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Tom Law 
The action came fast and furious for an extended stretch of about three hours Saturday afternoon as graded stakes were run at tracks across North America and Kentucky Derby dreams were realized or crushed. The Wood Memorial, Toyota Blue Grass and Santa Anita Derby were the big ones and they got people talking.
If you’ve been on the sidelines, watching from a distance and following along at home now is the time to dip into the pool. Go for it, dive in and get soaked. Days like this don’t come around often and we’ve got you covered from coast to coast, prep to prep and across the Atlantic Ocean in this week’s Saturday Special presented by Pin Oak Stud, home of Alternation, Broken Vow and Cowboy Cal.
Parting Glass Racing and the Academy of Lifelong Learning at Empire State College are hosting a Pre-Derby Handicapping Educational Seminar to prepare everyone for the Kentucky Derby at 7 p.m. Thursday at The Parting Glass in Saratoga Springs.
Say, write or even think the name Foolish Pleasure and it’s a safe bet the first thing that will pop into the mind of a racing person is the name Ruffian. The names are forever linked because of the highly publicized “Great Match” between the two star 3-year-olds of 1975 on that disastrous early July afternoon at Belmont Park.
Who’s ready for April? Well, like it or not it’s here and we’re getting settled in. Time to get that yard cleaned up, do some planting, file those taxes and soak up some sunshine in between showers and snow. If the latter got to you this week fear not, it won’t last long, and you’ll be back outside in no time.
Welcome to April. Time to transition that case of spring fever to a full on bout of Derby Fever. The Kentucky Derby is five weeks away and this week’s Saturday Special presented by Pin Oak Stud, home of Alternation, Broken Vow and Cowboy Cal previews two key preps for the great race.
Change is the name of the game these days in Central Kentucky’s Bluegrass region. The dull, muted tones that dot the rolling hills and picturesque landscapes during the winter are quickly giving way to the bright, vibrant colors of spring. Dogwood trees and flowers are in bloom, grass is growing and turning rich green. The thousands of horses in the region are in the midst of significant change, too.
Less than a half-mile past a sign that reads Town of Princetown on Mariaville Road in rural Schenectady County sits a red barn on a spacious piece of property where Artie Magnuson is writing the next chapter of his more than three-decade career in the Thoroughbred industry.
The red barn, adjoining tack room and office and surrounding 65 grassy and wooded acres are home to Across The Board Stables, a full-service breaking, training, layup and sales prep operation that opened for business last fall.
While many spent a good chunk of time the last few weeks crowding around television sets and analyzing their March Madness brackets, Robert Manfuso and Katy Voss had different plans. Instead, they’ve crowded around the television set in their home at Chanceland Farm, watching graduates of their breeding operation to race, while checking breeding charts and waiting on the newest additions to their program.
Mark Vondrasek might not be a name that many people in racing know well. They might also not know his Eklektikos Stable. They undoubtedly know the two best products of Vondrasek’s small breeding operation in La Verdad and Hot City Girl, New York-bred half sisters who collectively helped push him to the top of the Empire State’s breeding program in 2015.
