Champ on the scene
A New York State Trooper pulled into the stable area of Saratoga Race Course backstretch of the main track with emergency lights flashing and parked outside Barn 25 just before 3:00 p.m. Wednesday.
Tom Law
American Pharoah 1-5 on early line for Travers
Triple Crown American Pharoah drew post-position No. 2 in the field of 10 entered Tuesday night for Saturday’s 146th running of the $1.6 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.
Fasig-Tipton Stable Tour with Charlton Baker
A majority of the horses in the stable of 49-year-old Charlton Baker are New York-breds, including Moonlight Song, winner of the John Morrissey Stakes earlier in the meet for owner Albert Fried Jr. He won two races from 10 starters heading into today’s card, the same number of winners he posted in 2014 and 2013.
On time for the Alabama
Every morning, at 4:45, Tony Dutrow waits – for the longest red light in neighborhood history. It’s always red.
Saturday morning, the light at Five Points was green.
Dutrow knew then and there what was going to happen Saturday afternoon.
Double Barrel
The running joke in the courtyard of Barn 26 the last few days was that Larry Jones brought his reinforcements for the signature 3-year-old filly race of the Saratoga Race Course meeting.
Saratoga mayor challenges nation on racehorse retirement
Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsen was joined by representatives of six racehorse retirement organizations in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Thursday morning to announce a cooperative coalition for racehorse aftercare, to challenge other communities to act on racehorse retirement and to officially proclaim August “Racehorse Retirement Month.”
Traveling Man
Ron Moquett’s job is pretty easy when it comes to One Mean Man.
“Just take care of him, keep him happy and lead him over and don’t mess up anything he did,” Moquett said about the Mizzen Mast colt outside the stakes barn Wednesday morning. “He’s (co-owned by) a guy that I used to work for named Bernie Flint, and when this race come up he wanted me to have him for this race. He’s a good horse, he’s well prepped, he’s got a great base on him by Mr. Flint.”
Bounce Back
Gary Gullo just doesn’t want to make an excuse.
He needed one last time, when Sister Margaret faced open company in a July 25 allowance in her first start in nearly eight months. The time off or the open conditions weren’t excuses, although they probably didn’t help the 4-year-old Pulpit filly, but rather a tough trip while stuck down inside en route to her ninth-place finish.
Grass Experiment
Little Miss Miss never set foot on a turf course before making the walk across the Oklahoma Training Track’s dirt and grass courses to the spacious infield used for galloping and steeplechase schooling Monday mornings.
She was entered a day earlier for today’s $100,000 Bolton Landing Stakes going 5 ½ furlongs on the turf and Butch and Ginny Reid wanted to see how the daughter of Mineshaft would take to green under her feet. Eddie Davis, son of retired jockey and trainer Robbie Davis, gave the filly a couple spins around the cones amidst the somewhat organized chaos that is the turf-schooling period and liked what he felt.
Saratoga Handicapping: Monday, Aug. 17
The 2015 Saratoga Race Course meeting edged past the halfway point Saturday and the serious countdown is on to this weekend’s Alabama and next weekend’s Travers.
