Belmont Park: The Grade I, $1.5 million Belmont at 1 ½ miles #1 Mubtaahij (IRE) (10-1): De Kock runner gives some international flavor to the proceedings as he made a name for himself in Dubai this winter, culminating in a visually impressive score in Meydan’s GII UAE Derby. And while that form didn’t translate to…
On June 13, 1953, Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr. watched his homebred Native Dancer win the Belmont Stakes, eking out a nose victory to complete the third leg of Thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown. He’d won three weeks earlier, too, at Pimlico, but had lost the Kentucky Derby. One might have forgiven Vanderbilt for a bittersweet sadness…
When Smarty Jones ran for the Triple Crown in 2004, spectators at Belmont Park faced long lines for betting, bathrooms, and concessions; they waited hours for Long Island Rail Road trains after the races were over. When Big Brown ran for the Triple Crown in 2008, spectators sat in extreme heat and humidity and the…
When horses break from the gate for the 147th Belmont Stakes on Saturday, they will do so directly in front of tens of thousands of people, on their feet on the crowded apron and in the clubhouse and grandstand. They will circle the enormous Belmont oval, the only one of its kind in the United…
If you follow me on Twitter, you’re going to get – in addition to tweets about New York City, politics, feminism, and the New York Rangers – lots of tweets about cats. And cat rescue. And the treatment of animals in factory farms. And cruelty-free products of various sorts. You’re also going to get a…
NYRA president and CEO Chris Kay appeared on the popular local news channel NY1 to talk about the plans for this weekend’s Belmont Stakes. Kay said that he thought that last year’s announced attendance of 102,199 was far short of the actual attendance, which he estimated as closer to 115,000. Of Wednesday’s post position draw…
That’s the question that producer Doug Tribou and host Bill Littlefield asked me a couple of weeks ago, and over the course of an hour in the NPR studio in New York, I tried to answer it. For obvious reasons, the full hour of conversation didn’t make it into the segment, but some of what…
The New York State Gaming Commission announced a major new transparency initiative at its May 26 meeting. As a result of recommendations from the Fan Advisory Council, established in 2011 by the New York State Racing Wagering and Board—the gaming commission’s predecessor—the NYSGC will now publish weekly reports from the New York Racing Association, containing…
Need a little weekday diversion? Like to get dressed up? Ever wanted to own a racehorse? The Belmont Child Care Association has just the event for you. On Thursday, May 28, the BCCA will host a luncheon and fashion show at the Garden City Hotel in Garden City, Long Island (not far from Belmont Park).…
On the day before the Preakness, the streets around Pimlico Race Course were mostly quiet. A few residents were out selling water and trinkets, but aside from the main roads—Park Heights Avenue, Belvedere Avenue, Northern Parkway—the residential neighborhood sleepily enjoyed a perfect summer day, residents hanging out on their porches, sitting beneath trees, playing in…
Brooklyn Backstretch 