Welcome to year eight of the Brooklyn Backstretch Kentucky Derby charity league! We had a banner year in 2015, raising more than $3,000 for racing charities across the country. For the first time, we were able to award donation money to the top three finishers, resulting in an impressive breadth and number of organizations that…
Last week, as we made lists, started shopping, and debated Thanksgiving sides, the children of Anna House took time out from their learning to give thanks: thanks to their families and to their teachers, thanks for their health and for what they have. Thinking of the children who won’t be home to celebrate this week,…
Lord & Taylor is offering shoppers the chance to support the Belmont Child Care Association with an evening of shopping, refreshments, and a raffle. This Thursday, shop at the Garden City Lord & Taylor (not far from Belmont Park) between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m., and 5% of all your purchases will benefit the BCCA,…
Each year, the Racetrack Chaplaincy of New York helps bring Thanksgiving to hundreds of families on the backstretches of Belmont and Aqueduct. Families get a free turkey along with all the trimmings, and with the holiday just a few weeks away, the Chaplaincy is in high gear coordinating this initiative. Each food package includes a…
It’s almost time for tricks and treats, and the Belmont Child Care Association is seeking donations of gently used costumes for the children of Anna House, from infants to five-year-olds. The Belmont Child Care Association offers low-cost child care and early child education to children of backstretch workers at Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga. Located on…
Happy Travers week! The biggest week of the summer got even bigger when Zayat Stables announced on Sunday that American Pharoah would be coming to the Mid-Summer Derby to try to become only the second horse in history to win the Triple Crown and the Travers Stakes. Will he join Whirlaway, who did it in…
We saw a heck of a horse race on opening weekend with the Coaching Club American Oaks, when I’m a Chatterbox and Stopchargingmaria duked it out to the wire. I’m a Chatterbox got there first but was disqualified…will we see a rematch in this Saturday’s historic Alabama Stakes? We’ve also got the popular umbrella giveaway,…
Early Saturday afternoon near the backstretch recreation center, just across Union Avenue from the clubhouse turn, hotwalker Eduardo Alarcon slipped his feet into a new pair of shoes. A grin broke over his face, and he jogged energetically in place. “They feel great!” he exulted. Alarcon was one of several dozen backstretch workers who received…
It might be summer vacation, but horses don’t take the summer off and neither do their grooms, riders, and hot walkers—and neither does Anna House. In June we (I am a member of the BCCA board) celebrated the graduation of the class of 2015, who accepted their diplomas from Belmont Child Care Association board president…
Tomorrow, the first races of Saratoga 2015 will be drawn, and on Friday, the gates will open for the 147th Thoroughbred meeting at Saratoga Race Course. By the time we get to Labor Day, we’ll have seen 40 days of racing, 36 graded stakes, dozens of 2-year-olds, and more opportunities to donate your winnings to…
Brooklyn Backstretch 