Have we seen the last of Justify? That was a burning question during the week following the July 10 announcement that this year’s unbeaten Triple Crown winner would be “evaluated after some filling in...
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I won’t keep you in suspense, other than to say the premise of this column is a bit offbeat. The greatest horse of all time, if I may take the liberty, is Bob Baffert. Or to put it in equine terms, the...
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Many know the name James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons, but few know the story behind the training legend who spent 78 of his 91 years on the racetrack (see pg. 38). Fitzsimmons was a dominant trainer in New...
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History is a never-ending chain of events, trends, and discoveries that determine how we think and look at the present, and often the future. When history tells us something cannot be accomplished, it...
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In some ways it seemed appropriate that all we saw of Justify in the stretch of the Preakness Stakes was a ghostly shroud, with his white silks and white face, emerging from the murk that had settled on...
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Rick Hammerle has been racing secretary at Santa Anita for 15 years and was stakes coordinator at Monmouth Park for 12 years, and he thought he had heard everything. That is until one day in mid-February...
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Few people have experienced the joy of breeding or racing a horse good enough to start in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). Imagine how breeder John Gunther felt April 7 after two...
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Rain dampened the best-laid plans for a big crowd on Big ’Cap day at Santa Anita, but with apologies to Al Jolson, perhaps March showers can lead to flowers that will bloom down the road at The Great Race...
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1 Bolt d’Oro Mick Ruis Medaglia d'Oro —Globe Trot, by A.P. Indy In the context of the Kentucky Derby, both Bolt d’Oro, placed first from second in the San Felipe Stakes (G2), and McKinzie, disqualified...
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1 Good Magic Chad Brown Curlin —Glinda the Good, by Hard Spun He makes his long-awaited debut in the Fountain of Youth Stakes, and tuned up with a strong half-mile breeze in :48 1/5, in which he switched...
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