Frigid in New York. Balmy in Florida. Warm, cold, rain, shine, north, south, Aqueduct, Gulfstream.

On the first weekend of 2014, racing interests with Mid-Atlantic connections were kind of like the U.S. Postal Service: nothing kept them from their appointed rounds, and several kicked off the new year with a trip to the winner’s circle.

An unexpected escape from the wintry north took me to south Florida, but even when I wasn’t looking for them, reminders of the Mid-Atlantic kept turning up.

Last Thursday, the advance for Saturday’s Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct got my attention when it dropped into my inbox during a trek down the Florida Turnpike. (I was a passenger, not driving.)

“Camille Claudel?” I thought, looking at the entrants. “There’s a horse named after a French sculptress?”

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