Conventional previews for Tuesday's Barretts May Sale of 2-year-olds in training were held at Fairplex Park in Pomona on Thursday and Friday. Many of the 329 horses that are being offered at the sale breezed before prospective buyers.
Alke became the first of 21 Florida stallions whose initial crops will be racing this year to produce a winner when Tipsy Saint captured a maiden race at Delaware Park on April 16.
Alke, part of Vinery's stallion roster, was followed by the Hartley/DeRenzo stallion Roar of the Tiger. His daughter Roarin Tigress zipped a quarter-mile in maiden special company to win her debut at Puerto Rico's Camarero Racetrack on April 26.
Maryland breeders Cynthia and Charles McGinnes were "overwhelmed with joy" when their homebred filly by Milwaukee Brew brought $70,000 at the 2006 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern fall yearling sale at Timonium.
It was not just the price that set their heads spinning - but also the apparent show of faith in the filly by the buyer, top New York trainer Linda Rice.
Trainer Michael Dickinson has put his custom-designed Tapeta Farm in Maryland on the market for an undisclosed price, he confirmed Wednesday.
Dickinson, a Breeders' Cup-winning trainer and the developer of the Tapeta synthetic surface that is named for his farm, said he has decided to downsize to a smaller property now that he is no longer training. Dickinson stopped training in 2007 to devote himself to his Tapeta Footings business.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Thirty years ago, Terlingua started the hearts of Secretariat's legion of fans beating with the hope that their champion was breeding on as he had raced. Terlingua - fierce and fast daughter of His Chestnut Perfection and Crimson Saint - died this week at age 32 and was buried at Overbrook Farm, where she spent almost the entirety of her broodmare career.
It was about this time 50 years ago when a former Cleveland rust belt businessman and sometime bookmaker received word that his mare Joppy had foaled a colt at Ocala Stud. In a few years time the racing world would never be quite the same.
That breeder was Jack Price, and the colt was Carry Back.
Vince Tucciarone and Dawn Newman, co-owners of Fox Tale Stud, one of Pennsylvania's newest Thoroughbred breeding establishments, are extremely busy people.
During this breeding and foaling season, Tucciarone and Newman have been on the go from the crack of dawn until late in the evening - and many times are up in the middle of the night. They are in the midst of their busiest year since moving to Fox Tale Stud, a 48-acre farm in Coopersburg, Pa., established three years ago from scratch.
Stella Mark may turn out to be the claim of the year, if he isn't already.
Last Sunday, the 4-year-old gelding won his first stakes - the $150,000 Tiznow - one of 10 races at Hollywood Park that day for statebreds. Considering that he was claimed for $50,000 at Santa Anita in January, Stella Mark has turned out to be a lucrative investment for owner Jeffrey Sengara and trainer Ted H. West.
"He exceeded my expectations and we had high expectations going in," West said of the Tiznow Stakes. "He's kind of blossomed. He's improved in every start for us."
Brian Cullen's involvement in horse racing dates back almost 40 years. Although he was forced to step away from the game for five years when his wife became ill in 1999, he is once again front and center with Shilla, an early favorite for this year's Woodbine Oaks.
Cullen, 74, played in the National Hockey League as a center for seven years, first for the Toronto Maple Leafs and then for the New York Rangers. He operated the highly successful Victura Farm for decades, racing and breeding a number of high-class runners.