Join The Saratoga Special Readers Club for exclusive access to news, swag, discounts, special events and more
Tom Law 
A handful of strides out of the gate Saturday found Cathryn Sophia in a very unfamiliar position at this stage of her young career – actually behind rivals – and John Servis admitted to feeling a wave of doubt sweep over him as he watched from the stands at Gulfstream Park.
Cate Johnson started her career in racing on the frontside in public relations, spent nearly a decade on the backside as office manager for one of North America’s top trainers and will return to her roots in the promotional world in a few weeks when she begins work as director of development at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
The hideousness of last weekend’s snowstorm is largely in the rearview mirror and thankfully yielding to a huge weekend of action with significant races on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. To say this week’s Saturday Special presented by Pin Oak Stud is loaded would be a significant understatement since it features key preps for the Cheltenham Festival and the Kentucky Derby. Does it get any bigger than that?
Tucked away amidst evergreen-lined fences in Sandy Spring, Maryland, is the lovely Avalon Farm. Trails wind through the woods that surround a beautiful, rustic main house, making the farm look truly like something out of a dream and the perfect home for the dream-like Thoroughbred.
Even though a huge part of the country will spend the weekend digging out from the storm that dumped plenty of snow, the show goes on elsewhere with racing in warmer locales. The first snowmageddon edition of Saturday Special presented by Pin Oak Stud, home to Alternation, Broken Vow and Cowboy Cal, will hopefully provide a respite from the white stuff and be the perfect primer for an afternoon hunkered down on the couch.
About three-quarters of the way through the Wednesday night group run and nearly finishing up the perimeter loop of Skidmore College the reality set in as the words came out of my mouth to a man half my age.
The Hronis Racing operation of brothers Kosta and Pete Hronis enjoyed the best season in its short history in 2016 and a significant peak was scaled when Stellar Wind took home a championship during last weekend’s 45th annual Eclipse Awards at Gulfstream Park.
Twenty days into the New Year and our notepads are starting to fill up, voice recorders in need of being emptied out. Sad to say this is the first edition of Here & There for 2016 and the first since the Breeders’ Cup wrap-up edition a few days after the big weekend in Lexington. Happy to say it’s back and we’re hoping (promising?) to slide it into a regular spot in the rotation.
Three days removed from being honored as Horse of the Year in North America at the Eclipse Awards, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah took home one of the globe’s most prestigious honors when honored as the Longines World’s Best Racehorse during a posh ceremony at Claridge’s in London Tuesday.
The week leading up to this past Saturday didn’t go nearly as well as Lilli Kurtinecz hoped so when the serious running started and it was still in doubt if Manchurian High would defend his title in the Sunshine Millions Turf she couldn’t bear to watch.
