The Wire
Aggregating horse racing commentary since 2008
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JOCKEY OBJECTIONS AND STEWARD INQUIRIES IN THE KENTUCKY DERBY
The 1921 Kentucky Derby will be the one hundred forty seventh running of the race. From 1875 through 2020, there were seven jockey objections and/or steward inquiries, with two disqualifications of winners and another disqualification of a fourth-place finisher. Jockey objections/steward inquiries that did not result in disqualification: 2001 Jockey...
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The legacy of Kind
On March 8th 2021, Juddmonte Farms announced that their outstanding broodmare Kind had sadly succumbed to complications following the foaling of a colt by their resident rising star stallion Kingman. This colt was her first live produce since her Galileo filly Chiasma was foaled in 2018. The stakes winning daughter...
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Letter To The Editor: ‘Petty Jealousy And Elitism’ The Motivations Behind MyRacehorse Bashing
Dear horse racing Twitter, and the industry at large: Do better. Stop shooting yourself in the foot. Stop creating division and strife where there is no reason for it; we have enough issues as a sport. Over the weekend, yet another tweet made the rounds mocking a MyRacehorse owner. While...
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April News: Let’s Talk Derby—The First Kentucky Derby, Unhorsed by the Louisville Cup
After last year’s upheaval of the racing calendar due to COVID-19, the Kentucky Derby is back to its rightful date on the first Saturday in May, this year falling on May 1. So let’s talk Derby—the first Kentucky Derby in 1875, which was upstaged by another race held during the...
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super stock and king fury highlight the importance of the 2020 breeders’ futurity
Last year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland is looking more and more like a key race for the classics …Continue reading →...
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Gears
Chris Gracie pulled his tack off Include It after finishing second in the maiden timber at Piedmont in April. “You know, Sean, he’s got gears,” Gracie said after riding the 6-year-old Maryland-bred for trainer Todd Wyatt and Riverdee. A maiden on the flat track for Fitzhugh and Mike Trombetta, a...
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An old fashioned Clash of Titans
Real Writing on Racing 💯...
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Friday Night Lights
Racing Weekend. Feels good to print out the form, find the NSA hang tag, the horseman buttons, the binoculars, polish the boots, check the weather forecast, gas up the car and fire up Waze. Limited attendance and definitely a different vibe, but it's a start, a restart of our lives....
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Talking Business with Chris Burkard
My friend Chris Burkhard – who owns the Placers, workforce/staffing/consutling company in Delaware – talks to me about business, frequently. He’s got ideas, opinions, thoughts (really good thoughts) and perspective. I listen, sometimes follow his suggestions and always soak in everything even if some little voice tries to tell me...
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The Friday Show: Delayed Opening At Woodbine
Saturday was supposed to be opening day of the Thoroughbred meet at Woodbine racetrack near Toronto in Ontario, Canada. Instead, just as the 2020 season was halted prematurely by government order in the midst of a spike in the coronavirus pandemic, so too is the 2021 opening. Jennifer Morrison, a...
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Building Permit
Hammers hammer. Diggers dig. Truckers truck. House renovation. The ultimate personality shaker, relationship tester, is underway. Today we talked about amps to and from the generator, brush strokes in the fireplace mortar, plastic-sheet walls, gas-line ditches, code and against code, junction box to the switch box to the fuse box....
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BOOK REVIEW OF “RACING FOR AMERICA”
Author James C. Nicholson’s latest book Racing for America (University Press of Kentucky, 2021) immerses a reader in the “roaring twenties,” a tumultuous decade wedged between the devastation of World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic and the Great Depression of the 1930s. The twenties were a time for...
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The Queen’s Arrival
Among the undisputed highlights of Brisnet’s 50-year history was the visit from Queen Elizabeth II to its Lexington, Kentucky, offices on Oct. 10, 1984, an event that likely wouldn’t have happened at any other time if not for the mutual connection of Harry Herbert. [...] The post The Queen’s Arrival...
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Letter To The Editor: Why Do We Insist On Training Our Horses In One Direction?
“Imagine if you will” – Rod Serling in The Twilight Zone. I start off with this famous phrase to get people to imagine professional track runners always training by exercising by going left only on the field track. Their competitions are left on the field track, always have been, so...
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Potts: ‘This Industry Is A Family With A Fierce Love Of The Horse That Triumphs Over Anything Else’
Trainer Wayne Potts posted the following on Facebook Tuesday evening, after two of his horses tragically perished in a barn fire at Belmont Park: I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who assisted in removing my horses from the fire this evening. Thank you...
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Jabbed
Sorry, lost a few days. Just gone. Poof. Waded into the rest of Loudoun County Sunday for our vaccine. Past an indoor skydiving venue, a two-tiered driving range, past condos and apartments made out of ticky-tacky and organic, farm-raised, free-range sustainable grocery stores, a brewery or four, through roundabouts and...
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unbeaten malathaat is proving the dream is real for owner shadwell, as well as breeder stonestreet
Superstar stallions have the highest stud fees, not for their good looks, but for the number of their racers who …Continue reading →...
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A KENTUCKY DERBY WIN BY ESSENTIAL QUALITY WOULD RECORD 3 HISTORICAL”FIRSTS”
The probable favorite for the 1921 Kentucky Derby is Essential Quality, winner of the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and undefeated in five career starts. In his last start before the Derby, he won the Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland, although he was challenged to get by second-placed Highly Motivated. A win...
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No easy leads and why the Derby looks different after this past weekend’s results
Real Writing on Racing 💯...
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Letter To The Editor: More Transparency Of Racehorses’ Medical Records Is Needed
Jerry Brown, in an op/ed recently published in the Thoroughbred Daily News, stated his belief that horses running in stakes races were not running true to form possibly because of not running on Lasix in those races. Brown pointed out that these horses may have been scoped post-race, but very...
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April 11, 2021
Slim Shadey 2008-2021 Losing a younger retiree unexpectedly is always an especially hard blow. I say “always,” but you never get used to it because no loss is like another, just as no other horse will ever be Slim Shadey. … Continue reading →...
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Road to the 2021 Kentucky Derby: Lexington Stakes analysis
Road to the 2021 Kentucky Derby: Lexington Stakes analysis. Jay PrivmanApr 11, 2021. Share....
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Road to the 2021 Kentucky Derby: Arkansas Derby analysis
Super Stock had finished fourth last month in the Rebel (https://www.drf.com/news/road-2021-kentucky-derby-rebel-stakes-analysis), which was won ......
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Rachael does it Again
Rachael Blackmore, you are as good as I've ever seen. On the back of an imperious Cheltenham Festival, the 31-year-old Irish jump jockey won today's Grand National aboard Minella Times. Tactically brilliant and stylishly strong, Blackmore has it all. She has earned her accolades, attaining the most coveted attribute of...
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Oaklawn Mornings: Ready for the Derby
As horses ship in for the Arkansas Derby and other horses ship out for the year, I find myself reminiscing on the 2021 meet at Oaklawn Park....