I would like to meet the person who had the good sense, in 1945, to name a New York race after Comely. I recognize that that’s probably not possible, but in this season of talking about racing history, that man (and yeah, had to be a man, right?) truly did preserve this filly’s place in…
April 9—it’s finally here. The race that everyone wanted didn’t quite come off, and Hot Springs may not be quite as full as expected, but Oaklawn Park is nonetheless the center of the racing world today, as Zenyatta seeks to run her unbeaten streak to 16 amid the adoration of fans who have trekked to…
On July 23rd, 1914, it was good to be James Butler. Six years earlier, he’d finally won his battle with the Jockey Club, and his Empire City race track in Yonkers, NY was given dates on the New York racing calendar. Now, in 1914, his own race track was running a race named after his…
As much as I look forward to going home to Saratoga for Thanksgiving, I head north with one eye on the rearview mirror, focused on Ozone Park, wistfully knowing that I will partake of Aqueduct’s holiday festivities from afar. It’s the last big weekend of New York racing this year, and what a weekend it…
Today’s feature at Aqueduct is the 59th running of the Grade II Comely, run at a mile for three-year-old fillies. The race is named for the filly who at two beat older horses in the inaugural Fall Highweight Handicap at Belmont Park in 1914. She was owned by James Butler, owner of the Empire City…
Brooklyn Backstretch 