News

Former Atlanta Steeplechase chairman John Wayt, Jr. died on February 5. He was 82.

So, you want to be a farmer. Mountain views, wildlife, peace and tranquility. And snow. Three feet – and counting. I own a snow shovel. That’s all. But I’ve learned; I hire a local farmer to plow our driveway. Piece of cake, $80 per hour, and well worth it. I’ll sit inside, sip tea, scan … Read more

My friend Jay Hovdey calls this the Making of the Eclipse Award article. You know the drill, it’s an HBO thing. Hit movie . . . then the sequel . . . another sequel . . . then the movie on the making of the movie. All a means to making money. Unfortunately for my bank account, the residuals and the royalties of an Eclipse Award started and ended long ago. But as my wife reminds me, I didn’t become a turf writer to get rich now did I?

National Steeplechase Association chief executive officer Lou Raffetto will be leaving his post at the conclusion of the spring season, effective June 30, 2010.

Bill Pape’s Mixed Up was announced as the Champion Steeplechase horse of 2009 Monday night at the 39th annual Eclipse Awards in Beverly Hills, California. The 10-year-old, trained by Jonathan Sheppard, was a runaway choice as voted on by members of the National Turf Writers Association, Daily Racing Form and National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association announced that ST Publishing’s Sean Clancy has won the 2009 Media Eclipse Award for Writing in the News/Commentary category for “Life’s Work,” a column about an estate sale of the late Hall of Fame Trainer Sidney Watters, Jr., in 2008. The entry appeared in the January 3, 2009 edition of The Blood-Horse.

ST profiled the steeplechase champions in its December edition and will re-run those articles here.

The Colonial Cup winner stared at the sound of the rock band playing inthe infield, shook his head, circled the stall, took a bite of dinner,allowed a visitor to pat him on the neck and started it all over again.

ST profiled the steeplechase champions in its December edition and will re-run those articles here.

Of course, they were friends. Tommy Voss and Bobby Frankel were cutfrom the same cloth. Well, they were made of the same cloth. Tough,reliable and effective. And, admittedly, a little abrasive.

ST profiled the steeplechase champions in its December edition and will re-run those articles here.

The blueprint for Irv Naylor’s stable has always been drawn with theprecision of a T-square; the timber runners do the heavy lifting whilethe hurdle horses imitate an aging Triple-A pitcher and start a fewtimes for the big club each summer. Tried and true, the formula hasbeen as solid as the timber fences Naylor’s horses have scaled to thetune of five championships (including 2009) in the past six years.

Steeplechase trainer, blacksmith and longtime horseman Pete Levendis died Monday, Dec. 21. He was 65.