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Sean Clancy 
The things I’ve learned at Saratoga… Do it early. It’s a long meet these days but it goes fast. Schedule it, make it happen. Early. Hey, John Panagot, let’s get that beer Sunday and talk about the days when you had to interview Bobby Frankel for The Special. Rich, crank up the boat and make … Read more
Hey, look at that, the second edition of The Saratoga Special. Fresh off a win with And One More Time in the De La Rose, Mark Casse leads the trainer’s race while Flavien Prat has opened a big gap on perennial leader Irad Ortiz Jr. in the jockey’s scrum. Kathynmarissa and Portfolio Duration lead a … Read more
And look at that. It’s Opening Day at Saratoga. At least at The Saratoga Special. We are back. The Special returns for its 26th season at Saratoga. The first of 20 issues this summer. The Jonathan Kiser, a steeplechase stakes in honor of a young kid and an old friend, kicks off Thursday’s card. The … Read more
Same couch. Same day. Same page. At least it isn’t raining. There was an easy theme last year. It started with the simplest form of writing. Go with the weather. Set the scene. Water rolls over the gutters and pools into puddles, a statement of intent, a day of disruption. The Belmont Gold Cup washed … Read more
Daisy Phipps Pulito leaned over the wooden ledge of her clubhouse box and hugged Cherie DeVaux. An owner-and-trainer cocoon of an embrace amid the bedlam of celebration as Golden Tempo galloped out after winning the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Saturday evening. Bred and owned by the Phipps Stable and St Elias Stable and ridden by … Read more
The South African Jockey Academy called Gavin Lerena’s parents with an offer. It was the first chance he had gotten at the acclaimed five-year program. Following his grandfather, his father, his uncle, his whole family into racing, Lerena enrolled in the apprentice program and took an instant hit. Denied. Lerena was relegated to the equestrian … Read more
Tom Bellhouse bought Irad Ortiz Jr. a hot chocolate. Offered him a seat in the West Point Thoroughbreds’ golf cart. Nobody else was around. It was 5 o’clock in the morning at the Morning Line Kitchen. Bellhouse was waiting for Kiaran McLaughlin’s first set. Ortiz was waiting for his agent, waiting for a break. It … Read more
“What’s your name?” The question came from the clouds. Like Big Brother. Walking through the front gate Thursday afternoon, a retired agent stopped, a retired jockey stopped, a writer stopped. The agent and the writer backed up quietly, sliding out of the conversation. The question came booming down again. More like a demand. “What. Is. … Read more
1-5-5-6-1-5-4-8-4-7-1. A win in the Grade 1 Jonathan Sheppard in 2024. Five consecutive losses. A win in the Sheppard in 2025. Three straight losses. Jimmy P added his latest 1 to his string of Saratoga 1s with late a lunge to win the Grade 1 Beverly R. Steinman Stakes at Saratoga Wednesday. Owned by Madaket … Read more
It was a throwaway line, a token gesture. If you need anything, I’m around. I sent it to Emme Fullilove, who was helping with Jack Fisher’s runners for Wednesday’s Beverly R. Steinman Stakes at Saratoga. A longtime steeplechase ally, Fullilove has a full-time job galloping flat horses for trainer Tom Proctor. She’ll take you up … Read more
