Paula Curtis-Carter stood in front of the dozens of people assembled at the Principessa Elena Society in Saratoga Springs on Thursday. She held aloft a cup containing a couple of fingers of Guinness, preparing to lead a toast to her husband Allan Carter, who died in April. Before spending 15 years as the historian at…
Balancing composure and emotion, National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame president John Hendrickson anchored this year’s induction ceremony both personally and professionally, looking forward to a renovated Hall of Fame in 2020 and back at the accomplishments of his wife Marylou Whitney, who died July 19 and was inducted as a member of the…
We weren’t supposed to be devoting so many words to Marylou Whitney just yet. Sure, she is always present, somehow, when racing season starts, but it’s on Whitney weekend, this year August 3, that we focus on her life and her contributions to Thoroughbred racing and to Saratoga Springs. Instead, racegoers at Saratoga Race Course…
Two days before the opening of a Saratoga Race Course meet that will see a number of changes from previous years, a near-capacity crowd at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame had plenty of questions for New York Racing Association president Christopher Kay. The Hall of Fame hosted its annual meet preview…
On May 7, Alfred Vanderbilt III was in Ireland, honoring the memory of his grandfather, a man he never knew, on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, in which Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt perished, saving the lives of his fellow passengers. Exactly three months later, he will attend a happier event in Saratoga…
With celebration and nostalgia, the 2014 Hall of Fame class that began tinged with controversy was inducted on Aug. 8 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. in a ceremony that honored two equine champions, Ashado and Curlin. “My husband, Jess Jackson, loved this horse,” said Stonestreet Farm’s Barbara Banke of Curlin, a two-time Horse of the Year inducted…
A year after his first experience with the intense scrutiny that comes with the opening of the Saratoga Racecourse meet, a more confident, knowledgeable, and experienced Chris Kay once again invited members of the media to discuss the racing season and the future of the New York Racing Association. Kay took over as NYRA president and CEO…
Earlier this month, the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame announced the 10 finalists for its 2014 class of inductees. From 84 candidates suggested by turf writers, Thoroughbred industry participants, and racing fans, the Hall of Fame’s nominating committee had selected four jockeys, four horses, and two trainers whose names would go to the…
On September 13, less than two weeks after the end of this year’s Thoroughbred meeting at Saratoga Race Course, the racing world was stunned to learn that five priceless, historic trophies had been stolen from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. In a year that saw the town celebrate the sesquicentennial of…
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…
Brooklyn Backstretch 