Shortly after booking tickets to my first Kentucky Derby three years ago, I realized, with no small amount of regret, that the first Sunday in May that year was Mother’s Day. Instead of being in Saratoga with my mom that day, I’d be travelling home from Louisville. It didn’t feel the right thing to do,…
She made hometown heroes of her owners and trainer. A two-time champion, she set a record when she sold as a broodmare in 2005, the object of a bidding war between two international powerhouses. When she didn’t have her game face on, she was as mild-mannered as a pony. If, like human parents,…
Though the last major points-earning preps took place on Saturday, April 12, the Kentucky Derby field continued to take shape through last week, with the inevitable defections due to injury. Significant withdrawals include Constitution, the Florida Derby winner trained by the multiple Eclipse Award winning Todd Pletcher, and Cairo Prince, owned in part by Dubai’s…
The road to the Kentucky Derby is nearly at an end, and with it our Kentucky Derby charity league. John Perotti has taken a commanding lead, but remember that the points in our league go to the top 5 Derby finishers (300-120-60-30-15), leaving plenty of participants in striking distance. Brian Nadeau of Horseplayer Now takes…
The International Conference for the Health, Safety, and Welfare of Jockeys held at Monmouth Park last September lived up to its name, and featured presentations about racing in England, Ireland, France, Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, Germany, Uruguay, and the United States. The program highlighted one of the major differences between the U.S. and many international…
Few images at a racetrack still a crowd like the sight of a jockey down on the track, and few elicit heartier cheers than seeing him get up on his own. Seemingly indestructible, these athletes are often called the bravest in sports, perched atop a speeding animal that outweighs them by a factor of ten.…
Keeneland: The Grade I, $750,000 Blue Grass at 1 1/8 miles #1 Asserting Bear: One of the longer shots in the field has some ground to make up on a few of these who beat him when he was fourth in the GIII Spiral at Turfway Park last month and looks a bit out of…
California Chrome’s win in the Santa Anita Derby last weekend solidified John Perotti’s spot at the top of our Derby charity league standings; Adam Wiener, one of only two players with Wicked Strong in his stable, made a strong late run to move into second place. This weekend offers 340 points to both horses and…
On April 18, Justin Nicholson was on a train from Washington, D.C. to New York; his father, with whom he owns horses in AJ Suited Racing Stables, was scheduled for minor surgery the next day, and Nicholson wanted to be with him. His phone rang and it was Jimmy Toner, trainer for AJ Suited’s horses…
Coming into yesterday’s Whirlaway, all the talk was of Eightyfiveinafifty, of his prodigious speed, of his impressive maiden win, of his recent high Beyer Speed Figure. His trainer, Gary Contessa, participated in a nearly two-hour live chat on Friday night (you can read the transcript here, and I recommend that you do, especially his answer…
Brooklyn Backstretch 