Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 Vernon O. Underwood drew a short but salty field of seven at Hollywood Park. Grade 1 winners Comma to the Top and Smiling Tiger are logical win challengers given their recent form, but Capital Account, Fast Bullet and Private Zone also merit respect in the six-furlong event.
The racing world is forever on the lookout for the emergence of Thoroughbred stars that possess the talent and charisma to attract the public's attention to the "Sport of Kings."
The Gulfstream VIP Fan Experience will once again be made available to racing fans during the 2012-2013 Gulfstream Park meeting. The unique and exclusive experience will provide fans with an all-access and behind-the-scenes look at Thoroughbred racing from the training of Thoroughbreds in the morning to presenting a trophy in the winner's circle in the afternoon.
Prolific owners-breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey have emerged as a major players in Thoroughbred racing with their red and white colors prominent at all levels of the sport from the Breeders' Cup down to the claiming ranks.
Dr. Erin McKerney and Dr. Susan Stover at the University of California-Davis have embarked on a study to better understand the events that lead to catastrophic fractures of the humerus and scapula in racehorses.
Stratford Hill, a graded stakes winner by A.P. Indy, has been retired from racing and will stand the 2013 breeding season at Winding Oaks Farm near Ocala, Fla.
Grade I winners Comma to the Top and Smiling Tiger tackle four entrants from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, making for an intriguing Vernon O. Underwood Stakes (gr. III) Dec. 3 at Betfair Hollywood Park.
I love it when a past Beyond the Blinkers subject takes the time to e-mail and give me an update on his or her off track Thoroughbred! Do you guys remember the story of Windy Jim as told by owner Jackie Cross in March 2011? read blog
Klaravich Stables' Populist Politics, probably best known as the
hard-knocking runner-up to Brittlyn Stable's Star Guitar on numerous occasions,
is the early favorite to headline next weekend's $150,000 Louisiana Champions
Day Classic when Fair Grounds hosts the 21st renewal of its series of 11 races
restricted to accredited Louisiana-breds on December 8.
The now-retired Star Guitar, of course, became the top Louisiana-bred money
winner of all time last April 1 with a win in the $90,000 Costa Rising Stakes on
Louisiana Derby Day. Populist Politics finished second behind him once again
that day, beaten a head for the victory.
"Hopefully, next weekend, Populist Politics will get the opportunity to show
he's the heir apparent," trainer Tom Amoss said Thursday morning during training
hours.
HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS
Fifty Proof, idle since a second-place effort in the Nijinsky Stakes (Can-II) in July 2011, returns to action in the $125,000 Sir Barton Stakes Dec. 3 at Woodbine.
When Krypton Factor took to the track at Meydan Racecourse at the start of last season, he was a handicapper rated 100. This season he will embark on the defense of his 2012 Dubai Golden Shaheen Crown a Group 1 winner rated 123.
Foals by Lawman and Loup De Vega, who both stand at John O'Connor's Ballylinch Stud, filled the first three spots on the list of top weanlings sold on the second day of the Tattersalls December Foal Sale Nov. 29 in Newmarket.
Pete Denk and Frank Angst handicap the Jewel Stakes and the Emerald Stakes of the Claiming Crown from Gulfstream Park Saturday. Watch Video
The awarding of 2013 Thoroughbred racing dates in Ohio has stalled given the fact the meet at River Downs may have to move to Beulah Park because of construction of a new racetrack gaming facility.
Global Stage and Forest Mouse, the first two finishers in the Veteran Stakes at Zia Park, head the field for the $200,000 Zia Park Distance Championship Dec. 3, the richest Thoroughbred race of the season at Hobbs, N.M.
English and Irish multiple champion Snow Fairy has tested positive for anti-inflammatory medication and as a result was disqualified from her victory in the Aug. 19 Darley Prix Jean Romanet (Fr-I) at Deauville.
COMMENTARY
Pete Denk and Frank Angst handicap the Jewel Stakes and Emerald Stakes from the Claiming Crown race card Saturday. Download Brisnet Past Performances for the Claiming Crown Jewel.
In its four runnings, the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic has attracted 32 different runners who have captured a total of 71 graded stakes between them, with 12 of those coming in races currently a part of the Breeders' Cup's "Win & You're In" Challenge series.
The purse for the grade II Charles Town Classic will increase to $1.5 million in 2013 and award the winner $1 million under a revised payment structure.
After finishing a well-beaten seventh as the 6-5 favorite in the Breeders' Cup Classic, Game on Dude will attempt to end 2012 on a winning note when he lines up for Saturday's Grade 3, $250,000 Native Diver at Hollywood Park. The five-year-old gelding faces a couple of nice rivals in the five-horse field, but none appear quick enough to run with him early. He could prove difficult to catch from the rail with new jockey Mike Smith.
Daniel "Chip" Bach, who has held leadership positions at the Northern Kentucky track for more than a decade, has served as director of operations since 2006.
Keeneland has cataloged 1,893 lots for its 2013 January horses of all ages sale to be held Jan. 7-11 in Lexington. The sale will feature the complete 80-horse dispersal of Fares Farm.
George Strawbridge Jr.'s homebred grade II winner Smart Bid will stand in 2013 with Highcliff Stallions at Mill Creek Farm near Stillwater, N.Y.
Even the quietest of mares can turn into a proverbial fire-breathing dragon during her estrous cycle, which can make riding, training, competing, or handling these horses a challenge for any equestrian. Fortunately, veterinarians have effective methods by which to prevent or lessen the effects of estrus in mares while still allowing them to have a second ...
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