Today’s feature at Aqueduct doesn’t offer nearly the same tantalizing possibilities as last week’s Paumonok, but it more than makes up for its lack of storyline in the honoring one of racing’s greats. The Whirlaway, first run in 1980, is named for Calumet Farms colt who became the fifth Triple Crown winner, and Horse of…
For those folks who have been asking about Saratoga Russell (and judging by the number of you who land on this page from your searches, he’s got a lot of fans out there), an anonymous poster left this comment: “Russell had a stomach bug in January that set him back in training. He is now…
“ ‘I guess he just put his foot down wrong,’ and in those nine words there was more heartburn than some men suffer in a lifetime.” These words were spoken about a horse, an accomplished three-year-old who ran six times and who crossed the wire first in all six races, reportedly “without ever being extended,…
As I mentioned a little while back, the folks at Steeplechase Times/Saratoga Special have a little Derby fantasy game going; I’ve decided to take the plunge and enter it, knowing full well that things like this are not exactly my forte (though I did do pretty well in an NHL playoff fantasy hockey competition a…
On late Saturday afternoon, following a delightful day in Manhattan with my parents, I headed for my cozy Brooklyn apartment, ready to curl up with my trusty laptop and get caught up on the days’ news, with heavy emphasis on the Sunshine Millions. To my horror, my Internet connection was down, and I have spent…
Checking today’s feature race at Aqueduct, the Paumonok Handicap, I went to the NYRA stakes page, as is my wont, to get a little history on the race. Instead of the usual detailed information about the race and its origins, I found this: “There is some disagreement as to whether this race was named after…
Shortly after college, I lay on my bed, with my cat next to me, reading an article about animal testing. I turned the page, and there was a photograph of a conscious cat with a metal cage over its head, and with screws/electrodes drilled into its brain. I don’t remember what the testing was for,…
Well, Kiaran McLaughlin didn’t win the Eclipse for training, and I guess I wasn’t at much of a disadvantage for not having TVG, as The Blood-Horse was publishing winners’ names (OK, at least one winner’s name) before it was announced on television. Nice. Thanks for the head’s up on that, Valerie, in your wonderfully-named post.…
Tip of the hat to Equidaily for pointing me in this direction, to an article by Art Wilson in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, in which the president of Hollywood Park calls for a summer forum on the pros and cons of racing on synthetics. Oak Tree executive vice-president Sherwood Chillingworth (The Scarlet Letter, anyone?)…
Open on Monday for the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, Aqueduct will run the Jimmy Winkfield, named for the last black jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. Formerly the Best Turn Stakes, the race was named in honor of Winkfield in 2005. On the NPR site, these photos are credited to Churchill Downs/ Kinetic. Jimmy…
Brooklyn Backstretch 