As the Kentucky Derby hoopla began to quiet down, a stunned racing world was still trying to recover from the bombshell that had fallen on Churchill Downs. An obscurely bred, crooked legged, harlequin of a horse from Venezuela, who had been ridiculed by the press and local horsemen, had just concluded...

The 1971 3-year-old crop trilogy concludes appropriately with the remarkable Canonero II, whose story is so improbable it would be scoffed at by any responsible movie producer. Because of that, it must be told in two parts. The second part will follow on Monday. The story begins at the 1967 Keeneland...

You may have noticed the two brief mentions of Jim French in the last blog in regard to His Majesty’s exploits early in his 3-year-old campaign. Remaining on the subject of Graustark, it is only appropriate to give his son equal billing. I can’t think of any horse who deserves to have his accomplishments...

The day after the 1987 Preakness Stakes, I stopped at a service area on I-95 in Maryland on my way back home from the Preakness and called Jack Van Berg, asking if I could do a feature on him for the Thoroughbred Times, which had only been in existence for about a year. I had never met Van Berg, who...

By Gene Kershner & Patrick Patten Back in June, Gene mentioned briefly on his EquiSpace blog that it might be time to change the format of the Triple Crown races. Heresy, you say? Well, number one, he wouldn't change the venues (although Pimlico is not located in the best neighborhood in the world...

Moments after the Belmont Stakes, once the shock wore off, the first words out of my mouth were, "This is why horse racing is the most unpredictable and crazy sport there is. They could run that race 100 more times and I still would not wager $1 on Da' Tara." Now that 24 hours have passed and I've had...

The nearly three decade drought is over. Big Brown takes over after six furlongs, opens up a clear lead, and holds off a very game Denis of Cork by two lengths to win the Belmont Stakes. That is my prediction and although it is the way I see the Belmont unfolding, to back myself up I will also use Denis...

By Alfred G. Vanderbilt , courtesy of NYTimes.com These are the delicious days, the days of debate and doubt as we wait for the Belmont Stakes, the toughest race to win in the United States and the last leg of the Triple Crown. There is no better time to be a horse racing fan. Now the questions begin...

By The New York Times The following column, “He Was Named for Aly, Darling,” by Red Smith, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, appeared in The New York Times on March 24, 1978, and is from “ To the Swift: Classic Triple Crown Horses and Their Race for Glory ” (St. Martin’s Press), edited by Joe Drape...

After such good, but heavy conversation in my recent posts, I thought it would be fun to take a look at a lighter side of race horses. This includes a new angle for betting I have stumbled upon for the Belmont and my prediction of who could win. While touring the awesome stallions at Lane's End Farm...