The docu-drama which follows 8 jockeys on the rollercoaster ride of the highs and lows of racing is back August 21st . We will follow the trek of 6 returning Jockeys from last season and two new ones to the Kentucky Derby. Garrett Gomez and Corey Nakatani are joining the show and there is much more to look forward to!

Check back for insider information on season 2 beginning Friday August 21^st at 10pm right after Whale Wars!

Four of the last fifteen Kentucky Derby winners were started (i.e. broke to ride and gotten ready to the races) or sold at Two-Year-Old in Training Sales by consignors (i.e. sellers) that will have horses in the 2009 Barretts May Sale. The only one who didn’t consign the Derby Winner to a sale (was Stephens Thoroughbreds) which prepared the home-bred BARBARO for the races for his owners. This is a very high number from the small number of consignors in the sale.

2006 BARBARO (Stephens Thoroughbreds)

2001 MONARCHOS (Murray Smith)

1997 SILVER CHARM (Hartley/De Renzo)

1995 THUNDER GULCH (Jerry Bailey)

Two larger than life Thoroughbred statues are looming on the horizon.

According to a Blood-Horse story, a 164-foot-tall statue of a grey Thoroughbred is going to greet England’s visitors when completed in three years. Artist Mark Wallinger won a contest to build next to the Ebbsfleet train station.

Though physically much smaller, a statue of Barbaro is not going to lack attention for its April due date at Churchill Downs . Alexa King is sculpting an airborne depiction of the Kentucky Derby hero. BarbaroStatue.com has all you ever wanted to know about making a statue.

-Marcie Heacox

The road to the Kentucky Derby started today with The Pamplemousse’s win in the San Rafael Stakes (Gr. III) at Santa Anita. The gray or roan colt’s final time for one mile on Pro-Ride was 1:35.31. In his stakes debut he beat Grade I-winner Square Eddie and European import Ryehill Dreamer, among others. The winning owners are Bienstock and Winner Stable, Alex Solis II, Strauss, et al. Alex Solis (whose son is a co-owner) is the winning jockey and Julio Canani is the winning trainer. The Pamplemousse is named after a restaurant across the street from Del Mar Racetrack. Click here for more video of the race from Larry Zap.

In the previous race Alpha Kitten started a possible trail towards the Kentucky Oaks with victory in the Santa Ynez Stakes (Gr.II). Her owners Jerry and Ann Moss went from highs to lows in one day when their colt Madeo was pulled up with possible minor injuries in the San Fernando Stakes (Gr.II), which was won by Nownownow.

First, relive the 1980 Kentucky Derby:

According to Thoroughbred Times and Blood-Horse, Genuine Risk died at age 31 Monday morning at Newstead Farm in Virginia. Owners Bertram and Diane Firestone said that she died peacefully after being let loose in her paddock.

She was one of only three fillies to ever win the Kentucky Derby (Gr. I), with Regret (1915) and Winning Colors (1989) the other two. Other notable accomplishments in her career include second-place finishes in the Preakness Stakes (Gr. I) and Belmont Stakes (Gr. I), the 1980 Eclipse Award for Champion Three-year-old Filly, and Racing Hall of Fame induction in 1986. She never finished worse than third in 15 career starts. A Blood-Horse photo gallery relives some of her best moments.

She was only able to produce two foals in her time as a broodmare - Genuine Reward and Count Our Blessings, both colts. A Blood-Horse article by Kimberley S. Herbert details the birth of her first foal, which was not without its complications. Unfortunately, neither colt made it to the races. Genuine Reward stands stud in Wyoming, and Count Our Blessings was gelded.

Genuine Risk was one of the most famous fillies who “beat the boys.” Others include fellow Hall-of-Famers Personal Ensign, Lady’s Secret, All Along, and the aforementioned Kentucky Derby winners. Meetings of the sexes were more common in the past, and are still routine in other countries around the world, and in Quarter Horse racing. Makybe Diva won Australia’s most famous race, the Melbourne Cup (AUS-Gr. I) three years in a row, 2003- 2005. Ouija Board was European Horse of the Year and won the Prince of Wales Stakes (ENG-Gr. I). Of note recently are Belmont Stakes (Gr. I) winner Rags To Riches, who defeated eventual Horse of the Year Curlin, and Eight Belles, a gallant second-place in the Kentucky Derby (Gr. I) behind Big Brown. On August 8th, Lethal Heat won the Real Good Deal Stakes against colts at Del Mar.

With the current trend towards keeping fillies against their own gender, it may be a very long time, or never, before we see another filly with as much Triple Crown success as Genuine Risk.