Following, a collection of random thoughts, all of which has at least some tangential relation to horse racing, even if it is not immediately apparent. On a menu in Lexington, listed under imported beers: Sam Adams. The Garden District, New Orleans: doesn’t every neighborhood need one of these? That old hockey and horse racing connection:…

In response to the mild, followed by apocalyptic, followed by mild forecasts for Saturday’s weather, the New York Racing Association sped up post times to insure that all nine races could be run before the “storm” hit. Nine races run in approximately three hours and forty-six minutes—barely time to check the paddock, bet, get to…

A couple of weeks ago, a bunch of us bloggers “[fell] over each other…trying to solve the great marketing problems of racing,” in the Twittering words of o_crunk. That wave having passed, the topic de la semaine seems to be the world of racing writing: I wrote about it on Monday; Claire Novak’s on it…

Last August, Jessica Chapel of Railbird and I were invited by Seth Merrow of Equidaily to appear on his show on Capital OTB to discuss how the Internet is affecting the relationship between racing and its fans. Among the questions he asked: “Do you consider yourself a journalist?” The answer, of course, is no. Journalists…

A few random thoughts from New Orleans: While in Lexington, I stopped at Keeneland, open for the winter for simulcasting, to watch the Gravesend on Saturday. It’s quite a busy place in the winter; in addition to simulcasting, at least two major life events were taking place: Congratulations to all of those involved, and especially…

…from Brooklyn Backstretch. “Racing this Christmas Greeting to you!” by Karin Vollkommer

A mix of the global and the local, in no particular order, and with an explicit belief in Christmas miracles… …for the glory of the old races—the Suburban, the Brooklyn, the Triple Tiara—to somehow return. …for Saratoga Russell to come back at four, and to be as fast and electric as he was before he…

Oh, how I miss Aqueduct! I can understand why folks think it would be good for New York racing to take a few months off in the winter, though the economic ramifications would, I think, be pretty significant at both the individual and municipal levels. But from a strictly personal standpoint: I have the rare…

Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance colleague Patrick Patten at Handride reminded us once again this week that he’s not a big fan of Equidaily. He argued that it makes no sense for readers to rely on one site for racing news, and he pointed out that the site has included links to a variety of Thoroughbred Bloggers…

Last September I wrote a post about ways to market to fans and get them to bet; I suggested then that it might be worthwhile to figure about how much tracks would like fans/visitors to bet per visit, and create marketing strategies/programs designed to meet the goal. I also wrote then that racing is in…