If you’re a fan of Richard Migliore, there’s no dearth of recent news out there about him. He was interviewed by Jan Rushton a couple of weeks ago on Thoroughbred Weekly; Keith at Triple Dead Heat talked to him at Aqueduct just before Thanksgiving, and this week, NYRA has yet another interview with him, this one pretty long and detailed, on its website. In it, Migliore discusses one of his more memorable wins, aboard Hidden Lake in the 1997 Go For Wand:

However, from the recesses of her heart, Hidden Lake found a way to fight back
and win. After the finish line she actually collapsed from exhaustion. That was
how much effort she put into winning that race. She was running on empty and
found more to give, and that is what sets the thoroughbred apart from other
athletes. They have a desire and will that few people can understand, and I feel
honored to be a part of that. Hidden Lake went on to win the Grade One Beldame
at Belmont Park in her next race.

Migliore also talks about how he got started in racing; why he moved to California; and his disappointment at not being able to ride Artie Schiller in the Breeders’ Cup at Belmont in 2005.

In other NYRA news, president Charlie Hayward speaks with Dan Silver of NYRA’s marketing department, available in a podcast on NYRA’s website or through their e-mail newsletter On The Lead. It’s a little more than ten minutes long, and Hayward discusses NYRA’s hiring of Turnberry, a consulting company about to issue a report on Aqueduct, Saratoga, and Belmont; using VLT money to install new turf courses and to build new barns and dorms on the backstretch; and the possibility of synthetic tracks in New York (“not in the near future”).

Finally, anyone having a hard time getting into the holiday spirit, despair not! Sue at Post Parade is back with the latest installment of the Christmas Classic. Will P Val get in trouble again? Will Comet come back from Churchill? And just what is that Vixen cooking up? We eagerly await the next episode…