It’s difficult for contemporary racing fans to see August Belmont as anything other than the namesake of the stakes race first and then the racetrack, but when he died in 1890, his very long New York Times obituary doesn’t even mention racing until the thirtieth (!) paragraph. A native of Germany, Belmont was born August…
7:00 am, Saturday morning. It’s Memorial Day weekend, and it’s gorgeous. I meet up with Jessica Chapel of Railbird and Raceday 360; we stock up on bagels, coffee, and water; we jump in the car, and head south: Garden State Parkway, Jersey Shore, here we come. A perusal of the car will yield no sunscreen,…
How could I spend ten+ hours at the racetrack and not come up with a story? I arrived at Belmont at approximately 8:30 am and left around 6:45 pm. The time flew, and I was one of happy crowd of about 10,000 that came out on a gorgeous spring day to fill the picnic areas…
One hundred and three years ago this month, Belmont Park opened. Described by racing historian William H.P. Robertson as “by far the most magnificent establishment of its kind in America,” the new track hosted the Metropolitan Handicap on opening day, the race having been transferred from its original home at the Morris Park track in…
Arguably the most important one-turn race in the U.S., the Met Mile has brought us some spectacular Memorial Day performances over the years. From Holy Bull and Honour And Glory as 3-year-olds to Ghostzapper’s remarkable comeback run as a 5-year-old, the race tests the stamina of a sprinter and the versatility of a router. While…
“The Triple Crown races are to showcase the future stallions of our industry andfillies should run with fillies and stallions with stallions.” So said Dolphus Morrison, the then-owner of Rachel Alexandra following her dominating win in the Kentucky Oaks. No second guessing for this owner, no wondering how she might have fared had she been…
The laws of physics are getting in my way today. As this posts, I am at Monmouth for the day, to catch some workouts and spend the day at the races, but there’s much at Belmont that I’ll be keeping my eye on. In the first race, That’srightofficer (Do you know how happy it makes…
Next month, ReRun, the New Jersey-based Thoroughbred adoption program, is hosting its third annual “Day at the Races” at Monmouth Park Racetrack. Taking place on June 13th, this event is ReRun’s largest annual fundraiser and will be held outside on the Patio Terrace. The benefit luncheon to raise funds for the adoption of ex-racehorses will…
I met City On Line last summer, on the backstretch at Saratoga. Allen Jerkens’s barn is as far north of the track as you can get, before the grounds at Saratoga give way to the old Greentree facility. It was feeding time in the afternoon, and the Chief pulled up in his golf cart. “Let’s…
The more that I watch mainstream media’s coverage of horse racing on television, the more I think that we might be better off if the sport didn’t get covered at all. I didn’t watch this year’s Derby coverage, but based on the Oaks coverage on Bravo and the Preakness coverage on NBC, I’m thinking that…
Brooklyn Backstretch 