My DRF watch list informed me yesterday that Evening Attire has been entered in the $250K Greenwood Cup at Philadelphia Park. Run at a mile and a half, the Greenwood is part of the “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup series, so the victor earns an automatic bid to the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Dirt Marathon at Santa Anita in October.

I don’t know whether the grey guy has a shot—it’s a small field, and he beat Barcola in the Queens County last December, but still, he’s ten years old. And really—do we want him shipping across the country to run on a synthetic surface? Talk about teaching an old horse new tricks…this from the guy who barely likes to step out of the gate, much less off of an airplane…

In news from the non-profits, Backstretch Employees Service Team (B.E.S.T.) made two announcements this week. The first is that the organization is the recipient of a $350,000 grant from the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Division of the New York State Department of Health. The grant will be used to improve and supplement B.E.S.T.’s healthcare programs and delivery of services. B.E.S.T. is the only new agency receiving a grant this year from the Division, and it is B.E.S.T.’s first award from a New York State agency.

B.E.S.T.’s clinics at Belmont and at Saratoga provide primary, preventive and urgent health care, delivered by bilingual medical professionals and free of charge to all those who work with the horses. This grant will allow the clinics to expand hours and services at both clinics, and it will fund two community health workers to do outreach to workers in the backstretches at Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga.

The second announcement is that on July 20th, New York’s first on-site dental program for barn area workers will be launched in B.E.S.T.’s backstretch medical clinic. The dental program is supported by the NYS grant as well as a grant from the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust. The New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association will also contribute funds for dental services.

The Solomon Dental Clinic launches on the same day as B.E.S.T.’s newest project – the Global Communication Center, which will provide a supervised site where computers and wireless Internet services, including Skype video capability, will be available free of charge to workers, who will be able to communicate with colleagues, friends and families in other locations, including internationally.

The Global Communication Center will be funded by a $10,000 donation from the Fasig-Tipton Company; that grant has been supplemented by donations from West Point Thoroughbreds and Marchfore Thoroughbred Enterprises. AXA Financial Inc. is contributing computers for a similar communication center at Belmont Park.

Finally, this from Michael Blowen at Old Friends: the Thoroughbred retirement facility has purchased another 40 acres of land adjoining the current farm, bringing the total farm acreage to 92. Old Friends has yet to put the fencing, waterers, and run-in sheds that will make the land habitable for horses, but the land is theirs, and that’s the hardest part.

Blowen reports that the “latest retirees,” Cappucino Kid, Danthebluegrassman, and A.P. Slew, are all doing very well…for more information, you can check out the Old Friends Blog. Here’s a sample from July 6th:

The big move of last week– Dan with Affirmed Success, and Futural with the
gelding gang–didn’t work out so well. Affirmed Success and Futural are too
attached and are happier together, so Dan moved to a paddock next to Sunshine
Forever. Now Sunshine and Dan have become rather chummy across the
fence. They must be comparing notes on their respective racing careers! Dan has very quickly learned to watch for the “bucket brigade”—he heads right over to the fence for treats. He’s a very friendly horse and I think must have been treated pretty well throughout his racing career, because he sure likes people.

So, lots of good racing news in this Belmont getaway week. And as if we needed any more, Saratoga opens a week from today…