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Record March Continues at OBS Spring Sale

Climbing like the temperature, the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training continued its record march April 24, posting another day of positive returns.

Summer Bird Sold, to Stand in Japan

Summer Bird, a three-time grade I winner and champion 3-year-old of 2009, has been purchased by the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association and will take up stud duty in Japan, WinStar Farm announced Nov. 13.

Keeneland's Sept. 15 Session Posts Huge Gains

The strong pace continued Sept. 15 at the Keeneland September yearling sale, with double-digit gains in gross, average, and median.

Borderland Derby Renamed After Mine That Bird

Racing Officials at Sunland Park have renamed the Borderland Derby in honor of Mine That Bird, upset winner of the 2009 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).

The Day Smarty Jones Lost The Belmont

Smarty Jones was "The People's Horse" as he went for the Triple Crown in 2004, but Marylou Whitney's Birdstone spoiled the party for a record crowd at Belmont Park.

Tapit's Fee for '12 at Gainesway: $125,000

Gainesway Farm announces their stud fees for 2012; leading sire Tapit, sire of Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) winner Hansen to stand for $125,000.

WTOBA Sale Set for Sept. 6

Positive ontrack signals at Emerald Downs, Hastings Park, may add some pop to the 120-yearling WTOBA yearling sale Sept. 6 in Auburn, Wash.

Belmont Bird Call: Destiny Denied

Steve Haskin on Smarty's only defeat and the height of Smartymania.

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Glitterman Euthanized at Old Friends

Glitterman, a world-record-equaling sprinter and sire of 64 stakes horses, was euthanized April 14 at Old Friends equine retirement farm near Georgetown, Ky.

Tapit's Fee Upped to $80,000

Tapit, who stands at the Beck family's Gainesway Farm near Lexington, has enjoyed such a successful season that his fee has been upped to $80,000 from $50,000.

Derby Winner Mine That Bird Retired

Mine That Bird, who stunned the racing world when he won the 2009 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) at 50-1 odds, has been retired.

Mine That Bird to Get Blinkers for Woodward

The Birdstone gelding hasn't won since scoring an upset in last year's Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I).

Summer Bird to Stand at Pauls Mill

Ben P. Walden, Jr., owner of Pauls Mill Farm, announced June 7 that Summer Bird will enter stud in 2011 at his farm near Versailles, Ky.

Champion Summer Bird Retired

Summer Bird, unable to make it back from a fracture suffered while training for the Japan Cup Dirt, has been retired.

NM House Honors Mine That Bird

New Mexico state representative Candy Spence Ezzell recognized Mine That Bird as "New Mexico Horse of the Year for 2009." The memorial passed the state's House of Representatives Feb. 11 unanimously by a vote of 70-0.

Champion 3YO Male: Summer Bird

Jayaraman's colt won grade I Belmont, Travers, and Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Birdstone's Fee Upped to $30,000

Birdstone, sire of two of the three United States classic winners this year, will stand in 2010 for $30,000, up from $10,000, at the Beck family's Gainesway Farm near Lexington.

Grindstone to Stand in Oregon

Overbrook Farm stallion Grindstone will continue his stallion career at veterinarian Jack Root's Oakhurst Equine Farm near Newberg, Ore., according to Ric Waldman, Overbrook's advisor and manager of stallion operations.

Summer Bird Takes Flight in Travers Victory

Summer Bird continued his meteoric rise to the top of the nation's 3-year-old ranks, as he rolled through the slop for an easy 3 1/2-length score in the $1-million Shadwell Travers (gr. I) Aug. 29 at Saratoga.

Expectations Modest for OBS Yearling Sale

With the weak economy continuing to have a negative impact on all sorts of businesses, Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. executive Tom Ventura has modest expectations for the auction firm's August yearling sale in Central Florida.

Oklahoma Sale Has 113 Yearlings Cataloged

The Oklahoma City yearling sale, scheduled for Aug. 24 in Oklahoma, has 113 horses in its catalog, including a close relative to the $2.8-million Storm Cat – Onaga colt that topped the recent Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling auction. The yearling, by Storm Cat's grandson Lion Heart, is out of a full sister to Onaga, according to the auction's sales manager, Terri Carter.

Second-Crop Standouts

PORTER ON PEDIGREES, by Alan Porter

The weekend brought a couple of new players to the 3-year-old scene and also underlined just how strong the second-crop sires are.

Looking Back: People Discuss F-T July Sale

The Fasig-Tipton July select yearling sale, held July 20-21 in Lexington, ended with significant setbacks in gross revenue, average price, and median price, but managed to lower its buy-back rate from a year ago slighty. Read what sale company officials and sale participants had to say about the market.

No Surprises: F-T July Sale Opens With Losses

The declines were in line with expectations during the opening session of the Fasig-Tipton July select yearling sale. Buyers and consignors had predicted the market would be down significantly, and there were no surprises July 20 in Lexington.

Birdstone Colt Sold for $400,000 at FTK Sale

Sheikh Mohammed's agent, John Ferguson, went to $400,000 to acquire a son of Birdstone as the top-priced offering at the opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale in Lexington July 20.

Mine That Bird to Appear at Ruidoso

Mark Allen, the co-owner of Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Mine That Bird, said the gelding will appear in New Mexico in September.

Summer Bird Breezes at Monmouth for Haskell

Summer Bird, winner of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) in his last effort, breezed five furlongs in 1:01 4/5 the morning of July 12 at Monmouth Park.

Classic Parallels

PORTER ON PEDIGREES, by Alan Porter

Similarities in the pedigrees of Summer Bird (by Birdstone) and Gabby's Golden Gal (by Medaglia d'Oro) provide some insights into the bloodlines of their young sires.

Summer Bird, Desormeaux Soar to Belmont Upset

It was a bird that won the June 6 Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, but it was not Mine That Bird but rather Summer Bird that won the final leg of the Triple Crown.

Mine That Bird and Woolley, Both Unfazed

Nothing seems to faze Mine That Bird, and lately, nothing seems to faze his trainer, Chip Woolley, either. There is a reason.

Confidence High in Mine That Bird Camp

After working Mine That Bird June 1 at Churchill Downs, jockey Calvin Borel "guaranteed" that the gelded son of Birdstone would win the June 6 Belmont Stakes (gr. I). Believe it or not, Borel is now even more confident.

Jayaramans Hope Belmont is For the Birds

The "other" son of Birdstone being pointed toward the Belmont Stakes, Summer Bird represents the successful racing and breeding operation of Drs. Kalarikkal K. and Vilasini Devi Jayaraman.

'Big Horse' Boost for First-Crop Sires?

MAHUBAH'S CORNER, by Avalyn Hunter

Thanks to Mine That Bird and Rachel Alexandra, respectively, both Birdstone and Medaglia d'Oro have achieved the distinction of becoming Classic sires with their first crops. But how much of a boost will it really give them?

Past Ky Derby Winners: Grindstone (Video)

One of the closest Kentucky Derby finishes came in 1996, when Grindstone nipped Cavonnier at the wire. Grindstone today stands at the Young family's Overbrook Farm.

Summer Bird Works 6fs in 1:15 4/5

Summer Bird worked six furlongs in 1:15 4/5 the morning of April 24 at Churchill Downs in preparation for a run at the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands.

Grey Win 4th Straight for Mine That Bird

Mine That Bird earned his fourth consecutive win Oct. 5 at Woodbine when he edged pacesetter Bear's Conductor by a half-length in the $232,100 Grey Breeders' Cup Stakes (Can-III) for 2-year-olds.

Birdstone Gets First Winner

Birdstone notched his first winner when his son S. S. Stone won at Hollywood Park on June 29 in his initial race.

Belmont Profile: Anak Nakal

Four years after Birdstone upset Smarty Jones' Triple Crown bid, trainer Nick Zito would love to play spoiler again, as he will send out Four Roses Thoroughbreds' Anal Nakal in the Belmont in hopes of rejecting Big Brown's bid for racing immortality.

Fasig-Tipton Texas Catalog Improves

The Fasig-Tipton Texas sale of 2-year-olds in training, scheduled for April 1 at Lone Star Park in Texas, has a higher quality catalog than it did a year ago, according to Fasig-Tipton Texas' director of sales, Tim Boyce.

Prado Gets 6,000th Career Win

The 40-year-old jockey picked up the milestone victory Feb. 10 at Gulfstream Park.

Three More Half-Sisters to Champions Born

Half-sisters to 2005 Eclipse Award winners Ashado, Folklore, and Stevie Wonderboy were foaled in March.

First Birdstone Foal Born at Overbrook

The first foal sired by 2004 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Birdstone was born Jan. 11 at the Young family's Overbrook Farm near Lexington.

So Long Birdie to Buena Suerte Equine

So Long Birdie, a half-brother to Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Birdstone and champion filly Bird Town, will stand in 2006 at Dr. Leonard Blach's Buena Suerte Equine near Roswell, N.M. His fee will be $2,000.

Andromeda's Hero Works Toward Travers

Trainer Nick Zito had Andromeda's Hero on the track Thursday morning at Saratoga Race Course working toward a start in the Aug. 27 Travers (gr. I). With exercise rider Jorge Abreu, Andomeda's Hero breezed five furlongs on the Saratoga main track in 1:02.

Dear Birdie Named Kentucky Broodmare of the Year

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders announced Marylou Whitney's Dear Birdie has been chosen 2004 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year.

Birdstone Gets First Mare in Foal

Sing and Swing, the first mare bred to grade I winner Birdstone, has been pronounced in foal at Gainesway Farm.

Kentucky Derby Trail: Birds of a Feather

You could say that So Long Birdie has some awfully big wings to fill. Last year, his half-brother, Birdstone, won the grade I Belmont and Travers, and the year before, his half-sister, Bird Town, captured the grade I Kentucky Oaks and Acorn on her way to an Eclipse Award.

Champion Bird Town's First Foal Is an Empire Maker Colt

Bird Town, Marylou Whitney's champion 3-year-old filly of 2003, produced her first offspring, an Empire Maker colt.

Eclipse Award Finalists: Some Familiar Names, Some Sure Things

The Eclipse Award finalists, announced Jan. 5, reveal many familiar names in the human categories, with several big-name horses appearing in more than one category. Although most of the winners look like sure things, there are still some potential drag-out battles in the Sprint and 4-Year-Old and Up Female categories.

Analyzing the 3-Year-Old Scene in 2004

Whether you felt this year's 3-year-old crop was a good one or bad one, it certainly inspired a good deal of passion and provided a number of memorable moments. The following is a look back at the tumultuous 3-year-old season and its most notable performers, broken down into categories.