Join The Saratoga Special Readers Club for exclusive access to news, swag, discounts, special events and more
![]("images/stories/general/pletcher.jpg")
In the mirror, the Saratoga racing season always looks kind of strange. It’s a sprint, but it’s also a marathon. How long ago was the Whitney? The Diana? The Sanford? And how did we get here? The 40-day racing season blurs through when you’re doing a daily newspaper, especially one with a staff that would fit in a minivan. We wrapped up the publishing schedule with the Sunday edition, which covered a raucous Saturday that included the Woodward and the Forego.
By Sean Clancy
Todd Pletcher lowered his binoculars and turned to walk out of Fred Hooper’s box at the top of the clubhouse stairs Saturday afternoon.
By Joe Clancy
Four minutes to post for the Grade I Forego at Saratoga – horses on the track, owners in the box seats, trainers setting up in front of television monitors or grabbing their binoculars.
By Joe Clancy
We have no more creativity, no more words, no more pictures, no more ability to keep track of the details, no more paper, no more questions, no more answers, no more rope in which to tie a knot.
Writer: “I’ll write the goodbye column. What I’ll miss, the thank you to the horsemen and horses, the salute to Saratoga . . . like I write every year at this time.”
Editor: “You’ve been writing that for a week.”
By Sean Clancy
How do you beat Quality Road?By Joe Clancy
Trainer Charlie Lopresti stood outside Barn 16 between Clare Court and the main track and surveyed Saratoga.By Jane Motion I’ll miss personally delivering Bellhouse a paper every morning. I’ll miss fighting with Jack over everything. I’ll miss Vixen King taking me shopping. I’ll miss Holly Donk falling asleep on my shoulder. I’ll miss Silly Lorna calling me Silly Janey. I’ll miss eating everything I can in the morning. I’ll miss … Read more
By Joe Clancy
The Great Tomato Derby of 2010 went like this: One gardener grew a 6-foot plant (with one tomato); another raised a 40-tomato plant; someone else put his plant in a bucket. They overcame blight, insects, weeds, water, sun, earth, some jealousy, a little conflict, confusion and at least two fatalities (mowers).
My compatriot Jane Motion inspired my list (her list runs on page 18) of things I’ll miss from Saratoga.
