pedigree

West Point's Terry Finley, leading trainer Kenny McPeek and others have been announced as speakers for the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association's Pedigree & Conformation Clinic on Monday, Oct. 23 at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, Kentucky. The day-long clinic will take place on the first day of Fasig Tipton's Kentucky October Yearling sale. Attendees will learn insights on different aspects of Thoroughbred auctions, bloodstock, pedigree, and conformation analysis, and more from industry professionals as well as enjoy a day at the sales. The topics and speakers at the clinic include: •...

Good or bad, stallion careers are almost always well documented with hard facts at the ready. It's no secret certain races--for instance, the GI Met Mile--have historically been known as stallion-making races, with that race in particular flaunting the lethal combination of both speed and stamina on a big stage. Fappiano (1981), Buckpasser (1967), and Native Dancer (1954) were among the Met Mile winners who later made incredible impacts at stud, whether through their sons or daughters or both. Quality Road (2010) is currently doing the same. This year's winner,...

1) WE THE PEOPLE, c, Constitution--Letchworth, by Tiznow Owner: WinStar Farm, Bobby Flay, CMNWLTH, Siena Farm Breeder: Henley Farms (KY) Trainer: Rodolphe Brisset Sales History: $110,000 Keeneland November weanling, $220,000 Keeneland September yearling, $230,000 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream 2-year-old Pedigree Notes: Trying to become the second Belmont winner in three years for WinStar's star fourth-crop sire (Tiz the Law in 2020), We the People is the second foal to race out of Letchworth, a $40,000 Keeneland January purchase by Henley Farms at Keeneland January in 2019. Letchworth is a daughter of Harmony...

Pam Sly has brought the curtain down on the career of Eileendover (GB) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}), who she described as being an "unlikely superstar," with the mare set to be covered by Juddmonte's Bated Breath (GB) after picking up an injury in training.  A granddaughter of Speciosa (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), who stormed to 1000 Guineas glory for Sly in 2006, Eileendover made the transition from being a classy bumper mare to competing in listed races on the Flat. She won four times, including a listed bumper at Market Rasen,...

Jean-Claude Rouget is not prone to hyperbole so, when the decorated French handler compared the unexposed Al Hakeem (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) to his only G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) earlier this week, some people did a double take. Not Benoit Jeffroy, who manages Haras de Bouquetot on behalf of the Al Shaqab operation. Jeffroy has long been aware of the standing in which the multiple Classic-winning trainer has held Al Hakeem and, when the colt won the Listed Prix de Suresnes at Chantilly on...

The 2022 Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual series continued Apr. 5 with a panel who discussed pedigree and conformation considerations when selecting racehorses. The series is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Dean Dorton Equine, and Stoll Keenon Ogden. Sponsored by Ocala Breeders' Sales Company (OBS), Tuesday's session was moderated by Caton Bredar and included panelists Phil Hager, Taproot Bloodstock; Chad Schumer, Schumer Bloodstock Agency; Gayle Van Leer, Gayle Van Leer Thoroughbred Services; and Tod Wojciechowski, director of sales, OBS....

Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Florida, is a gem of a racecourse that doesn't get the accolades it should. Owned by Stella Thayer, president of the track and a member of The Jockey Club, and her brother, Howell Ferguson, Tampa Bay Downs is expertly managed day to day by Peter Berube, vice president and general manager, and Margo Flynn, vice president of marketing. This was obvious on Saturday--"Festival Day 42"--when the track showcased its signature event, the Gll Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, one of five black-type events on the...

We're all guilty of it. A horse shows talent; we seek its source in the pedigree; and, however discouraging the initial sifting, eventually we pluck out some plausibly glinting nugget to brandish triumphantly aloft. "See! This proves there is a seam of gold!" And that's fair enough. We all have a stake in the viability of selective breeding, albeit we don't actually want its outcomes to become too predictable. If the mysteries of pedigree were entirely transparent, the guy who buys the sale-topper would win the Derby every year and...

Responding to the global coronavirus pandemic, people and organizations within this industry from around the world have stepped up to generate goodwill gestures every week it seems, whether it's owner-breeder Chuck Fipke offering no-fee breedings to his stallions, Finger Lakes HBPA and track management distributing $827,000 in the form of "stimulus checks" to local trainers and owners, or an Irish lawyer galvanizing interest in more than 350 housebound fans and industry participants in "The Art of the Mating," a hypothetical exercise in stallion selection for some famous mares. Jack Cantillon...

On New Year's Day, David Grening broke the news in the Daily Racing Form that Coolmore had purchased a 50% interest in the racing and breeding rights of Gary and Mary West's homebred Maximum Security (New Year's Day). (Disclosure: The Wests and their racing manager, Ben Glass, are retained clients of WTC, Inc.). The colt is to stand at Coolmore America (Ashford Stud) in Kentucky at the end of his career, but he is scheduled to race this year and has some major targets on his slate, including the new...