As the field for the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes hit the eighth pole on Monday, owner Ahmed Zayat was probably thinking that he had a pretty good shot at winning his second Kentucky Derby prep this month, and a heck of a weekend. On Saturday, Zayat accepted the Eclipse Award for American Pharoah, last year’s…
I was remiss in not welcoming back Brian to Brooklyn Backstretch when I posted his Lecomte analysis last week, so here’s a belated but no less hearty welcome to the man who’s been checking out the Derby preps for Brooklyn Backstretch since 2009. Brian handicaps regularly at Horseplayer Now and appears on Capital OTB TV in…
I can’t imagine that my visit to Three Chimneys was all that different from anyone else’s; as with most elements of the breeding industry, the place is a smooth-running machine, with the touring part of the business in the very capable hands of Ann Hayes, our wonderful tour guide. We got a little lucky: the…
Brooklyn Backstretch 