Connections

Gray Lyster knew for several months that Aug. 29 would be a big day for him as he prepared to marry his fiancée, Natalie, on that Saturday afternoon. What he didn’t realize amidst the last-minute event preparations was that a horse was about to deliver the best wedding present he could have hoped for on […]

Susie and Dr. E.C. “Pug” Hart are horse people who enjoy the accomplishments of every equine that passes through their care, even if from afar. Whether it’s a stakes winner they bred, a future champion they trained, or an injured runner they helped nurse back to brilliance, it all means something to them. “Seeing our […]

Big John B’s win in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap last weekend was one that the bettors were ready for. When the gelding rallied in the stretch under Rafael Bejarano to top Ashleyluvssugar by 1 ½ lengths, his odds were 2.1-1, but for his breeders, the odds of him becoming a graded stakes winner […]

Young Elias Stein, pushing five years old, has urgent advice for his father, Justin: “Use the green stick, dad,” he says. And then the questions always come: “Did you win a race with it? Did you use the green stick?” Yes, Justin Stein used that green stick to win the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine racetrack […]

This country has repeatedly shown what people can do with a fertile piece of land and a strong work ethic. For Fred and Nancy Mitchell at Clarkland Farm, that’s been the recipe for producing Thoroughbreds that are a joy to “behold” on the racetrack. Clarkland’s 400 acres near Lexington, Ky., have been in Nancy’s family […]

When it comes to horses, it’s hard to think of something Christina Jelm hasn’t been involved in. Fox hunting, polo, Saddlebred riding? Check. Thoroughbred trainer, breeder, owner? Yep. Corporate marketing, bloodstock agent, international exporter? You bet. While her childhood in Bath, Ohio (also home to a well-known trainer who comes into the picture later in […]

When Dr. Doris Tummillo purchased acreage in Aiken, S.C., she initially thought of the farm as a place to get away from the stresses of her job as a physician in nearby Augusta, Ga., and maybe dabble in farming hay and livestock. Little did she know she would ultimately be inspired to build a training […]

Even before Sheer Drama’s victory in last Saturday’s $750,000 Delaware Handicap, the 5-year-old Florida-bred mare’s owner and breeder, Harold L. Queen, was looking ahead to the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Handicap at Saratoga on Aug. 29. “That’s one of those Win and You’re In races,” Queen said. “Breeders’ Cup pays all the entry fees ($60,000 […]

Merry Meadow’s game victory in the Princess Rooney Stakes on July 5 gave the mare more than her first Grade 2 win—it gave her an automatic berth into the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, placing her in what most would agree is a rarefied group of Thoroughbreds. When you get to know owners Bill […]

When Undrafted traveled across the pond for the Diamond Jubilee Stakes on the last day of Royal Ascot, bloodstock agent Gatewood Bell made the trip as well. It was worth the long journey. Undrafted came home strongly to beat a talented field of sprinters in yet another win for trainer Wesley Ward at Royal Ascot. The victory […]