In 2009, Rachel Alexandra became at least the fourth three-year-old filly to beat older males when she won the Woodward at Saratoga, an accomplishment that in the minds of many cemented her claim to Horse of the Year honors. That victory provided the opportunity to recall Twilight Tear and Busher, three-year-old fillies who also beat older…
Sunday morning on the Saratoga backstretch was quiet. Yesterday’s heroics in the books, the feeling of the end of the meet is undeniable, and many, it seems have packed up and left: the sparse crowd at the backstretch coffee stand mirrors the empty stalls across the grounds. It’s cold, too, perhaps the coldest morning the…
It is the morning of which Saratoga dreams are made, and the racing gods ensure that everything’s perfect.At 6:30 am, the sun is peeking over the trees, but bathing the track and the horses working out over it in golden light. The morning fog without which no Saratoga photograph is complete shows up on schedule,…
Jess Jackson talks like a man in love, besotted by a woman he doesn’t quite understand. And to think, they’ve known each other for less than two months. “I am amazed at her beauty and her speed,” he said, following Rachel Alexandra’s ridiculously dominant win in the Mother Goose yesterday. “We have a greater burden…
By the numbers: Margin of victory: 19 1/4 lengths New stakes record: 1:46.33 Attendance: 13,352 (so, some people didn’t get bracelets…) Minus win pool: $18,692.62 Full report, with photos and quotations, to follow Sunday morning…
For better or worse (and it appears mostly better), New York racing has been in the news a lot over the last week or so. In no particular order: –Charles Hayward appeared in Saratoga last week to discuss various elements of the upcoming racing season. In what will be welcome news to many, there will…
If I’m wrong about all this, and if Mine That Bird somehow figures in racing for the rest of the year—or even for the next few months–I’ll be the first to admit it, right here. But until then, I’m going to have a hard time seeing this year’s Derby as anything approaching important as we…
Last week, I felt like I was the only person paying attention to racing who wasn’t utterly charmed by Mine That Bird’s win in the Derby. This week, I feel like I’m the only person paying attention to racing who isn’t utterly thrilled at the prospect of Rachel Alexandra going in the Preakness instead of…
Brooklyn Backstretch 