Among the sadness at Aqueduct on Saturday was some good news; between the third and the fourth races, NYRA presented a $5,000 check to the Exceller Fund; Exceller Fund board members photographer Barbara Livingston and writer Steve Haskin accepted the donation. Exceller, who beat two Triple Crown winners, Seattle Slew and Affirmed, in the 1978…
There might be a lot of rationalization in this post. Last Saturday, I was standing at the paddock with a friend just before the second race went off. I’d gotten to Aqueduct late, and thus didn’t know that Bruce Levine’s Big Love Bill had broken down in the first race until my friend told me,…
Saturday’s Demoiselle offers any number of memorable renewals, won by any number of memorable fillies: broodmare extraordinaire Better than Honour’s win in 1989; Triple Tiara winner Chris Evert’s victory in 1973; Derby winner Genuine Risk’s triumph in 1979. Preceding generations likely have their own memories of the winners of this race, which was run for…
As much as I look forward to going home to Saratoga for Thanksgiving, I head north with one eye on the rearview mirror, focused on Ozone Park, wistfully knowing that I will partake of Aqueduct’s holiday festivities from afar. It’s the last big weekend of New York racing this year, and what a weekend it…
If it had been forty or fifty degrees warmer, and if there had been another twenty or so thousand people around, Aqueduct might have been Saratoga. We’re still on the turf—for three races yesterday—and both the fourth and the sixth races featured beautifully bred two year olds maidens, with progeny of Storm Cat, Awesome Again,…
As I was writing yesterday’s post about a shortened racing season in New York, I found myself with plenty to say (shocker, that) but writing with a certain unease, unsure whether the presence of a rumor on a website and the absence of any other information on the topic was enough to merit its consideration.…
Artist Lawyer Ron at work in his studio I heard recently from the good folks at ReRun, a non-profit Thoroughbred adoption program whose mission is to help ex-racehorses find a second career. As is the case with many charities/non-profits at this time of year, ReRun is launching a holiday fundraiser, this one an auction of…
The way Curlin’s imminent departure from the racing stage was treated yesterday bears some resemblance to his racing career: we knew he was important, but he never quite got the attention he deserved. The Sunday morning print edition of the New York Times carried a good-sized story about Jess Jackson’s decision to begin Curlin’s stud…
It’s not surprising that as the holidays and end of year get closer, various charities are reminding us about donations. So if you’re looking for a way to help this holiday season, and get that 2008 tax deduction, I offer the following for your consideration: As I wrote recently, the Belmont Child Care Association is…
Reminders of New York City’s Dutch roots are ubiquitous: in the orange and blue colors of the Mets, which come, via the New York State flag, from the orange and blue of the Dutch flag; in the names of places like Brooklyn (Breuckelen), the Bronx (named for Jonas Bronck, who settled in the area in…
Brooklyn Backstretch 