Just three days after the Mets’ season came to a close despite a scintillating performance by ace Noah Syndergaard, the horse named for the pitcher suffered a brutal beat at Belmont Park. Undefeated in two previous races and having won his last by 10 1/4 lengths, Syndergaard the horse is a two-year-old New York-bred, and…
For a man whose volubility makes him a terrific interview, Jay Hanley was curiously silent as he stood near the winner’s circle at Belmont Park on Saturday afternoon. Minutes earlier, his Lady Eli had won the Grade 1, $500,000 Flower Bowl, her second race and first win since she was injured after the Grade 1 Belmont…
The last time three different horses won the U.S. Triple Crown races, none of them won the award for champion 3-year-old male. That honor went to Will Take Charge, a horse that finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby, seventh in the Preakness, and 10th in the Belmont Stakes. But he got good — really good…
The first time that I went to Parx was in January of 2007. It was a day trip from New York with a couple of friends, and I met there another friend, someone who knew the place much better than I did. Admittedly, a maiden voyage to any northern track ideally shouldn’t happen in the…
On Saturday afternoon at a little racetrack just outside Philadelphia, the top three finishers from this year’s Kentucky Derby will meet, for the third time this year. In some racing circles, Parx Racing — the name of that little track — is more often derided than praised, not least of all for the name it…
Ten-year-old Gustavian, an Eclipse Award finalist for champion steeplechase horse in 2013, was euthanized Sept. 16 because of complications from a paddock accident, said trainer Leslie Young. A son of Giant’s Causeway out of grade I-winning mare Mossflower (Affirmed), Gustavian was typically given the summer off by Young, who trained the bay gelding for Magalen…
The final first of Saratoga 2016 was not one that we looked forward to. This summer, we celebrated pinhooker Andrew Motion’s first Saratoga yearling sale, and trainer Ray Handal’s first Saratoga win, and trainer Lacey Gaudet’s first Saratoga starter. And then we waited. Not for a first, but for a next, to see if trainer…
Every Travers day, the most valued piece of real estate at Saratoga Race Course is a picnic table in the backyard. About 8 feet long, all 850 of them are snatched up within minutes of the gates opening at 7 a.m., by people who have been waiting in line since the wee hours of the…
There’s a week left in the Saratoga 2016 season, but with no Pink Sheet next Tuesday, today’s the day to look back at the meet and offer some wishes for Saratoga 2017. This may be an unpopular opinion, but the new copper roofs on the Carousel and the escalator are a welcome change from the…
Old Saratoga, famed as a resort long before the civil war, has come back into her own. A few years ago Saratoga’s obituary notices were being written. Today the most successful season of her history came to an end. This [closing day] afternoon differed from no other Saturday of the meeting. There were the same…
Brooklyn Backstretch 