A week from tomorrow, historic Saratoga Race Course will kick off its 143rd meet. Horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, and fans will descend on the resort town to which summer visitors have flocked since the 19th century. Six racing days a week keep residents and tourists alike busy during the daylight hours, but local and seasonal…
The life of a jockey would, inherently, seem to have more than enough drama to make its narrative compelling. Small of stature, often from modest (at best) beginnings, the men who make their living on horseback daily risk injury or worse, fighting their own biology to keep their weights low and their strength high. Add…
“I’m not an adrenalin junkie,” declared Sophia Mangalee, marketing manager at Monmouth Park. “I’m scared of roller coasters, I don’t want to bungee-jump, I don’t want to skydive, I don’t want to climb Mount Everest. I wouldn’t call myself adventurous.” Others might beg to differ. This summer, Mangalee is in training. She’s riding horses, she’s…
Widely reported earlier this week was the news that the NTRA had launched a new website devoted to Thoroughbred aftercare. The site is a product of the efforts of the working group on Thoroughbred aftercare from last summer’s Safety and Welfare Summit in Lexington. According to a press release, the site offers, among other features,…
I love early summer in Kentucky. Dodging the intense heat and humidity that can plague the commonwealth, I got cool mornings, glowing afternoons, and soft evenings that seemed to go on forever, dusk extending until after 9 pm. Kentucky without Keeneland or the Derby lends itself to leisure: long visits with friends, unhurried meals, time…
Last Tuesday, I had the pleasure of touring Mill Ridge Farm with Ed DeRosa. We looked at yearlings being prepped for the Keeneland and Saratoga sales; gazed on foals gamboling with their mothers; and listened to stories about the farm’s long and auspicious history. Kent Hollingsworth, in an undated article from his collection The Archjockey…
Seeing the pictures of the tornado damage at Churchill in no way prepared me for seeing the wreckage in person. The backstretch and the nearby neighborhood were studies in contrast: incredible destruction juxtaposed with pristine completeness. The tornado apparently made its way down the backstretch like an unruly two-year-old, leaping and touching down unpredictably and…
What a month for the Belmont Child Care Association! Like most racing organizations, it takes advantage of big racing events (in our case, the Belmont Stakes), but from start to finish, June has been a banner month at Anna House. It started with the ribbon cutting for the two new classrooms at Anna House, on…
As I said at the beginning of this marathon endeavor, I went to the Race Day Medication Summit mostly to learn and without any prior opinions on the use of Lasix. And after nearly nine hours of presentations and panels, I do feel like I learned a lot, but I’m not sure that I’m any…
I really hadn’t planned on dragging this recap out for a week…but we’ve finally reached the last two presentations from last week’s Race Day Medication Summit. Following the trainers’ discussion of managing EPIH, the veterinarians took the stage. Moderated by Dr. Scott Palmer, the panel included Dr. Scott Hay (U.S.); Dr. John McVeigh (SA, U.K.,…
Brooklyn Backstretch 