Author
A Kansas native who has worked in racing journalism since 1974, he is the co-founder of the newsletter Racing Update, and served as the paper's editor until 1993, when he moved to Scotland. Oppenheim developed a reputation as an independent observer of the sales scene in the early 1980's, and he and the staff of Racing Update originated a number of methods of stallion and sales analysis which have been adopted throughout the industry. For the past 10 years he has written a weekly column for TDN, as well as reporting from the major sales. He also works as a consultant, primarily for pedigree analysis, in a private capacity.
This coming Saturday, June 7, is the biggest day of the racing year so far, because that is the day we find out if California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) becomes the 12th Triple Crown winner, or the 12th to make the race and fail in the 36 years since Affirmed followed Secretariat and Seattle Slew as...
It’s interesting to look at the TDN Year-to-Date General Sire List (click here) just now. Four NA/EU sires have 2014 progeny earnings over $5 million. Of course one’s immediate thought is what impact the three races on Dubai World Cup night might have had: the $10-million G1 Dubai World Cup, with $6 million to the...
Two years ago, I’ll Have Another (Flower Alley) had the Triple Crown at his mercy going into the GI Belmont S., only for injury to intervene and force his retirement less than 72 hours before his scheduled coronation. I think California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) faces a much tougher task this year. Though he has not...
The fireworks from second-crop European sires are continuing. Leading second-crop sires by 2014 progeny earnings at this moment (click here) is the Coolmore sire Thewayyouare (Kingmambo) by virtue of Toast of New York’s $1.2-million payday in the G2 UAE Derby at the end of March. Thewayyouare was bought as a yearling by agent Herve Barjot...
In last weekend’s two English Guineas Classics, the winners were by Europe’s number two and three sires: Dubawi (Ire) (Dubai Millennium {GB}) is the sire of the shock (note the pun) 40-1 winner of the G1 English 2000 Guineas, Night of Thunder (Ire), while Dansili (GB) is the sire of Miss France (Ire), winner of...
The first blockbuster classic weekend of 2014 kicks off Friday with Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Untapable (Tapit), who won her two races at Fair Grounds this winter (GIII Rachel Alexandra S. and GII Fair Grounds Oaks) by a combined 17 lengths, likely to go off at nearly even-money in the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs....
We first planned to run the statistics on the sires of all-weather runners before the Keeneland meet began, so TJCIS (The Jockey Club Information Systems) ran them for us on Apr. 2, after Dubai World Cup night. Since then, Britain had its first racing ever on Good Friday, highlighted by a ,1-million card on Lingfield’s...
Two years ago Newmarket trainer John Gosden got a flying start to the 2012 flat season after a mild winter and spring in England, and he finished up as champion trainer for the season, demonstrating that an early start doesn’t mean you can’t keep going. He’s had a mild spring to work with in 2014...
Pending the outcome of this weekend’s final Classic preps, the GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn and the GI Blue Grass S., due to be run for the last time on the synthetic Polytrack surface at Keeneland, there are California Chrome Benoit likely to be three contenders vying for favoritism in the GI Kentucky Derby in...
It really was true, as a lot of people have commented, that the results on Dubai World Cup night had a very international tint to them, with the notable exception of U.S. participation. Japan had a massive turf double in the nine-furlong $5-million G1 Duty Free, won by Just A Way (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}),...
One of the things which struck me in the aftermath of the latest crisis to hit American racing, last week’s PETA/New York Times undercover expose of life in trainer Steve Asmussen’s barn, is how reactive this business is (including this columnist: I’m reacting). Dozens and dozens of people from dozens of organizations have spent thousands...
Gainesway Farm’s Tapit, who retired for a $15,000 fee in 2005, was the Leading North American freshman sire of 2008, when Stardom Bound won three Grade I races, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, and Laragh added the GI Hollywood Starlet. He stood for $35,000 in 2009 (foals of 2010), in which year it became...