Curlin did more than satisfy thousands of racing fans on Saturday afternoon; he also made the lives of the folks on the backstretch in New York a little better. The sale of Curlin T-shirts made $10,500 for Backstretch Employees Service Team, and the future sale of any shirts will also benefit BEST. Thanks to those…
If you haven’t listened to Tom Durkin’s call of Saturday’s Turf Classic, you should. The admiration for Grand Couturier is there in his voice; for a few moments at the end, he sounds more like a fan than a professional race-caller: And Grand Couturier is cut loose! At the top of the stretch! GrandCouturier now…
On yet another grey, rainy day at a New York racetrack, of which there have been far too many this year, Curlin made history, joining Kelso and Forego and Secretariat and Shuvee on the list of horses who have stepped on the biggest stage and left it victorious. He passed Cigar as the all-time U.S.…
The folks at Backstretch Employee Service Team contacted me today to say that NYRA has donated 5,000 Curlin t-shirts to BEST for sale at the races today. Here’s hoping that all 5,000 sell for their low, low price of $5, netting BEST $25,000. BEST provides a variety of services, including medical and dental care, to…
What does it take to make Bobby Frankel cry? One of his best, and favorite, fillies winning a Grade I in her last race, and coming home safe. In the fall of 2004, my nascent interest in horse racing was burgeoning; it had been the summer of Afleet Alex at Saratoga, and for the first…
Random notes on some Brooklyn Backstretch favorites recently in action: Nacascolo, last seen being vanned off at Saratoga, was entered in a race at Delaware Park on September 14th; the race came off the turf, which is presumably why Nacascolo was scratched, but it was nice to see that he was in fact OK. Some…
You can’t say that NYRA doesn’t listen to its critics. After being called out roundly for failing to promote Curlin’s appearance in the Man o’War at Belmont in July, it took steps forward at Saratoga in August, creating a number of PR events to call attention to the big chestnut’s appearance in the Woodward on…
T.D. Thornton’s Not by a Longshot: A Season at a Hard-Luck Horse Track depicts Suffolk Downs as a gritty, marginal track struggling to survive, with a few moments of redemption and glory to keep people going; as I read the book, I nearly always pictured race days occurring under metal-grey, chilly skies, an empty grandstand…
In 2005, I spent the day of the Whitney on the beach in Massachusetts, visiting friends from my time in London who have no interest in horse racing. Much as I enjoyed the weekend, I’ve never quite gotten over missing Commentator’s thrilling win over St. Liam that afternoon. Watching a horse win by multiple lengths…
“Abandon every hope, who enter here.” So is Dante warned, as he approaches the entrance to Hell. So, too, are we warned as we approach the entrance to Suffolk Downs: Much more to come, on Commentator, the MassCap, and a terrific day spent at Suffolk Downs…
Brooklyn Backstretch 