Joe Clancy

The end. Here we are, the final National Steeplechase meet of the season goes to the post Sunday with the Charleston Steeplechase at Stono Ferry in Hollywood, S.C. The day starts at 1 p.m. and includes five races – a training flat to get things going and four hurdle races. Some years, the finale helps … Read more

The leaves have changed, the sun sets before 6 p.m., the horses might even be starting to grow winter coats – yes, the steeplechase calendar has reached its thin days and the second-last weekend of the year features three meets in Georgia, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The crowded schedule – two meets Saturday, one Sunday – … Read more

Back in the Carolinas. It’s been awhile, and it must be autumn (don’t say fall around the steeplechase people) because the NSA circuit goes south for Saturday’s Aiken Steeplechase in Aiken, S.C. It’ll be the second trip around the new course used in March for the first time, and the first fall meet in town … Read more

A week removed from the richest race meet on the circuit at Far Hills – and some kind of performance by Irish star Hewick – the circus picks up and heads to Virginia’s International Gold Cup meet at Great Meadow. The card goes eight deep and features $75,000 stakes over hurdles and timber. Post time is … Read more

Here we are. It’s time for the Far Hills Races, American jump racing’s annual highlight with big purses, historic races, international competition, pari-mutuel wagering, television coverage and all the rest. Saturday’s card, as usual, packs a punch. The $250,000 American Grand National – a race first run at Westchester County track Morris Park in 1899 … Read more

John “Shark” Hanlon laughed when asked about what he saw in a 2-year-old Hewick at the Goresbridge Sales in Ireland in 2017. “I bought him at the local sale at home, five minutes down the road from me and he grew into a nice horse,” the trainer said Friday. “He was a very good horse … Read more

If you call Jack Fisher and tell him you want to talk about his favorite horse, be prepared for an Aaron Nola-level curveball. “Footpad?” the trainer asked Wednesday afternoon. “I’m taking him to the hunter thing today, so he’s the one I’m thinking about at the moment.” The hunter “thing” was a schooling event as … Read more

Virginia Fall? Already? Genesee Valley? Already? Autumn jump racing in the United States goes by in a hurry, as the calendar turns to October and race meets bring action to the various corners of the schedule. This weekend it’s historic Glenwood Park outside Middleburg, Va. for the Virginia Fall Races and the historic Genesee Valley … Read more

Everybody in the van to Charlottesville. The Foxfield Races, spring and fall, are a fixture on the steeplechase circuit – home to signature performances by Victorian Hill, an Eclipse Award-winning photograph by Douglas Lees (Master’s Degree and Buzz Hannum wiping out over timber) and even a few runnings of the American Grand National. Ask an oldtimer … Read more