Last October, I was sitting on the second floor of the Keeneland clubhouse. A friend and I had taken a break from the races for a little sustenance, and we settled ourselves in chairs near the windows, bread pudding and bourbon in hand. The Belmont races were being simulcast on a big screen above us;…
Trainer W.J. (Buddy) Hirsch lauded Gallant Bloom as ‘the most consistent and honest mare’ that he has raced in 30 years as a trainer. The New York Times reported this quotation in March of 1970, after Hirsch’s filly Gallant Bloom had won the Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap. Gallant Bloom was four then; she made only…
Unlike racing (at least in New York), hockey has an off-season. Which is not to say that hockey news stops between the hoisting of the Stanley Cup in June and the opening of training camps in September: salary cap management, off-season trades, and players’ union peccadilloes all get their share of ink as we impatiently…
Saturday was one of those days when I wondered why I was going to the track. Had a lot of work to do—writing, cleaning, prepping, planning—and it was hard to thing that a day at Belmont would be the best use of my time. But at 7:40-something on Saturday morning, I was on the Long…
“…Belmont Park was built for the future as well as for the present…” Those words were written in May of 1905, on opening day of Belmont Park. The new racetrack garnered a staggering number of column inches by today’s standards; while commentary on the new track was somewhat mixed – concerns were raised about the…
It all began so innocently. The smart and funny John of Not to the Swift noted on Sunday, “Very little tweeting about Greta Kunzweiler who is turning out to be the comeback story of the year.” In response to which the smart and funny irish_1 asked, “Racing’s gender bias?” Thus giving rise to a smart…
For Chicago Black Hawks coach Joel Quenneville, September means the start of training camp, and the beginning of a Stanley Cup Championship defense. It also means something much more sobering, something that this year, Belmont Park’s racing calendar will make all the more poignant. Quenneville is part of a Thoroughbred ownership group named Team Power…
On Monday morning at 9:00, I was standing on the Saratoga backstretch, drinking coffee and watching horses work out. On Wednesday morning at 9:00, I was standing in a classroom, drinking coffee and watching a small group of seniors complete their first academic task of the school year. On Monday afternoon at 2:30, I was…
Monday at Saratoga, closing day, was a day both happy and melancholy. Happy because we were there, still there, spending Labor Day at the track with family and friends, seeing two stakes races, enjoying another gorgeous day at the Spa. Melancholy because it was the last day, because the beauty of Saratoga would be mine…
Saratoga 2010 closes out with three stakes races that have been run for more than 100 years: the Spinaway, the Saranac, and the Hopeful. In 1910, where we’ve spent so much time this summer, the Spinaway was run on August 16th; the Saranac on August 18th; and the Hopeful on August 20th. The Spinaway and…
Brooklyn Backstretch 