As Trinniberg and Currency Swap dueled to the wire in the quagmire that was the 2011 Three Chimneys Hopeful Stakes (gr. I), I stood in the winner’s circle in a rooting quandary. Currency Swap was trained by Teresa Pompay, a Saratoga native whose family I had known since I was 13 years old. A win would mean her first…
Last week the American Graded Stakes Committee announced its 2012 graded stakes races. Among the noteworthy changes was the downgrading of the historical Hopeful Stakes from a Grade 1 to a Grade 2. In decrying the downgrading, commentators invoked the race’s history – the Hopeful was first run in 1904 – and the post-Hopeful performances…
Saratoga 2010 closes out with three stakes races that have been run for more than 100 years: the Spinaway, the Saranac, and the Hopeful. In 1910, where we’ve spent so much time this summer, the Spinaway was run on August 16th; the Saranac on August 18th; and the Hopeful on August 20th. The Spinaway and…
Brooklyn Backstretch 