On Monday morning, I sat in the upper level of the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion and watched as three humans and three horses were inducted into the Hall of Fame. I was touched, as I wrote on Tuesday, by the humanity and the humility of the event; as several publications have noted, the unplanned theme…
Indian Blessing (part of her, anyway) and John Velazquez, before she demolishes the field in the Test. Any Limit and happy Cornelio Velasquez, following their underdog win in the Honorable Miss. If you’re keeping track, that’s two Allen Jerkens winners as the longest price in the field. Evening Attire, working out on Sunday morning. At…
First of all, thank you so much to everyone who wrote, commented, and wished me luck in my OTB TV appearance yesterday. I think that I made it through without making an utter fool of myself, and I definitely made it through without throwing up, so I figure that’s a success. Thanks, too, to Seth…
A few weeks ago, when I compared Diva Day at Belmont with Women’s Day at Saratoga, commenter John S. responded with the following: Might I suggest “Men’s Day”? A long table, right next to the bar, where I canbuy a variety of after shaves, cigars, porn mags, power tools, handguns, fishingrods, handcrafted whiskies and also…
Jessica Chapel of Railbird and I have been invited to appear on Call to the Post with Seth Merrow of Equidaily tomorrow (Monday) at 9:45 am on the Capital OTB channel. Capital Region residents can watch on Time Warner cable channel 12; those outside the region can view the program (and all other Capital OTB…
Sunday’s feature at Saratoga is the Fourstardave Handicap, a Grade II race at a mile and a sixteenth on the turf for three year olds and up. It’s named for one of Saratoga’s most beloved equine citizens, the gelding who won stakes races here for five consecutive years and who won a race every year…
Last night Lost in the Fog showed at the Saratoga Film Forum in its first non-film festival engagement. Fresh off receiving the audience award for best documentary at the 2008 CineVegas film festival, the film played to a nice-sized audience, some members of which were racing fans and some of whom, it seemed, had never…
Ed Fountaine in today’s New York Post reports that Godolphin is considering running Music Note in the Travers on August 23rd. While I have written here repeatedly that I have no trouble with fillies running against colts, I don’t see why you’d make this move. (Railbird has a different opinion.) In a development that I…
I first became aware of Lost in the Fog on a dreary January afternoon at Aqueduct. There to watch the Sunshine Millions simulcast, I was with a friend who told me about this amazing sprinter, the talk of the West Coast, coming off wins at Golden Gate and Turf Paradise. We were a little skeptical,…
First run in 2004, the De La Rose has served up some excitement in its short life. An ungraded stakes for fillies and mares four and up on the turf, the De La Rose keeps alive the name of an accomplished filly about whom we don’t talk much these days. A daughter of Nijinsky, De…
Brooklyn Backstretch 