A man never at a loss for words, master of ceremonies Tom Durkin kept it simple Aug. 6 as he opened the 2021 induction ceremony for the National Racing Museum Hall of Fame in the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. “All I can say is, ‘Welcome back.’” This year’s ceremony did double duty, honoring…
On last year’s Belmont Stakes Day undercard, Paul Pompa Jr.’s Rally Cry ran third in the Easy Goer Stakes. This weekend, the 4-year-old returns to the Belmont undercard—but this time, he steps up to take a shot in the Mohegan Sun Metropolitan Handicap (G1). “He loves Belmont,” said Pompa of the horse, who is two-for-three at…
A look at Benner Island‘s past performances might suggest the filly entered in Saturday’s Acorn Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park is due for a loss. After all, she won last out in the Eight Belles (G2) at Churchill Downs in May, and following each of her two previous wins, she’s slumped a bit before returning…
Ten-year-old Gustavian, an Eclipse Award finalist for champion steeplechase horse in 2013, was euthanized Sept. 16 because of complications from a paddock accident, said trainer Leslie Young. A son of Giant’s Causeway out of grade I-winning mare Mossflower (Affirmed), Gustavian was typically given the summer off by Young, who trained the bay gelding for Magalen…
Though it lacked a representative from the New York Racing Association for the first time in recent memory, the annual preview of the Saratoga Race Course meet at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame the evening of July 20 drew a near-capacity crowd of participants that peppered panelists with questions on everything from…
More than 24 hours after Paulassilverlining won her second graded stakes, the Distaff (gr. III) at Aqueduct Racetrack April 17, owner and breeder Vincent Scuderi was still beaming. “Yeah,” he said. “I still have a smile on my face.” A 4-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper, out of the Grindstone mare Seeking the Silver, Paulassilverlining won her first stakes race,…
The racing world was well represented April 12 for the funeral of Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps, held at St. James’ Church on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Phipps died of pancreatic cancer April 6. Nearly filling the church, which accommodates 1,200 people, Phipps’ friends and family celebrated his life and mourned his death in an Episcopal…
On a recent Saturday morning at Belmont Park, trainer Rick Schosberg sat in his office, his dozen or so horses in their stalls after morning training. Within minutes, his attention is needed again, not by his barn staff or one of his horses, but by another trainer with a horse whose racing days have come…
After three and a half years under the supervision of New York State, the New York Racing Association is preparing to return to private control, board chairman Michael Del Giudice said at a meeting of the association’s board of directors March 10 in New York City. Though the plan for privatization, due to be submitted…
Fourteen years ago, Thoroughbred trainer Dominick Imperio decided to give the woman who would become his daughter-in-law a special birthday present: a yearling. “My husband told me to give it back,” said Elizabeth Loftus, who goes by Libby and who eventually married Dominick’s son, Michael. “He likes to blame me for dragging us back into…
Brooklyn Backstretch 