As reported by Daily Racing Form’s David Grening, Eric Wing announced last week that he would be leaving NYRA at the end of the current Aqueduct meet, putting the organization in need of a new director of communications and media relations. Posted on the NYRA website, the qualifications for the position are: 10+ years of strategic…
When Wicked Strong entered the starting gate for the Wood Memorial on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack, he was racing for more than the chance to run in the Kentucky Derby. The 3-year-old colt is owned by Centennial Farms, whose president Don Little hails from Boston. Last year, when it was time to name the colt…
The New York racing calendar is full of races named for the men instrumental in bringing the sport to life in our state. The roles in racing history of Belmont and Travers, Jerome and Dwyer are well documented, and these men leave an easy-to-follow trail for contemporary race fans to follow. Not so Mr. Eugene…
Several of our contestants made a huge move last weekend in the Derby preps, and I’m not even talking about the horses. Sure, Constitution went from zero to 100 in winning the Florida Derby and earning a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate, but some of our charity league players were equally impressive, notably…
Santa Anita: The Grade I, $1 million Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles, by Brian Nadeau #1 Rprettyboyfloyd: One of two maidens in the field has been beaten in photo finishes in each of his last two starts and steps way up in the Great Race Place’s premier event. Son of Bluegrass Cat was third…
Several of our contestants made a huge move last weekend in the Derby preps, and I’m not even talking about the horses. Sure, Constitution went from zero to 100 in winning the Florida Derby and earning a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate, but some of our charity league players were equally impressive, notably…
Though they seldom get the attention lavished on their 3-year-old male counterparts at this time of year, the 3-year-old fillies are turning in some impressive performances as they prep for the Longines Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on Friday, May 2. An event in and of itself, Oaks Day is much more than the appetizer…
In Derbies held half a world apart from each other on Saturday, two horses making their stakes debuts earned enough points to run in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3. Over the synthetic surface at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, the Kentucky-bred Toast of New York, racing for English connections, won the UAE…
As was likely the case at backstretches across the country last week, conversations at Florida’s tracks and training centers continued to focus on the New York Times’ story on PETA’s undercover investigation at Steve Asmussen’s Churchill Downs and Saratoga barns last year. Public commentary has been plentiful, abundant in insight, in stridency, in commitment, in sanctimony, in determination, in anger,…
Fair Grounds: The Grade II, $1 million Louisiana Derby at 1 1/8 miles, by Horseplayer Now’s Brian Nadeau #1 Intense Holiday: The first of two from Pletcher figures to go favored based on his win in the local prep, the GII Risen Star, last month, and with the potential for a hot pace, his closing…
Brooklyn Backstretch 