When New Yorkers rang in New Year 1913, they did not, as many of us do now, anticipate a day at the races. Even if tracks raced in the winter here then, New York was starting its third year without organized racing, the sport a victim of political activism that made gambling so onerous that…
Laurel Park release: Around 9 o’clock Friday morning, commuters traveling on U.S. Route 1 in North Laurel saw something they will never forget, a loose horse heading south without its rider. Bullet Catcher, a 4-year-old gelding from the Jerry Robb stable, tossed jockey Jeremy Rose while heading back to the barn after a morning workout…
Two tickets to this year’s BCS title game do not, after all, equal six months in a New York City apartment. For Chad Brown, they equal six months in a New York City apartment, plus a security deposit with a little left over for utilities. In November, shortly after moving to a Brooklyn short-term sublet,…
It was tough to work up the enthusiasm for a year in review of racing for 2012. It was supposed to be the year in which New York racing finally put a decade of drama behind it, a decade of franchise uncertainty, of VLT procrastination, of bankruptcy and court cases. It was supposed to be…
Happy new year! Over at Forbes, I’ve got a quick look back at the year in Thoroughbred racing…here, tomorrow, we’ll do a look back and a look ahead. Best wishes to everyone for a very happy new year — For a niche sport that often begs for media attention, Thoroughbred horse racing got a lot…
He made his first start at the very end of two-year-old year–December 16, 2006–and it was not what you’d call an auspicious debut. Racing for his breeder, Majesty Stud, Stud Muffin finished seventh by 17 lengths in the 1 1/16 miles race over the inner dirt at Aqueduct. It would take Stud Muffin another five…
Earlier this month, the new board of the New York Racing Association held its first meeting. Last spring, NYRA’s president and CEO was removed following the discovery that the Association was charging a higher takeout on the public’s wagers than was allowed by law, and two weeks later, Governor Cuomo announced that he was reconstituting…
In 2011, Tom Hessert went to his first horse race. It was the 2011 Preakness, and, he said, “after trying to figure out the tote machine for half an hour,” he decided to place a wager, $5 to win on a horse whose odds were 5-1. After cashing his winning ticket for $30, he was,…
He and his sister joined my roommate Susan and me in September 1996. Rescued from a feral mother somewhere in London, Floyd and Madison were none too certain about humans; they spent much of their first few weeks in our flat under the couch. Before we adopted them, we agreed that the girl would be…
The first meeting of the new NYRA board felt a little like a first date. Everybody seemed intent on making a good first impression; controversy was avoided; common ground was sought; and at the end, everybody said that it would be great to get together again, and soon. Board president David Skorton did exactly what…
Brooklyn Backstretch 