At 9 A.M. on a chilly Saturday morning, the farm at first seems quiet. The parking lot is largely empty, devoid of visitors who will begin to arrive soon after the noon opening, and on first glance, it might seem impossible that the 15-acre facility a short drive from Saratoga Springs houses 17 retired Thoroughbreds.…
It’s 7:30 am, and I’m already behind. Not a single present is wrapped, and in fact, there are a couple still to be purchased…and located, so efficiently did I store the few that I’d purchased early. Christmas cards? Ha! Holiday cards this year – New Year’s, or maybe even Valentine’s Day. But the caponata is…
Back in August, when Commentator’s retirement was announced, I wrote a column for the Saratogian expressing my wish for an upstate New York home for retired Thoroughbreds. Through various channels I hear that perhaps such a home is in the works, but for now, the two biggest retirement farms are located in the Bluegrass: the…
Week 3 begins today; a third of the meet is gone; prevailing mood is a combination of fatigue and regret. “I can’t believe that only four weeks are left…” In no particular order… Week 2 was a good one for the felines, with three winners… Scottkeith’s Kitten Dean’s Kitten And our favorite, Crazy Catlady…The theme…
The happy ending was supposed to come in the 10th race, not the 9th. Commentator was supposed to win the 83rd Whitney, to join Kelso and Discovery as the only horses to win the Whitney three times. He was supposed to cruise to victory and sail off into the Saratoga sunset, retired at age eight…
Graduation was Thursday night; Commentator and Naughty New Yorker were running; Ernie was playing; and it was the 2009 kick-off of twilight racing—who needed more reasons to head out to Belmont on Friday afternoon? The racing highlight of the day came early, in the five-horse Kashatreya Stakes, placed third on the card. Commentor was making…
In 2005, I spent the day of the Whitney on the beach in Massachusetts, visiting friends from my time in London who have no interest in horse racing. Much as I enjoyed the weekend, I’ve never quite gotten over missing Commentator’s thrilling win over St. Liam that afternoon. Watching a horse win by multiple lengths…
A contrarian might find reasons to be disgruntled about Saturday at Saratoga: Bustin Stones scratched from the Vanderbilt; there was a little too much adolescent behavior in the backyard; yet again, there were periodic deluges that soaked anyone not under cover (and clearly we are not going to be permitted to go more than forty-eight…
Brooklyn Backstretch 