Given that I generally still refer to the Patrick Division and the Campbell Conference, one would correctly surmise that I’m not a big fan of eviscerating history in the name of modernization. It seems silly to me that a huge banner in the clubhouse at Saratoga reads “The Go For Wand Est. 1954” when the…
On Friday at about 6:30 am, the temperature in Brooklyn was 22 degrees; the wind made it feel like it was in the single digits, and it likely felt much colder on the backstretches of Belmont and Aqueduct. The men and women who take care of the horses had already been at work for several…
Two years ago, in a generally moribund racing month, winter racing in New York got a blast of attention when 9-year-old Evening Attire won the Queens County on a cold December afternoon. It was his second victory in the race; he’d also won in 2001, at the tender age of 3. Four horses in total…
There’s racing this week in New York, Kentucky, Florida, and California, but the eyes and attention of many in the racing world are turned southwest, to Tucson, Arizona and the annual symposium of the Race Track Industry Program at the University of Arizona. Those unlucky enough to be tethered elsewhere and missing this event can…
‘Tis the season of giving, and plenty was being given away on Saturday at Aqueduct. The Marines were at the Big A, collecting toys and cash donations; as I wrote last week, NYRA had pledged to match whatever money was collected; Gary Contessa was donating 10% of any earnings on December 5th, with a minimum…
Yesterday NYRA released its 2010 stakes schedule…well, sort of. According to NYRA president and CEO Charles Hayward, In the current economic climate and with other racing jurisdictions reducingracing days and adjusting their stakes schedule, we feel that it is prudent tomake the decision on the Aqueduct Stakes program only at this time. Weplan to monitor…
So it seems that there’s some money to be made in adultery, and not only by the Florida PD, the wronged woman, and those accepting checks for selling their stories. A quick run-down of Wednesday’s Tiger picks, with thanks to those who posted their own in the comments. Brooklyn Backstretch Aqueduct picks Race 2: Smokey…
For those of you looking for a little, ahem, action, you might try these hunch bets today at Aqueduct: In race 1, you’d have lost had you bet the Believe in Love/Virtues Under Fire exacta. Clearly, betting on Believe in Love is a losing proposition. But there are plenty of other opportunities to, um, score……
And today, we take a turn towards the frivolous. The former foster kittens are firmly ensconced in the Backstretch household; they made the Thanksgiving trip to Saratoga, and they are now six month old adolescents, engaging in charmingly maddening teenage behavior. Furlong and Ruffian are happy and healthy and friendly and playful. They are perfect.…
So it’s official: It’s holiday shopping season. Black Friday has come and gone; today is Cyber Monday, when, according to people who pay attention to such things, many, many work hours are lost by those taking advantage of their office computers to do a little online shopping. You likely have plenty of gift options for…
Brooklyn Backstretch 