Well, hi. Seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve been here; I don’t know whether I’ve gone a whole week without posting in the history of the site, and the post-Breeders’ Cup week is a particularly bad time to be silent, but giving over four full days to racing last week meant that…
The 25th running of the Breeders’ Cup took place on October 24 and 25 at Santa Anita. For the first time that year, the races for females and male were segregated, with the distaff races taking place on Friday, and the rest of the races run on Saturday. In another historical departure (and another departure from…
At a family event last week, my brother asked me which races I’d be covering at the Breeders’ Cup this year. Small stories on a bunch of races, I said, and big ones on the Juvenile Turf and the Juvenile Sprint. “The Juvenile Sprint?” he said, and smiled, looking at my nephew. “Hey, Christopher, know…
The Belmont fall meet ended with a whimper, probably coming from those whose feet are still unthawing after Saturday’s snowstorm, a storm that resulted in a cancellation after the third race on Saturday and of the full Sunday card. It’s not how Belmont’s storied championship meet should end. But those who still want a little…
On this fine, blustery, snowy, gusty Saturday morning, when I should be at Belmont but I am instead at home, I was engaging in a leisurely breakfast coupled with some serious procrastinating when I noticed that Twitter suggested that I follow @espnhorseracing. @espnhorseracing? Who knew? Cool! Except…@espnhorseracing last tweeted on August 20, 2010. That tweet…
John Gaver doesn’t look quite bulky enough to carry the weight of three generations of racing history. Tall, lean, and lanky, Gaver seems pretty unburdened in general, walking his shedrow at the Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, welcoming a guest, elaborating at length on the horses in his care. Utterly unassuming as he discusses his horses’…
New York’s stars were on display at Belmont on Saturday. The weather was beautiful, the atmosphere festive, the backyard crowded. And the horses didn’t disappoint. Early in the card, Flying Zee Stable took two races. The racing operation of the late Carl Lizza, Flying Zee’s dispersal begins this week at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky yearling sale,…
It rained on Belmont Day. It was cloudy on Travers Day. It rained on Jockey Club Gold Cup day. But this Saturday is New York Showcase day, and it looks like we’re going to get perfect autumn weather on the day that to me embodies fall racing in New York. If we’re lucky, the trees…
We poor starved racing fans are so eager for mainstream coverage of our sport that we grasp eagerly at whatever crumbs the media want to throw us. Occasional coverage on live TV? Thank you! An HBO series on life at the racetrack? Oh, you are too kind. A documentary by the Worldwide Leader in Sports?…
“Fleet Valid also jumped his first crossrails in the lesson! Go Fleet!” Scrolling through my timeline last month, I came across this tweet. Fleet Valid? Hm. Sounded familiar. And yes, a look at his past performances revealed that from November of 2007 to April of 2009, Fleet Valid made 12 appearances on the New York…
Brooklyn Backstretch 