If it had been forty or fifty degrees warmer, and if there had been another twenty or so thousand people around, Aqueduct might have been Saratoga. We’re still on the turf—for three races yesterday—and both the fourth and the sixth races featured beautifully bred two year olds maidens, with progeny of Storm Cat, Awesome Again,…
A photo of Discovery’s grave, on the day of his eponymous race, thanks to reader Joan, who sent it in after reading yesterday’s post. She recently visited Sagamore Farm, home of Discovery and the base of Alfred G. Vanderbilt’s racing and breeding operation. Both Jerry Bossert in the Daily News and Ed Fountaine in the…
Saturday at Aqueduct brings the running of the Grade III Discovery Handicap, named for the horse whom author John Eisenberg calls “the most important equine purchase” of owner Alfred G. Vanderbilt’s life. Apparently unable to resist the obvious wordplay, Edward Hotaling, in They’re Off! Horse Racing at Saratoga, wrote that at age three “Discovery discovered…
As I was writing yesterday’s post about a shortened racing season in New York, I found myself with plenty to say (shocker, that) but writing with a certain unease, unsure whether the presence of a rumor on a website and the absence of any other information on the topic was enough to merit its consideration.…
Lots of talk lately about the possibility of a revised racing schedule in New York; as Jessica Chapel recently pointed out, Jeremy Plonk proposes a year-round, nationwide schedule, and Paul Moran recently speculated that NYRA is mulling a winter hiatus from racing. Haven’t seen anything to suggest that such changes are actually in the offing,…
Artist Lawyer Ron at work in his studio I heard recently from the good folks at ReRun, a non-profit Thoroughbred adoption program whose mission is to help ex-racehorses find a second career. As is the case with many charities/non-profits at this time of year, ReRun is launching a holiday fundraiser, this one an auction of…
The way Curlin’s imminent departure from the racing stage was treated yesterday bears some resemblance to his racing career: we knew he was important, but he never quite got the attention he deserved. The Sunday morning print edition of the New York Times carried a good-sized story about Jess Jackson’s decision to begin Curlin’s stud…
Saturday was quiet at Aqueduct. Though warm, it was moist everywhere; even when it wasn’t raining, it was hard not feel sodden. And I was inside for most of the time; the jockeys, grooms, and horses must have felt like it was time to develop webbed feet. Two races offered the sort of finish that…
It’s not surprising that as the holidays and end of year get closer, various charities are reminding us about donations. So if you’re looking for a way to help this holiday season, and get that 2008 tax deduction, I offer the following for your consideration: As I wrote recently, the Belmont Child Care Association is…
Reminders of New York City’s Dutch roots are ubiquitous: in the orange and blue colors of the Mets, which come, via the New York State flag, from the orange and blue of the Dutch flag; in the names of places like Brooklyn (Breuckelen), the Bronx (named for Jonas Bronck, who settled in the area in…
Brooklyn Backstretch 