During a career that spanned three decades, Richard Migliore got to sit on a lot of classy horses. Last night at the Parting Glass’s monthly racing meeting (always open to the public), at which Migliore was the featured guest, the jockey was asked to name some of the more memorable horses he’d ridden. He named…
And now we are in full Travers mode. I kicked off what feels like the official beginning of Travers week at the barn of Dale Romans, to interview Tammy Fox for a feature that will appear in the Saratogian later this week. First Dude, Romans’s Travers starter, arrived in fine fettle yesterday from his Churchill…
It is with great melancholy that I post this week’s happenings, as at least one of them will be taking place after I return to Brooklyn. I can’t believe that Saratoga is almost over, and nearly every day I come face to face with a reminder that before too long, the old Spa will be…
He’s got a horse named Blind Luck, and if Jerry Hollendorfer believes in good fortune, he must have been happy to learn where his filly would be staying for her time at Saratoga. The wise folks at the New York Racing Association lodged Blind Luck back in Barn 7, where Allen Jerkens and his horses…
Tomorrow is the 130th running of the Alabama Stakes, and an opportunity to continue to look back at Saratoga a century ago. 1910 brought the 32nd running of the Alabama, and it was won by an impressive filly named Ocean Bound. Who? Ocean Bound. Owned by Woodford Clay, Ocean Bound was, according to the New…
“If nothing unexpected happens,” says Bruce Johnstone, NYRA’s manager of racing operations, “we’ll go the infield for the next race.” We’ve been talking about this since last year, trying to find the right time, the right race, to get there. Yesterday, he thought he’d found it. “The seventh race,” he declares. “It’s a mile on…
Another week at Saratoga is in the books, and some among us are already looking mournfully towards the end of the meet. We’re past the halfway point, and it feels like Labor Day is going to come much too soon. But we’ve still got a few furlongs left, and there’s plenty to keep us busy…
Saratoga earned its “Graveyard of Favorites” nickname on Sunday, with winners coming in at $61 (Moon Raven, 2nd), $44.80 (Who’s Willie Fitz, 3rd), $19.20 (Fancy Fiona, 5th), $69 (Marvel Gaye, 7th), and $45.80 (Wishingonadream, 10th). I started out at this meet doing reasonably well in my $2 bet, $1 exacta box kind of way; I…
Katy Perry would have loved Friday’s Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremony, if, of course, she thinks that West Coast boys are as unforgettable as the girls. Five of this year’s seven inductees had racing roots in California: trainer M.E. “Buster” Millerick; jockey Don Pierce; and horses Azeri, Best Pal, and Point Given. The West…
I wrote recently in the Saratogian about the multitude of charitable opportunities that the racing season in Saratoga offers; nearly every night, we can choose an event to attend, a way to contribute, a charity to support. Among those charities are those that support New York racing all year round, some of which pack up…
Brooklyn Backstretch 