Each year, there is at least one horse you take an instant liking to; one that is easily accessible and has great presence and character. This year, that horse is Itsmyluckyday, who arrived at Churchill Downs as if he’d been there his entire life. You always like to find that happy horse that stands...

It didn’t take the eagle eye of Bob Baffert long to zero in on Orb, who has flourished since arriving at Churchill Downs, and there is no doubt the son of Malibu Moon is moving in the right direction. He has been alert and feeling good, yet seems settled and content, thanks in part to the constant TLC...

(Originally published in the April 23, 2013 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine . Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column. ) By Eric Mitchell - @BH_EMitchell on Twitter The Road to the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) points system seems to have survived its inaugural year without...

(Originally published in the February 9, 2013 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine . Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column. ) By Eric Mitchell - @BH_EMitchell on Twitter Thirty points. Under Churchill Downs’ new points system, 30 points is expected to be the minimum...

Pataky Kid wins the Arlington-Washington Futurity (Four Footed Fotos) LEXINGTON, Ky.—Now it just so happens in the summer of 2012, when good young Thoroughbreds commence to emerge upon the juvenile scene, that one runner flashes across the radar of a certain horseplayer. This in itself is not unusual...

(Originally published in the July 14, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine . Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column. ) For a trainer such as Dale Romans, Mike Bruder is the perfect owner. “He’s smart, he knows the horses, and he knows the business,” Romans said...

(Originally published in the June 30, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine . Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column. ) There is some kind of solid connection among A. Stevens Miles Jr., his horses, and his hometown of Louisville. The retired CEO of First Kentucky...

There is no doubt that maidens often run big and can win graded stakes races for two -year-olds. But it still feels like a bit of wiseguy play when I land on one. Such is the case in the $100,000 Debutante Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs on Saturday. Slated for 5:25 p.m. ET, the six-furlong dirt race...

(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. ) By Eric Mitchell - @EJMitchellKy on Twitter Churchill Downs shook up the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) trail last week by tossing...

An all-graded stakes Pick 4 highlight's an excellent Saturday night card at Churchill Downs this week. Here's what I noted on my first pass through the PPs. The Pick 4 begins at 7:57 ET with the Matt Winn Stakes (G3), for three-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on dirt. I could see myself going deep in this...