The Inside Rail

Miles turned 13 Friday. If you ever need to be reminded that time flies, have a child.  Working on a feature about Graham Watters for Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred, I have the lede and the end, nothing in between (but don’t tell Joe).  Two horses training off the farm, spring will be here soon.  The satellite dish, … Read more

A text from a Tweet. A news alert. The kind you don’t want. Medina Spirit suffered a sudden death after working five furlongs… I texted, ‘Wow’ in response. That’s it. The worst wow.  We were just finishing from training Lemonade Thursday and Saranac on a brisk December morning when my phone vibrated, I read it, … Read more

Sometimes you stumble upon the written word that stops the stumble, stops you in your tracks, stops your day. Somehow I found Tania Kindersley’s blog today. Perhaps, through my friend George Baker (the trainer). It’s a long read but worth it. Enjoy.  https://taniakindersley.com/2021/11/30/when-the-lights-went-out/ For more from The Inside Rail, check out the blog’s main page.  

Twenty seven degrees out there. Out there, meaning, out at the barn. I’m on the couch, thinking about the barn. This is partially why I was never going to train horses, I’d rather be on the couch – coffee and computer. We pushed starting time from 6:00 to 6:30. Winter hours. Dreaming about the Iroquois … Read more

Wow, what a finale at Charleston. Drama to the end. All centered around championship races. Jockeys Graham Watters and Tom Garner and trainers Jack Fisher and Leslie Young.  “We were joking about at the start of the fall that it was going to go to the last day,” Watters said. “We didn’t think it would … Read more

The last day of the season. Always bittersweet. Always welcomed. Always dreaded. The great passage of time. The closure. Jockeys and trainers will breathe a big sigh of relief, back at the barn, in the jocks’ room, at breakfast Sunday morning, on the long drive home. The Charleston Steeplechase concludes another rollicking season of steeplechasing. … Read more

I’m in the middle of a writing a story about Jeff Runco’s seven-stakes haul at Charles Town a few weeks ago. I asked the Charles Town-based trainer when it hit him.  “It was a busy night,” Runco said. “We didn’t really take it all in for a day. We checked the horses the next day … Read more

The second at Auteuil just ran, juvenile hurdlers jumping bullfinches and water jumps… Eleven stayers line up for the second at Aintree, I like Act Of God… A novice hurdle at Wincanton comes up next, I wonder if Richard Hutchinson is there… I’ve got a 10:30 departure scheduled for Montpelier. Annie and Miles were booked … Read more

Continuing the much-needed conversation about mental health and jockeys, we featured Nathan Horrocks on HRRN last Saturday. A former jump jockey, Horrocks wrote and directed The Fall, a riveting short film at the jockey’s life.  Listen to the whole conversation on In The Room.  Horrocks wrote the movie, partly because of the loss of James … Read more

Juggling three sales while the house is being renovated. I’ve worked in some tricky spots, but this might be the all-time best/worst. Senor Seville stepped up in his hurdle debut for Riverdee, Danielle Hodsdon and Ross Geraghty at International Gold Cup Saturday. Three former champion jockeys team up to win a race. Wonder if that’s … Read more