Owner Jess Jackson made it official today, the defending 2007 Horse of the Year will next be seen in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on September 27.  The decision ended a bit of speculation as to where exactly the popular son of Smart Strike would next point.  Rumors had circulated...

The 2007 Horse of the Year, Curlin, did not disappoint as an overwhelming favorite in Saturday’s 55th running of the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes. The son of Smart Strike was asked to chase surprisingly quick early fractions, and was able to gun down pace setter Pass the Point (hat tip to Gerald) in...

By far the highlight race this weekend will be Saturday’s 55th running of the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga, featuring defending Horse of the Year winner Curlin. The race marks the champs return to dirt after a game effort finishing 2nd in the Man O’ War at Belmont Park. All eyes will...

Breaking news I just saw over at Ron Correll’s site: http://articles.tracksideview.com/2008/08/27/benny-the-bull-retired-with-ankle-chip/trackback.aspx It would seem that IEAH stables sprinter Benny the Bull has finished his days as a word class sprinter. Usually you wouldn’t think I’d...

Three days people. Just three short days and we’ll be able to view the greatness that is Curlin yet again. Honestly, it’s a bit hard to get totally jazzed about the Woodward Stakes since he’ll likely face a small field, but it doesn’t matter - it’s Curlin! He could be running...

Let me just start off by saluting “the Colonel.” We were away most of the day yesterday, so I didn’t get to see the Travers until last night. When I saw that Colonel John had won, my first reaction was “huh????” I had convinced myself that it was foolhardy to run the colt...

This Saturday’s 139th running of the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Track looks like it may be the best 3-year-old race of the year. Certainly it’s the most competitive from top to bottom since the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. We may not have Big Brown, but we’ve...

First off, I need to apologize to regular readers of The Aspiring Horseplayer. I know my blogging has been sporadic over the last few weeks - that daily (or in all honesty semi-daily) rush of content, analysis, opinion, and general randomness has been missing. I assure you all that there are reasons...

Proud Spell was able to turn the tables on Music Note in Saturday’s 129th running of the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga Race Track. The two main rivals locked horns down the stretch and provided a thrilling finish that came down to the wire. In the pre-race handicapping, I had assumed like many that...

Saturday’s 52nd running of the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, going 1 1/8 miles over the turf, has come up as a very intriguing feature event. Bettors will have several options available when trying to take down 6/5 favorite Storm Mesa, who seeks an impressive 6th straight victory for owner Rick Davis andtrainer...