Checking in here with our regular look at charities and other public services/events. First up, the Northeast Equine Expo, taking place this Saturday and Sunday at Belmont Park. The equine stars of the movies Hidalgo and soon-to-be released Secretariat will perform. Harbor Mist, who plays Secretariat, will appear with his trainer—not his racing trainer, but, of course, his…
I headed out to Belmont early on Saturday morning, to visit the children at Anna House before watching workouts and visiting the backstretch. As always, Belmont felt like a little city: at Anna House, a half dozen or more teachers worked with children of varying ages as they played, learned, read, built, created; at the…
Last Saturday, the eyes of the racing world were turned towards Baltimore, where Bob Baffert’s Lookin at Lucky reversed his racing fortunes with a Preakness win. About 600 miles to the west, another Lucky was hanging out in a paddock, eating peppermints, and reveling in retirement. Lucky to Cope is an 8-year-old bay gelding; by…
We’d waited two weeks to see what would happen next. We wondered whether, after waiting so long for his first Kentucky Derby win, Todd Pletcher would find himself in the enviable position of bringing a Triple Crown candidate to his home track. We sat through seven and a half hours and 11 races…and then it…
One down, two to go. Super Saver relished the slop and the rail-and Calvin Borel-and dominated what was thought to be a wide-open Kentucky Derby. Can he do it again two weeks later in Baltimore, under what figure to be vastly different circumstances? In his path are four also-rans in the Derby and seven new…
Crazy Catlady isn’t the only feline equine with whom I spent some time when I was in Florida; on my way home up the Gulf Coast, I spent a day at Tampa Bay Downs, starting the morning at the barn of Bernell Rhone. Ted Grevelis is a fellow blogger and managing partner of Grevelis Racing…
We finally made it. After all the preps, it comes down to the 136th Run for the Roses. This year’s Kentucky Derby once again drew an oversubscribed field that was filed down to 20 3-year-olds Wednesday morning. They’ll head to the post at or around 6:24 PM Saturday evening, and some 2 minutes later, one…
It’s here. It’s Derby weekend. For weeks the prognostications have been coming; handicappers, analysts, turf writers have weighed in, posited picks, watched workouts. It’s time to make the call. Later today, Brian will be here with some serious handicapping; but first, here are the third annual Backstretch Derby picks, by the letters. For the poetically inclined,…
Withers: “The high part of the back of a horse or similar animal, located between the shoulder blades.” (American Heritage Dictionary, via Wordnik) Well, that’s certainly appropriate. Withers: Mr. David Dunham Withers, member of the American Jockey Club and one of the founders of Jerome Park (via NYRA). He was also instrumental in the re-opening…
It’s Sunday morning, and I confirm that yes, mass will be celebrated on the grounds at Keeneland at 10 am. “I call it ‘Our Lady of the Sales Pavilion,’” quips a local acquaintance. The little room off the main sales area is packed, with barn workers and racing fans, Keeneland employees and families. Out the…
Brooklyn Backstretch 