Popular New York stallion Distinctive Pro, whose son Distinctive Trick became the sire's 44th stakes winner in Saturday's Fred "Cappy" Capossela at Aqueduct, died Tuesday.
Distinctive Pro, 26, was euthanized at Howard Kaskel's Sugar Maple Farm near Poughquag, N.Y. Pensioned after last year's breeding season because of arthritic stifles, he later had laminitis and was also growing infirm, which prompted the decision to euthanize him.
LAS VEGAS - Saturday, March 5, is a crucial day for Kentucky Derby aspirants, with undefeated 2-year-old champion Declan's Moon making his 3-year-old debut in the Santa Catalina Stakes at Santa Anita, and Gulfstream Park offering a delicious card headed by the Fountain of Youth and Swale stakes.
Santa Catalina Stakes
The Kentucky House of Representatives passed a sweeping tax bill on Friday that would divert taxes on stud fees from the state budget to breeding programs for horses, including Thoroughbreds.
The bill passed the House by a 96-4 vote. The legislation, which was supported by Gov. Ernie Fletcher, now will go to the state Senate, where it is expected to pass.
The breeding programs will use money from the 6 percent sales tax on stud fees to create awards for Kentucky horse breeders.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Toby Turrell remembers how he struggled for words the first time his extended family gathered for a memorial to Jill Baedeker, his cousin, who was killed in an automobile accident in 2002.
"I'm not much of a talker," he said.
Turrell, well-known as a private clocker in Southern California, found another way to express his feelings. A few years ago, he named a filly that he owns Jill's Sky.
Last Sunday, in a maiden race on turf for 3-year-old fillies, the California-bred Jill's Sky won her second career start by 3 1/2 lengths.
There are many paths that can lead one to the Thoroughbred industry. Eddie Martin of Martin Stables South has taken several of them. Martin's roots stem from an Indiana family that has considerable experience with another kind of horsepower: automobiles and Nascar.
"The family business is Ford dealerships in central Indiana," Martin said. "I, of course, initially developed an interest in Nascar - my dad sponsored a racing team at Indy."
These are good days for bloodstock investor Becky Thomas, who has been a key player in the business for many years.
Thomas's Sequel Bloodstock has sold Grade 2 winners Officer and Habibti among dozens of stakes horses, and she and her partners have been successful players at major American auctions.
Sequel Bloodstock is annually among the leading American 2-year-old consignors, finishing first in 2003 with gross receipts of $8,751,100 for 44 juveniles sold.
It has been 10 years since the stallion Judge Smells came to Pennsylvania and shook up the state's breeding industry, leading a charge of established stallions - mostly from Kentucky- who were greeted with a renewed burst of enthusiasm.
Over the past decade, Pennsylvania's leading sire rankings have been in a continual flux. Just when one stallion seems to take control at the top of the list, a new stallion arrives. Now that the vision of slots money has become reality, the recent stallion standings have taken on a completely new look.
The average price at the two-day Fasig-Tipton winter mixed sale that closed Monday night increased 54 percent over last year's sale, helped principally by a strong second session on Monday.
During the session, Fasig-Tipton sold 183 horses for gross receipts of $4,640,700, for an average price of $25,359. The average on the first day of the sale, for 194 horses sold, was $11,990.
LAS VEGAS - If the trend continues, expect a 3-year-old such as Galloping Grocer, Greater Good, Proud Accolade, or Rockport Harbor - horses not bred to be at their best at 1 1/4 miles - to win the Kentucky Derby. The past three years have brought us War Emblem (by Our Emblem), Funny Cide (Distorted Humor), and Smarty Jones (Elusive Quality), three colts by stallions not particularly known for stamina.
I have written over and over again that this is the culmination of two factors: