Pop Culture

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Better Than Honour, A.P. Indy, Rags to Riches, Kentucky Oaks, Belmont Stakes, BloodHorse,America's Best Racing, ABR, horse racing, Kentucky Derby, Triple Crown

L’Amour Toujours Chevaux: Five Romantic Thoroughbred Couples for Valentine’s Day

In horse racing, the practice of matching a stallion with a broodmare to create a potentially world-class Thoroughbred is a world unto its own. Many people spend a lot of money, time, and mental focus on finding just the right male-female combination that can hit the genetic lottery and result in a Triple Crown or Breeders’ Cup winner. When it does happen, the pairings become part of horse racing history – so to celebrate Valentine’s Day, here are five notable Thoroughbred “couples” from the past 20 years or so whose offspring have made mom and dad proud.

All-Star, Alex Bregman, Walker Buehler, Boston Red Sox, America's Best Racing, ABR, horse racing, Kentucky Derby, Triple Crown

Bregman, Buehler Bring Derby Fever to Boston Red Sox Locker Room This Spring

You’d better believe the Kentucky Derby will be a hot topic this spring in the Boston Red Sox locker room. Derby fever is contagious and two Sox players already have been bitten by the horse racing bug: Walker Buehler and Alex Bregman, both of whom signed with the team this offseason.

Was this pairing planned to share trips to the racetrack and team up on Pick 4 tickets? I’d like to think so, but even if it was just coincidence, it’s a perfect match … and it won’t be the first time the new teammates have joined forces.

Snickers, Milky Way Farms, Franklin Clarence Mars, Ethel Mars, Gallahadion, 1940 Kentucky Derby, Mars Co., America’s Best Racing, ABR

A Horse? Of Course! How One of the Most Popular Candy Bars Got Its Name

That combination of milk chocolate, caramel, nougat, and peanuts truly is satisfying. So, too, is the way the Snickers bar was named … especially for racehorse fans.

Minnesotan Franklin Clarence Mars developed a passion for candy making as a child when he had a mild case of polio. It was during that time that his mother, Alva, taught him how to hand-dip chocolate, so we owe Alva a debt of gratitude every time we inhale a Milky Way, a packet of M&M’s, or, yes, a Snickers.

BloodHorse Monday, podcast, ESPN Louisville, YouTube, radio, Frank Angst, Sean Collins, Louie Rabaut, Kentucky Derby, Breeders’ Cup, horse racing, Triple Crown, racetrack

BloodHorse Monday Podcast Launches Feb. 3

BloodHorse, in partnership with Louisville, Ky.-based radio host Louie Rabaut, will launch a new podcast, BloodHorse Monday, Feb. 3.

Bobby Montano, SMALL, George Street Playhouse, Leo Switucha

Former Jockey Bobby Montano Goes Big with ‘SMALL’

Pound for pound, jockeys are among the world’s most elite athletes. Aboard thousand-pound animals, they hover over a tiny saddle, balancing their weight on their toes while also navigating through a collective of equine locomotives guided by similarly sized pilots. These men and women put their lives on the line daily, often fighting their own bodies to stay both small and strong enough to get the job done. Sometimes that battle asks too much and the rider must find a new outlet for their physical gifts.

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