All Equine All The Time

In 2009, a 50-1 longshot shocked the world when he won the Kentucky Derby.  Mine That Bird trails the field in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Mile. (Photo: Melissa Bauer-Herzog) The gelding, a son of Birdstone out of the mare Mining My Own, was Mine That Bird. He was a underdog to many but was named Champion Juvenile in Canada and went on to finish second in the G1 Preakness Stakes and third in the G1 Belmont Stakes. That same year, Mine That Bird’s 2-year-old half-brother sold for $485,000. The colt by Yonaguska didn’t live up to his older brother’s success and only attempted a stakes race once in his 22 race career, finishing off the board in that start. The colt, named Brother Bird, was gelded and is currently running in claiming and starter allowances. His record currently stands at eight wins and $174,075 in earnings. Mining My Own was barren in 2008 but again struck gold with her 2009 colt by Even the Score. That colt would sell for $250,000 at the Keeneland S

Another day... another three-year-old retired. Welcome to 2012 where it seems like almost all of our "top" three-year-old routers have been retired. Overreaction? Probably, but I'm far from the only one thinking this. When I'll Have Another was retired the day before the Belmont, it stung but I just counted it as one of those things that happens on the Trail. I had mostly the same reaction with Union Rags, but I was getting a bit more worried. Now, almost exactly a month after Union Rags' retirement was announced, we've had two retirements of high profile three-year-olds in less than 24 hours.  Kentucky Derby & Preakness runner-up Bodemeister was almost a given to retire when he headed to Rood & Riddle last week for tests but the surprising news was Hansen's (likely) retirement this morning after a tendon injury. Like many others, I am extremely frustrated at this news. I was a huge fan of this three-year-old crop at the beginning of th

For years, sports have been jumping on the social media bandwagon to reap the benefits of interacting with fans in a way that wasn't possible even 10 years ago. Over the last year, horse racing has finally embraced the social media aspect with open arms and has worked towards creating a more fan friendly sport. Farms use sites such as Twitter and Facebook to keep fans up-to-date on their runners and even some famous retired stock. On the track, jockeys and trainers use it to give updates on not only their barns but also their lives. But with all the benefits that have come with social media, it also has some negative sides as well. The most recent example of the "other side" of social media is the saga of three-year-old colt Paynter and his whereabouts. From his victory in the Haskell until he was “found” by a journalist at the Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center, Twitter was abuzz about where the horse had gone. While trainer Bob Baffert was quiet ab

After months of speculation, the location of the 2013 Breeders' Cup has been announced . The two-day event will be staying at Santa Anita next year, the same track the Breeders' Cup will run at this year. Santa Anita was also the host of the 2008 and 2009 runnings of the event. The two years at Santa Anita follows a two-year stint at Churchill Downs in 2010 and 2011. It seems that the Breeders' Cup is starting a "two year" trend, but there have also been whispers for the past several years of the possibility of finding the "World Championships" a permanent home. While those whispers don't seem to be too serious at this time, the event has seemed to make the two recent tracks its home in recent years. Only four other tracks (Belmont twice, Arlington Park, Lone Star Park, and Monmouth) have been hosts to the Breeders' Cup since 2000. Churchill Downs has hosted the Championships four times since 2000, while this year's running will also

This week, I wrote an article for Bleacher Report titled " Ex-Race Horse War Buckaroo Is Canadian Olympic Hero " about an ex-racehorse that has gone on to be at the top of his new sport. But when checking on the article today, I was a bit bothered to read a comment that stated " Great story. Not too many racehorses get a second career other than as a stud." from a reader. At first I wondered how anyone could get that idea, but then it occurred to me that for those that only watch mainstream racing where most of the horses go off to have a stud career or go to the broodmare pasture when they are retired, this is their reality. For them, horses compete then go on to have the next generation of racehorses (or are disposed of).  But really, there is a lot that goes on after a racehorse retires to find them a new home. Many racing and breeding programs have put after-racing life on the front burner over the past few years. One of the most high profile farms