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When you run off and win a Saratoga Grade 1 by 13 1/4 lengths – geared down – while carrying 164 pounds, there isn’t much to do afterward but bask in the performance and get ready to do it again. And that sounds like the formula for steeplechaser Snap Decision, who blitzed six foes in … Read more

Jump racing goes to the big city. For the first time in 48 years, New York’s Aqueduct Racetrack hosts a steeplechase race – two actually – as construction at Belmont Park shifted NYRA’s fall racing dates a few miles southeast to the Big A. Thursday is Opening Day and, as happened at Belmont, steeplechasers will … Read more

It all comes down to this. Closing Day at Saratoga Race Course. There’s rain and a chill in the air, along with champagne on ice for the soon-to-be (again) leading handicapper at The Saratoga Special, John Shapazian. He takes a big lead into Day 40, and it would take a complete collapse and total miracle … Read more

Two days remain in the 2022 Saratoga Race Course meeting and a 12-race card topped by the Grade 1 Spinaway awaits horseplayers. What looks like a competitive field of 10 entered the 7-furlong Spinaway, including Schuylerville winner Just Cindy, Adirondack winner Naughty Gal, Wonder Wheel, Kaling and American Rockette. The race for leading handicapper isn’t … Read more

That’s that. The final edition of 2022 includes Saturday previews – Jockey Club Gold Cup, Flower Bowl, etc., the Bill Mott Stable Tour (DO NOT MISS IT), recaps from Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. How about that Thin White Duke? Amazing finish in the 5 1/2 furlong Lucky Coin Stakes. Open it up, start scrolling and enjoy … Read more

The final week of the 2022 Saratoga meeting rolls along Friday with a 10-race card topped by a pair of stakes – the $150,000 Lucky Coin for older sprinters on the grass and Grade 2 Prioress for 3-year-old fillies at 6 furlongs. We set the stage with the picks from The Saratoga Special handicappers below, … Read more

Welcome to September. The final week of the 2022 Saratoga Race Course meeting kicked into gear Wednesday, the first of a six-day run to bring the curtain down on the best place on earth. We’re catching up and squeezing content into the last couple issues of The Saratoga Special, and also trying to feature some … Read more

Epicenter leaves no doubt who the top 3-year-old of 2022 is with a victory in Saturday’s Travers Stakes, the first in Steve Asmussen’s storied career. Owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness runner-up went 2-for-2 at the meet with a Jim Dandy win to start the double. Saturday’s jammed stakes lineup also saw … Read more

Week 7 of the 2022 Saratoga Race Course meeting comes to a close Sunday with a 10-race card topped by the Grade 1 Ballerina Handicap for older fillies and mares and Better Talk Now for 3-year-olds on the grass. Champion female sprinter Ce Ce returns to Saratoga for the 7-furlong Ballerina and takes on a … Read more

Big horse for a big day. Jim Dandy Stakes winner Epicenter tackles the Travers while looking to take hold of the 3-year-old division in a strong field which includes Haskell winner Cyberknife, Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, Preakness winner Early Voting, Curlin winner Artorius, Blue Grass winner Zandon, Iowa Derby winner Ain’t Life Grand and … Read more