Another damp, chilly Saratoga morning; it feels more like October than August. The sky is leaden; standing along the rail of the Oklahoma training track, we’re wearing fleeces, boots, sweaters. The sun should be shining; we should be wearing tank tops. But we’re shivering, and trying, futilely, to avoid puddles. “Hop on,” trainer Dale Romans…
Saturday brings to us the second oldest race for fillies in the country; the Alabama Stakes, inaugurated in 1872, is younger by four years than the Ladies Handicap. The race is named for Captain William Cottrill, a Southern military man and keen horseman. Edward Hotaling, in They’re Off! Horse Racing at Saratoga, tells of the…
As expected, the Women’s Day Expo lacked the sexy elements that Gentlemen’s Day included last weekend, and as expected, it was located all the way at the back of the track, near the Big Red Spring, while the Gentlemen’s Day exhibit was placed just inside the main gates off of Union Avenue. While the men…
At the paddock rail, a woman to her young daughter: “No, sweetie, most of the jockeys are boys. Channing Hill is the only jockey that’s a girl.” When told that Channing is in fact a boy, she says, “No! Have you seen those eyelashes?” Puddles and raindrops, lots of them… …and a variety of Saratoga…
On Monday morning, after several torrential downpours (what’s new?) overnight, I stopped by the barn of Dominick Galluscio to wish good luck to Early Response (by Hook and Ladder—clever, yes?), a two year old bay colt making his first start in yesterday’s seventh race. Four of the ten state-bred entries would be on the track…
I love the Yaddo. A quintessentially Saratoga race, it’s named for the artists’ colony that lies just east of the track, so close that residents can (allegedly) hear the race calls. While the mansion is off limits to the public, visitors can wander the grounds and the gardens free of charge. I’ve whiled away many…
On Saturday, the weather was gorgeous (it may have been only the second day since before July 20th that it didn’t rain); the Old Spa was packed; and the card featured full-field, frequently good betting races with some competitive finishes. And if you weren’t happy with the product in front of you, you could turn…
What are we fretting about these days? Rain. A lot of it. Every day. On turf or off? Who’s scratched? How am I supposed to bet this race? My feet are wet again. We’re grumbling about too many turf sprints and not enough older horses. We’re bemoaning the lack of horses who can capture our…
Photo credit to Jessica Chapel at Railbird A year later and a few inches taller, the 6th grade Texas Titans, an A.A.U. basketball team who brought a 75-5 record to Saratoga, made it 76 – 5, beating the jockeys 49 – 32 in a game that for three quarters was much closer than the score…
On Monday morning, I sat in the upper level of the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion and watched as three humans and three horses were inducted into the Hall of Fame. I was touched, as I wrote on Tuesday, by the humanity and the humility of the event; as several publications have noted, the unplanned theme…
