Nobiz Like Shobiz will stand at Darby Dan in 2009 (Sarah K Andrew)

Earlier this week I noticed two items over at Bloodhorse in the breeding section. GbG horse of interest War Emblem seems to be making progress in his “recovery”!

You may remember that there was a time when he wasn’t covering any mares even though he was fully functional, so to speak. He was prescribed what the article calls “intensive therapy” including relocation, changes in breeding shed handling and hormone supplements… and guess what, it’s working!

Although, apparently he’s still choosy:

“Now about 70% are OK for him, but the other 30% remain very difficult,” Dr. Nobuo Tsunoda said. “And if he hates a type of mare, he attacks them.”

Some of War Emblem’s peculiarities have included a dislike for large mares and an attraction to chestnuts over females of other colors, said Shadai spokesperson Mariko Yoshida.

He’s already covered 30 mares this year and 20 are in foal to him. Keep up the good work War Emblem!

Another GbG fav, Nobiz Like Shobiz, has finally been placed at Darby Dan where he’ll stand for 2009. No fee has been set.

Moving on now to money… there are two interesting posts from fellow TBA-ers today around the economics of the game. Cangamble has a thoughtful post on Take Out with an great comment thread and Steve Zorn has an in-depth and eye opening post on the economics of ownership. Both are great reads.

And last but not least, did you know that Belmont has a chicken hawk? No, not that little bird who followed Foghorn Leghorn around or an old man who likes young boys… a red tailed hawk! Jason captured a couple of shots of Belmont’s own bird of prey this weekend… guard your hot dogs and perhaps small children!