Native Dancer

When Gulfstream Park staged the "Race of the Century" 56 years ago this spring, 17,300 fans packed the grandstand. They stared out onto a horseless track, where an empty starting gate was parked ceremonially at the 1 1/4 miles position. They rooted, cursed and cheered home their picks. Not a single person ended up witnessing the race. Yet those in attendance--and a nation of fans who tuned in via the NBC Radio broadcast or read about the outcome in coast-to-coast newspaper coverage--seemed to be in vehement agreement for weeks afterward...

Of the 1,630 stallions who covered mares in North America in 2018, a grand total of up to 34 could have starters in the respective gates of the upcoming GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks (based on a maximum of 20 Derby starters and 14 Oaks starters). That's about a 2% chance. How remarkable is it, then, that this year we have not one, not two, but seven stallions with the potential to pull off a Derby-Oaks sire double, something that hasn't been done since Native Dancer sired the...

The terms `best' and `favorite' are typically two subjective concepts when it comes the Thoroughbred racehorse. The TDN's Gary King reached out to key players from different facets of the industry to hear their thoughts. Email Gary King (garyking@thetdn.com) to have your say. CHRISTIE DEBERNARDIS, TDN Over the past seven years at the TDN, I have been blessed to witness many of racing's greats, which I thought would make it very difficult to choose just one. But, when given this assignment, there was one horse who immediately came to mind,...