We saw a heck of a horse race on opening weekend with the Coaching Club American Oaks, when I’m a Chatterbox and Stopchargingmaria duked it out to the wire. I’m a Chatterbox got there first but was disqualified…will we see a rematch in this Saturday’s historic Alabama Stakes? We’ve also got the popular umbrella giveaway,…
Early Saturday afternoon near the backstretch recreation center, just across Union Avenue from the clubhouse turn, hotwalker Eduardo Alarcon slipped his feet into a new pair of shoes. A grin broke over his face, and he jogged energetically in place. “They feel great!” he exulted. Alarcon was one of several dozen backstretch workers who received…
Four years ago August 4, David Jacobson claimed a horse at Saratoga. Nothing terribly unusual about that, nor about the fact that Jacobson ran the horse, who had finished fifth, back 21 days later, nor that the trainer bumped the bay gelding way up in class for that next start, nor that Jacobson won with…
In the aftermath of hosting the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 and three weeks into a Saratoga Race Course meet that is showing significant gains in reported attendance and pari-mutuel handle, the board of directors of the New York Racing Association met Aug. 12 and for the most part celebrated the accomplishments. But the…
A panel at the Saratoga Institute for Equine, Racing, and Gaming Law on Aug. 11 discussed New York’s need for a law to protect sponsors or organizers of public equine activities, such as racetracks and breeding farms. New York is one of five states that lack an equine liability statute, according to Karin Bump, a…
On Sunday afternoon at the Gideon Putnam, The Jockey Club held its 63rd annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing. The event was presided over by Stuart Janney, newly elected as chair of the organization following the resignation of Ogden Mills Phipps, who had served as chair since 1983. The man at the…
We’re approaching the halfway point of the meet, and we couldn’t have asked for more: terrific weather, huge increases in handle, and memorable racing, topped by a Whitney for the ages. Lots more where that came from (in the case of the weather, we can hope), along with fundraisers, education seminars, a photography class, book…
It might be summer vacation, but horses don’t take the summer off and neither do their grooms, riders, and hot walkers—and neither does Anna House. In June we (I am a member of the BCCA board) celebrated the graduation of the class of 2015, who accepted their diplomas from Belmont Child Care Association board president…
She is one of the faces of New York racing, on-screen every racing day, in the paddock pre-race offering analysis of horses’ appearance, in the winner’s circle post-race interviewing happy connections. But the woman so closely identified with the tracks on the NYRA circuit is a product of generations of mid-Atlantic racing, and she didn’t…
Possibly the busiest week of the meet, with multiple fund-raising, education, and historical opportunities abounding as we head to the sales next week. Highlights including an Allen Jerkens tribute evening on Thursday, the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday, and this weekend’s terrific slate of racing, including a Whitney for the ages, its 10…
Brooklyn Backstretch 