If it weren’t for horse racing, we might not have any hockey at all. On September 2 at Del Mar, Howe Great finished second in the Del Mar Derby; Old Time Hockey was fifth, barely three lengths behind the winner. Last Saturday, Sean Avery made a victorious return to the track after an absence of…
Around this time 18 years ago, I developed some chronic stomach troubles. I had no appetite, and when I did eat, I felt ill. I felt queasy almost all the time. I was sure that I was developing some serious gastrointestinal ailment, and, to be honest, I was a little worried. Fortunately, the distress was…
During the last week of April in 1994, turf writers were looking ahead to the Kentucky Derby while hockey writers were following the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. On the April 16, the Wood Memorial had been won by the Steven Young-trained Irgun; he beat Go for Gin by a length and a…
Today, we celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday. We don’t know for sure when he was born, but he was baptized on April 26, 1564, and today is the day widely acknowledged as his birthday. Yesterday was closing day at Aqueduct, a sodden, sloppy, chilly day far more redolent of winter than of spring. And the day before…
I think I went to my first hockey game before I went to my first horse race. I think my father took me to Madison Square Garden to see the Rangers when I was four years old; I remember being at Saratoga Harness with my parents and my brother when I was six. It’s possible…
Hockey season started a week ago today, and already the NHL has dished out five suspensions for illegal play. And it’s still only the pre-season. Following a season in which the sport’s highest profile player was sidelined in January after a hit to the head that resulted in a concussion, hockey has spent a lot…
In the days before racing took over my life, I couldn’t wait for the end of August. Yeah, sure, it meant that summer was almost over, and school was going to start soon…but it also meant the U.S. Open. My friend Susan’s family had had an Open subscription for decades, and beginning in 1999, I…
Being Brendan Shanahan is a pretty good deal. In a 20-year playing career, he won three Stanley Cups and two gold medals with Team Canada, along with a Canada Cup championship. When he retired in 2008, he led the NHL among active goal scorers. Upon retirement, “Shanny” took an executive position with the league, serving…
“Sean Avery’s a sweetheart.” No, that wasn’t NHL commissioner Gary Bettman commenting on one of his league’s highest profile players. That was John DeStefano after his horse won yesterday’s Grade 1 Vanderbilt Handicap. Oh, sure, the human and the equine have a few things in common. Both have had time on the sidelines, the hockey…
So I might just have a new favorite network. Yesterday afternoon, as I began to head south after a brief trip to Saratoga, Brother Backstretch sent along the following: The National Hockey League and the NBC Sports Group have reached agreement on a landmark 10-year television and media rights deal, taking the partnership through the…
Brooklyn Backstretch 