Thoroughbred industry veteran Bill Betz knows how hard it is to taste success in the Kentucky Derby.

“It takes a lot of luck ... The Derby has its own life,” he said. “The stars have got to align.”

The stars have been kind to Betz. He is a co-breeder of 2009 Kentucky Derby upset winner Mine That Bird. This year, he has a rooting interest in Grade 2 Rebel Stakes winner Hoppertunity, recently second to divisional standout California Chrome in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. Betz co-bred Hoppertunity and consigned the colt to sale as a yearling.

Wicked Strong landed squarely on the Kentucky Derby trail last week with an upset win in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. The 3-year-old bay colt is the first serious Derby candidate by 2007 Derby runner-up Hard Spun to emerge from the stallion’s first three crops, and his impressive rallying win from midpack in the Wood – coupled with his encouraging bloodlines – will make him an intriguing contender for the 1 1/4-mile classic should he make the Churchill Downs starting gate May 3.

A half-brother to 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra was foaled last week at Dede McGehee’s Heaven Trees Farm near Lexington, Ky.

The Malibu Moon colt is out of the Roar mare Lotta Kim, who is boarded at Heaven Trees for owner Dolphus Morrison and his wife, Ellen.

Grade 1 winner Egg Drop has been retired from racing with a tendon injury, and plans call for the 5-year-old daughter of Alphabet Soup to be sold at a Kentucky mixed auction this November.

Egg Drop had been training toward a start in this weekend's Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland, when a routine exam and subsequent scan revealed the injury. The mare has sustained a small tear to her left front superficial digital flexor tendon.

The Thoroughbred Horse Show Alliance will host its third annual show on Sunday, May 4 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky., with the proceeds benefitting aftercare organizations in the state.

The beneficiaries for this year’s event will be the Kentucky divisions of the Communication Alliance to Network Thoroughbred Ex-Racehorses (CANTER) and ReRun. The show features a variety of jumping, dressage, and pleasure classes. Entries close April 21.

Grade 2 winner Birdrun has been retired from racing and will begin his stallion career at Poplar Creek Horse Farm in Bethel, Ohio for an advertised fee of $2,000.

The 8-year-old son of Birdstone finishes his career with seven wins in 28 starts over six seasons of racing for earnings of $622,816. Birdrun specialized at longer distances, winning the Grade 2 Brooklyn Handicap and the listed Greenwood Cup Stakes, both at 1 ½ miles. He also finished second in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Marathon.

Azamour, Europe’s champion older horse of 2005, was euthanized on Saturday after sustaining a major injury at the Aga Khan’s Gilltown Stud in County Kildare, Ireland, Racing Post reports.

The 13-year-old son of Nightshift was in the midst of his ninth season at Gilltown Stud, where he stood for an advertised fee of about $10,993 in U.S. dollars (8,000 Euros).

Great sire lines do not always follow only the obvious routes. No one is surprised that three-time leading sire Giant’s Causeway, the best son of dual leading sire Storm Cat, is well on his way to establishing a thriving branch of his sire’s male line. When Harlan retired to Stone Farm in 1995, however, it is doubtful if even his co-owner and co-breeder, Arthur B. Hancock III, envisioned Storm Cat’s oldest Grade 1-winning colt at the head of a branch of the Storm Cat male line.

By Denise Steffanus

The ideal racehorse foot, as presented in textbook illustrations, rarely occurs in nature. Each foot, even on the same horse, is influenced by a number of variables, including the horse’s conformation, the structure of the individual leg, moisture content of the hoof components, and athletic demands.

Grade 1 winner Bull Inthe Heather was euthanized Friday at Old Friends Equine Retirement in Georgetown, Ky., due to the infirmities of old age.

The 24-year-old son of Ferdinand had resided at Old Friends since 2006 after being pensioned from stallion duty.

“He was the toughest horse we ever had there, and probably Ferdinand’s greatest son,” said Michael Blowen, founder of Old Friends. “It’s tough to lose him. It’s tough to lose that legacy.”