The race now known as the Dwyer began life in 1887, as the Brooklyn Derby. It was run at the Gravesend track in Brooklyn, a track that the Dwyer brothers, Phil and Mike, had helped to bring into existence in 1886. Phil and Mike were Brooklyn butchers, their shop at the corner of Atlantic and…
When Dawn Lupul was about six years old, her father, a chemical engineer who worked for the Canadian government, decided that he’d like to get into horse racing. Not a man, apparently, to do things half-heartedly, he ended up with a herd of about 30 standardbreds on a farm just outside of Edmonton, Alberta. Not…
With three Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Owner and one for Outstanding Breeder; nine meet-leading titles in 2013 (including breaking records for wins at Gulfstream Park, Keeneland, Churchill Downs, Kentucky Downs, and Saratoga); the #1 sire by earnings in 2013 and the current leading turf sire in Kitten’s Joy, it might not be much of a…
Sally Rohrbach stands by a fence behind her sprawling house in Harwood, Maryland, a short ride from Annapolis. Glimpses of the South River are visible down the hill from the front yard. She whistles, looking across several paddocks, over the heads of the three miniature horses that live closest to the barn, a handful of…
Next week in Lexington, Kentucky, The Jockey Club will hold its fifth Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit. Inaugurated in 2006 and held bi-annually, these summits are designed to improve the safety and soundness of Thoroughbred horses and bring together racetrack operators, trainers, veterinarians, and scientists. Among those presenting at the summit, which will…
On Friday, the United States will celebrate its independence, 231 years after a fledgling, underdog nation beat the British on these shores, driving them back to England in defeat. On Saturday, Belmont Park will honor that independence with the inaugural “Stars and Stripes Festival,” inviting the English—along with the French and the Irish—back for another…
The Breeders’ Cup Challenge’s partnership with NBC Sports resumes this week with the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita, a historic race being run for the first time at its new home, Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, the site of the 2014 Breeders’ Cup. The winner will receive an automatic berth to the…
High-level Thoroughbred sales are also social events: the auctions in Lexington and Saratoga, held in the evenings, might easily be confused for cocktail parties, as buyers, sellers, and onlookers network at crowded bars. The events are open to the public and are as much a spectator sport as a business opportunity, with those there to…
In early March, Maryland-based trainer Pat Dale was preparing Third Regiment, a Pennsylvania-bred retired Thoroughbred racehorse, for the next step in his second career: a performance in the Battle of the X’s in Texas, after which he’d be auctioned off to a buyer approved by Remember Me Rescue, which was coordinating the event. With thirty years…
I’ve stopped keeping track of the number of racing fans I know who were first brought to the track by their fathers. Count me among them. I know for sure that by the time that I was six and my brother was four, my parents were taking us to the races; it might have been…
Brooklyn Backstretch 