Monthly Archives: August 2010

Rachel Alexandra was a magnificent filly in 2009, one for the ages. She had an 8-0 campaign that was worthy of Horse of the Year, beating the boys three times while thrilling her thousands of fans and helping attract much-needed … Continue reading →

Unless Rachel Alexandra and Life At Ten get involved in a suicidal battle up front that I don’t see happening, today’s $300,000 Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga is without a doubt a two-horse race. The Personal Ensign is going to … Continue reading →

Del Mar and Saratoga will be the site today for three major Grade 1 stakes races that hold major implications for the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs on Nov. 5-6. The two biggest races of the day are a pair … Continue reading →

OK, so I am detecting a pattern here — West Coast thoroughbred, successful on synthetic race tracks, travels east to run on dirt and thrives when it gets off the artificial surfaces. Case in point No. 1 is the 3-year-old … Continue reading →

Raise your hand if you expected Patrick Valenzuela to ever be third in the jockey standings at a major Southern California meet again after the 47-year-old jockey was issued a lifetime ban by the California Horse Racing Board after being … Continue reading →

Now that Frank Stronach, in a “sign of good will,” has announced he’s tearing out Santa Anita’s synthetic Pro-Ride surface in favor of a dirt track, he needs to step up further. Stronach’s planned dirt track, which will be a … Continue reading →

My sources all tell me that Frank Stronach will inform horsemen during a meeting at Del Mar tonight that he will install a traditional dirt track at Santa Anita immediately following the Oak Tree meet and it will be finished … Continue reading →

Zenyatta took on all comers Saturday, but neither the Polytrack, David Flores’ gamesmanship nor a pace normally reserved for rush-hour traffic could stop the 6-year-old Street Cry mare. She raised her record to 18-0 by becoming the first horse to … Continue reading →

Speculation is always fun when debating what would have happened if one great Super Bowl champion from the ’70s had played another from the ’90s, if a heavyweight champion from one era had fought another from a different time period … Continue reading →

It looks like it’s about 99.5 percent certain that the unbeaten Zenyatta will run in Saturday’s $300,000 Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes, according to Del Mar officials. A Del Mar spokesperson said early Sunday evening that the 6-year-old Street … Continue reading →