Join The Saratoga Special Readers Club for exclusive access to news, swag, discounts, special events and more
Sean Clancy “What do you want for your birthday?” At 44, it’s a throwaway question, because none of it is really going to happen. You get a card and a cake and move on, another day, another year gone. At 44, you start to want less and think more. The birthdays coming fast, years tumbling over the ledge. You begin to look back as much as you look forward. There are things I’d like today and there are things I’d like from yesterday.
Kieran Norris met Cyril Murphy at the barn before the Stoneybrook feature April 5. The apprentice jockey, replacing the injured Roddy Mackenzie, set his tack down and confessed, “I never thought I’d get a chance to ride a horse like this.” Murphy, nodded his head, “I never thought I’d get a chance to train a horse like this. Let’s enjoy it.”
I just spent three days in England with my dad, and two days in Vegas with my best friend. In 11 days, I slept in six different beds (not as exciting as it sounds).
Here’s your Here and There for April 8. A little from Dogwood Classic, Stoneybrook, Saratoga, leftovers from Cheltenham and some other random notes, quips and quotes from the Internet and the hay net.
Weekend in Virginia. Dad, 79, Miles, 5, and I traveled to my sister’s house in Richmond for a weekend of racing. The Dogwood Classic, held at Colonial Downs. Certainly nothing like the old days of the Strawberry Hill Races, held at the fairgrounds, years ago. Thinking there would be traffic like the old days, we … Read more
The form wouldn’t look out of place at Aintree Thursday, Friday or even Saturday. Instead the form shows up at Stoneybrook for the $25,000 allowance feature. Irish-bred For Non Stop makes his American debut for Irv Naylor, Cyril Murphy and Roddy Mackenzie. The 9-year-old gelding finished behind Sprinter Sacre, Cue Card, Flemenstar, Menorah, First Liutenant and Captain Chris in his most recent starts in England.
Another frenzied day of racing around the world. The Grand National stops the world at Aintree. California 3-year-olds take their final exams in the Santa Anita Derby. East Coast 3-year-olds attempt to prove it in the Wood Memorial. Keeneland offers the Ashland. Tampa Bay Downs offers a stakes smorgasbord. We even make stops at Beulah and Fonner Park. Hang on, it’s the first Saturday in April.
The Crabbie’s Grand National, the most famous steeplechase in the world, highlights a captivating day of racing Saturday. The 4 1/2-mile classic attracts 40 horses over 30 fences. Here are some facts and figures about the big race, delivered to you by Antree Racecourse.
Board meetings. All day. Volunteer board meetings. Pushing elephants up the stairs. Quick trip to Saratoga for the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Awards Dinner Tuesday, good trip to the Spa, still plenty of snow, the racecourse a desolate looking shell below the metal-color sky. The red and white of summer nowhere to be seen. Apse … Read more
Big day Saturday, racing around the world. Matt Coleman and I have downloaded form from around the world. If you had to throw the dice and pick a place, you’d struggle. Somehow, we are going to Laurel Park. Yes, Laurel Park. We’ll watch simulcasts from around the world. Meydan for the Dubai World Cup. Doncaster … Read more
