Sometimes, the DRF watch list notifications do no more than give me e-mails to delete. The horses are active, I know they’re working out, I know where they’re racing. It’s not such a big deal for me to learn what’s going on with Evening Attire or Saratoga Russell or Atoned. I will occasionally go through…
It’s another family tradition. My brother started it in the 80’s; I joined in 2004. That was my first Belmont Stakes. Smarty Jones’s—er, Birdstone’s—Belmont. Though my interest in racing rejuvenated in 2000, I didn’t follow it with the alacrity that I do now, and foolishly, I just never thought about going to the Belmont. But…
The Take Ten! standings weren’t complete until Friday of last week and I didn’t have time over the weekend to post them, so what you see below doesn’t represent this past weekend’s racing; those results will be posted later this week. Not a lot of movement from week 8 to week 9, though both Stafford…
Last year’s Wood Memorial (Nobiz like Shobiz) fell on a beautifully sunny but really cold day; I barely ventured outside other than to watch the races, and for some I decided to watch on the televisions in the Manhattan Terrace. The year before that (Bob and John), it rained a miserable, cold, soaking rain. The…
Talked about missed opportunities. When I did my Spitzer picks last month, two of the horses came in: All Night Labor paying $26.80 and Yes It’s the Truth at $23.40. On March 21st, Yes It’s the Truth came back to win again, a day after I’d seen his sire at Three Chimneys, paying $25.20. Wednesday,…
If you’re a big fan of Turfway, you may want to stop reading. I have never liked going to a track for the first time on a big racing day, and my experience at Turfway on the day of the Lane’s End bears out that instinct. I am sure that it’s a perfectly fine track,…
Donna Chenkin, executive director of the Belmont Child Care Association, has a commentary in today’s Blood-Horse online. Her article details the history of the development of the Association and of Anna House, acknowledging major contributors and recounting success stories. More than praising itself, though, the article calls on racetracks around the country to develop similar…
I can’t remember where I first heard about Old Friends; it was within the last year or so, though, and it’s risen in prominence for me over the last six months. Part of being a member of the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance is a $50 per blogger donation that we send to Patrick, who then sends…
An anonymous commenter recently inquired about the status of Saratoga Russell, and our anonymous owner graciously weighed in, relating that Saratoga Russell’s surgery went well and that he was back galloping pretty much the day after the surgery. His connections haven’t yet identified his next race, but they’re looking at sprint options. Here’s one person…
As so many others have written this afternoon, it’s no surprise that Rags to Riches was retired. The question now, for so many of us: was it worth it? Selfishly, as a race fan, I say yes. I have never been more excited at a race than I was when she roared down that stretch,…
Brooklyn Backstretch 