Tampa Bay Downs: The Grade II, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby at 1 1/16 miles #1 Prospective: Runner-up in the track and distance GIII Sam Davis to fellow entrant Battle Hardened adds blinkers today to gain a little more speed early on, as he’s been dropping a bit too far out of it during the first…
Santa Anita: The Grade II, $300,000 San Felipe at 1 1/16 miles #1 Blingo: Stretch runner closed from the clouds to finish a non-threatening sixth to fellow entrant Liaison in his last start, the GI CashCall at Hollywood Park, to end his 2yo campaign and now tries conventional dirt for the first time. With just two…
Last summer, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board announced the formation of a Fan Advisory Council to “provide input and advice to the Board on horse racing and wagering matters in New York state” (sic). According to its website, the Council will examine the “total racing experience” and report its findings to the…
Aqueduct: The Grade III, $400,000 Gotham at 1 1/16 miles #1 My Adonis: Woke up in the slop in his seasonal debut in the GIII Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park when finishing behind fellow rival and 2yo champion Hansen going a one-turn mile, so it appears he’s returned in fine form as a 3yo. Still,…
“On a quiet evening or a Sunday morning, when there’s nothing happening, I think you can feel it. They talk of ghosts on the farm, especially at the old training barn. Kind of makes you wonder sometimes. Who’s to say that there aren’t certain spirits here?” Tom Mullikin smiles as he says it, but with…
“As president of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, a group that represents exactly what the name suggests, [Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt] has some heartfelt words of warning and advice for the Establishment of racing, not just in his own New York state but through the rest of the country as well. The major points in…
Gulfstream Park: The Grade II, $400,000 Fountain of Youth at 1 1/16 miles #1 Neck ‘n Neck: Adds blinkers off an extremely wide fifth-place run in Tampa’s GIII Davis and will really need to step up his game against this tough group. Bred to be a nice runner and has a pedigree to suggest he’ll…
Fair Grounds: The Grade II, $300,000 Risen Star at 1 1/16 miles #3 Afford: Homebred stretched out and scored off the layoff last time in his 3yo debut, and that’s hardly a surprise as he’s bred top and bottom to get a distance of ground. Drew well here and will save all the ground as…
OK, folks, the prep races start this weekend, so here’s last call to join the Brooklyn Backstretch Road to the Roses charity league for 2012. This is the fifth year we’ve done this year, and as in past years, the winner of our league will have a donation made in his or her name to the…
It’s late afternoon on a February Saturday in Saratoga, and the sun is low in the sky; the temperature hovers just above freezing, and a chilling wind sweeps through the deserted shedrows of the Oklahoma training facility. There’s not a horse or a human in sight. Describing the scene as “desolate” would be charitable. But…
Brooklyn Backstretch 