And so it begins: the final week. 30 days of racing done, 6 to go. A look back at week 5… On Friday, Naughty New Yorker made his second start of the meet in the Funny Cide Stakes for New York-breds; he had turned in three dismal performances in a row, including a last-place finish…
On Wednesday, August 26th, the Belmont Child Care Association held its annual benefit in Saratoga at the Gideon Putnam, and as usual, the racing community turned out in full force to support the work of Anna House. The event was completely sold out, and approximately $300,000 was raised through live and silent auctions, raffles, and…
As good as Sara Louise and Music Note were in the Victory Ride and the Ballerina respectively, they might have been overshadowed by Vineyard Haven in the King’s Bishop even if he hadn’t been disqualified from first to second. Vineyard Haven, who went off at similar odds as Music Note and as the co-fourth choice…
The sun is shining on Saratoga today, 24 hours too late to make Travers Day 2009 an unqualified success. Though Saturday brought neither the fury of the Birdstone storm nor the inexorability of 2002’s rain, the promise of day-long precipitation suppressed both handle and attendance. The weather turned out to be not quite as bad…
Listening to the sound of raindrops pound outside my window, I am, for the first time in nine years, anticipating the start of Saratoga’s biggest race day not from the backyard, but from the cozy confines of my rental, a few blocks from the track. In 2000, I joined my brother and his friends in…
My petition to NYRA in an effort to pay out 3-out-of-4 denied, I forge on to Saturday’s $1 million guaranteed Pk4. It will have to pay half that much to get me out of the hole. Race 9: The Grade II, $200,000 Ballston Spa for filly/mares 3&up at 1 1/16 miles on the Mellon turf.…
In not terribly surprising news, Mine That Bird was declared out of the Travers this morning, so once again, a Derby winner will not run in the Travers this summer. Since Thunder Gulch in 1995, only one Derby winner—Street Sense in 2007—has also run here in the Mid-Summer Derby. But there will be no shortage…
Week 4 is in the books. Today is Sunday, or at least it feels like it is, because the pace is a little slower, there’s a little more free time. Then again, it’s Travers week, so come tomorrow (Monday), we are full steam ahead. But for now, a look back at week 4… I know…
It’s the last day of week four, Monday of Travers week, day 24. We won’t see Rachel Alexandra this weekend, but Jess Jackson’s decision insures that any final weekend doldrums will be swept aside by the appearance of his super-filly in the Woodward. Highlights of the weekend include the oft-mentioned ninth race on Saturday, in…
The breeding of Thoroughbred race horses is hardly an exact science; how, after all, can the same pedigree produce both Barbaro and Nicanor? Why did the talent of Secretariat and Chris Evert skip their offspring Six Crowns and re-appear a generation later in Chief’s Crown? 19th century horseman Francis Morris would likely not be able…
Brooklyn Backstretch 