(New Stallions just added into the equations for Dosage Index, by “The Daily Racing Form”

(Chief Wallabee is Dan Liebman’s selection to win the 152nd Kentucky Derby / Photos by Holly M. Smith)

Editor’s Note:

I think I first met Dan Liebman in 1977, when I was just starting out at “The Lexington Herald-Leader” and Dan, just getting out of college, was on the cusp of going to work for “The Daily Racing Form.” We were both aspiring writers, with a love for Thoroughbred racing, when our worlds first collied. It wasn’t long thereafter that we found ourselves sharing a lot of the same press boxes that hung over most of the major racetracks in America, and we found ourselves becoming fast friends.

We both shared a love for Logan Bailey, who worked at “The DRF” and also loved baseball and the Cincinnati Reds.

We both shared a love for the burgoo and corned beef at Keeneland, both served up piping hot and full of flavor by our friends in the Wolken family.

We both shared a love of early morning breakfasts at the Keeneland kitchen, where we would always find the likes of Herb Stevens and other “hard boots,” who shared more stories about and knowledge of Thoroughbreds than we could ever learn reading a book or watching a movie. If you waited around long enough and paid your morning dues faithfully, by listening more than talking, the “old timers” would normally come around to adopting you and educating you on the ways of the real world; the real horse world. The eggs were not nearly as salty as the language and the stories, from time to time.

We both grew up literally and figuratively in the middle of the greatest horse country and the greatest horse minds in the entire world, and we loved every second of it. Soaked it all up like a fluffy, fresh baked biscuit introduced to some sawmill gravy.

Most of all, though, Dan and I grew up learning to be friends with each other — and with a deep respect for each other’s talents, gifts, interests, and sense of appreciation for all those that took the time to help us along life’s byways.

On Wednesday night, I reached out to Dan, once again, to see if had handicapped this year’s 152nd Kentucky Derby. I wanted to know who he liked in this year’s race, and why. Most of all, I wanted to know if he still utilized some of the “old tools” that we all relied on so regularly back in the days when we were both a little bit younger, a little bit fitter, and a lot more energetic.

You see, it was Dan Liebman that the Racing Form counted on when Leon Rasmussen finally retired and gave up preaching the merits of the old “Dosage Index,” which was a religion that few dared to criticize back in the day. It was the only barometer under which all applicants for the Kentucky Derby had to be measured. And, it was the blessed test that all Kentucky Derby winners had to pass before anyone would recommend to either friend or foe a possible Derby candidate that could or would ever win the Run for the Roses.

It was only a short matter of time and space before Dan Liebman became the new guru, and master distiller of all things Dosage — which was a numerical formula that would balance certain pedigree and family traits to measure if any aspiring 3YO had the correct balance of both speed and stamina to run for 11/4 miles effectively enough to win the world’s most prestigious race.

Things have certainly changed over the past 50 years. Life has changed. So much. Horse racing has changed, so very much. Handicapping Thoroughbreds has changed, so very very much. Today, when you mention Dosage, fewer heads even turn. Fewer people even know what it means or how it works. Fewer even consider the magical Dosage Number of 4.0 or less as the measuring stick to be a serious Derby contender. Heaven forbid, even fewer handicappers today even consider breeding when they try to determine who to support on the First Saturday in May race.

But — for those two kids who learned to like each other back in the ’70s and who are now the “old timers” of 2026 — we still like to talk about it. And, if you ask us honestly? Yep. We still like to consider it.

Dosage still lives, at least for two of us. It’s a tool we still use. Why not. It worked for so many years. Why not.

The Daily Racing Form, much to its’ credit, just recently added some new stallions to the list of those studs influential enough to help carry a Dosage number.

Tonight, Dan and I chat about a lot of things…

Including…

How trainers train today…

How they go 4-5-6-7-8 weeks, sometimes, in-between races…

How horses run today…

How fans handicap today…

How try to pick winners today.

Take a listen…

While we may be a lot older, we still have the same passion for the game that we always did.