Opinion

The Jockey Club follows its rules, so when breeder Bonner Young sent in Caroline Thomas as a name request for a chestnut filly the response was predictable.  Thoroughbred racing’s official registration service requires written permission to use the name of a living person. Young’s granddaughter Caroline Thomas Rich put pencil to notebook paper and wrote … Read more

Dear Ramon, I wanted to write to you several months ago, after you fell and while you were waiting, wrestling, wondering about your career, your life. I know it’s been agonizing. How are you? I wanted to tell you to be careful with your head, wait for it, don’t make any decisions while it heals. … Read more

Here we are again. A year has come and gone. A year of highs and lows, wins and losses, hellos and goodbyes. That great passage of time, marked yet again by Opening Day of Saratoga. For 150 years, it’s provided the fulcrum…life before Saratoga, life after Saratoga.

One from the archives, written on Opening Day last year. I guess, we’ll know if we get that feeling in a few days…

My friend Richard Valentine asked the question, innocuously, innocently, matter-of-factly, “Do you still get that same feeling when you drive into Saratoga?”

Paddling around in kayaks and stand-up paddleboards while talking to my new father-in-law helped bring out a realization the other afternoon.

Albert died. The gold fish. He came from the Clarke County Fair, a year ago. Two of them. We named them Charles and Albert, after the two guys who worked on the farm. One was lean, one was big. I would have called them George and Lenny. Now, Albert’s dead. Miles, 4, is away. What am I going to tell him? He’s 4, he doesn’t really understand death. Nor, do I want him to understand death. I want to protect him. Forever.

It’s been a whirlwind of a week so far and Independence Day officially marks the start of the second half.

The first half was the hard half. The second should be a bit easier.

The first half involved saying goodbye, celebrating a life lived to the fullest, with sorrow and sadness.

The second half is all about reuniting with old friends, starting a life together, with joy and happiness.

“You know this guy with the cowboy hat? The guy who won the handicapping contest?” Pete Fornatale asked me the other day. “Of course, I know him. That’s Kevin Cox. I think I wrote a Cup of Coffee about him a couple of years ago.” “Think you can find it?” Hmmm. Back to the archives. … Read more

The question came via text, two days after my mother passed away.

“Are you and Liz in Saratoga Sunday night? Free?”

A short break, then “Quick.”

Every year, as you gear up, pack up for Saratoga, you can’t help but think of what’s the same, what’s different, who’s returning, who’s missing. This year, it won’t be the same without Ramon Dominguez. From the perspective of a horseman, a journalist, a fan, a friend…I’ll miss his long hold in the race and articulate answers after. Back to the archives, I found this from Saratoga 2009, when Ramon was at the top and planning on staying there.