It is indeed a shame when work gets in the way of gambling. Last night, I wrote: “I want to skip school on Thursday and go to the races because on the last Thursday that I was at the races, Piquante Cat won the third race, and he’s in the featured eighth race…I want to…
I want to skip school on Thursday and go to the races. I want to skip school on Thursday and go to the races, because the last time I was at the races on a Thursday was August 16th at Saratoga, and that’s just way too long ago. I want to skip school on Thursday…
Our anonymous Saratoga Russell commenter makes another appearance, this time outing him/herself (at least a little) as a part owner. Mr./Ms. West Point, thanks for your updates, and keep ‘em coming. Sunday’s comment: “Saratoga Russell is training at Gulfstream. He ran a bullet 5 furlong yesterday. People who witnessed the breeze said that on paper,…
I’m beginning to think that maybe I’m never going to meet a racetrack that I don’t like. Oh, wait, there’s Gulfstream. Spent a delightful day at Laurel on Saturday, in the company of some Saratoga ex-pats who have moved to the DC area, of Railbird, and of an upstate friend who road-tripped with me to…
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…
Brooklyn Backstretch 