It was a good weekend for brothers. The highest profile brother act took place on the gridiron, when siblings Jim and John Harbaugh coached their respective terms to Super Bowl berths. Jim’s San Francisco 49ers overcame a halftime deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons 28-24, while John’s Baltimore Ravens beat the New England Patriots, 28-13. The February 3 showdown will be…
With great pleasure, I welcome handicapper Brian Nadeau back to Brooklyn Backstretch. As he has since 2009, he’ll guide us along the road to the Kentucky Derby, offering insights and selections for the major Derby preps. You can read more from Brian at Horseplayer Now. And with that…we’re off! Fair Grounds: The GIII Lecomte at…
The name “Sagamore Farm” recalls racing royalty, both human and equine. Given to Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Jr. in 1933 by his mother, Sagamore bred and raced such equine luminaries as Native Dancer, Bed o’Roses, and Discovery; Vanderbilt himself served as president of Pimlico and chairman of the board of the New York Racing Association. The…
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…
Brooklyn Backstretch 