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Tom Law 
Now that we’ve got Friday the 13th behind us (almost) it’s time to get down to business and into the weekend. The middle of January is fast at hand and with it a fairly busy slate of racing to preview in the latest installment of Saturday Special presented by Pin Oak Stud, home of Alternation, Broken Vow and Cowboy Cal.
When Russ Harris died late last month, many were hit with a wave of nostalgia for an era lost to time. The 1970s brought off-track betting to New York and the tabloid papers had multiple handicappers analyzing the NYRA tracks. The New York Post and Daily News, along with Long Island’s Newsday, combined for a pretty large force of handicappers.
California Chrome, Arrogate and Songbird – virtual locks to take home titles in their respective divisions – are finalists for 2016 Horse of the Year honors.
The holiday season is in the books. New Year’s Eve and Day, too. Days now are spent counting down, looking ahead to the end of winter perhaps, maybe the Pegasus World Cup, Cheltenham Festival, Triple Crown and the first hints of spring. Some are still quite a ways off, so what better reason to settle in for the winter slumber than racing on the tube.
Now the list is complete. Appropriate that the No. 1 story on our Top 10 for 2016 that recaps the most well read stories on this website is a piece about a man who lived life to the fullest and who’s loss is felt by those who knew him best.
We’d like to wish all our faithful and supportive readers a Happy New Year. Don’t burn the candle too low Saturday night; or least not until taking in a day of racing and maybe even a little college football. If it’s racing you’re in the mood for you’re in luck because on the last day of 2016 we’ve got the final Saturday Special presented by Pin Oak Stud.
And then there were two. We’re down to the two most popular – specifically the most read – stories published on this website in 2016. The first eight are an eclectic collection of remembrances, recaps of inspiring victories and colorful columns. The second most read piece of the year dealt with an issue that affects so many, alcoholism, and specifically the public battle fought by Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux.
Stories leading up to and during the Triple Crown always get plenty of action here at This Is Horse Racing – two appeared in last year’s 15 for 2015 and four showed up on the 14 for 2014 – and this year is no exception either.
Now we’re really into the nitty gritty. The four most popular stories of the year are right here, along with the last four days of 2016.
The end of the year is always a time filled with reflection and remembrance of those we lost. In October the world of steeplechasing lost an old school horseman in Dr. John K. Griggs who was successful in many aspects of the game.
