Opinion

Robert Fulghum wrote “All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten” in 1986. A classic international bestseller, it has sold more than 7 million copies. Remember Fulghum’s words of wisdom?

Share everything, play fair, don’t hit people…

Racing is a team game. Whether it’s on the racetrack or in our offices here at 112 Spring Street, where we will put out 31 more issues before the Saratoga meet wraps for another season. 

Every year at Saratoga, I see Steve Jordan and the former trainer looks me in the eye and waits.

“He’s doing great,” I say.

Jordan smiles. Relief and amazement, like everything is right in the world again.

This year, I can’t tell him that.

“He’s gone, Steve.”

We are back in business. Our allies rallied. Thank you. That’s the last we’ll write about it. Hopefully. Now we can write about Saratoga – about the victories, the defeats, the track, the town, the horses, the characters, the moments.

OK, breathe. 

As usual, I spent the first two days of the meet hassling through any number of issues including – but by no means limited to – computer networks, the Internet, advertisements, articles, photography, housing, office space, bicycles, paper racks, paper boxes, a new printer. 

Really? It has to come to this. Talking to lawyers instead of trainers the day before the meet? Rallying allies instead of rallying quotes? Fielding calls about audacity, instead of brilliance.

After 13 years of making a newspaper work, without any investors, without anything but work ethic, skill and a love of the game. After 13 years of late nights and early mornings. After all the issues, all the problems, all the snafus and all the politics (remember Getnick & Getnick, Empire Racing, Friends of New York Racing…?).

Quiet morning on the farm. Miles asleep. Sun coming up. Coffee brewed. Just brought in Situational Ethics (remember him?), he was on the New York circuit for two years, now he’s on the turn-out circuit. Lives out each night. The first night you could hear him in the dark, hooves tapping the ground, whinnying for … Read more

Jamie Osborne has brought Toast Of New York to Belmont Park for Saturday’s Belmont Derby Invitational. Winner of the UAE Derby in March, the 3-year-old son of Thewayyouare returns to the turf for the first time since his debut last August. Since finishing fifth that day, he’s won three of four over synthetic surfaces, including … Read more

The name of the race made me think. Some Twitter chatter made me look. Yes I was there for the career debut of Oh Say, for whom Saturday’s $50,000 Oh Say Stakes at Delaware Park is named.

Six months and three days into the year and where do we stand? To answer that question we need to sift through what’s dominated the news cycles in the world of Thoroughbred racing in 2014.