Today’s feature at Aqueduct is the 59th running of the Grade II Comely, run at a mile for three-year-old fillies. The race is named for the filly who at two beat older horses in the inaugural Fall Highweight Handicap at Belmont Park in 1914. She was owned by James Butler, owner of the Empire City…
Just got back from attending the premiere of The First Saturday in May, the documentary by John and Brad Hennegan about the road to the 2005 Derby, featuring Lawyer Ron, Barbaro, Jazil, Brother Derek, Achilles of Troy, and Sharp Humor. The film officially opens next Friday, but tonight was a cast and crew showing, and…
Sometimes, the DRF watch list notifications do no more than give me e-mails to delete. The horses are active, I know they’re working out, I know where they’re racing. It’s not such a big deal for me to learn what’s going on with Evening Attire or Saratoga Russell or Atoned. I will occasionally go through…
It’s another family tradition. My brother started it in the 80’s; I joined in 2004. That was my first Belmont Stakes. Smarty Jones’s—er, Birdstone’s—Belmont. Though my interest in racing rejuvenated in 2000, I didn’t follow it with the alacrity that I do now, and foolishly, I just never thought about going to the Belmont. But…
The Take Ten! standings weren’t complete until Friday of last week and I didn’t have time over the weekend to post them, so what you see below doesn’t represent this past weekend’s racing; those results will be posted later this week. Not a lot of movement from week 8 to week 9, though both Stafford…
Last year’s Wood Memorial (Nobiz like Shobiz) fell on a beautifully sunny but really cold day; I barely ventured outside other than to watch the races, and for some I decided to watch on the televisions in the Manhattan Terrace. The year before that (Bob and John), it rained a miserable, cold, soaking rain. The…
…with your indulgence, I hope. I had all good intentions of coming home after the last Rangers’ regular season home game (we made the playoffs! Yippee!) to dig into Saturday’s Carter, a race first run in 1895 and offering all kinds of tempting possibilities for exploration, not limited to that famous triple dead heat in…
Talked about missed opportunities. When I did my Spitzer picks last month, two of the horses came in: All Night Labor paying $26.80 and Yes It’s the Truth at $23.40. On March 21st, Yes It’s the Truth came back to win again, a day after I’d seen his sire at Three Chimneys, paying $25.20. Wednesday,…
If you’re a big fan of Turfway, you may want to stop reading. I have never liked going to a track for the first time on a big racing day, and my experience at Turfway on the day of the Lane’s End bears out that instinct. I am sure that it’s a perfectly fine track,…
Donna Chenkin, executive director of the Belmont Child Care Association, has a commentary in today’s Blood-Horse online. Her article details the history of the development of the Association and of Anna House, acknowledging major contributors and recounting success stories. More than praising itself, though, the article calls on racetracks around the country to develop similar…
Brooklyn Backstretch 