memories Thoroughbred owner/breeder John Gunther has of Triple Crown hopeful Stay Thirsty as a foal is watching the ...

   (Originally published in the March 26, 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 TwitterThe Blood-Horse recently cast a wide net into the pool of Thoroughbred industry participants and posed a simple ...

 1 Uncle Mo Todd Pletcher Indian Charlie—Playa Maya, by Arch Opinions regarding the colt range from his being a superstar to having little shot at 1 1/4 miles. What else is new? Pedigree will not be an issue. Hard to fault his debut; he did everything he was supposed to and looked great doing it. And regardless of the slow pace ...

The Factor spoke loudly and made his point perfectly, as he ran off with the Rebel Stakes (gr. II) in his two-turn debut, winning by 6 1/4 lengths and coming home his final sixteenth in :06 1/5. When a frontrunner setting testing fractions of :46 3/5 and 1:10 4/5 can come home that fast, there aren’t many horses who are going to be able to beat ...

At Aqueduct recently, it was suggested by Jim Gluckson of the NTRA/Breeders' Cup that I reprint a column I wrote several years ago on Jim French. He reminded me that this is the 40th anniversary of his remarkable and unprecedented Triple Crown campaign. With the majority of top Derby contenders having only two or three Derby preps, this is the ...

 The NTRA’s Safety and Integrity Alliance has just published a new version of its Code of Standards. Why should you care?  What difference does the Code make?  For that matter, what difference is the Alliance making?  These are all questions I hear from time to time and they deserve straight-forward answers. First, here is ...

Uncle Mo’s long-awaited 2011 debut has been discussed in detail in this week’s Derby Dozen, but we’ll touch on it further later on. For now, let’s go back to Jan. 17, 1990 at Santa Anita.Bob Baffert was a newcomer to Thoroughbred racing, having been a leading trainer in Quarter-Horse racing. He was on the verge of switching over completely to ...