tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78285862965750000052009-11-20T11:14:24.524-05:00GPEquisport1@aol.comBlogger1210125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-32996100671562879972009-11-20T11:13:00.001-05:002009-11-20T11:14:24.533-05:00

According to Steve Haskins at the Bloodhorse.com:(Virginia-bred) Quality Road, whose exploits have been followed closely since his traumatic encounter with the starting gate before the Breeders' Cup Classic cleared a major hurdle Wednesday, schooling at Belmont to the satisfaction of trainer Todd Pletcher and starter Bob Duncan."Todd and Bob reported that Quality Road did everything very well,"

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-63053663992242266902009-11-20T11:10:00.003-05:002009-11-20T11:12:22.169-05:00

Richard Johnson and Triggerman clear the last flight to win The Blackmore Building Contractors Novices' Hurdle Race run at Wincanton Racecourse on November 19, 2009 in Wincanton, England. (Photo by Julian Herbert/Getty Images Europe)Christian Williams takes Prince Des Marais down to the start of The Wincanton Racecourse Handicap Steeple Chase Race run at Wincanton Racecourse on November 19, 2009

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-78704409870097231072009-11-18T15:20:00.003-05:002009-11-18T15:29:23.953-05:00

Prominent Richmond businessman and former Thoroughbred owner and breeder Stuart C. Siegel has been appointed to the Virginia Racing Commission by out-going Governor Tim Kaine. Siegel raced 1988 Cicada Stakes winner Turn To Money among others.Siegel (seen here shaking hands with Governor Kaine), who raced and bred horses at Running Cedar Farm in Goochland, has served as the chairman of the board

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-31159405987730282992009-11-18T15:18:00.000-05:002009-11-18T15:20:49.004-05:00

This gem comes via Steeplechase Times:“I have to call my owner and tell him his horse won…Well, I guess Ihave to call and tell him he ran first.” – Tommy Voss, about Ken Ramsey after Slip Away won the Noel Laing Stakes at Montpelier.(Photo by Douglas Lees)

GPEquisport1@aol.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-60361325074241421342009-11-18T15:15:00.002-05:002009-11-18T15:18:34.651-05:00

Colonial Downs’ veteran Mede Cahaba Stable's Virginia-bred Class Bopper made his first jump start of 2009 count with a win in the $75,000 AFLAC U.S. Championship Novice Hurdle Stake. That effort landed him on the cover of Steeplechase Times.

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-63920951881987367042009-11-18T10:28:00.004-05:002009-11-18T11:23:45.394-05:00

Virginia-bred Quality Road arrived safely at Todd Pletcher’s barn at Belmont Park at 6 a.m. Tuesday following an uneventful cross-country van ride from Santa Anita. He had left from Churchill Downs where he remained for two days before departing for New York on Monday at 3 p.m.According to Chris Baker, farm manager for owner Edward P. Evans, Quality Road will begin gate schooling on Wednesday

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-69314712880186459802009-11-16T16:32:00.006-05:002009-11-16T17:28:05.804-05:00

Ala Moana (f, 4yo), Proud Citizen - Hawaiian Dancer by Seattle Dancer. B - Hector Alcalde. Remington Park, 11/14/2009, clmg, $4,548, 6 f, 1:12.38. ($48,000, yrlg, 2006, ftmoct) Argent Affair (f, 2yo), Black Tie Affair (IRE) - Caty's Quest by Norquestor. B - James M Hackman. Philadelphia Park, 11/14/2009, str alwc, $18,000, 6 f, 1:12.73. ($20,000, yrlg, 2008, ftmoct)) Capetown Tiger (g, 4yo), Cape

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-15197655639467087872009-11-16T16:30:00.003-05:002009-11-16T16:37:00.985-05:00

According to the Blood Horse, Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, who had been battling leukemia for most of the year, died peacefully at his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif. at 5:40 (EST) Monday morning Nov. 16. He was 68.Frankel's ex-wife Bonita and his daughter Bethenny were at his side. Juddmonte Farms racing manager Garrett O’Rourke said Frankel had recently returned home from Cedars-Sinai

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-20645691227306574122009-11-16T16:24:00.003-05:002009-11-16T16:37:38.953-05:00

With his win aboard Citigambler in the third race at Charles Town Nov. 14, jockey Travis Dunkelberger equaled the North American record for consecutive wins by a jockey with nine. The record was established by Albert Adams in 1930 and equaled in 1993 by Anthony Black.Dunkelberger’s effort to hold the record outright fell short in Race 7 when his mount, Warm Springs Girl, finished second as the

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Acording to the Baltimore Sun, the bankrupt owner of Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park has pushed back by a week the deadline for the second round of bids for the two Maryland tracks.Bids will now be due Dec. 11, instead of Dec. 4, according to court papers.Last week,Magna Entertainment Corp. announced that the auction of the Maryland tracks will proceed without a lead bidder. A representative

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-10492209144341274112009-11-16T16:21:00.002-05:002009-11-16T16:38:22.429-05:00

We have a Google Alert for Quality Road. Every time the words “quality road” are in circulation on the Internet, we get an email and a link. The overwhelming majority of Google Alert emails are, in fact, about our favorite Virginia-bred racehorse, but a few are not.Usually, the non-equine ones have something to do with some other sporting endeavor where some team or another has posted a “quality

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-19642740789429443592009-11-16T16:16:00.001-05:002009-11-16T16:21:55.192-05:00

Mary’s Follies and Ken Desormeaux winning thee $206,500 Mrs. Revere Stakes Grade II on Saturday at Churchill Downs. (Photo by Reed Palmer/Churchill Downs)Paddy Brennan and Quartano land The Artemis Fund Managers Hindu Kush 'National Hunt' Novices' Hurdle Race run at Plumpton Racecourse on November 16, 2009 in Plumpton, England. (Photo by Julian Herbert/Getty Images Europe)

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-91524411829812733272009-11-14T12:50:00.003-05:002009-11-14T12:56:57.589-05:00

Virginia-bred Grade 1 winner Quality Road is in the process of vanning to Churchill Downs from Southern California after he balked at getting on a plane on Monday."He's in transition to Churchill," trainer Todd Pletcher said. "He'll lay up there a couple days and then be here Tuesday. The (November 28) Cigar Mile (Grade I) is a possibility. Obviously, we would need everything to go perfectly

GPEquisport1@aol.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-53832968908930105732009-11-14T12:48:00.003-05:002009-11-14T13:03:11.433-05:00

It's been an interesting week at the Virginia Thoroughbred Blog. It started out with a reader suggesting we were reluctant to allow controversial discussion (among other things) and has ended with some other folks advocating that some things are too controversial.The first was easily resolved. All dialog, debate and comments are welcome.The second one is a little more ticklish.Here's what

GPEquisport1@aol.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-39410948065404725702009-11-14T12:46:00.005-05:002009-11-16T09:31:35.460-05:00

Obviously Team QR is going to school Quality Road in the morning and the afternoon as they look to get their star back on track and (literally) in the gate.Getting this all straightened out will be difficult for two hard to resolve reasons: 1) Quality Road is a live animal and unpredictable by design, and 2) conditions like he faced at Santa Anita for the Breeders Cup Classic are hard to

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-76495209796348351552009-11-14T12:43:00.002-05:002009-11-14T12:46:26.780-05:00

Andrew McNamara and Tranquil Sea pull away from the last fence on route to winning The Paddy Power Gold Cup Steeple Chase Race run at Cheltenham Racecourse on November 14, 2009 in Cheltenham, England. (Photo by Julian Herbert/Getty Images Europe) Paddy Brennan and Pettifour leat the Aidan Coleman ridden Toby Jug over a fence on route to wining The Ultima Frontrunner In IT Solutions Novices'

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-1462959522287817942009-11-13T14:14:00.002-05:002009-11-13T14:17:11.924-05:00

Secretariat (the movie) began filming in Kentucky in October, 2009 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, and Keeneland in Lexington.Filming is now continuing in Louisiana, where Richmar Stables has been transformed into Meadow Farm where Secretariat was born. The former site of Evangeline Downs (now a training center) will be used to recreate different racetracks for the film. Well known actress

GPEquisport1@aol.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-72677113567799853882009-11-13T12:39:00.005-05:002009-11-13T12:43:01.321-05:00

This great shot of Zenyatta and Mike Smith following their win in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park on Nov. 7 was taken by Peter Read Miller for Sports Illustrated. The photo was also in the November 16 issue of the magazine which is currently on newsstands.Runners in The Welcome Back To Taunton Amateur Riders' Handicap Hurdle Race clear the 2nd flight during the race run at Taunton

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-38239552200366482842009-11-12T12:44:00.023-05:002009-11-12T23:53:28.794-05:00

(Editor's note: We've encountered some turbulence over our coverage of Quality Road's scratch from Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic. We continue to provide as much info as is available to us as quickly as possible. One item generally unreported in most stories about this event was the presence of a helicopter hovering near the starting gate (you can hear it on the video). Observers claim to have

GPEquisport1@aol.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-10134239191006900272009-11-12T11:51:00.002-05:002009-11-12T12:12:21.044-05:00

Mares forming the final stage of the Overbrook Farm dispersal dominated the top of the market on the second session of the Keeneland November breeding stock on Wednesday, with the dispersal consignment providing nine of the ten top prices of the day. Overbrook's consignment provided the top five of the day, and Virginia-breeder Edward P. Evans purchased two of the mares for his Spring Hill Farm

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-74831331723707776492009-11-12T11:48:00.001-05:002009-11-12T11:51:13.973-05:00

From John Pricci:Breeders’ Cup Marathon: I loved it when Rosemary Homeister Jr. attempted to seize the day and steal a 14-furlong race with a daring turn move on the final bend with Cloudy’s Knight (pink cap), only to miss by the slimmest margin to classy European Man of Iron, which received strong and pluperfect handling from a brilliant Johnny Murtagh.Like the inevitably close battle for Horse

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-43989482480934725492009-11-12T11:43:00.002-05:002009-11-12T11:47:59.391-05:00

GIO PONTI. The former Virginia Derby winner was runner-up to Zenyatta in the $5 million Breeders Cup Classic Gr.I on Saturday.(Photo by Sarah K. Andrew via Flickr)

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-72157156938114112202009-11-11T17:08:00.004-05:002009-11-11T17:14:48.443-05:00

A. Ridgely White, noted steeplechase trainer, died of a heart attack at his home in Middleburg, VA on November 2, 2009. He was 82-years-old.Mr. White trained some of the outstanding steeplechase horses of his times and is listed among the top winning trainers over the years he trained. In the process, he won innumerable major steeplechase races throughout the country.Notably, he won six Virginia

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-46743644775466176232009-11-11T17:04:00.005-05:002009-11-11T17:15:47.779-05:00

Field or show hunter.Currently hunting in Northern Virginia. 15.3+ TB mare, bay with white. Quiet, not mareish. Excellent jumper. Family of Virginia Gold Cup winner Salmo (pictured left). Call McWade – 540-687-6003 or Sara Collete – 540-347-3137.(We providae free classified advertising to VTA members.)

GPEquisport1@aol.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7828586296575000005.post-21453529169736535232009-11-11T16:37:00.009-05:002009-11-11T17:20:25.943-05:00

Hmmm…Just off a plane back from a funeral, I posted some random (and passing thoughts) about the Breeders' Cup. Shortly thereafter, we received some comments which we have posted (as we always do).Wallowing around in a sea of unread email, I missed one comment and I didn’t see it on the blog’s comment moderation page for some reason. When the writers first comment was not promptly posted as noted

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