Going all the way back to 2004, I have come up with my list of the Top 10 performances by a Thoroughbred in the United States during the first half of the year for Xpressbet.com. Starting on New Year’s Day, I keep an eye out for a performance that I deem a possibility for […]
Read moreFirst things first…Congratulations to Rombauer, winner of the 2021 Preakness Stakes, which fittingly returned to its intended calendar position on the third Saturday in May. Weekend weather cooperated magnificently to deliver a pair of spectacularly clear and cool spring Black-Eyed Susan/Preakness afternoons. Fast and firm course conditions, a rarity for the Baltimore-based non-Camden Yards double-header, […]
Read moreNearly two weeks ago, official race results for the 147th Kentucky Derby were etched into history books. Not so fast, my four-hooved friend! To say that a lot has transpired since would be an open-lengths understatement. Derby winner Medina Spirit’s initial post-race drug tests revealed an apparent rules infraction based on the presence […]
Read moreBefore I get to my selections for this Saturday’s Grade I, $1 million Preakness Stakes, I can’t ignore the elephant — or more specifically, the horse — in the room. The horse, of course, is Medina Spirit. As of May 12, Medina Spirit is still the official winner of the 2021 Kentucky Derby. But […]
Read moreThe coronavirus pandemic has wreaked considerable havoc throughout the world this year. But in a year in which it seems there have been so many more lowlights than highlights, a ferocious equine tussle all the way down the stretch in the 145th Preakness Stakes became a welcome diversion for Thoroughbred racing fans during these troubled […]
Read moreIt’s nice to know that throughout this pandemic-infested, dumpster fire of a year one thing remains constant: Bob Baffert has the horse to beat in the Preakness. It’s been that way often over the last two and one-half decades and it’s that way again as he saddles Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness favorite Authentic and […]
Read moreTrends or angles sometimes can grab one’s attention when it comes to sports in general or horse racing in particular. How about this trend? Prior to last Saturday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggetts, whenever the Lakers had the lead going into the fourth quarter in a playoff game, their win-loss record […]
Read moreCan Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in 2019 extend his streak to five consecutive 3-year-old male champions? I posed that question back in January. Daily Racing Form first conducted voting for champions in 1937. The Eclipse Awards were born in 1971. Going back to 1937, Baffert is the only person who has trained four […]
Read moreNow that it is July, it’s time for my list of the Top 10 performances by a Thoroughbred in the United States during the first half of 2019. A Thoroughbred’s performance can make this list for a variety of reasons, such as: –A win by a big margin while showing brilliance. –Recording a fast final […]
Read moreWe are just about halfway through 2019. With that in mind, what if there were such a thing as Mid-Year Eclipse Awards? These would be my votes, excluding the 2-year-old, human and steeplechase categories. MID-YEAR THREE-YEAR-OLD MALE: 1. War of Will, 2. Maximum Security, 3. Omaha Beach. If Maximum Security had won the Pegasus Stakes […]
Read moreBoth 2019 Kentucky Derby winners—Country House and Maximum Security–and the 151st Belmont Stakes victor—Sir Winston–hit rough patches this week. Country House, who originally finished second in the Derby but was elevated to first via disqualification, has been shelved for the rest of the year. Sidelined by an illness following the Derby, he hasn’t raced since […]
Read moreKing for a Day ruled the day when he managed to topple overwhelming 1-20 favorite Maximum Security in last Sunday’s 1 1/16-mile Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park. When I was a guest with Joe Withee and Rob Rao last Sunday morning on the Win Place Show, a radio program heard on Seattle’s KJR-AM, I issued […]
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