Vacations are great. Vacations in warm places with beautiful beaches are even greater. And vacations in warm places with beautiful beaches that are relatively near racetracks verge on the sublime. Approximately 2500 miles, eleven days, four stops, and eight states later, I’m back in the borough of churches. The cats are thrilled to see me,…

No matter how hard I resist, it’s impossible to avoid indulging in end-of-year introspection–personal, professional, familial, etc.—and among my favorite late December reading material are the various top 10 sporting lists that emerge. In 2007, I spent more days at the racetrack than I ever have; I visited more tracks than in any previous year;…

A quick long-distance word about some personal faves making recent or upcoming appearances on the race track: Duchess of Rokeby finished a disappointing (for me, anyway) 5th on Friday; I was told today that she bled during the race and will be heading to the farm for the winter, with a return to the races…

It’s not the backyard at Saratoga, but a day at a Gulf beach ain’t bad…

As Madison and Floyd have noted to the left, I am at this moment ensconced in a Holiday Inn Express in Savannah en route to a week’s holiday in south Florida; on the west coast, so I’ll be making my maiden voyage to Tampa Bay Downs in a week or so. I was tempted, but…

As I wrote in my bio on the TBA homepage, my first memory of being at Saratoga Racecourse is of General Assembly’s Travers, in 1979. I was fourteen, and my family had moved to Saratoga the previous summer; my father owned a business near the racetracks, and having rented our house to “summer people,” we…

In a few hours I’ll be heading up to Saratoga to spend Thanksgiving with my family and indulge in a few traditions, one of which takes place on Saturday, when my father and my brother and I, along with a few Saratoga friends, spend the day at the harness track, watching and betting on the…

Oh, me of little faith! Couldn’t confidently pick The Leopard because of the distance and change in surface; couldn’t confidently pick Angelic Aura off a week’s layoff. The Leopard won; Angelic Aura won. Indian War Dance was fourth, and thus, we are SHOWdown and out.

Lots of news today about how the weekend at Belmont is shaping up.Dave Grening in the Daily Racing Form reports that Ginger Punch, winner of the Darley Test at Saratoga and the Ruffian, is a go for the Beldame, though no decisions have been made about the Breeders’ Cup. He also notes that Take D’Tour…