As Peter Bradley walked into the paddock on a damp Sunday morning, the security guard staffing the gate wished him a good afternoon. “We’ll see about that after the first race,” Bradley responded with his trademark grin. About an hour later, Bradley was indeed having a good afternoon, when his 2-year-old filly Briland won at first asking…
After posting on X that he had purchased 2-year-old Bellacose, John Stewart of Resolute Racing confirmed Aug. 17 that he had purchased a 75% share of the Audible filly for an undisclosed price. “I had posted on (X) that I’d pay a commission if people find a horse they thought I should buy and hooked me up with the owners,”…
Ask Karen Mort about her life with horses, and she might demur, saying that she’s not really involved in the equine industry. Don’t let her get away with that, though: for decades, her life has been enriched by horses, and it takes only a few sentences for her to reveal her deep love for the…
Back in 2017, the future looked bright for Wendell Fong. That it’s still bright today is the result of an unlikely confluence of circumstances and people combining to give the gelding a soft landing. After selling as a weanling for $47,000, he was purchased for $160,000 ten months later by Al Gold, who has campaigned…
From the windows of his childhood home in Ocala, FL, Carlos Manresa could see J.J. Pletcher’s training facility, and in the mornings, he would look out the back windows to see young Thoroughbreds training. “It’s a very vivid memory that I shared with my dad, which is really special,” said Manresa, sitting outside the Sequel…
Two colts by grade 1-winning Kentucky sires led the first session of the Fasig-Tipton sale of preferred New York-bred yearlings, purchased by buyers with deep ties to New York racing. Hip 315 is a Constitution (Tapit) colt out of the Forestry mare See the Forest and sold for $300,000 to West Bloodstock, agent for Repole Stable. Consigned by ELiTe,…
Enter, Sandman . The two-year-old colt owned by D J Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds, and CJ Stables has a long way to go before he reaches Mariano Rivera status, but he showed the promise of an elite athlete in winning a maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course on July 11. The son of Tapit was consigned by…
John Stewart’s Resolute Bloodstock got its third seven-figure yearling at Fasig-Tipton’s The Saratoga Sale, going to $1.2 million for a Ghostzapper filly (Hip 147) consigned by Gainesway during the Aug. 6 second session. Payson Stud bred the filly out of the Arch winner Seeking the Blue, who has already produced graded stakes-placed winner Janis Joplin (California Chrome) and stakes-placed…
Over the last year or so, Caitlin Clark has made women’s basketball front-page news, first as a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes, and now as point guard with the Indiana Fever. To fans of horse racing I ask, Is Brett Beckwith the Caitlin Clark of harness racing? They are virtually the same age (Clark 22,…
Kristen and Matthew Esler may be relative newcomers to New York’s breeding industry, but the experience that they bring to their farm is rooted in decades of some of the state’s most successful breeders. Their Saratoga Springs property is the site of the old Stepwise Farm, owned for decades by Bill Wilmot and Joan Taylor,…
Brooklyn Backstretch 