As commenter Geno pointed out, Scrappy T finished fourth in his start at Penn National last weekend. A reader e-mailed to say that, essentially, Scrappy never had a chance, which is what I feared. I am not one of those race fans who thinks that every older horse who runs a bad race should be…
Felt awful and came home sick from work…turned on WNYC (our local public radio station) as preparation for a nap…and heard Tom Durkin’s call of the 2006 Derby coming over the airwaves, followed shortly thereafter by an introduction by host Leonard Lopate to John and Brad Hennegan and trainer Dale Romans. I gave up listening…
Just in from a very disheartening overtime loss to the hated Devils. It was my first ever overtime playoff game, and the only good news is that at least I didn’t have to wait several hours to see my team lose. At the Garden shortly before the puck drop at the first home playoff game…
The good news is that my Comely picks yesterday (Sherine, Ready for Fortune, and Elusive Lady) finished 1-2-3. The exacta paid $99.50, the tri $334.50. You know what the bad news is: I didn’t bet it. My NYRA account was tapped out by bets I’d made for a friend and for my father, and I…
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…
Brooklyn Backstretch 