American Pastimes
Back to work. Somehow the twilight Friday card at Fair Hill turned it into a four-day weekend. No wonder, I’m struggling to get going Tuesday morning. Working from home with all the distractions that come with it.
Friday Night Lights
Fair Hill? Already. Where did the spring go?
Fair Hill’s Coggins race honors loyal supporter
When eight female hurdle horses line up for Saturday’s Iris Ann Coggins Memorial Stakes at Fair Hill, they’ll help honor someone who saw their value. Coggins, who died in 2015, was a loyal volunteer at Fair Hill and a staunch supporter of opportunities for fillies and mares on the racetrack.
Carroll finds right mix with Casse, War Of Will
At the press conference after War Of Will’s Preakness Stakes win Saturday, trainer Mark Casse answered all the questions – even one from an infield lax bro who clearly wasn’t with the media – but also made sure to make a point about someone who wasn’t there.
Thinking about 1984, the Tesio, the Preakness & family
April 14, 1984 makes it more than 35 years ago now. A crowded Pimlico Race Course winner’s circle in the rain. Muddy chestnut horse. Fourteen people. Mom, Dad, Sheila, Sean, Fee the Iranian van driver, owner George Strawbridge, his wife Nina, their kids Sanna and Stewart, super fan Reddy Stewart, super groom Lonnie Fuller, jockey Paul Nicol Jr. and a mostly hidden valet.
Living the Dream
I thought he won. I was almost confident, well, as confident as you can be in a photo finish.
The Iroquois over the Years
The Iroquois. It came across our radar back in 1978 when Dad was told to win it for George Strawbridge Jr. It was his goal, his grail. Owhata Chief duly did.
Ten minutes with a horse
Calls to make. Calls to return. Bills to pay. Jobs to do. Stories to write. People to see. Answers to give. Questions to ask. Podcast episodes to schedule. E-mails to answer. Grass to cut. Kids to worry about. A plane to catch in a couple days. A knee that won’t stop swelling.
Life piling up all around you? Take five minutes and go see a horse.
Calling John Dewey
Two days after the Kentucky Derby and about eight hours after Gary West went on the Today Show and further muddied the water, I found myself trying to explain Derby.
The Thrill of Victory
One thousand, one hundred and fifty eight miles. Door to door to door to door to door. Middleburg to Camden to Aiken to Queen’s Cup to Middleburg.
