Saturday, the circus comes to town and I’m going. I’m as excited as a 10-year-old, too. Barnum & Bailey in Bensalem, PA. Sort of. It’s not the real circus, of course. After 146 years that show’s been cancelled. But it’s close because it includes a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows. Plus, […]
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The 2018 Horse of the Year is going to be either Justify or Accelerate. This is indicated by the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll this week in which these two horses received 39 of the 41 first-place votes. Justify received 30 first-place votes this week, compared to 9 for Accelerate. However, because the NTRA Top Thoroughbred […]
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Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s record in the Del Mar Futurity is ridiculous. Baffert on Monday won the Grade I race for the 14th time when 8-5 Game Runner came from off the pace and ran down 7-1 pacesetter Rowayton to prevail by 1 1/2 lengths. Roadster, also conditioned by Baffert, finished third in […]
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Saturday, in the Travers, my exotics hopes were pinned on Mendelssohn at 13-1 and Bravazo at 10-1. Both ran well to finish second and third, respectively. Heavily favored Good Magic occupied a mere defensive position on my tickets. I didn’t ‘like’ him to go a mile and one-quarter but respected his ability and wasn’t about […]
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The past weekend was entertaining. Please, permit me to share. Breeders’ Cup will return to Santa Anita in 2019, to Keeneland in 2020 and down San Diego way in 2021. Fine by me. In fact, if BC suits ever decide to play ‘em all in SoCal I’ll be happy. I know, the circus has to […]
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More than halfway through the 2018 Thoroughbred season, the entire picture has changed. Wonder horse Justify is stopped in his tracks. Out of the race. On ‘E’. Done. Gone. Retired. His departure abandons an assortment of rich and prestigious Grade 1 races, ripe and juicy for others to ‘carpe diem.’ Justify, apparent cinch 2018 Top […]
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The other shoe finally fell. It’s official. Unbeaten 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify is through racing. Done. Kaput. Retired. The unlucky 13th Triple Crown winner and earner of nearly $3.8 million will parade for fans Saturday at Del Mar, Where the Turf Meets the Surf, and then ship to Kentucky to begin a second and […]
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On June 9 at 6:50 p.m. Eastern Time at Belmont Park, the 2018 Belmont Stakes began. Ten 3-year-olds, including Justify, broke from the starting gate. That would be the final time Justify will ever leave a starting gate. Exactly 2:28.18 later, Justify crossed the finish line, a winner by 1 3/4 lengths to become the […]
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Turns out the real reason Bob Baffert ‘backed off’ on Triple Crown winner Justify’s recent training had little to do with searing SoCal heat and more to do with a possibly elevated temperature in the Triple Crown winner’s ankle. According to a Tuesday press release from Winstar Farm, reported by Daily Racing Form’s Jay Privman, […]
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We find out things in oh so many different ways these days. I learned about Justify’s current plight via a BloodHorse “News Alert” email. When I read the following in the subject line of the email, I immediately thought, “Oh no.” Subject: Justify to Undergo Evaluation, Racing Plans on Hold The BloodHorse in the email […]
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Here’s an idea: How about we encourage the Commander in Chief to rustle up one of those handy ‘Executive Orders’ to restrict July 4th from ever falling on a Wednesday again? Why? Because having this holiday stuck in the middle of the week just won’t do. Oh, sure, you can make it work—use ‘vacay’ time […]
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Now that calendars have been flipped over to July, it is time for this column’s rankings of the Top 10 performances by a Thoroughbred in the United States during the first half of the year. A Thoroughbred’s performance can make my list for a variety of reasons, such as: –A win by a big margin […]
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The Los Angeles area is well known for bad traffic, good weather and earthquakes. It’s also become a hotbed for Triple Crown winners. There have been only two Triple Crown winners in the last 40 years, American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018. Both horses have been based in Southern California with Hall of […]
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Justify did it. He won the Triple Crown. That’s all you need to know. Save the corny, word-play headlines. ‘Justification!’ ‘Just Awesome!’ ‘Just-Amazing!’ They’re so pre-Belmont. Now, his achievement speaks for itself. Loud and clear. He’s the 13th Triple Crown winner in history. ONE THREE A baker’s dozen. ‘History,’ as we know, is a long […]
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Three words said it all. Prior to the post parade for last Saturday’s 150th running of the Belmont Stakes, three words trainer Bob Baffert said to Mike Smith, the seemingly ageless 52-year-old rider of Justify, pretty much spelled doom for the other nine starters in the race. Justify was just minutes away from attempting to […]
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