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Joe Clancy 
Open whatever dictionary you choose and look up the word gracious, you will see a picture of Bettina Jenney. Then turn to soft-spoken and, again, there will be a photo of Bettina. Then turn to the words beautiful and elegant and there she is again and again.
The following is from the December 2007 edition of Steeplechase Times, and covered the retirement of McDynamo after a loss in the Colonial Cup on the season’s final day. With the news of his death Dec. 1, it seemed fitting to dive back in. There won’t be another like him.
Sunday October 14, 2001. Six days out, Sanna Neilson worked her runners for the Far Hills Races. Praise The Prince and Lord Zada targeted the Breeders’ Cup Steeplechase. Spring Salute fit in the secondary feature. Comanche Raider eyed the novice. The maiden just tried to keep up.
After riding Mystic Strike to victory in the 85th Pennsylvania Hunt Cup Sunday, Mark Beecher climbed down, patted his horse on the shoulder, unbuckled the girths and headed for the scale to weigh-in. On the way back to the trophy presentation, he made a declaration.
“That’s me. Over and out.”
First of all, we couldn’t resist. When an owner names a horse Covfefe, in today’s world, the headline just had to be a bit edgy. So, we went with Bigly and even dug up a verb to describe her win in the Grade 1 Test early in the 2019 meet at Saratoga Race Course.
Nobody ruled the Saratoga turf like Sistercharlie, the heavy favorite for Sataurday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. She takes on 11 foes Saturday, while riding a winning streak of six Grade 1 stakes dating to July 2018. In that span, she won Saratoga’s Grade 1 Diana in 2018 and 2019 while also taking the Beverly D. twice, the 2018 Filly and Mare Turf and the 2019 Flower Bowl.
Back in the summer, Got Stormy was trying to find a niche to her 2019 season. The 4-year-old filly had won an allowance at Gulfstream in March, finished third in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland in April and was second in the Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill Downs in May.
Saratoga Race Course hosted more good sprinters than a Jamaican track meet this summer as major Breeders’ Cup players Imperial Hint, Shancelot and Mitole all won graded stakes at the New York track.
Don’t blink. Saturday’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint is full of speedsters and at 5 furlongs at Santa Anita, this year’s entrants will by flying. A full field of 12 entered (with two on the also-eligible list) and range from 8-year-old Purse Sensation to 3-year-olds Stubbins and Legends of War. Saratoga saw its share of turf sprinters this summer, and they drew plenty of attention as Purse Sensation, Shekky Shebaz, Leinster and Final Frontier all made Spa starts. A few wound up in the pages of The Saratoga Special.
As usual, the summer at Saratoga offered a preview of at least a few Breeders’ Cup runners, and we got a chance to dig up some features from the pages of The Saratoga Special. Saturday’s $4 million Turf is full of European heavyweights such as Ireland’s Anthony Van Dyck, the German-based Alounak, Godolphin’s world-traveling British-bred Old Persian and of course heavy favorite Bricks And Mortar from the American barn of Chad Brown.
