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…
Saratogians are proud of the Travers Stakes. Most of the thousands of fans who show up every year probably don’t know that the race was first run in 1864, or that it was named for one of the men who established Saratoga Race Course; they do know that the day of the Travers is something…
New Yorker Mike Repole arrived at Aqueduct Racetrack on Saturday, April 6, with an entourage of 50 friends and family members. He had horses entered in each of the last five races, four of them in stakes. Standing in the winner’s circle after Life’s a Parlay, co-owned by Repole and St. Elias Stable, won the Grade 3 Excelsior,…
As John McConnell walked out to the track at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, March 30, following the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile, he looked almost stunned. Grabbing the shank from exercise rider Nick Bush, he walked homebred Prince Lucky in a circle, then headed towards the winner’s circle, where his father Daniel was waiting. McConnell fils shouldn’t…
On the evening of June 5, two of Mike Repole’s sporting passions came together when the post position draw for the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) was held at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. A lifelong Mets fan whose silks sport the orange and blue colors of the team, Repole…
Last Friday afternoon, a group of 25 trainers, including some of New York’s top conditioners, released a statement declaring their support for a phase-out of the raceday medication furosemide by 2016. Among them are trainers, such as Todd Pletcher and Graham Motion, who have in the past advocated for use of the anti-bleeding medication. Furosemide,…
Though the last major points-earning preps took place on Saturday, April 12, the Kentucky Derby field continued to take shape through last week, with the inevitable defections due to injury. Significant withdrawals include Constitution, the Florida Derby winner trained by the multiple Eclipse Award winning Todd Pletcher, and Cairo Prince, owned in part by Dubai’s…
Though they seldom get the attention lavished on their 3-year-old male counterparts at this time of year, the 3-year-old fillies are turning in some impressive performances as they prep for the Longines Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on Friday, May 2. An event in and of itself, Oaks Day is much more than the appetizer…
For a woman who doesn’t like the city, Maryland’s Annie Finney has made quite a name for herself on the New York circuit. A native of the greater Baltimore area, Finney has worked since 2011 as an exercise rider for Todd Pletcher; based at first in Saratoga and now at his Belmont barn, she works…
Earlier this month, when horses gathered in the paddock at Belmont Park before heading to the track for the Belmont Stakes, they walked around an iconic white pine tree, thought to be a part of the estate on which the racetrack was constructed in 1905. Estimated to be nearly 200 years old, the tree was…
Brooklyn Backstretch 