Opinion

The yard and gardens outside the home office window here at ST Publishing (North division) are filled with leaves.

Hard to pack for this one. England for three days of the Tattersalls Horses in Training Sale and California for two days of the Breeders’ Cup. They say it’s raining in England. Shocker, I know. They say it’s sunny in California, yes, another shocker. I did this last year, too. Wish somebody would add another … Read more

“How was your weekend?” Simple question, a throwaway line from Tom at the Dodge dealership Monday morning. The farm truck needed its 30,000 mile service, I was just dropping it off, handing the keys over the counter and getting out of there. Did Tom really want to know about my weekend? Used to patrons coming … Read more

Plenty’s changed in the six months that have passed since we packed up the rented moving van, pulled out of the driveway on the south side of town, pointed north and put Lexington in our rear-view mirrors.

The variables. The variables. The variables. Earlier in the week, there was a chance seven of the eight horses in Riverdee Stable could run in the next nine days. Then the variables… We entered Eagle Poise in the Sycamore at Keeneland today. It’s rained, turf has been downgraded to yielding, we don’t want to run … Read more

“Joe, you’ll have to jump in the back. This briefcase, I have to prop it open with a piece of wood and keep it balanced just so.”

The briefcase sat on the front seat of trainer Jonathan Sheppard’s Audi wagon Monday morning at Fair Hill. Sheppard was headed from the barn to the track to watch a set of workers. I was tagging along, trying to get some information for an article. And there was no room in the front, not without moving/disturbing that briefcase.

So I jumped in the back.

Skateboarders. Addicts. Needle Park. Woodstock. The Beatles. Minelli. Streisand. Eastwood. Astronauts. Motor cycles. Freedom riders. Tears. Laughs. Butkus. Nicklaus. Norton. Raquel. Mud and blood. Red barn in the sun. White barn in the snow. Bobby Kennedy campaigning. Bobby Kennedy dying. Bill Eppridge. Photographer. 1938-2013. Eppridge made you walk out of the house with your camera … Read more

Perusing the Goffs and Tattersalls Yearling catalogues and scanning the pedigree pages of some of the best yearlings in the world, starting on the left and reading right, one generation, two generations, three generations. The farther to the right you read, the more “(USA)” tags show up, deep in the pedigrees, the game-changers emerge. As … Read more

I’ve written from everywhere. Sad places. Dark places. Strange places. Full press boxes, empty press boxes. Loud offices, quiet offices. With lots to say, nothing to say. Before funerals, after weddings. Planes, trains, automobiles. Today, I write from tennis practice. Miles, 4, and friends. Dad, 43, and friends. I’m the only dad here. That happens … Read more