As the Wright Brothers put it, crank up the flying machine. It’s steeplechase time. The 2023 National Steeplechase Association season begins in Aiken, S.C. Saturday with a boutique, six-race card. Thirty-three horses make up the whole lineup, so the entry box doesn’t exactly overflow but that’s business as usual. By May, races will overfill, and … Read more
Spring is here and we couldn’t be more thankful. The first full week of the new season packs a big punch, with the start of the National Steeplechase Association season, Dubai World Cup, Louisiana Derby Day, Jeff Ruby Steaks, New York Claiming Championship and so much more on tap. We’ve got it all and more … Read more
Edited Press Release The New York Racing Association, Inc. announced the stakes schedule for the 2023 summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course, which will include 71 stakes worth $20.8 million in total purses. Highlighted by the 154th renewal of the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers on August 26 and the Grade 1, $1 million … Read more
The Special returns after a brief hiatus. We couldn’t stay away, not with the stellar showdown between Clairiere and Secret Oath at Oaklawn Park and Kentucky Derby points on the line in the Tampa Bay Derby. We preview those two races and more in the primer, along with some old favorites from the pages of … Read more
So you want to be a horse trainer? Andy Simoff spent three months aiming Howgreatisnate for Saturday’s Grade 3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack. The off-season plan made perfect sense after an undefeated, four-start campaign as a 2-year-old at Delaware Park and Parx Racing in 2022. Give his horse a break with some paddock time. … Read more
Few things could rival Andy Simoff’s last visit to the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack, but the trainer will try to find one Saturday as Howgreatisnate runs in the $300,000 Grade 3 stakes for 3-year-olds. It’ll be Simoff’s first Gotham since watching Secretariat capture the 1973 version on the way to a Triple Crown. “That’s … Read more
Nine racehorses, six trainers and one jockey – a group that includes a half dozen appearing for the first time – comprise the National Museum of Racing’s 2023 Hall of Fame ballot. The ballot, as chosen by the Museum’s Hall of Fame Nominating Committee: • Racehorses: Arrogate, Blind Luck, California Chrome, Game On Dude, Havre … Read more
By Joe Clancy and Van Cushny James W. “Woody” Maloney Jr., former steeplechase jockey, safety steward, assistant starter and patrol judge for the National Steeplechase Association, died Feb. 5 in Aiken, S.C. He was 69. An accomplished athlete who enjoyed sports of all kinds, Woody was born into a racing family and was surrounded by … Read more
The countdowns are on in earnest as we rolled past the midpoint of February and enjoyed a slightly concerning stretch of extremely mild weather here in the Northeast. Which countdowns you ask? How about the start of the American steeplechase season, just five weeks from Saturday. What about the Kentucky Derby? That’s only 11 weeks … Read more
The weekend of the big game, as everyone seems either scared or obligated to call it. The Super Bowl comes Sunday but there’s plenty of top racing on the docket to fill the time before the Eagles and Chiefs take the field in Arizona. A couple key preps – two for the Kentucky Derby and … Read more
