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After Reading: ... that Curlin has been off steroids since January and that majority owner Jess Jackson averred to Joe Drape: "I'm against all performance-enhancing drugs, or anything that masks or conceals designer drugs," said Jackson, who acknowledged Curlin's steroid use Tuesday ... "I have been for zero tolerance since the 1950s. We have to start bringing our horses down from all these chemicals." I opened the past performances for the Man o' War Stakes half-expecting bigger news to be revealed, that Curlin would race, as he did in Dubai, without Lasix, the legal diuretic with performance enhancing and masking qualities given...; [Posted July 10, 2008 11:00 PM]; ---

Big Brown Economics: Jim Squires estimates: The best guess is that even with his modest pedigree (by Boundary out of Mien) and short career, Big Brown will command $125,000 to $150,000 for the first two years, maybe more. This assures that 2011 and 2012 yearling sales will be flooded with 60 to 70 yearlings by an unproven sire. Yet these babies will need to average $300,000 to $450,000 to be considered profitable in a sport where hardly any racehorses ever earn that money. The marketplace, hardly reasonable ......; [Posted May 31, 2008 1:22 PM]; ---

100% Organic Foals: Here's an idea from T.D. Thornton for healthier horses: Starting with foals born in 2009, in addition to the established [select sale] requirements, horses must also be documented as steroid-free to qualify for a select sale. It's all about changing the incentives ......; [Posted May 28, 2008 3:15 PM]; ---

Three Chimneys, Racing at Four: An oldie but goodie from December 2006 (please ignore the typo in the first paragraph, LOL)....; [Posted May 18, 2008 6:37 PM]; ---

Strong Words: "[Eight Belles broke down] right where Raise a Native was the weakest, right in the ankles, and everybody acts like they don't know what caused this filly to break down. It's written right there for everyone to see! Except they refuse to see it. To admit it is to address the fact that all these stallions that are bred like that, that all the yearlings that are bred like that, are potential accidents waiting to happen."...; [Posted May 16, 2008 10:25 PM]; ---

Two Points for Honesty: I've read a lot of chastising of Michael Ivarone for him having stated that Big Brown would likely not race as a four-year-old. Personally, I appreciate the honesty and sparing us the song and dance. Remember Smarty Jones and the hoopla that surrounded him? His owners swore from here to doomsday that their Elusive Quality colt would race at four. He didn't. Three Chimneys stands Smarty Jones, War Chant, and Point Given, three horses that did not race at four. Three Chimneys is one of two breeding operations (along with Coolmore's Ashford Stud) believed to be in line to acquire...; [Posted May 15, 2008 11:24 PM]; ---

Big Brown Won't Race at Four: Owners will announce stud deal on Thursday....; [Posted May 14, 2008 8:57 PM]; ---

As True in 2008: ... as it was in 1984, when the Queen toured the Bluegrass looking for suitable studs for her broodmares: Spendthrift Farms Owner Brownell Combs II explained the attraction of the area. "This is where the stallions are," he said, "and the semen controls the industry." I came across the article linked above while searching for more information on Spendthrift, which is the subject of a new book by Mary Marshall, "Great Breeders and Their Methods: Leslie Combs II and Spendthrift Farm." The book suffers from workmanlike prose but is redeemed by its accidental timeliness, since Marshall recounts in painstaking detail...; [Posted May 11, 2008 4:50 PM]; ---

Incentivizing: To change the breed, change the tracks, writes Jay Hovdey in his latest column (DRF+): Remodeling the breed will be a slow process, but first it will be necessary to increase the incentive to produce a different product; otherwise, the cruel realities of the unfettered free market will lead to racing's own version of the subprime mortgage disaster. The solution is already out there, waiting to be spread. Perfecting and adopting the technology of engineered surfaces -- a combination of natural and synthetic material built to drain moisture and cushion impact -- is the only way to prompt a change...; [Posted May 7, 2008 8:30 PM]; ---

And Yet They Continue: ... to sell well at auction: To take just one example, the racehorses that descend from the popular sire Mr. Prospector make, on average, 30 percent fewer starts in their careers than do horses from other sire lines.... The progeny of that other supersire, Storm Cat, show similar, if not quite so extreme, fragility. A committee is at work on a durability stats database for breeders, but disagreements hinder its development. Related: Superfecta asks, "Who would you geld today?"...; [Posted May 6, 2008 5:00 PM]; ---

Disingenuous Defined: "We need heroes," Jackson said. "And since we need them so badly, we've decided to race Curlin this year. We want to give the fans and the industry what we need."...; [Posted January 23, 2008 8:30 AM]; ---

Vanishing Lines: "Last year ... saw what will almost certainly be the last graded-stakes winners descending tail-male from Secretariat (Take d' Tour) and Affirmed (The Tin Man) ... Since the turn of the century, several historic sire lines have produced what will likely be their last American-bred graded winners."...; [Posted January 8, 2008 9:00 AM]; ---

$100M Reasons Not to Run: Estimated combined price Darley paid for Street Sense, Hard Spun and Any Given Saturday: $100 million (TDN). Sheikh Mohammed's stable has also scooped up European runners Teofilo and Authorized, and this past weekend, Arc-bound Manduro and a percentage of Invincible Spirit. "The extent of his outlay in his quest for potent future stallions is unprecedented," marvels Julian Muscat in the Times, "even in a bloodstock world fuelled by the petro-dollar."...; [Posted August 22, 2007 8:30 AM]; ---

Another Fruitless Season: For War Emblem, standing at stud in Japan. The 2002 dual classic winner failed to cover a single mare during this year's breeding season and Shadai Stallion Station officials are running out of patience with the fussy stallion. "We don't have so much interest to improve him now. We have tried many things and we are tired of that" (Blood-Horse)....; [Posted July 8, 2007 2:50 PM]; ---

Smart Shopper: That's one possible name for Smarty Jones' first foal, a healthy filly born to Shoppingwithbetty shortly after midnight on Tuesday at Stone Farm in Kentucky. "She's very well-made, very strong, very alert, very independent. She has tons of substance; she's beautiful,'' said farm president Dan Rosenberg. You can see how adorable the little filly is for yourself in this photo gallery (complete with audio commentary). Another 91 Smarty Jones foals are expected this winter; the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner starts his second season at stud in February....; [Posted January 11, 2006 4:30 PM]; ---

Ashado Sells for $9 Million: Fresh off her third place finish in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, Ashado sold for a record-setting $9 million at Keeneland's November Breeding Stock Sale this afternoon. The bidding came down to the two usual suspects, Coolmore and Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum of Dubai (through his agent John Ferguson), with the sheikh winning out. "It's very unusual to come across a mare with such an outstanding race record with such quality. She's an absolute queen," said Ferguson afterwards. "Sheikh Mohammed is especially keen to assemble an outstanding broodmare band in the United States. And, she'd fit into the paddock with the...; [Posted November 7, 2005 8:30 PM]; ---

Afleet Alex Deal Pending: The Blood-Horse is reporting that a deal "is in the works" for the breeding rights to Afleet Alex. Cash Is King spokesman J.J. Graci confirmed this afternoon that Castleton Lyons of Kentucky was one of the farms bidding and that the stable still plans to run Alex as a four-year-old. "The sale is for the breeding rights only," Graci said. "Chuck [managing partner Chuck Zacney] was emphatic that Alex will race next year under Cash Is King Stable." 9/25 Tangent: Afleet Alex is scheduled to breeze this Friday at Belmont (New York Daily News)....; [Posted September 23, 2005 10:00 PM]; ---

Kentucky At Risk: Breeding programs in other states are threatening Kentucky's dominance in the Thoroughbred industry: "Odds are Kentucky could be overtaken in its signature industry if somebody in the state doesn't crack the whip, according to concerned industry leaders." (Kentucky Post)...; [Posted September 22, 2004 7:30 AM]; ---

Sold Out: All 20 shares in Smarty Jones, which were on sale for $650,000 apiece by Third Chimneys Farm, are sold out: "The demand easily outstripped availability." (ESPN)...; [Posted August 8, 2004 8:10 PM]; ---

Smarty Jones Stud Deal Set: The deal: Smarty retires to Kentucky's Three Chimneys Farm, his book size is limited to 110 mares, and he won't be shuttled anywhere. Total value: $48 million (Daily Racing Form)....; [Posted June 25, 2004 6:00 PM]; ---

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