So reads a New York Times headline in July of 1963, as the author recalled the first running of the Brooklyn Handicap, at Gravesend Race Track in 1887. The article tells us that, “There’s little doubt that the Brooklyn Handicap captivated the interest of many. In the early 1900’s, there wasn’t a self-respecting saloon in…
I loved Belmont Day 2006. The weather was terrific (sunny, cool, breezy); the place was alive but not too crowded; and another horse I loved was in the Belmont. We all know it had been a rough three weeks in racing; Barbaro’s breakdown was on everyone’s mind, and I think that many of us felt…
As posted last week at Curb My Enthusiasm, and as Tom LaMarra reported in the The Blood-Horse yesterday, our United States government is about to get into the racing game. Letters were sent to various racing industry leaders requesting information on “details on equine injuries; whether racing programs bolstered by gaming revenue use money for…
I’ve got several posts in the pipeline that I’ve been waiting to put up: about my trip to Delaware Park a week ago; about a great article on Saratoga Russell and Ready’s Image sent to me by a Bloomberg reporter last week; about the final Take Ten! standings and where our charitable donation will go.…
It took me more than five hours on Sunday afternoon/evening to get from Delaware Park to my abode in Brooklyn, usually a two-hour trip. My whirlwind tour of three mid-Atlantic racetracks (Atlantic City Race Court, Pimlico, and Delaware Park) provided enough pleasure to make every single moment of travel time worth it, but the ROI…
I was already feeling guilty about not supporting one of my home tracks on its closing weekend; now that the Withers has become something of an end-of-season embarrassment, I am even more chagrined about my defection to points south instead of being at Aqueduct today. This storied race, first run in 1874, drew a field…
I’ve just discovered (thanks, Ernie) that the photos uploaded of ACRC aren’t appearing in the blog…the html code for them is showing, but the original photos are on a computer at home, so I can’t do any triage at this point. I’ll fix it later…and thanks for the info! Grumble, grumble…
It’s hard for me believe that we’re coming up to the last weekend of the Aqueduct meet; I’ve always been fond of the track, and having spent more time there this meet than any other time, it is truly with some regret that I will bid it farewell until October. OK, so the racing’s not…
Just in from a very disheartening overtime loss to the hated Devils. It was my first ever overtime playoff game, and the only good news is that at least I didn’t have to wait several hours to see my team lose. At the Garden shortly before the puck drop at the first home playoff game…
Today’s feature at Aqueduct is the 59th running of the Grade II Comely, run at a mile for three-year-old fillies. The race is named for the filly who at two beat older horses in the inaugural Fall Highweight Handicap at Belmont Park in 1914. She was owned by James Butler, owner of the Empire City…
Brooklyn Backstretch 