The agenda for the Nov. 12 meeting of the board of the New York Racing Association was short and sweet: to discuss a re-privatization plan for the organization due next spring to the office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. And while board chair David Skorton cautioned that no decisions would be made at the…
Aqueduct looks great. I never thought that it looked quite as bad as many people said, but the improvements over the last few years have resulted in a track that is, yes, attractive. The murals on the main floor debuted about a year ago; eye-catching, intriguing, they are ubiquitous, and while the Big A regulars…
At the Keeneland September sale of yearlings in September, Bridlewood Farm’s John Malone set a personal record when he bought a $1.1 million filly, more than he’d ever paid for a Thoroughbred. Bidding again at Keeneland yesterday, he went one better, setting a North American record for a weanling when he went to $3 million…
Before the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park on Saturday afternoon, plenty of people thought Bayern could win the race. But when it was over, and he crossed the finished line first, plenty of people thought he shouldn’t have. Breaking from post 7 in a field of 14 horses, Bayern swung sharply…
As an 89-pound high school freshman on the wrestling team, Kelly Breen dreamed about being a jockey. Growing up in Old Bridge, New Jersey, he went to nearby Monmouth Park with his family, and though small and light enough to think he’d have a shot, he realized that he’d unlikely be able to develop the…
Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup races kick off with the Juvenile Fillies at 3:05 pm, with the NBC Sports Network beginning coverage at 3:30 Eastern time. The broadcast switches to NBC at 8 pm for a one-hour telecast of the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. We’ll hope your Friday wagers provide you with plenty of capital heading…
The weekend that horseplayers and racing fans eagerly await all year has finally arrived. With the stunning San Gabriel Mountains in the background, 13 races worth almost $25 million will be contested, highlighted Friday by the $2 million Distaff and Saturday by the $5 million Classic. As they have for the past several years, a variety…
The horse racing world turns its eyes toward Southern California this weekend, when the Breeders’ Cup takes over Santa Anita Park for two days of world class racing with championship implications on the line. Joined by their elite European counterparts, North America’s top jockeys, horses, and trainers will compete on Friday and Saturday in Breeders’…
When Leah Gyarmati first went to the racetrack, she didn’t go willingly. As a 16-year-old, she reluctantly took a job as a hotwalker in the Belmont Park barn of Hall of Fame trainer H. Allen Jerkens at the behest of her father, who wanted her to earn some money to pay her horse show bills.…
In September, the Keeneland Association in Lexington, Kentucky held its world-renowned September sale of yearling Thoroughbreds; 2,819 racing hopefuls went through the ring, selling for an average of nearly $100,000 each and a total of $280.5 million. Following its boutique, three-week October racing meeting, Keeneland will turn its sales eyes next to the November sale of Thoroughbred…
Brooklyn Backstretch 