Nearly every day at Saratoga, I’d stop somewhere—in the backyard, walking down the clubhouse steps, standing on the second level and looking back out over the trees and the old saddling shed—and I’d marvel. I’d marvel at the beauty of the place, and I’d marvel that day after day, thousands of people came: to watch…
If you can play, you can play. Those seven words sum up the message of the You Can Play Project, founded two years ago by Patrick Burke, Brian Kitts, and Glenn Witman. “Dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation,” You Can Play began with one video, in which Burke…
On day 33 of the 2014 Saratoga meeting, Jonathan Sheppard was ready to go home. “I’ve been ready,” he said frankly, standing outside his barn in the Oklahoma annex, a short walk from the training track. “It’s too stressful up here. I love it here, but I am a bit of a homebody, to be…
If you look at the numbers, it’s a very good time to be a breeder in New York. Yesterday the New York Racing Association held its first Saratoga Showcase Day of New York-breds, building on the success of the original day in October at the Belmont fall meet and last year’s addition of the Big…
Just because it’s almost over doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to do! Sure, the pace has slowed, but one of the best times to be in Saratoga is the post-Travers week. The mornings are crisp, the town is a little quieter, but there are still stakes races, sunrises, and sunsets to enjoy. Enjoy it while…
On Monday of the penultimate week at Saratoga Race Course, Kim Dutrow was getting ready to head home to Pennsylvania with her trainer husband Tony to check on their horses at Fair Hill. But first, they had to wait until about 4:00, until after the sixth race, when their Pennsylvania-bred 4-year-old filly would be going…
A picture might be worth a thousand words, but if those words are coming from Tom Durkin, they command a far higher price. Soporific. Obstreperous. Oracular. The kind of words that used to be called $10 words, SAT words, the kind of words that might get you a bemused look if you use them in…
Tuesday, August 19th Guests in the Gallery at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame: John Shirreffs will discuss his career in racing with program host Jeff Carle. 11 a.m., free with paid Museum admission ($7 adults, $5 students/seniors 55 and older, members and children under 5 free). Wednesday, August 20th At the…
Last year at Royal Ascot, Estimate, a horse owned by Queen Elizabeth II, won the Gold Cup in its 207th running. As the Queen traditionally presents the trophy to the winning owner, her victory presented something of a problem, solved when her son Prince Andrew stepped in to do the honors. In August of 1864,…
Barn cats are as much a part of racetrack lore as good-luck horseshoes, and in some barns, the reality lives up to that idyllic image of a cherished feline, prowling the barns for prey, soothing the horses, ruling the roost. Some backstretch cats are beloved and spoiled rotten, traveling from track to track with trainers and…
Brooklyn Backstretch 