“More than any other racing country, America has had its share of great geldings…” claimed William H.P. Robertson in 1964. And Kelso, he said, was “the most successful gelding of all.” It’s nearly impossible to think about the Jockey Club Gold Cup without thinking about Kelso, the horse who won the race five times, all…
It’s hard to believe that it was just three weeks ago this past Monday that we were still racing at the Spa. The opening of school is as absorbing and all-consuming as racing at Saratoga, and it’s easy for memories of summer to dissipate as quickly as the fog over the Oklahoma on a warm…
Hockey season started a week ago today, and already the NHL has dished out five suspensions for illegal play. And it’s still only the pre-season. Following a season in which the sport’s highest profile player was sidelined in January after a hit to the head that resulted in a concussion, hockey has spent a lot…
In September of 1905, a mere 106 years ago, the New York racing world had not yet returned to Belmont; its fall meet that year, the first year of the big track’s existence, would begin on October 2. And as opening day approached, rumors abounded about a possible rematch of Sysonsby and Artful, who had…
When it comes to career choices, Kim Schaumburg hasn’t exactly taken the easy road. Her first job as an adult was as an exercise rider, then a jockey. When an injury ended that phase of her life, she got her commercial pilot’s license for single engine floatplanes, and on September 11, 2001, she was stranded…
We’re not supposed to fall in love with horses. We’re not supposed to cheer in the press box. We’re not supposed to root in the winner’s circle. These are the rules. Racing gives us a lot to cheer for: favorite horses, a winning bet. It also offers plenty to lament: the bad beat, the injury,…
The female Fourstardave. Dave’s Pal. Tough and dependable. So was Irish Linnet described during her six-year racing career, a career that saw her win at Saratoga for six consecutive years, including five straight wins in the Yaddo. She won her first race at Saratoga as a two-year-old in 1990. It was the third start of…
In the days before racing took over my life, I couldn’t wait for the end of August. Yeah, sure, it meant that summer was almost over, and school was going to start soon…but it also meant the U.S. Open. My friend Susan’s family had had an Open subscription for decades, and beginning in 1999, I…
That’s what I heard, over and over, the night of the Belmont Child Care Association benefit last month, and in the days following. “That was so much FUN!” First-timers and veterans gathered for adult lemonades amid an array of silent auction items before entering the dining room at the Gideon Putnam, bedecked to resemble a…
It’s over. It’s OVER. And while there are plenty of folks out there happy to see the Spa meet come to an end, I will respectfully submit that they are out of their minds, because there is, simply, no better place to be. Though sentimental temptation infused my ride back to Saratoga last Friday, it’s…
Brooklyn Backstretch 