On this weekend when a team that plays in New Jersey will be nominally representing New York in the Super Bowl, it seems only fitting that a race named for a man whose racing life was based in the Garden State will be run at Aqueduct. Like the New York Giants, David Withers got his…
Tampa Bay Downs: The Grade II, $250,000 Sam F. David at 1 1/16 miles #1 State Of Play (4-1 ML): Accomplished turf runner makes his 3yo debut and tries the main for the first time in an effort to see where he stands with the best of his generation. Sire War Front made quite a…
The Grade III, $200,000 Withers Stakes at 1 1/16 miles #1 Hakama: Impressed with a front-running score at Laurel to make it 2-for-2 withblinkers and at two turns, and he enters this much tougher spot as the “now horse” from a cozy rail draw. There’s other speed signed on, but with this advantageous draw, he…
Brian’s got his hands full this weekend with three major Derby preps. His analysis of the Grade III Withers at Aqueduct and Grade III Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs will be up later today and tomorrow. For more of Brian’s insights on New York racing, check him out at Horseplayer Now. Santa Anita:…
He’s back! Brian Nadeau rejoins Brooklyn Backstretch for the Derby trail, offering insights and race analysis for selected preps on the way to Churchill Downs. This is Brian’s fourth year contributing to BB, and I’m grateful every year when he says that he’s willing to do it again. You can find more of Brian’s handicapping…
Earlier this week, the internet lit up with the news of the birth of Rachel Alexandra’s first foal, a colt by Curlin. Stonestreet Farm released a statement, photos, and video; good wishes, congratulations, and coverage exploded on news sites, blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. On Friday afternoon, delight turned to unease as rumors began to surface…
Seven years ago this weekend, I went to Aqueduct for the first time. I had spent more of the previous summer at the races in Saratoga than ever before, and having made my maiden voyage to Belmont in the fall of 2003, it was time to venture to Ozone Park. My friend Jonathan, who had…
In late December of 2010, on a frigid, glittery, ice-inflected Kentucky morning, I pulled into Richland Hills Farm. Ed DeRosa and I were on a winter farm tour mission, and our host, Leanna Packard, graciously welcomed us, though I can imagine that there were many things she’d have rather done that morning than walk us…
I’ve long loved words that have two definitions that contradict each other. “Enjoin,” for instance. If you are enjoined to do something, it’s obligatory. If you are enjoined from doing something, it’s forbidden. “Peruse” is another. If you peruse something, you are either reading it carefully, or skimming it casually. (Note: that which delights me…
January 7 at Aqueduct felt more like April. It wasn’t just the weather, though I have never been warmer at the Big A, not on any Wood Memorial day, not ever, than I was there on Saturday; “balmy” would be an understatement. But it wasn’t just the weather. It was the faces. It was the…
Brooklyn Backstretch 