Ten days down, thirty to go. I already feel as though there’s too much in Saratoga I won’t get to; the to-do list is getting longer, not shorter. Ramon Dominguez carries his lead in the jockey standings through week two; he’s got 21 wins with José Lezcano in second with 11. Anthony Dutrow led the…
Later today, Zagora will attempt to become the seventh horse to win the Diana two years in a row. Miss Grillo did it first, in 1946 and 1947; she was joined by Tempted (1959, 60); Shuvee (1970, 1971); Hush Dear (1982, 1983); Glowing Honor (1988, 89); and Forever Together (2008, 2009). Tempted was bred by…
It’s happened to all of us: we watch a promising 2-year-old, we get excited…then he gets hurt and disappears, and often, we have no idea where he goes. In her young adult novel Raja: Story of a Racehorse, Anne Hambleton tells the story of what might happen to a horse who can’t race any longer.…
In today’s second race at Saratoga, the youngest horse is four years old; the oldest is seven. Among them, they’ve made 124 starts. The race is called the Spooky Mulder, and I suspect that its namesake would approve. During his racing career, Spooky ran in 85 races, winning 34 of them. He finished second 17…
The first four days of racing in the books, and the early leaders are jockey Ramon Dominguez and trainer Anthony Dutrow. Dominguez tied John Velazquez’s record for most winners on one card when he won six races on Sunday; he’s got 10 wins for the meet. Jose Lezcano’s in second place with six. Take a…
Though most of the New York racing world’s attention is focused upstate at Saratoga, the good folks at the New York Times are making sure that we don’t forget about our cousin in Ozone Park, where the slot machines continue to whirr, even though racing has left the Big A for the summer. On July…
James Marvin made his first posthumous appearance at Saratoga Race Course in the fourth race on August 9, 2008. It is unlikely, though, that that was Marvin’s first appearance at the track known as the Old Spa. Marvin was born just outside Saratoga in 1809, moving to the Spa City in 1828. Within three years,…
Panelists at Wednesday night’s annual Saratoga meet preview at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame spoke with optimism about this summer’s racing season while acknowledging the challenges and uncertainty facing New York racing. Saratogian turf writer Michael Veitch, trainer Dale Romans, Saratoga native and jockey agent Matt Muzikar, and jockey Rosie Napravnik,…
“Very soon.” That is when, according to the State Racing and Wagering Board, the report from the task force investigating the breakdowns at Aqueduct this past winter will be released. The task force began its work in March, and when I spoke with task force chair Dr. Scott Palmer in April, he indicated that the…
If you have any energy left after a day at the track, you’ll find no shortage of racing-related (and other) events at which to spend your time—and your money—on Saratoga evenings. Here’s the first in a series of weekly posts about what’s going on in Saratoga. Wednesday, July 18: The National Museum of Racing offers…
Brooklyn Backstretch 