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Coming off a four-race win streak in California, Pam and Martin Wygood's After Market seeks a fifth straight victory and a ticket to the Breeders' Cup Mile when he leads the field of 11 in the Sept. 29 Kelso Handicap (gr. IIT) at Belmont Park.
Thursday, September 27, 2007Sitting in the stakes barn at Turfway Park two days before the Kentucky Cup Classic (gr. III), Craig Callis still has a hard time believing that a $2,300 yearling purchase actually brought him here.
Thursday, September 27, 2007Trainer Greg Foley will send graded stakes winner Pleasant Hill in search of her fourth career victory when 12 fillies and mares go postward in the Sept. 29 Kentucky Cup Distaff (gr. III) at Turfway.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007Fresh off a victory in the Sept. 3 Tom Ridge Labor Day Stakes over the Tapeta surface at Presque Isle Downs, Tom Walters' Elite Squadron heads a field of 11 3-year-olds for the Sept. 29 Kentucky Cup Sprint (gr. III) at Turfway.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Making final preparations for the Oct. 27 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) at Monmouth Park, Jim Tafel's Street Sense and Rick Porter's Hard Spun will have a much-anticipated rematch in the Sept. 29 Kentucky Cup Classic (gr. II) over Turfway Park's Polytrack.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007A daughter of Harlan's Holiday brought $105,000 as the top purchase during the 12th day of Keeneland's September yearling sale as the Sept. 22 session saw an increase in gross, average, and median.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Fairbanks may have been the 7-10 favorite, but Fred Bradley's 6-year-old Brass Hat put the youngster in his place when they hooked up in a fierce stretch duel in the Sept. 22 running of the $500,000 Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Front-running Bear Now shook loose of the prohibitive favorite Octave in the final furlong to upset the $750,000 Fitz Dixon Cotillion Handicap (gr. II) by two lengths in stakes record time at Philadelphia Park Sept. 22.
Saturday, September 22, 2007While most starters in the Sept. 22 Kentucky Cup Turf Stakes (gr. III) will stretch out to tackle the race's 1 1/2 miles, Marty Wolfson trainee Golden Strategy has the distance more than covered.
Thursday, September 20, 2007The state-of-the-art equine medical facility currently under construction at Belmont Park will be named after the great filly Ruffian, the IEAH Corporation announced Sept. 20.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Evening Attire, Brass Hat, and Fairbanks headline Saturday's renewal of the $500,000 Massachusetts Handicap, a race that has not been run since 2004.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Bongo Racing Stable's Sun Boat, a former claiming horse and 6-1 winner of the July 21 San Diego Handicap (gr. II), was euthanized Sept. 18 due to a severe case of laminitis.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007A handsome son of Johannesburg brought $1 million as the top purchase during the Sept. 15 session of Keeneland's September yearling sale for a racing partnership that includes owners Jim Scatuorchio and Michael Tabor, as the session's gross, average, and median all posted modest gains.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
In a Sept. 14 meeting at Keeneland Race Course, William Inglis and Son -- Australia's leading Thoroughbred sales agency since 1867 -- sought American help to fight the ramifications of an equine influenza outbreak that could result in the loss of half of the country's Thoroughbred foal crop of 2008.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Jockeys John Velazquez and Javier Castellano were both relatively uninjured following a Sept. 13 spill at Belmont Park. Castellano will ride the Sept. 14 card, and although Velazquez opted to take off his mounts Sept. 14, he will return to the saddle Sept. 15 to pilot his assigned starters, including Rags to Riches in her greatly anticipated Gazelle Stakes (gr. I) appearance.
Thursday, September 13, 2007He's saddled starters in several different countries, hoisted trophies at tracks from Santa Anita to Belmont Park, and trained champion horses to victory in the world's top races, but trainer Doug O'Neill came full circle at a bullring track Sept. 9 when he saddled the 1,000th winner of his career during Fairplex Park's 16-day meet.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Jockey E.T. Baird barely had time to change into a fresh pair of silks after riding Eclipse Award winner Dreaming of Anna to an impressive victory in Arlington Park's Pucker Up (gr. IIIT) before he was out on the lead aboard Dreaming of Liz in the $150,000 Arlington-Washington Lassie (gr. III).
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Frank Calabrese's Dreaming of Anna broke like a rocket and never looked back as she romped home in the $200,000 Pucker Up Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Arlington Park Sept. 8.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Solo Survivor got the first graded stakes win of her career when she went from last to first to win the $150,000 Matron Handicap (gr. III) at Arlington Park Sept. 8.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
With Belmont's fall meet set to open Sept. 7, a strong crop of top 2-year-olds will head into the East coast's final prep races for the Oct. 27-28 Breeders' Cup races at Monmouth Park.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Jockey Joe Bravo was hospitalized with a broken left collarbone following a spill at Belmont Park, when his mount broke down in the upper stretch during the third race on the New York track's opening day card.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Zayat Stables' 2-year-old Maimonides, a $4.6-million purchase at Keeneland's 2006 September Yearling Sale, will miss at least 30 days of training after coming out of the Sept. 3 Hopeful Stakes (gr. I) with sore shins, trainer Bob Baffert said Sept. 5.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007Jockey Rafael Bejarano was hospitalized Sept. 3 with possible rib and back injuries following an incident in the fourth race at Saratoga, when his mount - the Mark Hennig-trained Marital Asset - broke through the gate at the New York track.
Monday, September 03, 2007Ten races remain at Saratoga, and soon it will be time for the final start of the season.
Monday, September 03, 2007Standing outside his barn on the Oklahoma side of Saratoga, Bob Baffert holds court with the media and smiles. He talks about Midnight Lute's victory in the Forego (gr. I). About how rewarding it is to win a race like that at a track like this. About how good it feels to be back.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Rags to Riches worked five furlongs Sept. 2 in 1:02 3/5 at Saratoga, getting her training schedule under way after missing a work last week due to a slightly elevated temperature.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Jockey Edgar Prado will miss at least six weeks of riding after breaking his right ankle at Saratoga Race Course, Prado's agent said Sept. 2.
Saturday, September 01, 2007Spend an afternoon with the boys from Boston, a group of not-quite degenerate 30-something horseplayers who bet the races with varying degrees of success each time Saratoga is in session.
Saturday, September 01, 2007"I like the winners circle! I want to put one in my house!" - hotwalker Iain Holmes after visiting the one at Saratoga with a Michael Matz winner.
Friday, August 31, 2007Turf writers are an infamously hardened and cynical bunch. We take all information not only with a grain of salt, but with the entire shaker and a pinch thrown over the shoulder for good measure. We want the truth, but it is so rarely handed to us that when it is, we have a hard time beliving it. Still, few other sports writers are so dedicated to the game they cover, and while we may appear apathetic at times, we want the best for racing.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Trying to catch Calvin Borel for an interview during his last day of racing at Saratoga was like attempting to pin down a darting dragonfly, and the Cajun jockey looked the part in Bill Farish's brilliant green and yellow silks as he scurried back to the private courtyard behind the jockeys' room before the fourth race of the day.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Zayat Stables' J Be K, a 2-year-old son of Silver Deputy trained by Bob Baffert, broke the track record at Saratoga Race Course in the first start of his career when he blazed 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:03.13.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007The starting gate will always be a dangerous place, but thanks to Bob Duncan and Roy Williamson, it looks a little safer going into the meet's final week.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
After a postponed Aug. 26 work due to wet track conditions, Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Rags to Riches took another step back in her training program when trainer Todd Pletcher canceled an Aug. 27 workout due to the filly's elevated temperature.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007It begins as the horse vans start rolling and the racegoers consider filling their suitcases once again. For now, on the final dark day of the season, we contemplate the week ahead and savor every thought of Saratoga.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Two days after the Travers Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course, the top four finishers in the $1-million race were all recovering well to the satisfaction of their trainers.
Monday, August 27, 2007The Travers blanket - red and white carnations, white "T" in the middle - hangs in front of Street Sense's stall at the barn of Carl Nafzger and Ian Wilkes. The bright colors are still vibrant, and Nafzger is still savoring the victory this morning
Monday, August 27, 2007
Indian Flare, a 5-year-old filly trained by Bobby Frankel and owned by Juddmonte Farms, died after apparently fracturing her pelvis in the running of Sunday's Ballerina Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course, according to track veterinarian Anthony Verderosa.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
With eight racing days remaining until the end of the 2007 meet at Saratoga Race Course, the track's jockey colony is tightly bunched as usual, but the shifting fortunes of several riders make for an interesting match-up as we head into closing week. Here's a look at Saratoga's top 10 jockeys and their nearly finished summer seasons heading into Sunday's card.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
In an Aug. 25 news conference at Saratoga Race Course, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer said he may not meet the Sept. 4 deadline to make a recommendation as to which organization should receive the franchise to run racing at the Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga racetracks.
Sunday, August 26, 2007The canoe in the infield pond has been painted in James Tafel's colors of yellow and blue. Street Sense is safely recovering from his exertion. Another Travers is in the record books. Talk about feeling the air go out of the balloon
Sunday, August 26, 2007
He was the favorite for a reason, and Saturday afternoon Street Sense proved he belongs at the top of the 3-year-old division when he turned back a determined Grasshopper after hooking up in a fierce duel at the head of the stretch in the 138th running of the Travers Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course.
Sunday, August 26, 2007Saratoga fans are the real deal. No irate ripping of tickets and cussing of jockeys here, at least, not often. The fans come to eat, to bet a few races, to catch a glimpse of great horses, to have a good time. They are a mix of partygoers, vacationers, tourists, and backyard barbeque chefs, with a few serious horseplayers thrown in for good measure.
Saturday, August 25, 2007The gates at Saratoga open promptly at 7:00 a.m., and five seconds later the picnic areas are flooded by a rush of running fans. WIth limited space, the sections fill up quickly, and the mad dash to claim a table or a section of lawn looks like the beginning of a wild frat party.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
The much-anticipated career debut of Todd Pletcher trainee The Green Monkey will not occur at Saratoga this year, Pletcher confirmed Aug. 24.
Friday, August 24, 2007Down at the front of the chute between the paddock and the racetrack, the pony boys sit and smoke and kill time between races. Theirs is the unenviable job of escorting the normally fractious and wired-up Thoroughbreds safely to the gate; their ponies, thus named because they are not racehorses, provide a calming presence for the high-strung starters.
Friday, August 24, 2007Carl Nafzger walks across Clare Court with Street Sense striding beside him. The colt is alert, but relaxed; he walks confidently, as if he owns the track. Once over the Clare Court training track, he stops and pricks his ears. Lifts his head. Looks for cameras. Definite pose.
Friday, August 24, 2007In an Aug. 23 presentation at the Saratoga Hotel and Conference Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Capital Play CEO Karl O'Farrell called Saratoga Race Course the "crown jewel of New York racing" and pledged his company's commitment to maintaining the historical significance of the track should Capital Play gain the governor's recommendation for the 20-year franchise to operate Belmont, Aqueduct, and Saratoga race courses.
Thursday, August 23, 2007Concerned Citizens for Saratoga Racing, a group that includes several prominent horsemen, Aug. 23 announced their decision to support the New York Racing Association in that organization's bid for the 20-year franchise to operate Saratoga, Aqueduct, and Belmont Park.
Thursday, August 23, 2007Concerned Citizens for Saratoga Racing, a group that includes several prominent horsemen, Aug. 23 announced their decision to support the New York Racing Association in its bid for the 20-year franchise to operate Saratoga, Aqueduct, and Belmont Park.
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