In his fifth decade in the sport, this writer gratefully lists some of sport’s most dedicated, talented and accomplished as friends, associates and acquaintances–trainers, jockeys, owners, breeders, grooms, exercise riders, agents, ushers and hot dog sellers. Unfortunately, many of them are no longer with us. And I miss them. Saturday, we lost Penny Chenery—crowned queen […]
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To be fair, I’m not a Hi 5 player. In fact, you can count the number of times I’ve actually made the wager on one finger. Why? I don’t know. Maybe I’m too busy trying to pick the first TWO finishers in a race to attempt to figure the first FIVE across the line? Also, […]
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The three top-ranked Thoroughbreds in the land are headed for a dramatic showdown in this year’s $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 4. No wonder racing enthusiasts are eagerly looking forward to that particular Grade I event, which will be decided at 1 1/4 miles on the dirt. Gun Runner, Arrogate […]
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Reversing the maxim ‘Go West young man,’ West Coast shipped East and dominated Travers foes. Agreed, the performance wasn’t nearly as astonishing as the one delivered a season ago by barn-mate Arrogate in the same event. Still, message delivered: There’s a new star in the nighttime sky! During winter and spring, as sophomores mature and […]
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Travers is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s right up there alongside Thanksgiving, Kentucky Derby, Preakness and whenever the wife and I go on holiday. That’s because for roughly the last 15 years during Travers Week my pal Will and I have visited Saratoga for racing and to hit, chase and replace […]
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Will Arrogate regain his top form and crush his foes, just as he did in the Travers, Pegasus World Cup and Dubai World Cup? Is Arrogate going to get the victory, but have to battle for it? Will Arrogate get beat again, but at least run decently in defeat this time? Is Arrogate going to […]
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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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Below is the Pick 4 ticket for Delaware Park on July 15th, 2017. As always, the ticket is $20 or less, but with Songbird in the sequence and a low payout expected, it makes the most sense to try to hit the Pick 4 cold and bet it multiple times. Race 6: The Carl Hanford Memorial Adirondack […]
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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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“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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