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Editor’s Note: Saratoga Race Course runs the first edition of the Leo O’Brien Stakes Sunday (post time 1:10 p.m. One of the last times someone from The Special interviewed him, he talked about what it was like to gallop champion 2-year-old of 1970 Hoist The Flag. From the Aug. 6, 2019 edition of The Saratoga … Read more
A racing fan, or a guy at the races anyway, approached Todd Pletcher in the upstairs seating area at Aqueduct Racetrack with a pen, a copy of the Daily Racing Form and a question. “Will you sign my Form?” the guy asked. “Sure,” replied Pletcher, who signed his name and handed back the paper. The … Read more
These are the good old days. Someday we’ll look back on this and it will all seem funny. Read those in a singing voice and they sound a little more sensible, or something, because there will come a time where someone will look up Belmont Stakes historical records, and shout across a crowded room, “They … Read more
The house is library quiet in the morning. No lip-smacking. No ear scratching. No head-shaking. No downward-dog stretches or flops from a bed, hers or someone else’s. No rolling around on the floor to unkink her back, rub the sleep out of her eyes and groan like a small bear. No deep inhales and heavy … Read more
Major hurdle races of the mid-to-late 2000s were Revolutionary, Civil, French and Indian and of 1812. Wars. The combatants brought ability, bravery, confidence, dependability, effort, fortitude and guts. Lots of guts. Hall of Famers McDynamo and Good Night Shirt were there. Champions Hirapour, Mixed Up, Slip Away manned posts. Sur La Tete, a champion in … Read more
Originally published in the April 2025 Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred magazine. The interview always resonates. It’s one I recollect with ease and quote regularly – no, not verbatim. I can’t find the notes file, which may have been typed into software that no longer exists – or perhaps scribbled into a notepad. If the computer I wrote … Read more
The homemade ice cream might lure you in, the Medaglia d’Oro filly could catch your eye, but the conversation with ice-cream scooper/equine photographer Louise Reinagel will make you glad you stopped by Northview Stallion Station’s consignment at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga. The Florida resident went to the Maryland farm to photograph Hip 169 for some promotional material … Read more
Somebody wore a Bob Kelly jersey to the Hall of Fame ceremony? Yes, that’s how big a Philadelphia Flyers fan I am – or was in the 1970s. I stepped into the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion Friday morning and saw a guy in the front section, stage right, in what used to be the home white jersey … Read more
Hay nets hang. Fans buzz and blow. Sponges sploosh and splash. Sweat scrapers scrape. Horses head to the track as riders adjust tack. Grooms speak in English and Spanish. Over there, a goat wanders everywhere she’s not supposed to. And one hurt horse points his hip at his webbing and dozes. Sporting a cast/pressure bandage … Read more
When I heard of Christophe Clement’s passing Sunday morning, my immediate thoughts went to his wife Valerie, children Miguel and Charlotte and extended family at the barn and beyond. Then I replayed various moments from my job trying to interview him about horses and his job training horses. He once took me to his “favorite … Read more
