On August 17, 2012, a two-year-old filly named Heading to Toga lived up to her name, making the first start of her career at Saratoga Race Course. She won by five lengths; a horse named Fantastic Eyes finished fifth. Bred by Anthony Bonomo’s Brooklyn Boyz Stable, owned in partnership with his wife’s MeB Racing Stables,…
Saturday, August 17, 6:31 am, barn 62, Oklahoma training facility Ed Stanco is at Todd Pletcher’s barn with his son Adam and Adam’s wife Kate. Mike Tyburski, a long-time Stanco friend and a partner in King of Prussia Stable, is there, too. “There’s nothing more to say, really,” says Stanco, petting Princess of Sylmar. “Marty…
In this historic summer at Saratoga, it is de rigeur to recall the memorable moments at the Old Spa: Man o’War losing the Sanford. Jaipur and Ridan’s Travers. Onion upsetting Secretariat. And of course, Rachel Alexandra. Her Woodward tops many lists, especially for those too young to remember some of those other races, especially for…
Arising early last Saturday morning, I thought about August 3, 1863. I thought about what might have been going through John Morrissey’s mind on that summer morning 150 years ago, about how the guests in the downtown hotels might have prepared for the races, about the horse and carriage traffic jam that might have taken…
In the late 1980’s, I worked for several years in the sales office during the Saratoga sales. In those days before computers were widely used, I painstakingly recorded the details of each sale in a ledger: hip number, consigner, buyer, sales price. I lived in fear of making a mistake. That anxiety aside, it was…
“A large concourse of people, including a host of the fashionables in carriages, turned out on Monday to enjoy the sport and excitement of the Races on the Saratoga Course.” Those words appeared in The Daily Saratogian on Aug. 4, 1863, the day after the first day of the first Saratoga meeting, the anniversary of…
It was a beautiful summer day, the day of our return, and the fragrance of the flowers and the soft beauty of the green shrubbery lining the walks of the Saratoga course, and the flags flying and the band up there in the grandstand thumping out a lively tune, while the old crowds moved around…
“A fitting tribute to one of the stoutest supporters of the sport New York State has ever known.” So wrote the Daily Racing Form about the inaugural Sanford Stakes, named to honor a family from nearby Amsterdam, New York, that began racing its homebred horses at Saratoga in the 1880s. Beginning with General Stephen Sanford and continuing…
By the time the gates fly open for the first race today at 1 p.m., tens of thousands of words will have been written about this summer’s Saratoga meeting. They will have appeared in turf publications, in newspapers, and in magazines. Races will have been handicapped, predictions will have been made, visitors’ guides will have…
After meeting with the media earlier in the day July 17, New York Racing Association president and chief executive officer Christopher Kay made his first public appearance at the annual Saratoga Race Course meet preview at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Kay was one of five panelists who took questions from moderator Brien…
Brooklyn Backstretch 