Opinion

If I were Chris Kay for a day…OK, God of Saratoga for a day… I’d buy new TVs, with interfaces on the screens to be able to bet, order a drink and pay for it all without standing up. Better yet, make it available through the NYRA app. I’d power-wash the place – gently. I’d … Read more

Friday morning, John Williams pointed to an old oak tree, the one he stood under as Sensitive Prince stretched Affirmed in the Jim Dandy, the Triple Crown winner finally reeling in Allen Jerkens’ speedster, they were 20 clear of the third horse. Laz Barrera called it his greatest performance. Williams, on a visit to Saratoga, … Read more

Finally, the race goes, the horse gets in, it doesn’t rain, papers are in the office, silks in the room, the jockey’s ready, the trainer’s (relatively) content, the assistant is confident, the race looks tough but not impossible. You wake up early. It’s a free day. Your horse is in at Saratoga. Years of thinking. … Read more

We went to see Orb train. We got a whole lot more, on an early morning by the rail at Oklahoma Thursday.  “Did we bring the camera?” my 12-year-old companion asks.  “No,” I answer. “It’s at home.” “That’s OK, it might not work very well anyway. It’s pretty dark. And the flash would be bad … Read more

Emails. Texts. Quotes. Conversations. I talk to more people in a day here than I do in a week at home. Sometimes, you simply have to empty the phone, the laptop, the voice recorder. I’m a lucky man in too many ways to number…my horse is ok…yesterday went dark for me at 1:00 or so…5 … Read more

The Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund hosted its annual Jockey Karaoke fundraiser Monday night at the Vapor Night Club at Saratoga Casino and Raceway. First the facts. Incorporated in 2006, the PDJF provides financial assistance to nearly 60 jockeys who have suffered catastrophic career-ending injuries on the track. It’s not a pension plan, an insurance plan … Read more

“Where we going now?” Charlie LoPresti asked, moments after Wise Dan won the Fourstardave. LoPresti had watched in worry, celebrated in relief, posed with the team, talked to reporters, given his home address to an artist who wanted to paint Wise Dan. And then, walking aimlessly through the clubhouse, he was lost.   “Well, you can … Read more

This was in The Saratoga Special Aug. 9, so we’re catching up a bit. It sure seemed like a good idea, if a bit out there, far-fetched, potentially chaotic and possibly somewhat dangerous. McDynamo, a three-time steeplechase champion and millionaire, gets inducted into the Hall of Fame today. He’s 16 years old, and lives on … Read more

Vintage Xavier Aizpuru, the ride to get All Together home first in an optional-claiming steeplechase here Aug. 1 involved a cone-skimming trip around the final turn, a never-give-up aggression that produced his horse with a chance at the last fence and a hard-pumping finish that saw out the partnership’s fourth win together.  It was also … Read more

The cellphone in my pocket pinged while I was doing what I normally did weekend mornings, coaching soccer or getting ready to coach soccer at Masterson Station Park in Lexington. In this case I was getting ready.