The Steve Asmussen barn kicked off the Saratoga meet in a winning way when its second starter, My Miss Aurelia, took the fifth race on opening day, a maiden special weight for two-year-old fillies. The performance earned the filly her own article on the NYRA website. But arriving at the barn after the race, Team…
Charities of various flavors take advantage of the throngs that descend on Saratoga during racing season: every week, even every night, events both modest and elaborate take place across the Spa City. The terrific spirits shop Crush and Cask supported a number of charities with Tuesday night wine tastings, and Chianti Il Ristorante offers diners…
Three more racing days at Belmont, before the racing action moves upstate. The transition will take place next week, after Belmont ends its spring/summer meet on Sunday; Saratoga opens one week from today. Though the racing action will shift locations, life on the Belmont backstretch will, of course, continue; a large community of horses will…
Here at the Backstretch household, we’re trying to get used to life without Madison. Several friends have recently lost close family members, and the tragedy of the world beyond our borders is horrifying beyond contemplation, so the loss of a cat does require some perspective: still, in our little world it’s been a rough couple…
She came to me, along with her brother, in September of 1996. I had left my cat back in the States when I’d moved to England in 1995, and, having decided to remain in London for the foreseeable future, I was no longer going to live without a cat. I grew up with tabbies and…
May 2008 brought news that caused much consternation in the Backstretch household. “Storm Cat Pensioned,” read the headline in the Blood-Horse. Storm Cat pensioned? Good-bye to generations of Cat horses? Good-bye to nearly unlimited hunch betting? Feline brows furrowed. Fast forward just about a year…and all of a sudden, signs of feline fecundity were everywhere.…
Brooklyn Backstretch 