On July 19, 2019, the venerable Thoroughbred Quick Call breathed his last. Humanely euthanized at age 35, he had lived for 18 years at the Wallkill Correctional Facility as part of Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Second Chances program. Quick Call earned $807,000 in a seven-year career, counting among his victories the 1988 and 1989 Forego Handicaps…
Hello! Welcome back! It’s here! Summer at Saratoga–and we’re off! I hope that you’re as excited as I am to get back to the beloved Spa–my hometown and one of the places where my heart resides. As always, there’s a lot going on, both on the track and off, and we’ll keep you up to…
The winner’s circle at Saratoga Race Course is familiar territory for Thoroughbred owner Paul Saylor. He’s been there with his Grade 1 winning filly Fleet Indian, with a hard-knocking claimer named Phil the Grip, and with his champion Ashado, who will next month be inducted into Thoroughbred racing’s Hall of Fame. Later today, though, he’ll…
At Pimlico last month, more than 600 people attended a two-day exhibition produced by the Retired Racehorse Training Project. Dozens of retired Thoroughbreds performed in a variety of disciplines, showing off newly learned skills in hunting, jumping, polo, and even police work. The weekend provided an opportunity for retired Thoroughbreds to demonstrate their adaptability and usefulness…
Celebrity Chef Bobby Flay doesn’t have a horse running in this year’s Belmont Stakes, but next Thursday night, he’ll join his two passions—food and horse racing—to support two major racing charities. Each year, the Jockey Club, which is the breed registry for Thoroughbred racing, holds the official Belmont Stakes Charity Celebration, to be held this year…
On May 3, the New York Times reported that the New York State Attorney General is suing the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, alleging financial mismanagement and neglect of the horses in its care. I have long been a supporter of the TRF and link to the organization several places on this site; in the summer of…
When I saw the headline in the New York Times last Thursday night – “Ex-Racehorses Starve as Charity Fails in Mission to Care for Them” – I was, unsurprisingly, dismayed. I clicked on the link, expecting to read another story about a well-meaning, small, grassroots-type rescue that had been beset by financial difficulties, or corruption,…
Groundhog Day was last week and according to the rodents, spring is right around the corner. But who needs a woodchuck to tell us that, when we’ve got Saturday racing cards at Aqueduct? David Grening in Daily Racing Form tells us that beginning this week, the Big A will offer 10 races every Saturday. Woo-hoo!…
Another week at Saratoga is in the books, and some among us are already looking mournfully towards the end of the meet. We’re past the halfway point, and it feels like Labor Day is going to come much too soon. But we’ve still got a few furlongs left, and there’s plenty to keep us busy…
Moderated by Mike Ziegler, executive director of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance, this panel offered several retirement organizations the opportunity to share the details of their work and inform the audience about the various models of Thoroughbred retirement currently available. Kim Smith, executive direction of the Louisville-based Second Stride, said that her organization is…
Brooklyn Backstretch 