NYRA Board Punts On Aqueduct

The agenda for the Nov. 12 meeting of the board of the New York Racing Association was short and sweet: to discuss a re-privatization plan for the organization due next spring to the office of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. And while board chair David Skorton cautioned that no decisions would be made at the…

If You Can Ride, You Can Ride: Jockeys join the You Can Play Project

The horse racing world turns its eyes toward Southern California this weekend, when the Breeders’ Cup takes over Santa Anita Park for two days of world class racing with championship implications on the line. Joined by their elite European counterparts, North America’s top jockeys, horses, and trainers will compete on Friday and Saturday in Breeders’…

Meet-End Musings on Cultural Memory

Nearly every day at Saratoga, I’d stop somewhere—in the backyard, walking down the clubhouse steps, standing on the second level and looking back out over the trees and the old saddling shed—and I’d marvel. I’d marvel at the beauty of the place, and I’d marvel that day after day, thousands of people came: to watch…

NYRA Board Awards Bonus, Raise to Kay

A revamped racing program, enhancements to the customer experience, and a continued decline in equine fatality rates were among the successes trumpeted at the Aug. 6 of the board of directors of the New York Racing Association in Saratoga Springs. And in return, NYRA president and chief executive officer Christopher Kay got a bonus and…

Happy anniversary, Saratoga Race Course

Just about a year ago, on Saturday, Aug. 3, this city, in partnership with Saratoga Race Course, celebrated the 150th anniversary of the first Thoroughbred meet here, the culmination of years of planning and a nearly year-long series of festivities. Another anniversary, ignored but no less significant, will take place this Saturday. On Aug. 2,…