Features

A Whitney Day tradition continues with a visit to Brad Cox. We started it back in 2021, when Cox sent out Maryland-bred burner Knicks Go to victory in the Grade 1 Whitney on the way to a Horseof the Year title.Bedded down in his usual spot inside Horse Haven on the Oklahoma Training Track, Cox … Read more

A dozen maple trees shade the barn of trainer John Terranova and his wife Tonja a few rows backfrom the main track on the Saratoga Race Course backside. They’re tall, old and run through the center of an outdoor walking ring that has surely seen its share of racing royalty.The Terranova horses enjoy the peace.“They’re … Read more

Kentucky and Louisiana-based the rest of the year, trainer Al Stall flashed his Saratoga Race Course credentials when 2-year-old filly Strong State won on Opening Day July 11. The barn kept rolling on the next program when Lord I Wonder finished second in her debut and Over And Ollie won a maiden claimer. Three-year-old filly … Read more

Brendan Walsh downsized his Saratoga string a bit this year, from 20 to a dozen bedded down in Jimmy Jerkens’ old spot on the Oklahoma Training Track, with a goal in mind. “I just wanted to bring the horses that’ll be competitive up here this year,” Walsh said. “They’ve allrun well, what we’ve run so … Read more

Willow trees, the “therapy bench,” graduate-level father/son banter, conversations in French and English (with some translation, maybe), a dose of racing history – and world-class horses – are just a few of the items in a typical morning at the Saratoga Race Course barn of trainer Christophe Clement and his assistant/son Miguel. Between Shug McGaughey … Read more

Phil Bauer volunteered Fireball Shot, a maiden with more than $100,000 in earnings at the time, as his horse way back in 2018. Joining perennial little guys Robbie Davis, Kerry Metivier and Eddie Barker in the Little Guys’ Stable Tour, the Kentucky-based trainer had just wrapped up a 0-for-12 record at Saratoga. Fireball Shot had … Read more

“Anytime.” That’s how Cherie DeVaux answered when asked about hosting the Fasig-Tipton Stable Tour. It helps when you’re walking out of the winner’s circle after your second win, just three days into the meet. DeVaux added another win Sunday to make it three.  With a gaudy 50 percent strike rate, DeVaux stood even with Chad … Read more

We’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times here at The Special.  We like tradition. From Jimmy Toner’s pillows, figure eights under the Clare Court trees, the bell ringer doing their job with 17 minutes to post and bleary eyed tourists coming out for morning works with coffee and bagels or making a … Read more