Photographer Juliet Harrison describes herself as “your typical horse crazy kid.” Perhaps atypically, she knows exactly when that horse craziness hit. “When I was five years old,” she recalled recently by phone from her home in the Hudson Valley, “I had a babysitter who gave me a picture book of horse breeds. I still have…
Tampa Bay Downs: The Grade II, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby at 1 1/6 miles #1 Striding Ahead (10-1 ML): Exits a resounding gate-to-wire maiden win over the track and distance, and that was also his first start of the year, so it looks like he’s really grown up since disappointing in his lone start last…
Brother Backstretch is a big fan of the last race. He stays to the end of most days, but particularly on Belmont day, when he’s got an uncanny record of success. He likes the last race because, he says, “You can’t give back your winnings.” He should know, I guess. On Belmont Day 2006, Michael…
Though it’s only early March, my Saturdays at Aqueduct are numbered: family commitments, pet responsibilities, and travel plans (work and play) mean that available March and April weekends are in short supply, so on this first Big Day of Racing at the Big A for 2011, I determined to settle in for the long haul.…
Aqueduct: The Grade III, $250,000 Gotham at 1 1/16 miles #1 The Fed Eased (8-1 ML): Talented sprinter stretches out after an authoritative win five weeks ago where he simply ran his four rivals off their feet early and never looked back. Bred to get this longer trip today and with his sprint speed and…
The highlight of today’s racing at Aqueduct is the Grade 3 Gotham, appropriating the nickname of the city that hosts it. But the spirit of New York may be better embodied in the horse for whom a race earlier on the card is named: Tom Fool, who won 21 races and earned $570,165; who won…
Akindale Farm gained national attention in 2008, when it became home to fan favorite Evening Attire. The folks at Akindale had long been committed to Thoroughbred aftercare; Akindale founder John Hettinger established Blue Horse Charities in 2001 to help fund Thoroughbred retirement, and the rescue part of the farm was founded in 2006. But until…
It’s been a busy few months at the Belmont Child Care Association. Though August is a long way away, planning has already begun for the big summer benefit, and a steady stream of good news about fundraisers and other initiatives has come in over the winter months. Elisabeth Jensen, executive director of the Race For…
Last Tuesday morning, I bundled up against 19 degree cold, scraped the snow and ice off my car, and headed north to Pawling, New York, to visit Akindale Farm. I’d been there once before, last summer, to visit Evening Attire and talk to Erin Pfister, who runs the farm’s rescue division, for a story for…
Gulfstream Park: The Grade II, $400,000 Fountain of Youth at 1 1/8 miles #1 Soldat (2-1 ML): Absolutely freaked in local and 3yo debut when catching a sloppy track and running off to a 10 ¾-length win in a N1X in very fast time at this distance. Takes the next logical step to see if…
Brooklyn Backstretch 