Let’s get back to work. After more than three months of jump racing at Saratoga, Colonial Downs and Aqueduct, the schedule turns to its more traditional stops with a full schedule of autumn race meets through Nov. 13. The action starts Saturday at Shawan Downs outside Baltimore, where eight races fill the card. The horses … Read more
As hard as it is to believe we’re almost two weeks removed from the end of the 2022 Saratoga meet, that’s where we find ourselves just past the halfway point of September. Kentucky Downs and Colonial Downs wrapped up, too, and racing made the shift to Aqueduct for the Belmont at the Big A meet, … Read more
Retired trainer Peter Howe, one of just four people to train an American champion over jumps and on the flat, and the father of Colonial Downs vice president of racing Jill Byrne, died Thursday night in Charlottesville, Va. He was 83. Howe was born in Hartford, Conn., and became an accomplished rider of show horses … Read more
Of all the things to come out of a night on Caroline Street in Saratoga, Noah And The Ark might be one of the most unlikely – and now most successful – after Thursday’s Grade 1 upset in the Lonesome Glory Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack. English jump jockey Harrison Beswick takes an annual holiday with … Read more
When you run off and win a Saratoga Grade 1 by 13 1/4 lengths – geared down – while carrying 164 pounds, there isn’t much to do afterward but bask in the performance and get ready to do it again. And that sounds like the formula for steeplechaser Snap Decision, who blitzed six foes in … Read more
Jump racing goes to the big city. For the first time in 48 years, New York’s Aqueduct Racetrack hosts a steeplechase race – two actually – as construction at Belmont Park shifted NYRA’s fall racing dates a few miles southeast to the Big A. Thursday is Opening Day and, as happened at Belmont, steeplechasers will … Read more
It all comes down to this. Closing Day at Saratoga Race Course. There’s rain and a chill in the air, along with champagne on ice for the soon-to-be (again) leading handicapper at The Saratoga Special, John Shapazian. He takes a big lead into Day 40, and it would take a complete collapse and total miracle … Read more
Two days remain in the 2022 Saratoga Race Course meeting and a 12-race card topped by the Grade 1 Spinaway awaits horseplayers. What looks like a competitive field of 10 entered the 7-furlong Spinaway, including Schuylerville winner Just Cindy, Adirondack winner Naughty Gal, Wonder Wheel, Kaling and American Rockette. The race for leading handicapper isn’t … Read more
That’s that. The final edition of 2022 includes Saturday previews – Jockey Club Gold Cup, Flower Bowl, etc., the Bill Mott Stable Tour (DO NOT MISS IT), recaps from Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. How about that Thin White Duke? Amazing finish in the 5 1/2 furlong Lucky Coin Stakes. Open it up, start scrolling and enjoy … Read more
The final week of the 2022 Saratoga meeting rolls along Friday with a 10-race card topped by a pair of stakes – the $150,000 Lucky Coin for older sprinters on the grass and Grade 2 Prioress for 3-year-old fillies at 6 furlongs. We set the stage with the picks from The Saratoga Special handicappers below, … Read more
