Author Archives: shepracing
The Fasig Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale wrapped up Tuesday with across the board gains from 2016 in average, median and number not sold. The market for young horses in the $200,000 to $800,000 price range is pretty solid right … Continue reading
How about Stellar Wind and Vale Dori in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch from Del Mar? What a race. Check it out, not much separating them Stellar Wind was 2015’s champion three-year-old filly, and beat four-time Eclipse champion Beholder twice in 2016. … Continue reading
I really enjoy watching and betting on two-year old racing this time of year. High profile owners and trainers debut their best stock at Saratoga, Del Mar, etc., and you have a chance to see potential stars when they start … Continue reading
It’s now summer racing time, and that’s a great time of year for racing fans. Saratoga and Del Mar are slices of heaven. One backs up to the Adirondack Mountains in the Capital Region of New York, the other is … Continue reading
Fasig Tipton’s July yearling sale in Lexington this week was pretty succesful. The average was up, and number not sold was down. A million dollar Medaglia D’ Oro filly made headlines, but to me the real news was that the … Continue reading
Happy retirement to Maryland’s horse, Ben’s Cat. Ben retired at age eleven with earnings of more than $2.6 million, and won 32 of 63 starts, including 26 STAKES wins. He reminded me of Gravano, a son of Pioneering that my … Continue reading
I saw an ad recently for a major Kentucky farm looking for full-time grooms. The starting pay was $10.25/hour, with benefits. That’s not bad for central Kentucky living expenses, and I did what those grooms are going to do, and … Continue reading
I thought a recent commentary by Ray Paulick was interesting. Here’s a link if you haven’t read it yet: “The Race to the Breeding Shed”. I understand what Mr. Paulick is getting at, and I too would love to see Kentucky … Continue reading
Secret Circle
Current economics of Thoroughbred racing are pretty interesting. For less than a $7,500 stud fee, breeders have many solid stallion choices in Kentucky alone. Pedigrees, race records, proven sires and promising young stallions are all available in that range. A horse … Continue reading
Oxbow profile
I think Preakness Stakes winners make good sires, and recently, that’s been proven correct, with Bernardini, Curlin, Lookin at Lucky and Shackleford having success after winning the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. It’s also why, among many other reasons, … Continue reading