“When a guy says ‘You throw a ball like a girl’ or ‘You’re a sissy.’ It reflects an attitude that devalues women, and attitudes will eventually manifest in some fashion.” I wasn’t watching Thursday Night Football, but Matthew Henderson’s transcription of James Brown’s words last night hit my timeline more than once, most often accompanied…
The days before the first broadcast of Fox Sports 1’s new Thoroughbred racing series were not promising. The network’s Twitter timeline didn’t mention Sunday’s 5 pm show from Gulfstream Park in Florida until about an hour before broadcast, and a promo video offered the sort of sexist, inaccurate images of a day at the races…
Watch most telecasts of horse racing and you’ll hear little about gambling, the sport’s primary revenue stream. You’ll sometimes see the odds, and analysts/handicappers will make picks, but if you want to actually make a bet, you’d have no idea how to go about it. With the advent of racing coverage on Fox Sports 1,…
I want to like Palace Malice. I really do. I’ve wanted to for a while, going back to before the Belmont. He’s owned by likeable connections. He’s got a good racing story, that whole blinkers-in-the-Derby debacle and all, then coming back to win the Belmont. He won the Jim Dandy. But I have a hard…
On Friday, June 7, the biggest news in the Belmont Park press box had nothing to do with the Belmont Stakes, taking place the next day. The buzz wasn’t about which horse might win, or what effect that day’s drenching rains might have on the track. The biggest news came when word spread that the…
Let’s get this out of the way: Michelle Beadle blocked me on Kentucky Oaks day, after this exchange (you can click to enlarge): It seems a little mild to warrant being blocked, but Beadle can hardly be blamed for having an itchy block finger, given some of the abuse that she has to put…
This week, the Stronach Group, which owns Gulfstream Park in Florida, Santa Anita Park in California, and Pimlico Race Course in Maryland, announced the Ms. Racing Queen pageant, the lucky winner of which will “promote thoroughbred racing by representing the Stronach Group” at events like the Florida Derby, Santa Anita Derby, and Preakness—all of which take place at Stronach properties. Ms. Racing…
Earlier this week, the internet lit up with the news of the birth of Rachel Alexandra’s first foal, a colt by Curlin. Stonestreet Farm released a statement, photos, and video; good wishes, congratulations, and coverage exploded on news sites, blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. On Friday afternoon, delight turned to unease as rumors began to surface…
There are a lot of movies out there about high school. Dead Poets’ Society. Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Election. Clueless. Some I like, some I don’t. In some, I see situations and students that look familiar; in most, what’s on the screen looks nothing like what I see in the classrooms and hallways in…
Last summer at Saratoga, a turf writing veteran – male – called me over to a TV in the press box. “Have you seen this?” he asked. Seen what? He gestured to the television, rendered practically speechless by what he was seeing. And in the comments below, reader Walt steered me to a Calder collection…
Brooklyn Backstretch 