editor’s note: I asked Teresa to write about returning to a summer of racing at Saratoga after a first half of the year that included being diagnosed with–and treatment for–cancer. She was trepidatious at first, but gradually found the words among shared experiences with family and the horses. I’m glad she did. -@EJXD2 My family gathers…
“My lady prioress, and by your leave, So that I knew I should in no way grieve, I would opine that tell a tale you should, The one that follows next if you but would. Now will you please vouchsafe it, lady dear?” “Gladly,” said she, and spoke as you shall hear. (Chaucer’s The Prioress’s Tale)…
At the bottom of the post, you’ll find events that happen daily. Thanks for reading this summer. I hope that you found events you might not have otherwise heard of, learned something about Saratoga or horse racing, discovered a cause or charity that you want to support. If you have suggestions for how to improve…
Daily/weekly events are listed at the bottom of this post. Thursday, August 24 At the races Stakes races: Grade I, $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup, four-year-olds and up, 2 3/8 miles on the turf (steeplechase) $100,000 Riskaverse for three-year-old fillies, 1 mile on the turf Taste NY, wines, ciders and spirits in the Saratoga…
On Thursday at Saratoga, seven-year-old All The Way Jose will make his fourth start of the year in the Grade 1 New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap. The former flat runner is 8-1 on the morning line, and looking for his first win at the Spa since an allowance race in 2014 when he was…
Racing traditionalists will remember that, not too long ago, the excitement of the Saratoga meet gave way to the excitement of what was known as the Belmont Fall Championship meet. Stakes races like the Woodward (now held at Saratoga) and the Jockey Club Gold Cup headlined a two-month meeting at Belmont Park that often decided…
A few days ago, I got a message from a Twitter follower that I didn’t know was a racing fan. She said that she’d always been a racing fan and that her sister owns horses, and she’d come up from Brooklyn to Saratoga for the races. She was here on a day on which one…
Note: Daily/weekly events are listed at the bottom of this post. Monday, August 14 At the races Stakes races: $100,000 Saratoga Dew for New York-breds fillies and mares, three years old and up, 1 1/8 miles on the dirt Low Roller Handicapping Contest: The contests will be held on Sundays and Mondays in the Lower Carousel near…
The stakes schedule at Saratoga at the turn of the last century was already robust. Announced in February in the New York Times for the 1901 season, it featured 25 races worth a total of $85,000. Among those to be run were the Adirondack, Spinaway, Travers, Alabama and Saratoga Cup. The racing meet that year was 22…
On July 31, 2006, a 3-year-old black horse named Songster made his Saratoga debut in the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes. The Darley-owned colt was already a graded stakes winner: he achieved that when he won the Grade 3 Hirsch Jacobs Stakes on the Preakness undercard, crushing the field by 10 lengths. Three weeks later, he took the Grade 2…
Brooklyn Backstretch 