This year’s Kentucky Derby is fascinating for many reasons. First and foremost, is the return of trainer Bob Baffert. The two-time Triple Crown winner was banned from racing horses at Churchill Downs for the last three years (2022-2024), but after exhausting litigation, he is back. He will saddle two horses; the front running Rodriguez...
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The Best Sporting Day of the Year is Here
Kids usually struggle to sleep on Dec. 24. The excitement of seeing what Santa (or their parents) left under the tree is just too problematic to get good shut-eye. That’s what Kentucky Derby Eve is for me. For some reason, I can’t wait until the first Saturday in May gets here. Like a kid...
One Season Done, Another Begins
Buffalo Raceway cedes to Batavia Downs
Buffalo Raceway concludes season, Batavia Downs opens Wednesday. It is over—for 2019. The season at Buffalo Raceway, which began on Jan. 25 has concluded. But, fear not. If you live in Western New York, the same horses, same drivers and same trainers are heading east (about 45 miles) to Batavia Downs for its 2019...
Preparing For The Lidlifter
The track is old, but some new things on the horizon
It is here and this year, it arrives earlier than usual. There once was a time when Saratoga Race Course raced 24 times per year and was advertised as “The August Place to Be.” Over time, that became 30, then 36 and now with 40 dates, it is “The Summer Place to Be.” The...
Summer Is Here
The sport needs to take making the sport safer serious. Very serious
As horse racing heads into its summer season, there are many questions. We all know that the winter at Santa Anita was not a good one. The national media took note of the 30 equine fatalities and forced the sport to take a good, hard look at itself. The goal is simple—make the sport...
Polytrack, We Hardly Knew Ye
Did the industry give up on synthetic tracks too quickly?
Here we go again. Most of the time, horse rating is ignored by the national media. There are exceptions, of course. When an American Pharoah or Justify is running for Triple Crown glory, the national media converges; and, when that happens, the sport basks in the glow. There is the opposite side when negativity...
NYRA: They Are What They Are
I asked, was denied, but look forward to meet! The NYRA. They oversee three thoroughbred race tracks in New York—Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga. They offer the finest racing in the world and their 40-day meet at Saratoga remains a gem; a cross between aristocrats and commoners, a true potpourri of American society. I’m not...
Pimlico Refuses to Die
Every year, they threaten to move the Preakness, but number 143 is here! We all agree that the Preakness may be the “funnest,” of the three Triple Crown races and there are several reasons why. First, as six-time winning trainer Bob Baffert says, it is the most relaxed of the three races. The tension...
We’re Back–How Ya Been
It has been a long winter hasn’t it? Since my last column, there have been many things that have happened in both horse and harness racing, so let us recap and look forward. -In harness racing, the legendary colt, Somebeachsomewhere lost his battle with cancer. He raced 21 times in his career and won...
A Day at the Races—Monticello
There is an aura about attending a sporting event in person. People like to say that they saw this game live, or they were there when Bucky Dent hit the 3-run homer in the 1978 AL East tiebreaker. When you tell somebody you were live, it elicits a reaction and in part, feeds our...