The racing gods work in mysterious ways. Just a couple of weeks ago, I felt compelled to confess publically my lack of Derby interest, and as the Road to the Roses game has begun, and the Derby preps are coming more frequently, and the racing press is dominated by news of three year old colts,…
In a lovely bit of romantic whimsy, NYRA has scheduled the Dearly Precious for Valentine’s Day this year. Though the bay filly has a pedigree that suggests romance (out of Imsodear), it was her performance on the racetrack that really set hearts racing. En route to being named champion two year old filly of 1975,…
My picks are made, my league is created—now it’s your turn to join. We’re kicking off the second annual Derby picks for charity contest at Brooklyn Backstretch. Join the Brooklyn Backstretch league in the Road to the Roses, and the winner will have a minimum $50 donation made in her name to the racing charity…
It’s a poorly-kept secret that reality television is in fact only partially that—situations and conflicts are contrived to create maximum drama and ultimate titillation, to make viewers return to see where the ugliness ends. It was something of a relief, then, that the first two episodes of Jockeys were not characterized by the manufactured antagonisms…
I haven’t seen Jockeys; I haven’t checked race results; I’ve no idea whether the Pick 6 at Aqueduct was hit or whether any cat horses have won, or even raced, in the last few days. A much-welcomed international visitor, a quick trip out of town, and an unequivocally fun reunion have me waking this Monday…
“Whirlaway in action was more impressive than Whirlaway on his record, however, as the colt lost several times through bearing out, dawdling at the start, or other foolishness; when he finally made up his mind to run, he could turn it on, and it was agreed that he would be harder to beat at longer…
Photo credit: New York Rangers We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for our occasional dose of hockey, specifically the retiring of Adam Graves’ #9 last night at the Garden. Gravy, as he was known to his teammates and the Garden faithful, wore Rangers blue for ten years, coming to New York during the 1991 –…
The Belmont Child Care Association has set an industry standard and occupies a unique place in the racing world: located on the backstretch of Belmont Park, the BCCA offers very low cost child care to the children of the backstretch workers, opening at 5 am 365 days a year. It is the only such child…
As predicted last week, the Derby prep re-runs have begun on the OTB channel, so if between now and the middle of April you miss any, just tune in to channel 71 and before too long, you’ll be able to recite the race calls along with the track announcers. Here we go… I feel a…
I am intrigued by this race horse, born in 1888, owned by J.A. and A.H. Morris (of the Morris Park track in the Bronx). She’s got a race named after her, to be run today at Aqueduct, and Pedigree Query calls her “the best sprint mare of her day.” But Pedigree Query’s usually extensive race…
Brooklyn Backstretch 