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Breeders’ Cup FTW!

As much as I like to complain that the racing industry often Gets It Wrong, the Breeders’ Cup did two Very Good Things this week (and it’s only Tuesday). First, they announced that a race will be airing live between two college football games on October 10th – and while I don’t personally see the […]

(Mostly) the Correct Outcomes

Almost all of last weekend’s stories played out exactly as scripted – Sea the Stars continued his march to greatness in Ireland, while we here in the US continued to enjoy Rachel Alexandra’s assault on the history books. Even Pyro made an exciting comeback, while only unlucky Einstein just missed out on getting the win […]

Catch Up, Tune In

This year’s Alabama may not have had a filly in Rachel Alexandra’s class, but that didn’t stop Careless Jewel from emulating her in a big-margin victory (and running a 106 in the process). One also might view the race as the year’s second major Canadian incursion, after Mine That Bird’s earlier success up north – […]

Einstein, Zenyatta et al.

If you go by Google News, you may think the only races taking place this weekend are the Arlington Million and the Clement Hirsch – but there’s a lot more going on beyond those two (and I think you’d be hard-pressed to support the notion that anyone beyond the usual suspects would be watching the […]

A Lot Happened

It’s been a busy few days in the racing world.

Rachel Alexandra’s triumphant Haskell performance was quickly followed Monday by Quality Road returning to the track in record-breaking form – perhaps she does have some 3-year-old competition after all. We’ll focus on those a bit more in a moment, but first, let’s do a quick […]

Why Does It Always Rain On Me?

It always rains at Monmouth Park.

Or so I presume, since 100% of my visits to the Jersey Shore track have involved weather conditions which could most charitably be described as monsoon-like. That said, on this occasion we stayed entirely dry – a welcome change from our Breeders’ Cup experience at Monmouth when our seats […]

Some Fillies Ran

Quite naturally, the highlight of the American racing scene last weekend was the Rachel Alexandra/Zenyatta show. But how did it play abroad? The Australian noted that:

Rachel Alexandra has grown a Secretariat-like profile in the past two months, galvanising the hardened racing public and reaching out to catch the attention of Mr Average Joe and […]

Both Sides Now

I get it, I really do – after the debacle with Curlin in the Breeders’ Cup, I can see why Jess Jackson doesn’t want to bring Rachel Alexandra to the Breeders’ Cup this year. But two facts don’t quite fit in with his firm anti-‘plastic surfaces’ viewpoint. The first is that Curlin always seemed to […]

Things International and Coastal Girl Power

Much of the news this week seems to carry a bit of an international flavor; there is talk that Wesley Ward’s successes at Royal Ascot will bring more American horses (especially sprinters – Cannonball narrowly missed out on winning the Golden Jubilee). The Guardian put his accomplishments rather quaintly:

A top-class Ascot success for an […]

A Janus-Like Weekend

The long holiday weekend we’ve just exited was a case study in the highs and lows of the sport. It’s impossible not to be excited by victories like Zenyatta’s in the Milady or old warhorse Brass Hat’s in the Louisville; however, the sobering accident at Arlington involving Rene Douglas was the flip side of that […]