Sunland Park: The Grade III, $800,000 Sunland Derby at 1 1/8 miles. The speedy SINAI took the blinkers off and showed little from a stalking position in the Grade II San Vicente behind The Factor, Sway Away and Premier Pegasus, so the hood goes back on today; he gets to stretch his legs for the first…
For those who have been following/engaging in the conversation about how to fund Thoroughbred retirement, you might find interesting a comment left by Rick Violette, head of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, on Jessica’s Chapel’s site, where a similar conversation to the one here has been taking place. Today is Dubai World Cup day,…
Fair Grounds: The Grade II, $1 Million Louisiana Derby at 1 1/8 miles #1 Nacho Business (10-1 ML): Solid second in his first route attempt and first start versus winners in a decent Gulfstream Park N1X, but while he does have room for improvement, that run isn’t scaring anyone in here. Drew well and has…
Greetings from Southwest Florida! I’m on spring break and combining pleasure and business, making my annual trip to see family here, while also tooling around the racing venues of the state. I started at Gulfstream last weekend and that’s where I’ll end my trip, at the Floriday Derby; I spent a great few days in…
As I’ve read responses over the last few days to what I wrote about Thoroughbred retirement, here (below) and in Thoroughbred Times, two ideas have come up repeatedly: the sport needs a commissioner and mandatory money needs to be set aside – from purses, from breeders’ fees, from wagers – and put towards Thoroughbred retirement.…
When I saw the headline in the New York Times last Thursday night – “Ex-Racehorses Starve as Charity Fails in Mission to Care for Them” – I was, unsurprisingly, dismayed. I clicked on the link, expecting to read another story about a well-meaning, small, grassroots-type rescue that had been beset by financial difficulties, or corruption,…
Oaklawn Park: The Grade II, $300,000 Rebel at 1 1/16 miles #1 Archarcharch (ML unavailable): Upset winner of a rough renewal of the local GIII Southwest is back for more today and drew extremely well in this deep and competitive spot. Love his stalk-and-pounce style and he’s the lone entrant in here with a graded…
Numbers. They’re only numbers. The variables are too many, the sample too idiosyncratic to be meaningful. But for the heck of it, following Uncle Mo’s breeze on Saturday afternoon, the value of which I questioned, I went back and looked at a bunch of Derby winners and examined their roads to Louisville, just to see…
Random thoughts on this Tuesday morning: I am intrigued by this whole Uncle Mo story. I watched the race from Saratoga last Saturday, and while obviously the horse turned in an impressive performance, I don’t quite get how it does anything in terms of preparing him for the madness that is the Kentucky Derby, where…
Santa Anita: The Grade II, $250,000 San Felipe at 1 1/16 miles #1 Albergatti (6-1): Sped off to an extremely fast maiden win going 7F’s over the track last time in his second career start and now steps up to tackle winners, stakes foes and two turns all for the first time. Certainly bred to…
Brooklyn Backstretch 