A total of 357358 three-year-olds were nominated for this year’s Triple Crown races. Trainer Todd Pletcher leads the pack with 34 nominations. Last year Pletcher nominated 35 horses and none made it the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, or Belmont Stakes. Almost all the three-year-olds you’d expect to be nominated are on the list, including Declan’s Moon and Sweet Catomine. Oddly, Lost in the Fog isn’t. Did someone in the barn forget the nomination deadline? (Boston Globe)
Related: The number of horses nominated this year is down 20% from two years ago, and is the lowest number of nominations since 1996. “But the decline was expected, said Ed Seigenfeld, executive vice president of Triple Crown Productions. That’s because this year’s 3-year-olds were the hardest-hit of the two crops of Kentucky-born horses ravaged by the mysterious Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome three years ago.” (Courier-Journal)
Posted by JC in Triple Crown on 02/07/2005 @ 9:20 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Thanks to a referrer line in my web stats, I spent a little too much time this evening checking out Japanese racing blogs. If only I read Japanese. I did come across this rather enthusiastic fan blog (in English) though, Rockin’ All the Way to the Derby, which deserves a visit.
The blog Big Apple Racing popped up just a couple of weeks ago and it looks as though its writer has already decided to retire. A shame — New York racing deserves a dedicated blogger or two. [Update 2/7: I take this back. Big Apple Racing has just had some recent technical difficulties and will be online once more starting Wednesday. Looking forward to seeing you again, B.A.R. ]
Posted by JC in Web/Technology on 02/06/2005 @ 8:30 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
A training injury has pushed Fusaichi Samurai off the Kentucky Derby trail. Trainer Neil Drysdale says he doesn’t know how long the colt will be sidelined. (LA Times)
Related: “Gulfstream Park’s reshuffled schedule of 3-year-old races gets its first test in the Feb. 5 Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III) when Kentucky Derby (gr. I) hopefuls are required to stretch out for the first of three 1 1/8-mile stakes.” (Blood-Horse)
Posted by JC in Racing on 02/05/2005 @ 11:40 am / Tagged Kentucky Derby / Follow @railbird on Twitter
