small town

From Kentucky to France to the Breeders' Cup last year, Outfielder (Speightstown) has always been well-regarded, and he made his return to the races a stylish one with a frontrunning masterclass in the Animal Kingdom Stakes. A buzz horse almost from day one, he was made a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' at first-asking in late May last year when he went gate-to-wire by a commanding 6 1/4 lengths in a five-furlong maiden dash at Churchill Downs. Trainer Wesley Ward saw more than a glimmer of potential in his...

On a sunny Friday in August, a vanload of a dozen wide-eyed tourists step onto Main Street in Midway, Kentucky. The picturesque town with a population of fewer than 2,000 is easy to miss passing through, but for travelers who do happen upon it, the charming community is one they'll soon be eager to revisit. "This is just a lovely town," said one woman from Kansas after touring Midway's historic downtown for the first time. "It's amazing how clean the storefronts are and how friendly all the owners are." "There's...

We reflect more as we age, mostly because we simply have more to reflect on. If only wisdom worked the same way. So, it is a reflective state of mind I find myself in today with the news of the passing of Mary Anne Hockensmith, who died at age 97 Monday at her beloved Woodlake Farm outside my hometown of Frankfort, Ky. Having spent some time there as a youth, I was fortunate for about 14 years, until last fall, to live on a farm that--as the crow flies--was a...