It’s approximately 150 degrees Fahrenheit in Brooklyn, and though my ETA in Saratoga is later this afternoon (that might be a little optimistic at this point), the relative cool of the Adirondacks seems as far away and unlikely as a team-building retreat between the national HBPA and The Jockey Club. But post time on opening…
At the Steven Kasher Gallery in Manhattan’s Chelsea, the exhibitAmerican Thoroughbred features some of this country’s most famous racehorses: last year’s Triple Crown winner American Pharoah; 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra; 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta. The horse that inspired the exhibit boasts a far more modest résumé. Several years ago, photographer…
On Monday, June 27, I was driving through the mountains of West Virginia on I-79, en route from Brooklyn to Lexington, KY. The sky was dark and rain had begun, radio weather reports issuing travel advice with more urgency than usual. When alerts blared simultaneously from the radio and my phone, warning of flash floods…
On the morning of May 21, Jan Klein was sitting in a suite at Gulfstream Park. A regular at the South Florida racetrack, she settled in to watch the first from Pimlico on Preakness day. Six months earlier, Klein had claimed her first racehorse. She’d grown up riding and showing horses, and she’s long traveled…
As the drought stretched on, as years passed and horse racing faded in popularity, it became a commonplace to hear that the sport “needed a Triple Crown winner”. A horse that could win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont would invigorate the sport, some thought. It would bring much-needed attention from casual fans,…
The next time a horse is awarded the Triple Crown trophy will be the first time for a new design, as New York Racing Association president Chris Kay has commissioned a redesigned piece to replace the one awarded to the previous Triple Crown winners. Designed and created by Cartier, the trophy awarded to American Pharoah’s connections last year is a…
by Brian Nadeau of Horseplayer Now and Capital OTB TV. Belmont Park: The GI, $1.5 million Belmont at 1 1/2 miles #1 Governor Malibu (12-1): New York-bred gave odds-on favorite Unified a scare when second in the local prep, the GII Peter Pan last month, and is certainly on the rise for Clement, who won this race two…
For the first time in three years, the New York Racing Association will host a Belmont Stakes without a Triple Crown on the line. Preparations at Belmont Park have proceeded much more quietly, with none of the national and little of the local coverage of the last two years, when TV crews descended on the…
On the afternoon of June 9, Bob Baffert walked into the paddock at Belmont Park for the first time since saddling American Pharoah before last year’s Belmont Stakes (gr. I). “I got goosebumps,” he told a crowd of about 75 people at Belmont that evening, part of a Q&A held by the New York Racing Association to celebrate…
As it waits for a decision on the future of the New York Racing Association, the organization’s board of directors May 25 spent less than five minutes discussing rumors of a proposal that would keep the association under state control. The NYRA board, at a meeting in New York City, implicitly acknowledged a report that emerged…
Brooklyn Backstretch 