At 9 A.M. on a chilly Saturday morning, the farm at first seems quiet. The parking lot is largely empty, devoid of visitors who will begin to arrive soon after the noon opening, and on first glance, it might seem impossible that the 15-acre facility a short drive from Saratoga Springs houses 17 retired Thoroughbreds.…
There’s nothing in Leroidesanimaux’ pedigree that would lead to his being rather presumptuously named “King of the animals,” but Goncala Torrealba apparently knew what he was doing. Bred by Haras Bage Do Sul, “Leroi” (“the king”) is out of the Ahonoora (GB) mare Dissemble (GB) and sired by Candy Stripes, who was standing at Taylor…
“Campaigning elite athletes in partnerships for more than 30 years.” Find your way to the Centennial Farms website, and this is the tagline that you will greet you. It’s also the philosophy with which Don Little Jr., president and co-owner of Centennial, opens a conversation in the track kitchen at Belmont Park. “In any successful business,…
There’s little in the world of Thoroughbred racing that Bob Baffert hasn’t accomplished. He’s won the Kentucky Derby—four times. He’s won the Preakness—six times. He’s won the Belmont—twice. He’s won the Triple Crown. He’s been voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer four times. He’s in the Hall of Fame. He’s won 14 Breeders’ Cup…
They don’t call him Big Money Mike for nothing. Of the 13 Grade 1 races that will be run this weekend in the Breeders’ Cup, Mike Smith is named on nine of them, three of them favorites. But no matter how he does, even if he goes winless, his Breeders’ Cup records are secure: 126…
Four years ago, London Bridge became the first New York-bred to win a Breeders’ Cup race when he won the $500,000 G2 Marathon at Santa Anita. Bred by Patricia S. Purdy and owned by Waratah Thoroughbreds, London Bridge raced in England and France, making his first and only start in the United States that day.…
As Diversify rounded the final sweeping turn at Belmont Park in Saturday’s $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), Rodney Paine, perched on a platform above the finish line, started yelling. “Come on, Big D!” he exhorted. “Dig in! Dig in, Big D!” And dig in did the four-year-old son of Bellamy Road. Having led largely…
Four years ago, Ron Lombardi’s Mr. Amore Stables dead-heated for second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita. This year, he hopes to return to California and do that performance one better after Firenze Fire won Saturday’s Champagne Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park. The contest is a “Win & You’re In” race for the…
I remember the first time I saw Shakespeare. It was the day of the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2005, and I’d headed out to Belmont with a couple of fellow English teacher friends, and he, along with English Channel, was running in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational. We bet to win, we bet…
editor’s note: I asked Teresa to write about returning to a summer of racing at Saratoga after a first half of the year that included being diagnosed with–and treatment for–cancer. She was trepidatious at first, but gradually found the words among shared experiences with family and the horses. I’m glad she did. -@EJXD2 My family gathers…
Brooklyn Backstretch 