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Sean Clancy 
Bas Nicholl and Jenn Patterson stood outside the test barn after the Travers. The two assistants watched Orb and Will Take Charge circle the small green barn at the corner of Union Avenue and the Yaddo Gardens. Efforts complete, the horses decompressed. So did the assistants. One more than the other.
Sometimes, this gig feels like you’re running a crime tip line. Calls, emails, texts and hollers, ‘Hey, you should write about…I’ve got a story for you…have you ever written about…’ Some are good, most are not. Then I get a call from Bill Habib. I don’t know Bill. He says he knows the paper. Knows … Read more
Ollie Figgins stopped at the top of the stairs, took off his glasses, wiped the corner of his eyes and looked in the air.
“How old is that jockey?” It was an honest question. A good question. Posed by a fan to a writer, minutes after yesterday’s feature, the New York Turf Writers Cup. The jockey walked past. Looking at him, he looked young and old all at the same time. Gray hair and life’s lines across his face … Read more
Mike Hushion skirted past a swarm of people in the winner’s circle after Wednesday’s Albany Stakes and shook hands with Anthony Bonomo.
My friend Wass asked the question during his first visit to Saratoga. Back in 2001, when we were trying to give wings to The Special. Coming from Wass, short for Paul Wasserman, it was a funny question. A Jewish kid, who grew up in Rockland County, he had never seen anything like the racetrack. He … Read more
“No problem.” That’s all I wrote when asked to speak for the horse at a dinner for Saratoga WarHorse. I always say yes in emails, especially when the task is weeks away. I’ll say yes to anything, if it’s not today. It seemed easy, simply talk about the horse for two minutes. No problem. I … Read more
If I were Chris Kay for a day…OK, God of Saratoga for a day… I’d buy new TVs, with interfaces on the screens to be able to bet, order a drink and pay for it all without standing up. Better yet, make it available through the NYRA app. I’d power-wash the place – gently. I’d … Read more
Ed Stanco heard it and loved it.
“And there she goes…”
Tom Durkin lobbed the perfect line as favorite Princess Of Sylmar rolled to the lead in the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga Saturday. Indeed, there she went. Princess Of Sylmar rallied four wide on the turn and sauntered to another Grade 1 score at Saratoga.
Friday morning, John Williams pointed to an old oak tree, the one he stood under as Sensitive Prince stretched Affirmed in the Jim Dandy, the Triple Crown winner finally reeling in Allen Jerkens’ speedster, they were 20 clear of the third horse. Laz Barrera called it his greatest performance. Williams, on a visit to Saratoga, … Read more
