Sean Clancy

Sorry, lost a few days. Just gone. Poof.  Waded into the rest of Loudoun County Sunday for our vaccine. Past an indoor skydiving venue, a two-tiered driving range, past condos and apartments made out of ticky-tacky and organic, farm-raised, free-range sustainable grocery stores, a brewery or four, through roundabouts and past exit ramps, past the … Read more

Rachael Blackmore, you are as good as I’ve ever seen. On the back of an imperious Cheltenham Festival, the 31-year-old Irish jump jockey won today’s Grand National aboard Minella Times. Tactically brilliant and stylishly strong,  Blackmore has it all. She has earned her accolades, attaining the most coveted attribute of a hard-nosed sport, the respect … Read more

It’s my birthday. I’m going for a run. An afternoon, forget-your-problems run around the 5-mile block. For more from The Inside Rail, check out the blog’s main page.

I like James Graham. I like his work ethic. I like his attitude. I like his spirit. I like his driving finish when money is on the line. The 41-year-old changed his life when toiling as a jockey in Ireland, came here for a fresh start, a new look, a different vibe, and has made … Read more

Fans on the turnouts. Thinking about clipping one or all. The ground is tight. Spring seems fleeting, at times.  Baseball tonight. Tigers vs. Angels. First game.  Aintree tomorrow.  The Grand National Saturday. Vaccine Sunday.  For more from The Inside Rail, check out the blog’s main page.

Been a few days… Racing Saturdays and other projects will do that to you.  Now, that was a day at the races. Ten races, maybe more, I lost count, everything from stakes horses prepping in the open hurdle to side saddle flat to Virginia-bred flat in the natural bowl of the iconic Old Dominion racecourse … Read more

A belated Happy Birthday to my big brother, Joey. I got lucky there. I wonder sometimes, what would I have done without him. He was the writer. He was the rock. Steeplechase Times would not have happened, could not have happened without him, hell, it was in his and Sam’s basement where it started. The … Read more

Sidetracked with other writing gigs, mostly features on finalists for the New York Thoroughbred Breeders awards program, which leaves me spent when it comes to this page. As famed sportswriter Dave Kindred said the other day on 60 Minutes when asked why he was writing about a girl’s high school basketball team, well past retirement, … Read more

It was August, 1994 and I was on a tirade that only I could muster. I was already a quick 0-for-3 at Saratoga that summer. Radnor maiden winner To Ridley, 4-1, finished second to Casual Flash in the opening allowance. No ride in Warm Spell’s Smithwick. Third on Roberto’s Grace, part of the favored entry, … Read more

Been a few days. Managed to write my own journal on the desk, but not the published journal here. And so it goes… Mike Stidham and Hilary Pridham won their biggest race, the Dubai World Cup, with Mystic Guide Saturday. Godolphin homebred. I delved into the archives to find the Fasig-Tipton Stable Tour, dated June … Read more