HorseRacingNation.com NewsWire

Who is the best three-year-old this year?

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:58:27 GMT

There will be no Triple Crown winner in 2013. Okay, that’s done and out of the way. Let’s move on. With one surprising Preakness, the three-year-old division went from a monarchy to a sea of uncertainty. The unceremonious dumping of the Kentucky Derby winner off his perch in Baltimore begs the question … who is the best three-year-old in the land?

Orb is still the leader of the division. He arrived to Louisville as a lukewarm Derby favorite and his impressive win launched a groundswell of Triple Crown mania. It was too much too fast, and the horse could not live up to the extreme expectations in the Preakness. He may have been knocked down to reality, but still, considering his wins in Florida, there would be no doubt who the champion would be if the season ended today. But of course, 2013 does not end now, and either a loss in the Belmont Stakes, or a strong win by another if Orb’s connections decide to skip the race, and Orb is right back to being just one of the boys.

Speaking of one of the boys, Oxbow comes out to play without fail. An impressive winner of the LeComte Stakes early

Iotapa belongs in a strong crop of three-year-old fillies

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:24:37 GMT

Given a confident ride by Joe Talamo, Iotapa rolled home to a facile score in the $70,000 Railbird Stakes today at Betfair Hollywood Park. At first glance, the 1 ¼ length win over Ciao Bella Luna in the non-graded stakes race make look like small potatoes on the grand scheme of Preakness weekend, but upon further investigation, the potential of the winner may force people to look back at the Railbird as the start of something big.

Claimed for $50,000 by Hronis Racing while winning her career debut last June, Iotapa has already proven to be a bargain, despite her new connections discovering a hairline fracture soon after the claim. Given a long layoff to properly heal from the issue, Iotapa has come back gangbusters in 2013.

Fans first took major notice of the dark bay filly when she was entered in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks in April. Considering she only had a comebacking win in a six furlong optional claimer following the layoff after the maiden claiming event, the Santa Anita Oaks, against the likes of Beholder and Fiftyshadesofhay, seemed very ambitious. Sen

Preakness 2013: Early Odds Analysis

Sat, 18 May 2013 07:19:12 GMT

Friday's Advanced wagering on Preakness 2013 didn't have too many surprises with one notable exception. Let's take a look at what these odds mean, and I'll start with my top three...

# 1 Orb (4-5) - The head honcho, the big chief. He's the horse we are all wanting to see move one step closer to the elusive Triple Crown. Personally, I like his chances. It seems to me his development is starting to leave the others behind, and his thriving appearance has not diminished one iota since Derby Day. Like it or not, 4-5 is what I expected, and is pretty commensurate with his chances to add the Preakness to his growing list of accomplishments.

# 4 Departing (11-1) - The one true overlay in the field, Departing is the horse I believe is worth taking a shot on. He is showing steady improvement in his brief career, and trainer, Al Stall knows he has more racehorse than he had just one month ago. He will need that rapid improvement to tackle Orb, but if he gets the jump on him on the turn, or if Orb does not run his best today, I believe this is the one t

Pimlico Special Romp is Last Gunfighter’s 6th in a Row

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:01:49 GMT

The ball is now in Orb’s court. Heavily favored in the Pimlico Special, just as Orb will be in tomorrow’s Preakness Stakes, Last Gunfighter used a powerful stretch run to blow right on by the alone on the lead, Eighttofasttocatch, to win the Grade 3 Pimlico Special by an ever-widening 4 ¼ lengths.

Heavy favoritism in a historic 1 3/16 mile stakes race at Pimlico is not all Last Gunfighter and Orb have in common, though. Today’s impressive win marked Last Gunfighter’s sixth straight victory after finishing 2nd or 3rd in each of his first four career starts. Meanwhile, Orb finished 3rd or 4th in his first three career starts before rattling off five straight wins, including his huge score in the Kentucky Derby last time. Can Orb match the six-race streak of Last Gunfighter and move to the brink of immortality? We’ll have to wait about 24 hours to know for sure, but for now let’s talk about the newest star of the older male division.

Not only has Last Gunfighter now won six races running, but he is also a perfect six-for-six since joining the Chad Brown barn last ye

Preakness 2013 - Orb’s Draw: One is the Loneliest Post

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:24:05 GMT

Fact - In the past 41 editions, only one horse has won the Preakness from the #1 post position.

Fact - Orb will break from that #1 post position in the Preakness.

So the question becomes: did Orb’s chances to move one step closer to Triple Crown immortality change significantly for the worse with the unlucky pull of a pill?

My answer, as simply stated as possible, is no, yes, no, yes, and no.

No Worries - Orb has already done well from a rail post position, having won the Fountain of Youth Stakes from the #1 hole. Coincidentally, in that race in which he methodically wore down Violence, it was also a field of nine just like the Preakness.

Troublesome - There has to be something to the lack of success for the #1 post in the Preakness. On paper, you would think it is not the most ideal spot, but for Tabasco Cat to be the only winner in the last 41 years is not only surprising futility, but it also has to give anyone who believes Orb to be near a sure thing, cause for pause.

Clear Sailing - With bona-fide speed horses like Goldencents and Titletown Five in the next two spots in the starti

Who Am I ???

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:59:23 GMT

*Bred in the East Coast, I was the product of a real family affair, from breeder, to owner, to trainer.

*I was a stakes winner in each of my three seasons on the racetrack.

*A winner of better than 50% of my races, I broke the track record in two of my stakes wins.

*Known as an oats, hay, and water horse, I never once raced on Lasix, nor any other medication for that matter.

*My biggest career win came with my tail tied, and at double digit odds.

*I hold the distinction of having won a stakes race on the card of one of America’s top days, two years in a row.

*My initial stakes win came in New Jersey, as did one of my grade 1 stakes wins.

*One of my graded stakes wins came at a Maryland track that no longer hosts live racing.

*My career was cut short by injury, but I did go out an impressive winner.

*I spent almost my entire long life in the same county.

*Unfortunately, none of my sons or daughters reached my racing heights, although one daughter produced a Kentucky Derby favorite.

You should know by now … Who Am I ???

Departing: Beware the Fresh Horse in Preakness 2013

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:52:14 GMT

Admittedly, calling this year’s Illinois Derby, the Preakness Prep, as I did several times before the $750,000 race, was just a little bit about sticking it to the powers that be at Churchill Downs Inc. I mean fair is fair. CDI had snubbed the richest dirt race in Illinois big time, but still, there was enough meat behind expecting at least one horse out of the Illinois Derby to make their way to Pimlico four weeks later, for me to roll with the ‘Preakness Prep’ tag. By the time the full field of 14 hit the eighth pole, I knew that my nickname for the race was all too real.

Departing is a good looking homebred son of War Front that I’ve liked for some time. Written about several times here on the pages of ZATT, the gelding was one of my favorite new finds of the winter, and after three easy scores, followed by a good third in the Louisiana Derby, it was time to see what he could do in person. Stuck way outside in the large field, I did not expect things to be too easy for Departing in the Illinois Derby. I would be pleasantly surprised with just how easy he made it look that afternoon at

Preakness 2013 - Contenders, Pretenders and More

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:51:00 GMT

Head of the Class

Orb 1-1 (Malibu Moon-Lady Liberty, by Unbridled) Shug McGaughey/Joel Rosario – Talk about a horse putting it all together at just the right time. I was thoroughly impressed while watching him win an allowance race back in January, and he has only gotten better and stronger with each and every race. His wins in the Fountain of Youth and Florida Derby proved he was for real, but it was in the Kentucky Derby, and perhaps the week leading up to the Derby, that he demonstrated that he was the best of this crop. He seems to be holding his ideal form since his win under the twin spires, and with plenty of speed coming to Baltimore, all signs point to having a horse with a big shot to win the Triple Crown when we all get to Belmont in June.

The Contenders

Departing 5-1 (War Front-Leave, by Pulpit) Al Stall/Brian Hernandez – Lightly raced, but highly talented, Departing is the most interesting new shooter the Preakness has seen since Rachel Alexandra tested the boys back in 2009. His third aga

Malibu Moon Mania

Sun, 12 May 2013 16:13:51 GMT

Don’t look now, but American racing has officially entered a state of Malibu Moon Mania. If Orb’s powerful win in last week’s Kentucky Derby was not enough, yesterday’s tour-de-force by Freedom Child in a sloppy edition of the Peter Pan Stakes tipped the scales over to full-fledged mania. As easy as it was for me to name the Derby winner last week’s star, this week, ZATT’s Star of the Week could go to no other horse than Malibu Moon’s three-year-old male second string. A sire I’ve long considered to be one of the best in America, Malibu Moon is now in position to become the toast of the bluegrass, as his talented sons look to make America’s Triple Crown their own personal playground.

Regally bred, the 16-year-old sire is a son of the great A.P. Indy out of a grade 1 winning Mr. Prospector mare named Macoumba. As influential as any sire in the last twenty years, A.P. Indy was pensioned from breeding in 2011. Bred to be a standout on the track, Malibu Moon only raced two times in his career, where he displayed the precociousness of his mother by running 2nd in a maiden in April and th

Peter Pan to Belmont for Incognito?

Sat, 11 May 2013 07:32:28 GMT

The Kentucky Derby madness is over. Now it’s on to Triple Crown mania, and with Orb winning in Louisville impressively, the dial has been turned up all the way to eleven. But Preakness 2013 is still a week away, so this weekend, a light one on the big race front, all eyes will point to Belmont Park for today’s Grade 2 Peter Pan. A race that traditionally feeds into the final leg of the Triple Crown, this year’s edition has attracted a well-matched field of eleven, and among them is one horse I believe has the potential to make some noise in the Belmont. Clearly, Incognito made some noise in his last start.

“I think it may have been, quite remarkably, Incognito!”

As the excited words of Tom Durkin rang through the grandstand, a new star may have been born. The second foal of the top notch racemare, Octave, and by A.P. Indy, Incognito is one of the best bred horses on the planet. After running 5th in his career debut last December, the Darley Stable runner has been getting better with each and every start. After a bang-up second to the stakes winner, Mr. Palmer, Incognito brok