Horse Collaborative
Prejudice led to great T’bred line
BY DENNY EMERSON — If you ride a thoroughbred in 2015, anywhere on planet earth, you do so because back in 1934 an Englishman had a prejudiced attitude toward Italians. WHAT? Yup. In 1934, an Italian horseman named Federico Tesio had a mare, Nogara, that he wanted to breed to Lord Derby’s champion race horse, Fairway. But Lord Derby’s stud manager, the person responsible for accepting mares into Fairway’s book, was prejudiced against Italians, and refused Tesio’s request. So Tesio bred Nogara to Pharos, the full brother of Fairway. The resulting foal was Nearco, a great champion on the racetrack, […]
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Big star, Wise Dan, retires from racing
BY JOHN WILKINSON— Wise Dan, a two time Horse of the Year and perennial fan favorite, has been retired, his trainer Charlie LoPresti announced. The 8-year-old gelding, who has not raced in over 10 months due to a cannon bone injury, was slated to make his comeback in the Grade I Woodbine Mile. “He’d been training lights out. But, we noticed some filling in his tendon this morning when we were giving him a bath,” said trainer Charlie LoPresti. “The vet suggested we scan it and it turns out he has a tear on the outside edge of his tendon.” […]
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Denny Emerson opines on Mr. Prospector genes
BY DENNY EMERSON — If you believe that learning about sport horse pedigrees means anything, but you have no idea how to begin, here’s a good place to start. Of all the fairly recent thoroughbred stallions which have had a major impact on creating the modern breed, if you are going to study just one, study this one: Mr Prospector. Love him for his speed, or vilify him for his perceived tendency toward crooked legs and unsoundness, the reality is that Mr. Prospector is a huge influence on the modern thoroughbred. He was by Raise A Native x Gold Digger, […]
