On Monday, Anna House held its 2010 graduation; its seventh graduating class celebrated and looked with anticipation at heading to kindergarten in the fall. Because of the Belmont Child Care Association, the ten graduates are beginning readers and writers, and they are fluent in English, ready to take on the challenges of their kindergarten classrooms…
The Blood-Horse recently reported that a $40,000 grant from the Alfred Z. Solomon Trust will make it possible for Backstretch Employees Service Team (BEST), based at Belmont, to offer dental care to backstretch workers at Saratoga this summer. While BEST has for the past three years provided medical care, this is the first time that…
Save the date! The Belmont Child Care Association has announced the details of its spring fundraiser, the Rags to Riches Belmont Bash. This charity casino night will offer the “chance to eclipse Todd Pletcher in earnings and out-race John Velazquez,” to benefit two great charities: the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, “committed to the advancement of…
Tip of the hat to Equidaily for pointing me in this direction, to an article by Art Wilson in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, in which the president of Hollywood Park calls for a summer forum on the pros and cons of racing on synthetics. Oak Tree executive vice-president Sherwood Chillingworth (The Scarlet Letter, anyone?)…
I had heard a lot about, and seen photos of, the Anna House holiday party at which the children of the backstretch workers get to pick out gifts for their families, but nothing prepared me for the sight that greeted me when I showed up at my appointed hour of 12:30 on December 8th. The…
The Blood-Horse reports that Roy and Gretchen Jackson have made another major gift to the Belmont Child Care Association. Gretchen is on the board of the BCCA, and she and Roy were the honorees at this year’s benefit in Saratoga. The Jacksons are major supporters of Anna House; there’s a playroom named after Lael Stables…
As of Tuesday afternoon, Brooklyn Backstretch is officially a member of the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance. You’ll see the other members on the blogroll to the left, and I’m happy to say that a condition of membership is an annual donation to Old Friends. Happy to pay that price of admission, and happy to be a…
Brooklyn Backstretch 