In March at Gulfstream Park, Allen Jerkens introduced a new filly in his barn. “Emma,” he said. “Emma’s Encore.” She had arrived over the winter, winless after three starts and not terribly promising. In her first start for Jerkens on February 2 in a maiden claiming race, she finished third by three lengths. She broke…
The Whitney was first run in 1928, won by W.R. Coe’s Black Maria. Tomorrow, it will be run for the 85th time. Williams Collins Whitney was president of the Saratoga Association at the turn of the last century and oversaw a major expansion and rejuvenation of Saratoga Race Course. His sons, Payne Whitney and Harry…
Dormant for most of the year, the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds spring to life this week, in preparation for the yearling sales on August 6, 7, 11 and 12. Thoroughbred auctions have been held by Fasig-Tipton at Saratoga since 1917, and next week, sellers and buyers will gather, as they have for nearly a century, in…
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,…
Brooklyn Backstretch 