Spring break is over. The inner track is closed. The Wood Memorial is less than a week away. All the signs are there…but spring is staying stubbornly away from New York, and if, as the weather forecast indicates, April showers bring May flowers, they will most certainly not bring turf racing back to New York,…
Back in Brooklyn after two terrific weeks on the road. While I can’t say that I’m thrilled that vacation is over, it was pretty great to glimpse the skyline as I drove in, and pretty nice to be home after being a guest for so long. Madison and Floyd are quite happy that they can…
Having spent about half of this vacation on racing-related activities, it seems mightily unjust that on this Big Day of Racing, here and abroad, I’ll be on the road, with no access to races or results until this evening. Maybe I can find a rest area with wi-fi access and time a stop to coincide…
The Florida Derby – Grade I, $750,000 – Gulfstream Park – 1 1/8 Miles, by Brian Nadeau Not the deepest renewal of the Florida Derby, but that’s what happens when you have three big colts who will command all the attention. And this running takes on added significance when you factor that all three of…
As I’ve noted in previous posts about visits to breeding farms, the tours seldom include visits/attention to the broodmares and the foals. The emphasis is all stallions, all the time, and while seeing the stallions and learning about them is fascinating, I’ve always been a little disappointed that we don’t get to learn more about…
Quite the outpouring of reactions and opinions in the comments section of my Gulfstream post of a few days ago…thank goodness for a little back-up from EquiSpace and the Quinella Queen, two voices of support in a torrent of naysayers. It’s true that my current obsession with interest in racing and its history came too…
The Lane’s End Recap, by Brian Nadeau One of the problems with giving away $500,000 in graded stakes money in a Kentucky Derby prep is that the winner is automatically going to be qualified for a Derby starting berth. And that’s what we saw on Saturday in the Lane’s End, when Hold Me Back made…
In an unabashed bit of theft from the Quinella Queen…I’ve got a new crush. Timing is everything, they say, and after a relentless grey and cold winter, the last three weeks of which I have spent fending off germs of various sorts, I was ready for a little warmth and TLC. And who, most unexpectedly…
The Lane’s End – Grade II, $500,000 – Turfway Park – 1 1/8 Miles, by Brian Nadeau The Derby Trail heads to Turfway Park this weekend for the Lane’s End Stakes. With a $500,000 purse on the line, this race offers the winner an essentially guaranteed a spot in the Derby starting gate. Bittel Road…
Reviewing last weekend’s Derby preps, by Brian Nadeau We’ve all crammed for a test in our day, right? But I mean really crammed–just studied the paint off the wall, hoping to unearth that one little portion of our brain that’s going to store some information vital to a good grade. And then you take the…
