While the opening of the Oklahoma training facility in April is usually greeted with enthusiasm, there’s at least one person and a lot of felines who mark the return of the horses and the humans with mixed feelings. In the off-season, the barns belong to the cats of the three colonies who call the Oklahoma…
While the topics at this year’s Saratoga Institute on Racing and Gaming Law were similar to those at other industry meetings this summer, the tenor of the presentations and perspectives of the panelists were not. Two days after The Jockey Club Round Table conference, at which chairman Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps declared that the organization…
In this historic summer at Saratoga, it is de rigeur to recall the memorable moments at the Old Spa: Man o’War losing the Sanford. Jaipur and Ridan’s Travers. Onion upsetting Secretariat. And of course, Rachel Alexandra. Her Woodward tops many lists, especially for those too young to remember some of those other races, especially for…
Some children want bicycles. Some want skateboards. Michael Straight wanted an Equicizer. Growing up in East Greenbush, about 40 miles south of Saratoga, Michael and his twin brother Matthew were obsessed with horse racing. Brought to Saratoga Race Course by their parents as children, they became instant fans. “We fell in love with the track,”…
Arising early last Saturday morning, I thought about August 3, 1863. I thought about what might have been going through John Morrissey’s mind on that summer morning 150 years ago, about how the guests in the downtown hotels might have prepared for the races, about the horse and carriage traffic jam that might have taken…
In the late 1980’s, I worked for several years in the sales office during the Saratoga sales. In those days before computers were widely used, I painstakingly recorded the details of each sale in a ledger: hip number, consigner, buyer, sales price. I lived in fear of making a mistake. That anxiety aside, it was…
A mostly chronological listing of what’s going on in Saratoga this summer, to be updated regularly, and linked on the menu above for easy access. Scroll to the bottom for weekly or ongoing events. If you have an event you’d like featured, please e-mail me or leave a comment, and please note that preference is…
“A large concourse of people, including a host of the fashionables in carriages, turned out on Monday to enjoy the sport and excitement of the Races on the Saratoga Course.” Those words appeared in The Daily Saratogian on Aug. 4, 1863, the day after the first day of the first Saratoga meeting, the anniversary of…
It was a beautiful summer day, the day of our return, and the fragrance of the flowers and the soft beauty of the green shrubbery lining the walks of the Saratoga course, and the flags flying and the band up there in the grandstand thumping out a lively tune, while the old crowds moved around…
On Friday, June 7, the biggest news in the Belmont Park press box had nothing to do with the Belmont Stakes, taking place the next day. The buzz wasn’t about which horse might win, or what effect that day’s drenching rains might have on the track. The biggest news came when word spread that the…
Brooklyn Backstretch 