Annually, during the first few months of the year, there is no shortage of Kentucky Derby lists. Indeed, for the past several years, this column has participated in the exercise by offering a Kentucky Derby Top 10 list in the weeks leading up to the first Saturday in May. Of course, following the Run for […]
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If you watched and wagered on last weekend’s top 3-year-old races—Grade 2 Jim Dandy from Saratoga Saturday and Grade 1 Haskell from Monmouth Sunday—you probably felt as confused as I did. The former featured Kentucky Derby hero Always Dreaming and Preakness winner Cloud Computing. The latter included Belmont runner-up Irish War Cry, Kentucky Derby third-place […]
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Last Saturday at Del Mar in the San Diego Handicap, Arrogate, the world’s greatest racehorse, raised his tail and…well…you know. He did it right there on the track in front of everyone. It wasn’t pretty. And, because the attention of the entire racing world was glued to the event, a little landed on everyone. You […]
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The wait is almost over. To the delight of a great many racing enthusiasts, Arrogate gets back to business this Saturday at Del Mar in the Grade II San Diego Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile affair that has drawn a field of six. This will be Arrogate’s first start since a sensational last-to-first victory in the […]
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As the song says…’Summer’s here and the time is right for dancing in the street.’ Not exactly. While it’s true that the time is right, I’ll yield street dancing to LA LA LAND stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. They seem to enjoy it. This summer (aka Saratoga and Del Mar) I prefer to expend […]
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The 2017 Belmont Park Spring/Summer meeting is about to expire. Take its last breath. Ride off into the sunset. This weekend is the season’s final hurrah. ‘Last call’ before summer dons its most ancient and elegant finery in the form of Saratoga. Some of us can hardly wait. Others are in worse condition than that–from […]
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West Coast, a convincing winner of Belmont Park’s Easy Goer Stakes for Hall of Fame horseman Bob Baffert, and Klimt, a Grade I winner for Baffert last year who now is being trained by Art Sherman, head this Saturday’s Grade III Los Alamitos Derby. Eight are entered in the 1 1/8-miles affair. West Coast is […]
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Now that it is July, it’s time for this column’s ranking of the Top 10 performances by a Thoroughbred in the United States during the first half of the year. A Thoroughbred’s performance can make my list for a variety of reasons, such as: –A win by a big margin while showing brilliance. –Recording a […]
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“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” –William Shakespeare Hate to disagree with “The Bard” but, as kids say…Not! If you’re gonna name a 2-year-old Thoroughbred filly Diamondsandpearls you had better be positive she can run. Otherwise, why saddle a filly with a handle she can’t possibly match? ‘Diamondsandpearls’ suggests beauty, refinement […]
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We are almost halfway through 2017. With that in mind, if there were such a thing as Eclipse Awards for the first half of the year, these would be my votes, excluding the 2-year-old, human and steeplechase categories: MID-YEAR THREE-YEAR-OLD MALE: 1. Always Dreaming, 2. Tapwrit, 3. Classic Empire. I think Mastery was best 3-year-old […]
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A ‘guarantee’ is just hot air unless there’s also a level of commitment or risk attached to it. For example: The tout that released today’s failed ‘guaranteed’ winner happily will share tomorrow’s ‘guaranteed’ winner with disappointed clients at no additional expense. What has he lost in the exchange? Nothing. Where’s the commitment? Where’s the risk? […]
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Now that the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes have come and gone, the race for which 3-year-old eventually will be voted a 2017 Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old male is wide open. This is in stark contrast to two years ago. Midway through 2015, American Pharoah already had essentially clinched both the Horse […]
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Tell me, is it possible to painfully long for a place you’ve visited just once in your life? Apparently, the answer is ‘yes,’ because I pine for Ascot Racecourse in Great Britain. Conceptualized in 1711 by Queen Anne, it’s where some of the world’s most exquisite human and equine flesh has been pressed for over […]
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There’s no Triple Crown on the line. Neither Kentucky Derby nor Preakness winners are competing. Plus, Preakness runner-up and 2-year-old champ Classic Empire wasn’t entered at the last minute because of a hoof abscess. Why are we even discussing this race? Well, for a couple of reasons. First, it’s still the Belmont Stakes—Test of a […]
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The Belmont Stakes is, of course, a lot more fun when someone is going for a Triple Crown sweep after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. But not only is there no Triple Crown on the line this Saturday, neither Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming nor Preakness hero Cloud Computing is entered in this […]
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