by Patrick Moquin Jr.|04.20.202304.20.2023|3:54pm4:15pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Hard Work Is Paying Off For Olver Maddy Olver has spent most of her adult life beating the sunrise to the backstretch. To the young horsewoman in the pre-dawn twilight, it all felt necessary. Some dreams were worth sacrificing for, and becoming an apprentice jockey this winter made it all worthwhile. “At the beginning, I wasn’t sure what it would look like, […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|04.06.2023|5:52pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Oaks-Bound Norm Casse Credits Tepin For Helping Him Believe In Himself Six years after stepping away from his dual Hall of Fame father’s stable, trainer Norm Casse will have his first starter in an American classic race. Southlawn, winner of the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks, will stamp the 39-year-old’s name in the program for this year’s Kentucky Oaks. “This is a filly that we liked […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|03.23.2023|3:36pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘I Don’t Think Anybody Would Do What He Did’ Fans tuning in to Sunday’s Sunland Park Derby card may be surprised by the appearance of jockey Felipe Valdez’ name in the program. With a mount in seven of the day’s 11 races, the 43-year-old Valdez is in the midst of a comeback he truly never saw coming. Plagued by injuries throughout his career, including […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|03.09.2023|4:33pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘Educated Risk’ Proves A Practical Move Leslie Amestoy walked away from the OBS auction ring when bidding rose above $180,000. That was the budget she and her husband, Pierre, had considered for the son of Practical Joke, after all. Minutes later, Pierre Amestoy returned to the table and showed his wife the sales ticket: he’d bought the colt for a final […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|02.23.202302.23.2023|3:01pm3:03pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Having Pennsylvania-Bred On Road To The Classics Is ‘Why We’re In The Game’ It was a perfect “circle of life” moment: breeder Christian Black watched Angel of Empire upset the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds from the foaling office at Blackstone Farm in Pennsylvania, patiently awaiting the birth of the next generation. “I believe I ran out and jumped up and down like a 20-year-old […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|02.10.202302.10.2023|12:22am12:23am Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘More In The Pipeline’ After Monomoy Girl Near the conclusion of two-time Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl’s career, the following suggestion was made to breeder Brendan Gallagher: “You want to enjoy it while it’s happening, because it’s never going to happen again.” “Well, I said to that person, ‘If I really thought it would never happen again, I’m not so sure I’d […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|01.22.2023|7:03pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Kirstenbosch No Garden Variety Homebred For Keith Abrahams Owner/breeder Keith Abrahams was quietly confident in Kirstenbosch ahead of last weekend’s Grade 3 La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita. The filly, named for a famous botanical garden in Abrahams’ native South Africa, proved his confidence was not misplaced when she won by a nose. Kirstenbosch became the second homebred graded stakes winner to race […]
by Claire Wilson|01.15.202301.15.2023|2:43pm3:27pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Hampton, 20, Balances Studies With New Role As Jockey Agent Kyle Hampton, a 20-year-old Louisville native and full-time college student, is currently mastering the act of balancing homework and a new career as a jockey agent for British newcomer Tyler Heard. The two celebrated Heard’s first stateside win the night of Jan. 12 in the sixth race at Charles Town in West Virginia aboard Baytown […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|12.24.202212.24.2022|10:01am10:14am Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: More Derby Dreams Take Root In New Mexico, Iowa Thirteen and a half years ago, the diminutive bay gelding named Mine That Bird was hauled over 1,000 miles from New Mexico to Churchill Downs by his trainer, Chip Woolley. His 50-1 upset will forever remain a legend in the history of the Kentucky Derby. This year, another trainer from New Mexico could be poised […]
by Chelsea Hackbarth|12.09.202212.09.2022|11:37am12:30pm Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Cash’s Commitment To Racing Is Through The Roof Trainer Norman L. “Lynn” Cash won his first graded stakes race in the Oct. 29 Kelso (G2) with 42-1 longshot Double Crown, but it is a starter allowance horse who has really put his fledgling stable on the map. “I tell people that if I hadn’t claimed Beverly Park, nobody would know who I am,” […]