Tampa Bay Downs: The GII, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby at 1 1/16 miles #1 Eton Blue: Lightly raced colt chased Saturday’s heavy favorite Verrazano around one turn in an optional claimer at Gulfstream Park last month, but as a son of Giant’s Causeway out of Kentucky Oaks winner Bird Town, he should move forward in…
On February 23, 1913, the New York Times weighed in on the recent decision by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, which upheld the November 1912 New York State Supreme Court ruling that that a man making a private bet at a racetrack was not breaking the law, nor could race track operators be…
In August of 2011 at its annual Round Table conference in Saratoga Springs, New York, the Jockey Club presented the findings of a McKinsey study it commissioned on the state of Thoroughbred racing in the United States. Titled “Driving sustainable growth for Thoroughbred racing and breeding,” the report focused on a variety of negative indicators…
Aqueduct: The Grade III, $400,000 Gotham at 1 1/16 miles #2 Champion Boy: Maiden actually didn’t run poorly to be fifth in his two-turn debut behind a few of these in the local GIII Withers last month but steps way up again and is up against it. There’s a lot of talent here and he…
In 1998, David Wilkenfeld—who describes himself as “kind of entrepreneurial”– approached his father about starting a business. His father had been in the garment industry for decades, and the then-40-year-old David suggested that they begin selling dresses on the internet. His father agreed, and with a partner, they started an on-line business. “After a year,”…
When racing and government collide, the residents of the state of New York have learned to be patient. We waited for a VLT operator to be named. We waited for a franchise operator to be chosen. We waited for a board to be selected. We wait, still, for NYRA’s next CEO to be appointed. One…
If you think that little of racing note takes place in New York in February these days, imagine a century ago, when, though home to a handful of racetracks, New York didn’t conduct racing in the winter. And in the winter of 1913, racing hadn’t taken place in the state since September of 1910. But…
Gulfstream Park: The Grade II, $400,000 Fountain of Youth at 1 1/16 miles #1 Orb: Homebred has looked good winning his last two for Shug and added blinkers Lasix for his last, a snazzy two-turn optional claimer over the local strip, although runner-up Duke Of The City bombed last week in a similar spot. Improving colt…
The last time a Calumet horse won the Kentucky Derby, Bobby Goldsboro had the #1 song in the country, the National Hockey League had just expanded from six teams to twelve, and a gallon of gas cost about 35 cents. The year was 1968, and the horse was Forward Pass, the last of eight Calumet horses to win America’s…
Fair Grounds: The Grade II, $400,000 Risen Star at 1 1/16 miles #1 Proud Strike: Up-and-coming son of Smart Strike sure looked good blasting a pair of repeat winners in his MSW romp over the track and distance last month and seems like a real comer in the division for Asmussen. Tactical sort should be…
Brooklyn Backstretch 