All set for Alabama
The day before the Alabama, Todd Pletcher stood near the outside rail of the main track and answered questions about favorite Princess Of Sylmar.
Sean Clancy
Cup of Coffee: Free Day
Finally, the race goes, the horse gets in, it doesn’t rain, papers are in the office, silks in the room, the jockey’s ready, the trainer’s (relatively) content, the assistant is confident, the race looks tough but not impossible. You wake up early. It’s a free day. Your horse is in at Saratoga. Years of thinking. … Read more
Cup of Coffee: Chatter
Emails. Texts. Quotes. Conversations. I talk to more people in a day here than I do in a week at home. Sometimes, you simply have to empty the phone, the laptop, the voice recorder. I’m a lucky man in too many ways to number…my horse is ok…yesterday went dark for me at 1:00 or so…5 … Read more
Out for a Stroll
Inside, outside, nowhere to go … Javier Castellano had a choice to make in the waning stages of the Stroll Stakes. Castellano aimed Balance The Books outside, that didn’t work. Then he angled inside. Game over.
Cup of Coffee: Jockey Love
The Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund hosted its annual Jockey Karaoke fundraiser Monday night at the Vapor Night Club at Saratoga Casino and Raceway. First the facts. Incorporated in 2006, the PDJF provides financial assistance to nearly 60 jockeys who have suffered catastrophic career-ending injuries on the track. It’s not a pension plan, an insurance plan … Read more
Corfu sprints to Special win
John Velazquez needed four words to describe Corfu after winning The Saratoga Special Sunday.
“He’s fast, man, Velazquez said. “He’s freaking fast.”
Four, disguised as six.
Cup of Coffee: Walk and Talk
“Where we going now?” Charlie LoPresti asked, moments after Wise Dan won the Fourstardave. LoPresti had watched in worry, celebrated in relief, posed with the team, talked to reporters, given his home address to an artist who wanted to paint Wise Dan. And then, walking aimlessly through the clubhouse, he was lost. “Well, you can … Read more
Running Man
Charlie LoPresti followed this one. The trainer walked next to Horse of the Year Wise Dan around the paddock, through the chute, all the way to the track. Handed off to the pony, Wise Dan jogged a few steps, the overwhelming favorite going out to defend his title in the $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap. LoPresti, satisfied, turned and walked toward the big screen in the clubhouse.
Cup of Coffee: For a Moment
Do you dare think about it? If you own a horse, train a horse or ride a horse, you have to think about it, right? What would you say? Would you keep it together? Who would you thank? Would you talk too fast? Would you read or go off the cuff? Would you wear a … Read more
Beat Wise Dan?
How can you beat Wise Dan? The Special’s Sarah Troxell and Sean Clancy caught up with the trainers in the Fourstardave on how to beat the Horse of the Year. He’s won seven in a row, a streak that began with the 2012 Fourstardave and includes five Grade 1 races and two Grade 2 tilts.
