Sharing with you my fascinating discoveries about Thoroughbred racing, sales, fashion, food, beverage, tips and more.
Old Friends Farm is celebrating its 15th year of rescuing retired Thoroughbreds. Operating at 3 locations and home to hundreds of horses, the Georgetown, KY farm is full of famous champions and a broad spectrum of former Thoroughbred racehorses. On a beautiful Kentucky Fall day I paid the farm another visit.
Continue reading “Fifteen Years of Old Friends Farm”
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Today, we welcome the world back to my old Kentucky home! Once again, Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY welcomes visitors and viewers from all corners of the earth. This racetrack continues to take the international spotlight for grand Thoroughbred racing! Churchill Downs is known for delivering the “Greatest Two Minutes In Sports” for over 144 years and is now hosting it’s ninth of 35 Breeders’ Cup Events. The Breeders’ Cup is serving up 2 days of 14 World Championship races with $30 million in purse money. I just could not help but attend Dawn at the Downs to see the last morning workout before Breeders’ Cup 2018 (BC18) begins!
Continue reading “Breeders’ Cup Summed Up”
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With just 60 days to go before the 2018 Breeders’ Cup World Championships the entries for the contenders of each race are filing up fast. While the BC races take place in America and Canada, we have entries from all over the world. 85 Challenge Series races held in 12 countries help to define the field of each race. The 35th year of BC races will be hosted by Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY on November 2nd and 3rd. Several of the entries in the 14 BC races are contenders that were bred or live abroad. BC18 welcomes the world!
Continue reading “Breeders’ Cup has Broad Borders”
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Saratoga is happy to tie in Runhappy with the Travers and H. Allen Jerkens Stakes!
The Breeders’ Cup Classic field is filling up fast! Who will earn the next berth? We will find out this coming Saturday following the great Pacific Classic Stakes. After the 2016 edition, when California Chrome won, the Pacific Classic will always be a favorite stakes race of mine. Does this stakes hold a special memory for you or will you have a new found interest after this 2018 running?
Continue reading “Following the Classic Path”
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This week brought the disappointing news that no one wanted but many had already suspected. Our 13th Triple Crown winner, Justify, retired from racing. Justify achieved more than I ever would have expected but his 111 day racing career ended sooner than I anticipated. There are several more races I would have enjoyed seeing him participate in but tragically that won’t happen now. This got me to thinking, what are our assumptions about a triple crown winner? Thus, I set out to examine the triple crown trends.
Continue reading “Triple Crown Trends”
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All good things must come to an end. The 5 days of racing at Royal Ascot concluded today. There were several contenders representing America and with a scattering of races that provide a berth into the Breeders’ Cup we will see many of these Thoroughbreds compete in champion races again. Now that the races are over, let’s see the results in the aftermath of the Ascot.
Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, Berkshire, England opened for live racing in 1711. The racecourse was founded by Queen Anne of the British Royal Family. The Royals still attend and enter contenders annually. In the same year of the racecourse’s inauguration, Queen Anne also initiated Royal Ascot, the 5 day highlight of British racing’s calendar year. In 2018, the races were held Tuesday, June 18th thru Saturday 6/23. 18 Grouped (the British version of Graded) Stakes took place. 8 races were Group One. The purse was over 7.3 million pounds (more than 9.6 million in U.S dollars). The event is very ritzy, with the classiest of fashion. 4 races offered automatic berths into the 2018 Breeders’ Cup.
Here is a listing of the 8 Group One stakes with the distance and the winner as well as another BC berth race:
Congratulations to all of the Royal Ascot winners and for the talented American racehorses that were worthy to attend. Royal Ascot is on my bucket list. I would love to experience the glamor and royalty of this 5 day racing event. I hope you were pleased with the aftermath of the Ascot. Keep following for more information on this summer’s top races and all things Thoroughbred.
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I waited most of my life to witness a Triple Crown victory. Seattle Slew and Affirmed did it back to back when I was a toddler and the great Secretariat won shortly prior to my birth. I was raised on the stories but I did not know what it was like to see it with my own eyes. After following the career of champion California Chrome, I wasn’t sure if I would ever see a Triple Crown winner race. Then, in 2015, my dream came true. American Pharoah won after a 37 year drought. It was emotional and something I knew would always stick with me. I also thought it may never happen again in my lifetime. Then, to my surprise a great horse won the Kentucky Derby and once again there was hope for another Triple Crown winner, the hope was in Justify and he did not disappoint. Justify left me jumping for joy with his win in the Belmont Stakes, our lucky 13th Triple Crown winner!
Continue reading “Jumping for Joy over Justify”
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Oh, lucky day! With just 13 days left on the countdown to the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby there is still so much to consider when choosing a favorite. With a field of 20 contenders it is still best to wait for the post position draw on Tuesday to make any hasty decisions. It is a good time to think about all 40 athletes that will face off on 5/5/18. The Thoroughbreds always capture my attention and imagination but what thought do I give the jockeys? Having spent time in and around Keeneland’s jockey quarters this spring meet I have paid more attention to their influence. In this story, I want to focus on two jockeys that will compete in the upcoming KY Derby, the brothers Ortiz.
Continue reading “The Derby Brothers”
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The new year is here and it’s about time for a foaling frenzy! Due to the January 1st birthday, that all Northern Hemisphere Thoroughbreds must share, it is of upmost importance that no newborn be born prior to that day but we see a rapid upswing in foals thereafter. A few foals have already made their arrival. Literally, several hundred per sire are on the way, fathered by the most popular of studs. Most horse farm tours are open to stallion visits but naturally the very pregnant mares and new foals are sheltered and protected. My best chances, for now, of seeing the babies, is at the sales. With the majority of the broodmares currently pregnant there are usually a few who give birth while they are in the sales barns. I am hoping to see some of the newest foals to the Thoroughbreds, we love so much, tomorrow. Read on to see which foals I am in most anticipation of as I am foaling in love.
Continue reading “Foaling In Love”
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