Knicks Go

Bob Baffert has issued an upbeat bulletin on his Saudi Cup contenders and said that, if for whatever reason his short-priced favourite Taiba (Gun Runner) does not get the job done, then stablemate and last year's runner-up Country Grammer (Tonalist) should be there to pick up the pieces in the world's richest race on Saturday.  The Saudi Cup is one of the only big dirt races that has eluded Baffert and, along with Country Grammer, the American handler has sent out Charlatan to fill the runner-up spot to Mishriff (Ire)...

Tenacious to the end, Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stable's Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) closed out his career with a win in the 2022 GI Cigar Mile, his third Grade I win and his 11th black-type victory. In a remarkable 29 starts over five years, Mind Control amassed total winnings of $2,185,834. In that race, as in all of Mind Control's stakes wins, he beat an impressive field of competitors, including favored Zandon, White Abarrio, and Get Her Number. Big numbers, indeed. Numbers, as it turns out, will also be...

After a debut season at Taylor Made during which he covered a hefty book of better than 150 mares, Horse of the Year and five-time Grade I winner Knicks Go (Paynter) is champing at the bit to get back to work as breeding sheds open their doors across Central Kentucky. The Korea Racing Authority raced the gray to 10 victories over the course of four-plus seasons and earnings north of $9.2 million, and his first year at Taylor Made has led to even greater optimism for his second. The KRA's...

A stroll down the 500 block of East Maxwell Street in Lexington, Kentucky brings you to the awninged door of Black Swan Books. If your pursuits are less catholic, then Mike Courtney's seemingly endless maze of heaving shelves can accommodate even the most scrupulous bibliophile of rare Kentuckiana and equine sport culture. Say, you're looking for a past volume on the two-time Horse of the Year Secretariat, then copious choices await. More recent works like William Nack's Secretariat: The Making of a Champion (2002) and Lawrence Scanlan's The Horse That...

Taylor Made Stallions' Horse of the Year Knicks Go (Paynter), a five-time Grade I winner and two-time Breeders' Cup winner, sired his first reported foal when a filly bred by Alex and Kendra Penn was born on Thursday evening, Jan. 12. Her dam Seeking a Star (Pioneerof the Nile) is a half-sister to 2-year-old SW Miss Interpret (Street Sense), and out of a half-sister to MGISW Paulassilverlining (Ghostzapper), the dam of Artorius (Arrogate), winner of the 2022 Curlin S. at Saratoga. Victorious in the GI Breeders' Futurity at two, Knicks...

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are at the forefront of a new pedigree analysis website which has been launched by G1 Goldmine founder Leo Tsatsaronis. The Pedigrees 360 software is intended for use in helping to predict the likely success of matings by focusing on "line-breeding clusters". "Using AI and machine learning, the programme has shown a very high degree of accuracy in predicting which pedigree combinations will produce the champions and which will produce the perennial maidens," said Tsatsaronis. "Most of the existing mating tools focus on nicks...

Located in the heart of historic Reisterstown, Md., just down the road from Sagamore Farm, Hall of Fame steeplechase trainer Jack Fisher's Kingfisher Farm, and GreenMount Farm, the birthplace of 2021 Horse of the Year Knicks Go (Paynter), sits the newly opened Maryland Horse Library and Education Center. The one-of-a-kind facility, honoring the robust history of horses in Maryland and serving as a hub for educating the next generation, is housed in the Maryland Horse Breeders Association (MHBA)'s building. The stately brick structure with large, white columns, was originally built...

Keeneland has cataloged 3,691 horses for its 79th November Breeding Stock Sale, which will begin Monday, Nov. 7 after Keeneland hosts the Breeders' Cup World Championships over the weekend prior. The sale runs through Wednesday, Nov. 16. Click here for the catalog for the sale, which features proven producers, broodmare prospects who were successful racehorses and royally bred weanlings. The catalog includes more than 1,800 broodmares and broodmare prospects and 1,523 weanlings. Print catalogs are to arrive the week of Oct. 17. "The euphoria of the recent record-breaking Keeneland September...

Fresh off his win in the GI Haskell S. with Cyberknife (Gun Runner), trainer Brad Cox joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday as the Green Group Guest of the Week. There was plenty to talk about as Cox's stable remains one of the hottest in the sport and he will send out GIII Ohio Derby winner Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile) in Saturday's GII Jim Dandy S. at Saratoga and 2021 GI Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun (Into Mischief) in Saturday's GII San Diego H. at Del Mar....

Sara Gordon has joined TDN as Social Media Manager, and will be based in Lexington, Kentucky. Gordon, a native of Woodbine, Maryland, is a lifelong equestrian, but her passion for the Thoroughbred industry blossomed while working for Jane Allen's Warwick Equine Services LLC at Hickory Ridge Farms. Combining her passion for writing and horses, she attended Virginia Tech and received a Bachelor of Arts in multimedia journalism with a minor in equine science. Following her graduation in May of 2019, she was hired by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association as...

Maryland-bred Knicks Go (Paynter), the Eclipse Award winner as champion older horse and Horse of the Year for 2021, has been named the Honorary Postmaster for Preakness 147. Bred by the mother and daughter team of Angie and Sabrina Moore and foaled at their GreenMount Farm in Glyndon, Md., Knicks Go will be recognized Thursday, May 19 during the Alibi Breakfast at historic Pimlico Race Course. In 1996, the United States Postal Service opened a temporary Preakness station at Pimlico the week of the Preakness. It returns this year after...

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 18 entries for its March Digital Selected Sale, the company's inaugural online auction to be conducted on its new digital platform. Bidding is now officially open for the sale, and will close this Tuesday, Mar. 22, at 2 p.m. EDT. The catalogue, which may now be viewed at digital.fasigtipton.com, consists of horses of racing age, racing and/or broodmare prospects, in-foal mares, and a stallion share in European champion Almanzor (Fr). "We could not be more pleased with the strength of this catalogue," said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director...