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Sunday we’ll lace up the running shoes, toe a makeshift line on a loop at the Saratoga Spa State Park and remember a man who defined making a difference. We’ll run, or walk, and undoubtedly won’t be able to do it without hearing those three magical words that became Art Kranick’s signature. “Pick it up.” … Read more
The letter arrived with a small notepaper from The Yale Club dated 31 X 18 – naturally – in early November and set off what turned into an amazing relationship. Terry Hill, then well into retirement after a career in advertising, wrote to the three of us applying for an internship at The Saratoga Special … Read more
“Welcome to the best summer of your lives.” Those eight words were delivered the Tuesday before Opening Day to five of our six interns for the 25th season of The Saratoga Special. We’ll call them Team 25, since they follow every other squad since Joe and Sean Clancy rolled out the first edition of The … Read more
Inspired by an unscheduled wakeup call on a non-deadline day morning, here are some loose rules and suggestions to follow during your stay in Saratoga Springs. Yes, it’s Saratoga Springs on first reference. Just Saratoga on the second will suffice. That’s the start. Here are some others. Speaking of unscheduled. Leaf blowers. They should be … Read more
Late in a handicapping seminar at the Keeneland Library this spring – three days before the 150th Kentucky Derby – a hand went up during the allotted question-and-answer session. Seated a couple rows from the front among the 75 or so who turned out for the simply named event, “Handicapping the Derby with Tom Law,” … Read more
Walking through the entrance gates at Churchill Downs Friday felt in stark contrast to what it was like back on May 2, 1998. That day marked Kentucky Derby No. 1 and helped fulfill a personal goal to be on the scene of America’s greatest race. How it came about has been well told, especially so … Read more
Dave Lynett’s name appeared many times through the years on this website and in the pages of The Saratoga Special. Retired from the Saratoga County Department of Social Services, Lynett later embarked on a second career as a clocker with the New York Racing Association at the Oklahoma Training Track in his native Saratoga Springs. … Read more
Pick a side. Are you a giver or taker? It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while, mostly after deciding to write a story about a couple barbers from Schenectady who decided to produce video vignettes highlighting the work of the valuable and often forgotten men and women of the backside. The story ran … Read more
Lightning flashed and thunder shook the windows of my Butchertown Airbnb apartment before sunrise Tuesday. Then the rain came, after training hours began but before the half-hour window from 7:30 to 8 a.m. designated for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks runners. Todd Pletcher thought about sending Mo Donegal, Charge It and Pioneer Of Medina, … Read more
The best week of the year – not counting every week at Saratoga – has finally arrived. I’m ready for the 80-mile trek from Lexington to Louisville for the 148th Kentucky Derby. The first came by way of Albany to Cincinnati and down to Louisville, way back in 1998, as a sportswriter for the hometown … Read more
