“A fitting tribute to one of the stoutest supporters of the sport New York State has ever known.” So wrote the Daily Racing Form about the inaugural Sanford Stakes, named to honor a family from nearby Amsterdam, New York, that began racing its homebred horses at Saratoga in the 1880s. Beginning with General Stephen Sanford and continuing…
It’s not often that the Twitterverse is of a like mind, but for a few minutes before the fourth race at Saratoga Saturday, opinion was unanimous: When Scribbling Sarah broke through the gate and lunged forward, assistant starter Mike “Pup” McMullen hung on, flying out of the stall with her. She didn’t get far, mostly…
On an afternoon that saw the thermometer hit 93 degrees to kick off the 2013 Spa meet, the hottest moment of the afternoon came when two speedy fillies hit the wire together in the Grade 3 Schuylerville. Recalling the 2012 Travers, when Alpha and Golden Ticket dead-heated, Brazen Persuasion and Bahnah finished too close to…
By the time the gates fly open for the first race today at 1 p.m., tens of thousands of words will have been written about this summer’s Saratoga meeting. They will have appeared in turf publications, in newspapers, and in magazines. Races will have been handicapped, predictions will have been made, visitors’ guides will have…
Earlier this month, the Mid Atlantic Cooperative named Phil O’Hara its executive director, which might lead the casual racing fan to ask, “What’s the Mid Atlantic Cooperative?” According to Chris McErlean, vice president of racing for Penn National Gaming, which owns Penn National, Charles Town, and Sam Houston along with casinos across the country, the…
After meeting with the media earlier in the day July 17, New York Racing Association president and chief executive officer Christopher Kay made his first public appearance at the annual Saratoga Race Course meet preview at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Kay was one of five panelists who took questions from moderator Brien…
“Skip the horse races in Saratoga Springs.” So advised New York Magazine in May, suggesting instead that visitors take advantage of the myriad other delights of the small city in upstate New York: the restaurants, the hotels, the parks. A former and erstwhile Saratoga resident, I heartily endorse all of those things, along with many…
Despite a press conference that was at times contentious, New York Racing Association president and CEO Chris Kay said that he hopes to be at the helm of NYRA for a long time. Kay met with members of the Saratoga Race Course press corps Jul 17, taking questions for approximately 30 minutes on topics ranging…
Last March, I was standing at Gulfstream Park watching morning workouts when I got a phone call from a woman named Patricia Lane. She was, she said, producing a documentary on Saratoga for the racing sesquicentennial, and she wondered whether I might be interested in being interviewed for it. Thrilled and nervous, I sat with…
As Saratoga Race Course celebrates its 150th anniversary, racing figures look back on their favorite memories and share what the track and city mean to them. Julie Krone, Hall of Fame jockey Saratoga is not just a race meet, it’s such a mix of people really honoring summertime. You acknowledge that the days are long,…
Brooklyn Backstretch 