The Preakness is Maryland’s race: it’s “Maryland, My Maryland” and black-eyed Susans and blue crabs. It’s so important to the state that when financial difficulties threatened racing in Maryland,the governor stepped in to make sure that the Preakness would stay in Baltimore. But 125 years ago, when financial woes imperiled the racing industry in Maryland,…
So began a 1949 New York Times article by Arthur Daley on the passing of Matt Winn. The article was called “The Passing of a Legend,” and what he “made” is the Kentucky Derby. Matt Winn, a racing impresario if ever there was one, worked at a dozen or more tracks in his life, but…
The roads to the Kentucky Derby and the Oaks resume this weekend, with six races at four racetracks nationwide. In the points system initiated by Churchill Downs in 2012, this weekend’s races represent the beginning of what Churchill calls the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks “Championship Series” of prep races, each race offering a total…
She was a last-second impulse purchase, and her owner called her “a gift from God.” She lost only once in her first 12 races, and in 1999, she was the 3-year-old filly champion. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009, she earned more than $3M and ran like her name. She’s Silverbulletday. Continue reading…
If, like human parents, equine parents hope that their children will accomplish more than they did, then Ashado made her sire’s and dam’s dreams come true. Though both sides of her pedigree were successful racehorses, Ashado made more in her worst year on the track than the lifetime earnings of her parents combined. Continue reading…
Day after day, week after week Saratoga attracts what few racing meets do: a big crowd every day. Arguably the most popular racing meet in the country, Saratoga appeals the casual fan and the serious gambler, to families and crowds of friends out for a day of socializing and gambling. Though little of Saratoga remains…
She was a last-second impulse purchase, and her owner called her “a gift from God.” She lost only once in her first 12 races, and in 1999, she was the 3-year-old filly champion. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009, she earned more than $3 million and she ran like her name. She’s Silverbulletday.…
Afleet Alex was the first horse I followed all year round. I was at Saratoga for his Sanford and Hopeful, and I watched every race on his road to the Kentucky Derby, the first time I had ever watched racing in the winter. I had my birthday party on the day of his remarkable, unfathomable Preakness and…
On Saturday at 1 p.m., the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and handicapper Tom Amello are teaming up to help Saratoga-area racing fans brush up on their handicapping skills before the meet opens on Friday, July 19. A former host of Capital OTB’s “Trackfacts” (unfortunately cancelled in the last year by the…
My first day at a Thoroughbred race track was August 27th, 1979: General Assembly’s Travers. My family had moved to Saratoga the summer before; my brother and I were barely teenagers. To Saratoga kids, the track was a social scene. What to do on an August afternoon? Go to the races. We knew that we’d see our friends there,…
Brooklyn Backstretch 