A look back at the champions of the breed
August Belmont II is rightfully remembered as one of the titans of the turf. He came by his lofty standing through his father’s prominent role in American racing. August II inherited the family love for the sport and built Nursery Stud into a powerful and prestigious breeding operation. Belmont Jr took what he learned and inherited to the top of
Read moreSam-Son Farm began their foray into racing in 1972 when founder Ernie Samuel asked trainer Art Warner to claim a chestnut three year old filly named Takaring from a race at Fort Erie. Takaring would later win the Bison City Stakes and the Wonder Where Stakes, the final two thirds of the Canadian Triple Tiara for fillies, and thus set
Read moreOver time there have been certain facts about some legendary horses that for one reason or another seem to become altered, thus creating a deeper mystique. Much of these factual liberties stem from movies made decades after said horse competed. One case in point is the size of the fourth American Triple Crown winner War Admiral, who ran to immortality
Read moreHave you ever had the experience of looking forward to visiting a place you have heard so many good things about, and then having your visit exceed your expectations? Well I have just gone through such a feeling when I paid a visit to Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement farm just outside Georgetown, Kentucky. The farm is a must see attraction
Read moreBill Beasley was one of the more successful breeders/owners in Canadian racing during the fifties and sixties. He was a regular shopper at the Windfields yearling sales and built his successful racing stable with astute purchases. One such purchase was Canadian Champ, the 1956 Canadian Horse of the Year. Beasley campaigned three Horse of the Year recipients, two of which
Read moreCanada has a proud history in thoroughbred racing and boasts two native sons as winners of the famed Kentucky Derby. The most famous was 1964 winner Northern Dancer, who won the race in a then track record time. The other was born on the same farm and won the race in 1983. His name was Sunny’s Halo. Sunny’s Halo was
Read moreEdward Riley Bradley was one of the great breeders in the history of thoroughbred racing. His Idle Hour Stock Farm in Kentucky churned out stakes winner after stakes winner, one hundred and twenty-eight of them in total, in a forty year period during the first half of the twentieth century. However he never once led a year end breeder’s list.
Read more“Here lies the fleetest runner the American turf has ever known, and one of the gamest and most generous of horses” so says the inscription on the tombstone of the legendary thoroughbred Domino. Although he lived for only six years, Domino left an indelible mark in history as a race horse, and one of the most remarkable legacies as a
Read more“I believe that one day in Canada a horse will be bred that can win the Kentucky Derby. I have many friends in the game tell me the climate is not suitable that such a horse can be developed in my country, but I beg to differ. I hope to prove them wrong”. E.P. Taylor said these words in 1957.
Read moreWhen we look back at the greats of the turf, very seldom are the mothers of these heralded horses given much mention. When we say the name Northern Dancer, all kinds of adulation are heaped during the conversation, and rightfully so, about his racing and stud record. However little is said of his dam, the wonderful Natalma. I am sure
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