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Sean Clancy 
Willie McCarthy stood in the corner of the dark tent at Far Hills and sighed, “I was hoping for a big day…” the Irish-born jump jockey said, as a set of Christmas lights lit up the jocks’ room for the first time.
Big weekend from Keeneland to Laurel to Far Hills to the International Gold Cup. We’ve got owners talking about Brink’s trucks, sisters and brothers talking about winning and jump jockeys on the good, the bad and the ugly. Here’s your Here & There from the October 19-20 weekend.
Mike Smith has a plaque in the Hall of Fame. He’s made plenty of money. He’s won classics. He’s won more Breeders’ Cup races than any jockey in history. He’s 48, accomplished everything there is to accomplish in the sport, but still he drives forward.
John Velazquez has a plaque in the Hall of Fame. He’s won classics, Eclipse Awards and Breeders’ Cup races. He recently passed Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day as the all-time leading jockey in earnings. He’s 41 and as good as he’s ever been. Why? Why is he still motivated?
The variables. The variables. The variables. Earlier in the week, there was a chance seven of the eight horses in Riverdee Stable could run in the next nine days. Then the variables… We entered Eagle Poise in the Sycamore at Keeneland today. It’s rained, turf has been downgraded to yielding, we don’t want to run … Read more
Richard Valentine has written 16 names on the dry erase board hanging on the wall of his center-aisle barn at Whitewood Farm in The Plains, Va. Some are galloping, a few are hacking, the rest are breezing – eight in preparation for Far Hills and two for the International Gold Cup Saturday. The biggest card of the season, the Far Hills Steeplechase offers seven races and $550,000 in purses.
Saturday morning, Tim Keefe will reach into his closet without hesitation. Khakis for comfort. Tweed blazer for simplicity. Pink and blue striped shirt for the owner. Bright blue, pink flamingos tie for the horse.
Skateboarders. Addicts. Needle Park. Woodstock. The Beatles. Minelli. Streisand. Eastwood. Astronauts. Motor cycles. Freedom riders. Tears. Laughs. Butkus. Nicklaus. Norton. Raquel. Mud and blood. Red barn in the sun. White barn in the snow. Bobby Kennedy campaigning. Bobby Kennedy dying. Bill Eppridge. Photographer. 1938-2013. Eppridge made you walk out of the house with your camera … Read more
Perusing the Goffs and Tattersalls Yearling catalogues and scanning the pedigree pages of some of the best yearlings in the world, starting on the left and reading right, one generation, two generations, three generations. The farther to the right you read, the more “(USA)” tags show up, deep in the pedigrees, the game-changers emerge. As … Read more
Mike Smith bolstered his Breeders’ Cup roster with three graded stakes wins over the weekend. At Santa Anita on Saturday, Smith guided No Jet Lag to win the Grade II City of Hope Mile and Points Offthebench to win the Grade I Sprint Championship (to complete a four-win afternoon).
