According to Matt Winn, she made the Derby “an American institution” (Hotaling). According to a New York Times writer in 1914, her entry in the Sanford “caused something of a panic among the others who had starters” (“Whitney Horses”). She made only 11 lifetime starts, but the mark that she left on racing is indelible,…
Tomorrow at Aqueduct the Discovery Handicap, named for Alfred G. Vanderbilt’s magnificent colt, will be run for the 66th time. A look at its past winners shows two horses whose victories came a generation apart but to whom American racing fans formed a profound attachment that may have reached its pinnacle on October 15, 1983.…
Named for a major historical figure and won by Man o’War, Riva Ridge, Fit to Fight, and Seattle Slew, the Stuyvesant has suffered an awful lot of indignity, deemed to have been unnecessary in so many of the years since its inception. First run at Jamaica, the Stuyvesant was originally a race for three-year-olds, and…
When, in yesterday’s New York Post, Ed Fountaine wrote, “Wednesday kicks off a six-month stretch at South Ozone Park Correctional Facility, otherwise known as the Big A,” he was only the most recent New York turf writer to comment disparagingly on Aqueduct. Most of the historical reports of racing that I’ve read are effusive to…
We’re jumping ahead a few days with a look at this weekend’s racing; an evening school event on Thursday followed by a departure for opening weekend at Keeneland might mean that posting will be light as we head towards the weekend, so I look forward to—and back at—the Champagne. First run in 1867, the race…
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…
Out of town guests; a family event; a bout of food poisoning; and a domestic disaster have all conspired since late last week to keep me away from the races and away from the keyboard, despite any number of interesting events in the racing world. Those who read the articles that I wrote for the…
Question: How did you get interested in racing? Nearly everyone I know answers this question the same way: Answer: My parents/uncle/grandmother took me to the track when I was a kid. These early experiences instilled in them an enthusiasm for the game, one that carried into adulthood and that they now pass on to their…
The breeding of Thoroughbred race horses is hardly an exact science; how, after all, can the same pedigree produce both Barbaro and Nicanor? Why did the talent of Secretariat and Chris Evert skip their offspring Six Crowns and re-appear a generation later in Chief’s Crown? 19th century horseman Francis Morris would likely not be able…
Yesterday was the Women’s Expo at Saratoga; out in the backyard near the Big Red Spring, a variety of vendors set up tables to offer their services to the female fans who, according to NYRA, “comprise nearly half the fan base at Saratoga Race Course.” A stroll around the tent revealed an unofficial count of…
Brooklyn Backstretch 