Search Blogs
Tag Search Results For 'thoroughbred' (108)
Thursday at Pimlico
The Aspiring Horseplayer | May 15th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Had a rather exciting Thursday morning today at Pimlico. I got to meet Tex Dulay and Cindy Pierson Dulay from horse-races.net. Great folks - they made me feel right at home even though I was totally overwhelmed at the spectacle before my eyes. read more
Let’s Meet the Preakness Contenders
The Aspiring Horseplayer | May 14th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
A field of 13 runners will compete on Saturday in the 133rd Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. The field is headlined by the Kentucky Derby winner and 3-year-old phenom Big Brown. Only one of his competitors in the Kentucky Derby, Gayego, h read more
Pimlico Special Returns With A Solid Field
The Aspiring Horseplayer | May 13th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
It’s back! The race made famous in the film Seabiscuit that has it’s roots firmly entrenched in the proud history of Maryland thoroughbred racing has finally returned. After a brief but painful absence, the Grade 1 Pimlico Special ret read more
Black Eyed Susan Field Set
The Aspiring Horseplayer | May 13th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
The field for the 84thrunning of the Black Eyed Susan Stakes, the highlight of the Friday card (with all due respect to the Pimlico Special) at Pimlico and namesake of the traditional drink of the Preakness has been officially set. While not of the read more
Harlem Rocker out; Gayego in (maybe)
The Aspiring Horseplayer | May 12th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Just a quick update for today. The bulk of my Preakness posts will be coming later in the week as I attempt to attend the Alibi breakfast at Pimlico on Thursday, and then take in both the Black Eyed Susan and Preakness cards on Friday and Saturday. read more
Still Thinking About Eight Belles? Leading Vet Hogan Suggests Tha…
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog | May 12th 2008 by Fran
Dr. Patty Hogan in surgeryCarol Hodes, former media relations director for the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has posted a terrific interview with one of my favorite sources, Patty Hogan VMD, ACVS of the new Hogan Equine Clinic read more
Casino Drive has arrived
The Aspiring Horseplayer | May 11th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Big Brown may have defeated the group we thought were the best 3 year-olds in the country at the 2008 Kentucky Derby, but Saturday at Belmont Park a colt named Casino Drive proved there may still be hurdles left to climb with a resounding 5 3/4 lengt read more
Icabad Crane in; Recapturetheglory out
The Aspiring Horseplayer | May 10th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
The challengers keep lining up. You can add Icabad Crane, the Graham Motion colt who last won the Frederico Tesio Stakes at Pimlico on April 19. On the down side you can scratch the fifth placed finishe from the Kentucky Derby, Recapturetheglory, read more
Where do we go from here?
The Aspiring Horseplayer | May 5th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
I’m still reeling a bit from the tragedy of Eight Belles going down in the Derby. In the 48 hours or so since that awful moment, a lot of discussion and debate has occurred. Our game has always been one that has attracted controversy. read more
Derby Selections - It’s Time to Pick a Winner
The Aspiring Horseplayer | May 2nd 2008 by Kevin Stafford
It’s hard to believe that in just 24 hours we’ll be gearing up for the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. Derby day is a special day for horse racing fans around the country, and the single day on the calendar where our sport takes c read more
Resurfacing
Equine Artists | May 1st 2008 by Equine Artist
I haven’t managed to do much painting these last few weeks. It’s a combination of being busy with the horses and other art stuff, not to mention the income tax deadline and quarterly GST filing! Things have dried up more or less, so it& read more
Post Positions and Odds Set for the Kentucky Derby
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 30th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
The field is set. The post positions have been drawn. Even the morning line odds have been established for the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. All that’s left to do now is pick a winner, lay the bets, and wait for the gates to open. I& read more
Big Brown: The Most Famous Feet in Derby History!
Fran Jurga's Hoof Blog | April 30th 2008 by Fran
Big Brown's left front foot has a raceplate glued on with a PMMA epoxy type adhesive that is custom selected. The specs used are Lord 403 with a #19 accelerator. You can see a copper "clip" embedded in the glue; it is riveted to the shoe and is used read more
Tuesday Morning Derby Updates
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 28th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Here’s the latest and greatest as the buildup to Saturday’s running of the Kentucky Derby continues to gain momentum: Behindatthebar, Todd Pletcher’s most recent Derby qualifier, will skip the Kentucky Derby and instead point to th read more
Monday Derby Update
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 28th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Well folks, it’s finally here. Kentucky Derby week has arrived! It seems like centuries have past since last year’s Derby and the moment we’ve all been waiting for - the so called “greatest 2 minutes in sports” - is read more
The handicapper’s pitfall - picking a Derby horse
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 23rd 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Every year we go through this ritual. Twenty or so of the finest 3 year olds in the nation gather for the prestigious running of the Kentucky Derby, and all of us handicappers rush out to make our selections and identify “our horse” tha read more
Saturday Derby Shakeups
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 19th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Big news this Saturday on the Kentucky Derby front. One time favorite War Pass, who has had a 3 year old season from hell, has been declared officially OUT for the Kentucky Derby. Nick Zito indicates the colt has a minor leg fracture and will be read more
Coolmore Lexington rounds out the Derby preps
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 18th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
That’s right folks, I’ve finally returned from California. It’s been a long and somewhat exhausting trip, but a good one nonetheless. I’ve been on planes and dealing with airports since roughly 4 AM PST, so forgive me if m read more
Red Maple Flower
Digital Flower Pictures.com | April 14th 2008 by Digital Flower
This is a flower from a Swamp Maple. People call them Scarlet Maple or Red Maple, also. I was happy to see the trees at the farm had flowers you could actually take a picture of. Most have them high in the air like the one in my yard where the flower read more
I’ll be gone most of the week….
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 13th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
I’ve got some business travel to California going on this week that will leave me essentially missing in action. As usual, I’ve posted my updated Derby rankings which can you find by clicking here. I’ll be back on Saturday - and a read more
Gayego handles the dirt - wins Arkansas Derby
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 12th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Gayego holds off Z Fortune to win the Arkansas Derby Gayego, the Paulo Lobo trained son of 1992 Breeder’s Cup Juvenile winner Gilded Time, proved he belongs high amongst the Derby Watch lists by romping to an impressive victory over Z Fortune i read more
Arkansas Derby appears up for grabs
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 11th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Saturday’s running of the Grade 2 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn has drawn a field of 14 horses and could be anyone’s race. The Arkansas Derby is widely considered one of the more prestigious official prep races for the 2008 Kentucky Derby o read more
Blue Grass is all about the money
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 10th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Twelve horses will go to post this Saturday in the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keneeland for $750,000. The winner will garner the lion’s share of the purse and take home $465,000 in earnings - essentially assuring their position in th read more
Updated Kentucky Derby Rankings: 4/7/08
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 7th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
As usual, the information contained here is identical to that found on my static “Road to the 2008 Kentucky Derby” page. We’re starting to get into the home stretch now with only a month to go before the 2008 Kentucky Derby. La read more
Upset Saturday
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 5th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Saturday was a big day on the road to the 2008 Kentucky Derby. We had 3 major prep races across the country with the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne, the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, and the Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita. Upsets were the theme of th read more
Will the real War Pass please stand up?
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 4th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Ever since his disappointing (and mind boggling) last place finish in the Tampa Bay Derby, the connections for highly regarded 3 year old War Pass have insisted it was a race we could scratch. Something went wrong that day, whether it was the heat, read more
Santa Anita Derby a two horse showdown?
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 4th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
The weekend racing action at Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA will feature the $1 million Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. The Santa Anita Derby has historically been a very important prep race on the road to the Kentucky Derby, and this year figures to be no read more
Illinois Derby sets up nicely for Denis of Cork
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 3rd 2008 by Kevin Stafford
One of the major Kentucky Derby prep races featured this Saturday will be the $500,000 Grade 2 Illinois Derby, going 1 1/8 miles on the main track at Hawthorne. The field has drawn seven entries, who are listed below by post position along with read more
Updated Kentucky Derby Rankings
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 30th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
With 5 weeks to go now until the 2008 Kentucky Derby, the picture is starting to get a little clearer. Big Brown’s romp in the Florida Derby on 3/29 has shaken up the entire division. Will War Pass be able to return to form in the Wood Me read more
Subscribe To