Whether you like the movie or not, Secretariat has been a welcome reminder of Big Red’s accomplishments, 37 years after he won the Triple Crown. And while I haven’t seen the movie, I am reminded of that incredible spring each time I walk into the Belmont paddock, where stands a statue of the Chenerys’ Triple…
How do I love thee, New York Showcase Day? Let me count the ways! Tomorrow at Belmont Park is all about New York, on and off the track. And having spent all but 10 years of my life here, I am rather an unabashed cheerleader for all things Empire State. (OK, maybe not all things.…
I watched the Jockey Club Gold Cup from the winner’s circle at Belmont Park on Saturday. It’s an ideal spot for about five seconds, the last five seconds of the race. The race started on the clubhouse turn, so most of us had to rely on the infield screen to see what was happening. I…
Trainer W.J. (Buddy) Hirsch lauded Gallant Bloom as ‘the most consistent and honest mare’ that he has raced in 30 years as a trainer. The New York Times reported this quotation in March of 1970, after Hirsch’s filly Gallant Bloom had won the Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap. Gallant Bloom was four then; she made only…
Saturday was one of those days when I wondered why I was going to the track. Had a lot of work to do—writing, cleaning, prepping, planning—and it was hard to thing that a day at Belmont would be the best use of my time. But at 7:40-something on Saturday morning, I was on the Long…
The second weekend of spring racing at Belmont is in the books, and I still haven’t made it out to Big Sandy. Family and other events have conspired to keep me west of Elmont, and will continue to do so through this next weekend, so in the absence of opportunity to spend a day at…
Brooklyn Backstretch 