Reminders of New York City’s Dutch roots are ubiquitous: in the orange and blue colors of the Mets, which come, via the New York State flag, from the orange and blue of the Dutch flag; in the names of places like Brooklyn (Breuckelen), the Bronx (named for Jonas Bronck, who settled in the area in…
The opening of Aqueduct in 1894 attracted surprisingly little coverage in local newspapers, perhaps because at that time, it wasn’t the only game in town; even as Aqueduct opened, racing was being conducted at Jerome Park in the Bronx. The Brooklyn Eagle carried several brief stories about its planning and opening, while the New York…
(This post is also up at the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance page at The Blood-Horse.) What agony to be a fan of the distaff side in November of 1988. Root for the undefeated Personal Ensign, who had beaten colts in the Whitney two months earlier? Or root for the Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors? How to…
Spectators at Jerome Park, courtesy of the Library of CongressBelmont offers four graded stakes this racing weekend, three today and one tomorrow. Two-year-old fillies and colts compete on the dirt in the Frizette and Champagne, respectively, both Grade I’s; three year olds go over the grass in the Grade II Jamaica; and tomorrow, three-year-olds run…
What does it take to make Bobby Frankel cry? One of his best, and favorite, fillies winning a Grade I in her last race, and coming home safe. In the fall of 2004, my nascent interest in horse racing was burgeoning; it had been the summer of Afleet Alex at Saratoga, and for the first…
Brooklyn is looking northward, both literally and figuratively, as we head into this MassCap weekend; a former denizen of Boston and its environs, I’m making my maiden voyage to Suffolk Downs this weekend, feeling slightly guilty for making my first visit on a Big Race Day. Railbird and I had all good intentions of an…
Over at That’s Amore Stable, Frank is disheartened. In addition to all of racing’s other ills, he’s worried about impropriety, the appearance of it and the genuine article. It’s a good thing that he wasn’t around in 1899. That year, Indian Fairy became the first filly to win the Matron; initiated in 1892, for its…
Weather permitting, the Ruffian will be run at Belmont this afternoon. With fresh flowers on Ruffian’s grave in the infield, nine fillies will go to the post to contest the mile and a sixteenth race on the dirt. The race used to be the second in the Belmont fall filly series, the first the Maskette…
On Saturday at Saratoga, the main event, the Grade I Woodward, will be preceded by the Grade I Forego, named for the horse who won the Woodward for four consecutive years (1974 – 1977) and who was named Horse of the Year in the first three of those years. That the Forego and the Woodward…
Ruthless (Eclipse – Barbarity) Photo credit to the National Museum of RacingThose of us who favor the distaff side have had quite the year and a half. Fillies and mares have stolen the headlines pretty regularly since last summer: Rags to Riches’ victory in the Belmont; Eight Belles’ impressive second in the Derby, followed by…
Brooklyn Backstretch 