It’s late March. I walk into the Gulfstream barn of Teresa Pompay, and I am greeted with a meow. Simultaneously welcoming and warning, the meow comes again, insistent. “That’s Rasta,” says Terri, appearing from around a corner. “He adopted us.” Rasta clearly has discerning taste, as the barn of Terri Pompay seems like a mighty…
Rangers’ fan, racing fan, and photographer Ian Lozada has found a unique way to link our favorite sports, all for a good cause. Having heeded the exhortation to show his support for his team by growing a playoff beard, Ian is joining his personal Blueshirts’ cause to the Belmont Child Care Association, and while he…
April is the cruellest month, breedingLilacs out of the dead land, mixingMemory and desire, stirringDull roots with spring rain.–“The Wasteland,” T.S. Eliot Adding myself to the legions who have quoted Eliot’s words out of context, I drove onto the barren grounds of the Oklahoma on Saturday morning. Early balminess had given way to gray chill;…
The Lexington Stakes – Keeneland – Grade II – $325,000 – 1 1/16 Miles, by Brian Nadeau We have arrived. Saturday’s Lexington marks the final prep for the May 2 Kentucky Derby, and anyone with last ditch aspirations for the big race has 1 1/16 miles to show that they belong. The Lexington drew a…
Alfred G. Vanderbilt sure knew a Good Thing when he saw her, especially when it came to breeding. In 1946, he bred his Discovery mare, Good Thing, second in the Gazelle at age three but with an otherwise undistinguished race record, to Rosemont. And what do you get when add a Good Thing to Rosemont?…
I first became aware of the Belmont Child Care Association around 2005 or 2006—checking Aqueduct results, I saw information on the NYRA homepage about donating items to the Anna House holiday party, at which the children could pick out presents to give to their family members. My relationship with this organization began with that donation.…
Recapping the Blue Grass and Arkansas Derby, by Brian Nadeau And then there was one. With the Arkansas Derby and the Blue Grass Stakes safely behind us, the upcoming Lexington Stakes rates as the last major prep for the Kentucky Derby. This past weekend saw a feel-good story reemerge and the strength of the West…
As an anonymous commenter noted, Backstretch handicapper Brian nailed the Arkansas Derby, picking Papa Clem for the win; he didn’t do too badly in the Blue Grass, either, observing of second place finisher Hold Me back, “Formidable and due a ton of respect.” Can you give me the Derby winner, Brian? Please? He’ll offer a…
Back in Brooklyn after two and a half terrific days in Lexington; this was my fourth trip to Lexington and third to Keeneland for live racing, so I hope that no one read my Friday post as anything other than gentle mockery of a superb race track. Keeneland is a different racing world even from…
On Thursday evening, as my friend and I walked back through the Keeneland grandstand at about 5:30 pm, we saw a line of people snaking through the grounds. They had folding chairs and radios, books and decks of cards. They were in for the long haul. What, we asked, were all these people were waiting…
Brooklyn Backstretch 