Hawthorne: The Grade III, $500,000 Illinois Derby at 1 1/8 miles #1 Romancing The Gold: Son of Medallist got back on the beam last time over Aqueduct’s inner dirt, when he beat a modest optional claiming group to go 2-for-3 since stretching out to two turns for Englehart. Drew well today and is versatile enough…
The racing season of New York State, and thus of the Eastern turf, was opened at the Aqueduct race course yesterday in the presence of a crowd that astonished the track managers even more than it did the patrons of racing who come under the head of “regulars” and professionals. A great attendance was expected…
Aqueduct: The Grade I, $1 million Wood Memorial at 1 1/8 miles Brian Nadeau of Horseplayer Now checks in with his analysis of New York’s premier Derby prep (its recent history notwithstanding). He’ll be back later today and tomorrow with previews of the Illinois and Santa Anita Derbies; I’ll be back with a look at the…
Far be it from me to speculate on the response that the New York Times hoped to elicit from the racing industry with the first part of its series on racing, but it’s tough to resist imagining that the authors and editors are exchanging a couple of circumspect, professional high fives as they witness the…
Brian Nadeau of Horseplayer Now offers his analysis of Sunday’s Louisiana Derby. Fair Grounds: The Grade II, $1 million Louisiana Derby at 1 1/8 miles #2 Fire Arm: Steps up off a slow optional claiming win over the track and will try graded stakes foes for the first time in what represents a monumental class jump.…
Gulfstream Park: The GI, $1 million Florida Derby at 1 1/8 miles Don’t forget to check out Brian’s analysis at his regular gig at Horseplayer Now. #1 Fort Loudon: Ran a decent fourth in the local GIII Holy Bull in his 3yo bow but came back to earth over the track in the GII Fountain…
When I planned my spring break trip this year, I decided to split the vacation into two distinct parts. Week one would be spent in southwest Florida, visiting relatives, reading, and hanging out on the beach. Week two would be spent on the east coast of Florida, researching stories, interviewing, and enjoying Florida Derby week.…
Sunland Park: The Grade III, $800,000 Sunland Derby at 1 1/8 miles #1 Castaway: The first of two from Baffert won the slower division of Oaklawn Park’s GIII Southwest in his last and figures to be a major pace player from this cozy rail draw. Son of Derby winner Street Sense really came to hand…
Turfway Park: The Grade III, $500,000 Spiral at 1 1/18 miles #1 Russian Greek: Hollendorfer charge disappointed in a highly rated renewal of the GIII El Camino Real at Golden Gate in his last start and now adds blinkers as he ships out of town looking for some graded money. The hood should put some…
An atmosphere of edgy grimness pervaded Aqueduct last Saturday. The weight of the week’s bad news lay heavy; nearly every conversation included references to the cancellation of Luck in the aftermath of a third horse death or to the growing list of equine mortality at the track over the last few months. Races were watched…
Brooklyn Backstretch 