The first thing many Thoroughbred aficionados think of with Valentine’s Day is that it’s the un-official, not always heeded, opening day of breeding season. Last year, Jay Hovdey wrote in DRF that “It is no small thing that in 2004 there were 34,797 registered American Thoroughbred foals. Some of them were champions and stakes winners, many, many more of them were entirely something else.” It’s that chance that makes the process romantic and Valentines-related, because as anyone who has spent time in the breeding shed can tell you, romance is usually pretty far from … Read More >

Before the Civil War, writes William H. P. Robertson in his landmark The History of Thoroughbred Racing in America, the universal birthday for Thoroughbreds was May 1. After the war, most of the country followed Great Britain’s example and moved the date to January 1. “For many years the South clung stubbornly to the old May 1 birthday, which was something of a paradox, since the earlier birthday was advantageous to warmer climates,” writes Robertson.

Now, all lingering regional differences are settled, … Read More >

Horsepeople are famously superstitious. The horseshoe, the most common symbol of luck, is equine-related. And The Blood-Horse magazine still lists a calendar of zodiacal signs for people who believe in astrologically based breeding and weaning: loins, neck, heart. The chart assists in making “husbandry decisions,” it says. But at the races themselves, there is no chart. Instead, there are personal, capricious rules. As Ed Madary writes, prohibitions include: Don’t eat peanuts in the shell. Call the stall between 12 and 14 12A, not 13. … Read More >

The phrase “walkover” refers to any uncontested or easy win. In politics, a walkover occurs when there is only one candidate for a given election, or when the others have defaulted or are so far behind as to be entirely non-competitive. The term comes, however, from horse racing. Traditionally, in British racing, even if only one horse appeared for a certain race, that horse still had to “walk over” the course.

Walkovers are uncommon these days. There was a walkover last year in England, but it was more a protest … Read More >