The Aftermath–What About Raven’s Pass?!

The Synthetic Track proved to be a great equalizer for the European contingent, but the American runners were not shamed by any means at Breeders’ Cup 25. 
Raven’s Pass ran a brilliant final furlong under Frankie Dettori, passing defending champ Curlin, rallying Henrythenavigator, and synthetic specialist Go Between.  The 3yo miler by Elusive Quality had spent the [...]

Breeders’ Cup Live Blogapalooza!!

Click Here

FAVORITE BC RACE #2: LIKE A ROCK – or a DOME

There’s just something about those big Breeders’ Cup upsets!  Volponi, Arcangues, Adoration…but my 2nd favorite Breeders’ Cup race is once again a Europe vs America mile on turf.  The 2002 BC was held at Arlington Park that year, and the talk of the track was Rock of Gibraltar, the top miler in Europe, winner of [...]

FAVORITE BC RACE #3: JINX-BREAKER

My favorite BC Juvenile is the one I actually got to see in person.  Or close to it.  I attended the 2006 BC at Churchill Downs, where it was cold but sunny, and Bernardini got his ass handed to him by INVASOR.  In true Infield fashion (or close to it, since the actual Infield was [...]

Saturday Breeders’ Cup Selections

I haven’t had a selections post since SAUHBR ended.  It sucks sometimes to have a normal job and not be a professional handicapper 24/7.  Totally missed Ladies’ Day picks, but I think my only exacta picks would have been Stardom Bound and Zenyatta.  But I’ll discuss the racing action further in another post.  This one’s for [...]

Thank You, Mr. Bush

Thank You, Sincerely, Mr. Bush
 
I thank Mr. Bush every day, believe it or not.  Usually, it is for some dumb thing the government has done, or for the latest war fatality.  But today I learned something that I must sincerely, no joke, thank Mr. Bush for his involvement.
First, some background:
In 2000, ALYSHEBA, ‘87 KY Derby and ‘88 [...]

Favorite BC Race #4: A SILVERBULLETDAY

I cannot stress how much I love Silverbulletday.  She won practically every time she raced with style and speed.  Bob Baffert trained her, and in those days Bob could do no wrong in my eyes.  I had a SBD hat, decorated my binders with her photos (cropped from the covers of my new Bloodhorse subscription).  [...]

Favorite Breeders’ Cup Race #5: GREATEST COMBACK SINCE LAZARUS

The first time I watched the Breeders’ Cup was the 1996 edition, when the championships were held at Woodbine in Canada.  I was excited to see the legendary Cigar try and repeat in the Classic.  Cigar would fail in his quest, to a grey horse named Alphabet Soup and the Preakness winner Louis Quatorze, but [...]

CURLIN is IN!

THANK YOU Jess and Steve!!!

The Golden Warrior is pre-entered to defend his title in the Classic!  But seriously, who is surprised?  Curlin is already in Cali, why not just go ahead and race him? 
Unless he totally flops on the pro-ride surface, Curlin will be the second 2-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner.  [...]

NO DUEL in CLASSIC: BIG BROWN INJURED/RETIRED

Breaking news that I am not surprised about but still hoped I wouldn’t hear :
BIG BROWN was injured during a turf workout at Belmont and will not race in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. 
Now the big showdown for Horse of the Year is shot and I won’t be surprised if Curlin opts out, too.  Of course, [...]