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Horse lovers and auction owners make strange bedfellows.

Oh, not those high-end, Keeneland/Fasig-Tipton/Lexington/Saratoga auctions, where well-bred babies are sold for hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, of dollars, before their careers even begin, before anyone knows whether they can run.

Horse lovers, even the poor ones, flock to those auctions: we stand at the bar, we watch the yearlings, we mark up the sales book, highlighting the progeny of our favorite racehorses. A few times a year, we indulge in the fantasy and the pageantry.

And while all that’s going on, every Wednesday, photographer Sarah K. Andrew goes … Read More >

Ernie Munick sits down with Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron on Alumni Day at Churchill Downs earlier in the year. McCarron shares his thoughts on using the whip, impressive young jockeys and his favorite mount.

Elsewhere of Interest

Hello Race Fans!: John Henry: Steel Driving Racehorse
NPR: Chris McCarron Plays Not My Job
YouTube: Alysheba 1987 Kentucky Derby
YouTube: Alysheba 1988 Breeders’ Cup Classic
YouTube: Sunday Silence 1989 Breeders Cup Classic

Ernie Munick catches up with Hall of Fame jockey Jacinto Vasquez, the rider of such greats as Ruffian and Genuine Risk, on Alumni Day at Churchill Downs earlier in the year. Vasquez shares his thoughts on Ruffian as a 3-year-old, what he thinks got Genuine Risk beaten in the Belmont, and Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta.

Next up Ernie discusses impressive young riders and Alysheba with Chris McCarron.

Elsewhere of Interest

YouTube: Ruffian 1975 Acorn Stakes
YouTube: Ruffian 1975 Mother Goose Stakes
YouTube: … Read More >

Ernie Munick catches up with Hall of Fame jockey Ron Turcotte on Alumni Day at Churchill Downs earlier in the year. Turcotte discusses who he thinks was the best horse besides Secretariat, breaking records and what he thinks prompted Secretariat’s historical performance on Belmont day 1973.

In upcoming renditions, Ernie discusses the whip, impressive young riders and Alysheba with Chris McCarron and the greatest fillies of all time with Jacinto Vasquez.

Elsewhere of Interest

Hello Race Fans: Top Five Favorite Belmont Stakes
YouTube: … Read More >

San Francisco Chronicle reporter Julian Guthrie profiles Jess Jackson for the paper. Among other tidbits, Guthrie confirms what many in racing knew about the prominent owner, but never mentioned in the trade press:

Jackson heads back to his car to continue up the mountain, which reaches 3,800 feet. Tall and still athletic, Jackson had a mane of silver hair now gone, the result of a round of chemotherapy completed earlier this year for skin cancer. He says he has been given a clean bill of health.

More on family, farming, and Rachel Alexandra …

At racetracks across the country last Saturday, jockeys honored Rene Douglas and other injured riders by holding winner’s circle tributes and wearing patches on their boots in support of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. At Belmont Park, many also wished Douglas well in a video card put together by Ricmo1, friend of the Bug Boys:

Douglas, hurt when his mount clipped heels and fell during the Matron Stakes at Arlington Park on May 23, was moved out of intensive care earlier this week. … Read More >

The Daily Racing Form and New York Racing Association held a memorial service Friday morning in the north terrace at Belmont Park for the late racing columnist Joe Hirsch, who died in January after a long fight with Parkinson’s disease.

Nothing could be less appetizing then the prospect of solemn speeches and choking pauses for the recently deceased followed by a washed-out scratch-fest on a sloppy track in pouring rain.

Ah, but the beloved Hirsch got the right kind of send-off, appealing to both the highbrow and lowbrow, with those heartfelt, choking speeches but also waitresses milling about the room plying bracing … Read More >