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Part of equine welfare is quality of life.  News stories on the subject tend to focus on the welfare of racehorses at the track, and it's no surprise:  these are the horses in the public eye. The welfare of Thoroughbreds in training is much more visible than it is for horses boarded at private farms, including broodmare farms. But less ...

The 1,600-meter French classic race run this past weekend is officially the Poule d'Essai des Poulains (Fr-I) but is probably better-known here in the States as the ''French Two Thousand Guineas.''  The English-speaking world similarly ''translates'' the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and the Prix du Jockey Club (both Fr-I) as the ''French ...

I often disagree with the way that The Jockey Club is administered.  And I know I'm not the only one who alternates between ''annoyed'' and ''baffled'' and ''exasperated'' about some of the organization's policies.  But one area where I applaud The Jockey Club is its firm adherence to the rule of live cover (The Jockey Club Rule ...

Every year following the first Saturday in May, a standard question about the latest Derby winner is: Can he handle the distance in the Belmont?  It's always assumed -- or at least it has been for maybe a couple of decades now -- that the Derby winner will be comfortable with the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) course.  After all, ...

Last week we discussed the fallibility of the Dosage ''rule'' for the Kentucky Derby.  (Derby winners are supposed to have enough stamina influences to rate 4.00 or lower on the Dosage scale.) I predicted the rule would have to change because today's North American Thoroughbred is being bred for speed (high Dosage Index) and eventually Derby ...

My Blood-Horse colleague David Schmitz posted an interesting look at the 2009 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I):  Kentucky Derby by the Numbers: Dosage Dilemma.  He includes a nice summation of the Dosage calculation and what it represents -- and pedigree watchers will note that Derby winners rarely stray from the ''rule'' ...

I was poking around a couple of the online Thoroughbred listing sites last evening and a name jumped out at me.  Charedi's Gold (pedigree) has been in my Virtual Stable for years because her pedigree incorporates several of my favorite bloodlines.  (If ''Virtual Stable'' is new to you, check out this post I wrote last ...

This week came the sad news that 1987 Budweiser Irish Derby (Ire-I) winner Sir Harry Lewis has died.  (An interesting note for you equine health purists:  the Racing Post lists the cause of death as a ''heart attack,'' terminology that is medically inaccurate but commonly used in cases of equine aortic aneurysms and atrial ...

The Average Earnings Index (AEI) is simultaneously one of the most popular and oft-quoted statistics in Thoroughbred horse breeding, and one of those numbers that tend to be thrown around without actually being completely understood. Fortunately, it's a fairly straightforward concept. To start, here's how we define AEI in TBH ...

The Jockey Club got it right. The organization has announced that tattoo research is now free for former racehorses. It will now be much easier to identify off-track Thoroughbreds even when they've become separated from their registration papers.  All North American runners receive a tattoo inside the upper lip before their first ...