On May 30, 1913, Belmont Park threw open its doors for the first time in three years. Racing had been suspended in New York due to the state’s anti-gambling laws, and racing-starved patrons flocked to Belmont in what was reportedly the second-biggest crowd in the track’s history. The featured race that day was the Metropolitan…
Not long after the Kentucky Derby, I was putting together a post about jockey John Velazquez, and, in search of embeddable video of the race, I went to YouTube, expecting to find an official version made available by NBC, by Churchill Downs, or by the NTRA. In some ways, I’ve gotten spoiled: the NTRA, Breeders’…
I first heard Paddy O’Prado’s name on August 5, 2009, the day that Saratoga Race Course was celebrating midsummer St. Patrick’s Day. The aptly named two-year-old, owned by Donegal Racing, was entered in the fourth race, a maiden special weight at a mile and a sixteenth on the turf. He finished second by a neck…
Pimlico: The Grade I, $1 million Preakness at 1 3/16 miles #1 Astrology (15-1 ML): Beautifully bred son of A.P. Indy has progressed nicely this year and enters on the upswing off a one-turn run in the sloppy Jerome. However, up to this point he’s never been true GI quality, nor has he ever run…
2004-2005 was the first year that I paid attention to horse racing year round. I’d spent much of the summer of 2004 at Saratoga, and I developed my first major horse crush, on Afleet Alex. I was there for his Sanford. I think I bet him, but in memories like this, we always do, don’t…
This year’s Hall of Fame class is a celebration of the distaff side. Announced last Friday, this year’s inductees are Jerry Hollendorfer, Safely Kept, Open Mind, and Sky Beauty. Oh, sure, Hollendorfer’s a male, but the first question that he took during the teleconference following the announcement was about which of his three Kentucky Oaks…
Who ever thought it would be a good idea to have the end of the school year nearly exactly coincide with the Triple Crown season? Not this teacher/writer, that’s for sure! It’s an exciting month: we’ve got a compelling, interesting Kentucky Derby winner, a horse that offers the hope that he won’t fall into the…
On April 14, I got an e-mail from a woman named Andrea Pollock. I didn’t know her, and she asked if I knew anything about two horses she followed that had been running at Aqueduct: Morine’s Victory, who hadn’t run or worked out since January, and Talented Princess, who had been injured in a race…
Wandering around Churchill Downs last week, anticipating a big race, I thought about the last time I was there: last November, for the Breeders’ Cup. That was, of course, the Zenyatta Breeders’ Cup: no matter what else happened that weekend, it was all about her, all about the Classic. She was the story on the…
I know: it’s the day after the Derby. This of all days should provide a surfeit of racing material, of reports and recaps and impressions and opinions. But…it’s Mother’s Day. And as important as the Derby is, mothers can’t get pushed aside for post-race coverage. Mama Backstretch – she hates when I refer to her…
Brooklyn Backstretch 