Pierre Esquirol is the top breeder this season with a total Breeders’ Bonus earned of $48,941. The leading runner bred by Esquirol was the It’s No Joke filly, NO MORE JO KING. The three-year-old won a Maiden Special Weight and an Allowance Optional Claiming race to finish the season with a record of 8-2-2-0.

Canadian Thoroughbred – CTHS – Alberta – Leading Alberta Breeders’ by Bonus Earnings 2023

Esquirol Farms

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The Guardian – Anthony Cummins – Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan review – straight from the horse trainer’s mouth

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Bloodhorse – Joe Perez – Panel Discusses Evolution of Computer-Assisted Betting

Phil has a question:

Why does all of the talk about the CAWs duck the real problem – rebates.

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Bloodhorse – Dick Downey – Baffert Seeks Default Judgment in Defamation Suit

Phil says it’s time for all horse players who are on Twitter (X) to start bashing responding to that fucking asshole Not that @swifthitter.

@swifthitter sure flaps his jaws at lot, but then hides behind his mother’s skirt when the bailiffs come looking for him. When they came to serve him was he in the basement of his mother’s trailer.

Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great nation, we must not merely talk; we must act big.

Theodore Roosevelt

Talk doesn’t cook rice.

Chinese Proverb

Talk that does not end in any kind of action is better suppressed altogether.

Thomas Carlyle

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Bloodhorse – Eric Mitchell – NY Commission Upholds Suspension Due to Forte Positive

TDN – Bill Finley – Pletcher, Repole Lose Another Round in Fight to Overturn Hopeful DQ

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Paulick Report – No, Justify Isn’t Going To Lose His Triple Crown Title; Here’s Why

Bloodhorse – Dick Downey – Horseman Ruis Prevails in Justify Disqualification Suit

Phil has a question:

Where do the dominoes stop.

Is this a case of the old lady who swallowed a fly.

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Bloodhorse – Dean Keppler – Racing Commission Approves Turf Paradise Race Dates

TDN – T.D. Thornton – Turf Paradise Approved to Run ’24 Meet, Pending Sign-off by HISA Authority

Bloodhorse – Byron King – Arizona HBPA: Turf Paradise to Reopen Jan. 29

TDN – Report: Racing To Resume at Turf Paradise in January

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OPENING DAY HIGHLIGHTS
Free* Santa Anita Wall Calendar
Frontrunner Buffet
Craft Beer Trackside Festival
Loge Box Seats & Trackside Dining
Whiskey in Winter in the Chandelier Room
Winter Family Fun Zone
Premium Golden Road Pub
Showvivor Contest Begins

*With paid admission, while supplies last

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The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men

Gang aft agley,

Robert Burns

Bloodhorse – Bob Ehalt – Fierceness Likely to Start 2024 in Feb. 3 Holy Bull

Los Angeles Times – Erin Osmon – L.A. confidential: The untold stories behind some of the greatest songs of the 1970s and beyond

Horse Race Insider – John Pricci – AN “ERSATZ TEST OF THE CHAMPION” PROVIDES 1/ST RACING WITH A CHANCE TO WALK ITS TALK

Bloodhorse – Frank Angst – KHRC Reports Quick Start for Kentucky Sports Wagering

Bloodhorse – HISA to Provide Free Legal Help to Covered Persons

Paulick Report – Trainer Reed Saldana Suspended Two Years, To Pay $37,000 After Losing HIWU Arbitration

The Ringer – Steven Ruiz – What’s Causing the NFL’s QB Injury Crisis? And What Can the League Do to Fix It?

The biggest thrill wasn’t in winning on Sunday but in meeting the payroll on Monday.

Art Rooney

Los Angeles Times – Bill Shaikin – A $900 ticket for Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers debut? Seat not included

Phil has looking at the prices for seats for Pink on one of the ticket resale sites and Phil thinks he’ll stick with Big Pink.

CNN – Konstantin Toropin and Alex Stambaugh – Ukraine moves Christmas to December 25, distancing itself from Russian tradition

Paulick Report – The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: A ‘Smart’ Book For Horse Racing Newbies

Thoroughbred Racing Commentary – JA McGrath – Taking the reins at the race that stops a nation – interview with Melbourne chief exec Steve Rosich

TDN – TD Thornton – Week in Review: Belmont Stakes Shift To Saratoga Ignites Healthy Debate, But Racing World Won’t Tilt Off Its Axis

TDN – Linda Rice Looks Forward with Hot Fudge, Returning Stakes Horses

Paulick Report – Martha Claussen – Warren, Racing Director At Evangeline Downs, Delta Downs, To Embark On New Chapter

The Score – Key takeaways and analysis from Week 14 in the NFL

The Ringer – Ben Solak – The Hot Read, Week 14: The Cowboys Have Arrived as a Super Bowl Contender

Front Office Sports – David Rumsey – Business Is Booming: NFL Salary Cap Projected to Soar Past $240M

If advertisers spent the same amount of money on improving their products as they do on advertising then they wouldn’t have to advertise them.

Will Rogers

Los Angeles Times – Jack Harris and Mike Digiovanna – Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani joining Dodgers on record $700-million deal

The Score – Travis Sawchik – From coast to coast, Ohtani’s decision shakes the baseball world

The Ringer – Ben Lindbergh – Shohei Ohtani’s $700 Million Dodgers Contract Is Unlike Anything in MLB History

Front Office Sports – Eric Fisher – Why Ohtani’s Historic Contract Could Pay Off Even Bigger for the Dodgers

Garden and Gun – Molasses Cookies

Bloodhorse – Tracy Ganz – Nothing Like You Gives Baffert a 10th Starlet Victory

Bloodhorse – Keith Asmussen Surpasses Father Steve in Riding Wins

Paulick Report – Noted Makes Successful Return To Turf In Pulpit, Caps Stakes Double For Irad Ortiz

TDN – Noted A Determined Winner in Gulfstream’s Pulpit

Thoroughbred Racing Commentary – ‘He acts like he just came off the track’ – NYRA regular Eye Luv Lulu prepares for second career at Second Chance

To Sir With Love

TDN – Brian Sheerin and Emma Berry – Place Du Carrousel Clears €4.025 Million at Arqana

TDN – Golden Sixty Defies All Odds To Win Third Hong Kong Mile

TDN – Justify’s Valentine Candy Dominates Oaklawn’s Advent

TDN – T.D. Thornton – Trainer Saldana Suspended Two Years, Fined $25k After Losing Banned Substance Arbitration Hearing

Horse Race Insider – John Pricci – FINAL: VALUE IN GARLAND OF ROSES, FG LADIES, TAMPA’S CITY OF OCALA AND OP’s MISTLETOE

Bloodhorse – Eric Mitchell – Gufo Retired to Stud at Ballycroy Bloodstock in Ontario

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. 

Thomas Jefferson

Paulick Report – Paulick: What I Learned At The Global Symposium On Racing – Day Two

Southern Living – Always Ask The Host Before Bringing These Items To A Party

Phil has a suggestion:

Bring wine and good company.

Bon Appetit – Sommelier Shops For Holiday Wines: Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve

Paulick Report – Los Alamitos Thoroughbred Meet To Unveil New Graphic Showing Projected ‘In Play’ Closing Odds

Bloodhorse – Molly Rollins – Rondinello, Trainer of Little Current, Dies at 95

Bloodhorse – Steve Haskin – Little Current and the Year After Big Red

ESPN – T. J. Quinn – Inside Brittney Griner’s Russia arrest, detainment and release

Canada’s National Observer – Michael Cimarello – “It’s going to take off, and there’s going to be nothing left”

Sports Business Journal – Bears to survey Solider Field lot for new stadium

This Could Be It For Me

Thoroughbred Racing Commentary – Japanese superstar Equinox to stand for record freshman fee of ¥20m at Shadai

The Ringer – Justin Charity – The Cult of Hayao Miyazaki

The Ringer – Zach Kram – Joe Hisaishi Is Studio Ghibli’s Unsung MVP

Beware of current truths. 

Sixto Rodriguez

Sympathy For The Devil

We could use “All in the Family” now, or another common playing field where the issues of the day are debated with candor, perhaps wrapped in a cocoon of humor to make it all feel a little less dangerous. Bunker’s lamenting of a golden yesteryear when “girls were girls and men were men” wasn’t a truth-telling moment. It was an opportunity for Americans to debate bigger, more fraught issues within the safety of a weekly sitcom. Those were the days.

Los Angeles Times – Lorraine Ali – Archie Bunker couldn’t exist today. That’s why we need him more than ever

Mrs. Robinson

Phil has a question:

Would Archie’s advice to the fat orange blob be to go out and hire a good Jew lawyer.

TDN – Bidding Open For Fasig-Tipton December Digital Sale, Includes 300 Plus Entries

Bloodhorse – Byron King – Otto the Conqueror Invades for Springboard Mile

Phil has a question:

Why can Robertino Diodoro enter a horse in this race as an owner when he is suspended as a trainer.

The Bitter Southerner – Kiese Laymon – My Favourite Restaurant Served Gas

Phil has a question:

Did the write proof that title or were they looking for the double entendre.

Bon Appetit – Nina Moskowitz – The 20 Best Recipes of 2023

Bloodhorse – Asmussens Chasing More Milestones at Oaklawn Park

Southern Living – Hallie Milstein – 8 Traditional Holiday Etiquette Rules Experts Say No Longer Apply

Phil has a question:

Don’t you have to be Bar Mitzvahed to move to the adult table.

There is a cultural movement in the white working class to blame problems on society or the government, and that movement gains adherents by the day.

J. D. Vance

Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd

The Conversation – Janet Music and Sylvain Charlebois – Here’s how much your holiday dinner will cost this year

TDN – T.D. Thornton – Amid Daunting Industry Issues, A Message To Symposium Students: Don’t Give Up

Thoroughbred Racing Commentary – Nicholas Godfrey – What’s been happening: Danedream put down, Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, Rosehill shock, Frankie Dettori voted out and more …

The Sun – Beth Allcock – Frankie Dettori reveals ‘disgusting’ camp moment that wasn’t shown on TV

Relax Frankie only got voted off the island.

The Ringer – Nora Princiotti – The End of Bill Belichick’s Tenure in New England Feels Inevitable

Horse Race Insider – John Pricci – UPDATE 2: LATE OAKLAWN PICK 3 COMPLETE WITH ADVENT; GULF, FAIR GROUNDS, BIG A TO COME

The Score – Bryan Mcwilliam and Simon Sharkey-Gotlieb Yankees acquire Soto from Padres in 7-player blockbuster

The Ringer – Zach Kram – The Yankees Are Back to Building With Stars. And Juan Soto Is Exactly What They Need.

Bloodhorse – Dean Kepler – Symposium: Exploring Racing’s New Economic Initiatives

Phil has a question:

If Clark Kent and the Undertaker had to meet the criteria discussed here how fast would there lazy asses be out of a position.

Front Office Sports – Michael McCarthy and A.J. Perez –  ‘The Amount of Useless Stuff You Guys Do Is Staggering.’ Inside a Shakeup at Sports Illustrated

Phil has a question:

Was he speaking of Sports Illustrated or Horse Racing Alberta.

Isn’t this the type of behaviour you’d expect from the Minister in charge of Horse Racing Alberta rather than just blindly signing off on the same fucking bullshit that Horse Racing Alberta has been feeding the Alberta Government since the days of the Captain and Tennille.

TDN – HISA And Oaklawn Park Designate Area For Intra-Articular Injection Treatments

Bloodhorse – Frank Angst – Dollars & Sense: The Marketing of Illicit Substances

Paulick Report – HIWU Update: Parx Hall Of Fame Trainer Phillip Aristone Suspended 105 Days Over Lamotrigine Positives

Bloodhorse – ANZ Bloodstock News – Tim Rowe – Australian Turf Club in Talks to Sell Rosehill

Los Angeles Times – Kevin McCarthy uses PAC to lavish cash on high-end resorts, private jets and fine dining

Phil has a question:

Isn’t misusing public funds a criminal offense in the US.

Paulick Report – Mike Willman – Junior Alvarado, Julien Leparoux Among Finalists For 2024 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award

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Phil M Stockmen