Preakness Memories: Miracle Wood and gifts that keep on giving

The Daily Racing Form’s Jay Hovdey has called the 1986 Preakness “the gift that kept on giving.” Four of the runners that day went on to stellar careers in the handicap division.  They combined to win more than a dozen graded events after the Triple Crown series and earn over $11 million. And then there …

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Race o’ the Day: Pimlico 7

Just three more racing days in the Pimlico 2012 meet, and two of them are going to be stuffed with stakes races.  That makes today’s card the last “normal” card of the meet, and we’ll turn our attention (and surprising run of good fortune) to race 7. It’s a $30,000, grass claimer for fillies and …

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Bartholt Clagett Princeton Graduation June 1, 2010

Preakness Memories: Sasscer Hill

Sasscer Hill is a racing fan from way back when who these days is better known as the author of two popular racing-focused mystery novels.  Her first, the Agatha-nominated Full Mortality, introduces readers to exercise rider and aspiring sometime jockey Nikki Latrelle, who finds danger and mystery in and around Laurel Park.  Nikki returns in …

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Monday Movie: Ghosts of Preakness Past

For today’s Monday Movie, filmmaker Jeff Krulik has mined the archives — the National Archives, that is.  He’s found Preakness clips from the Universal Newsreel collection during the last decade those newsreels were produced. Among the famed winners in this nine-minute reel are the great Northern Dancer (’64); Maryland-bred Kauai King (’66); Greek Money (’62), …

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09-18-10attempreentry

Race o’ the Day: Pimlico 3

It wasn’t much of an exacta in yesterday’s Race o’ — 18 bucks and change — but we’ll take it all the same.  And then we’ll set ourselves up for failure by confronting today’s third from Pimlico. It’s a $16,000 maiden claimer for three and up going six furlongs on the main track.  There’s a …

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Preakness Memories: Miracle Wood and gifts that keep on givingRace o’ the Day: Pimlico 7Preakness Memories: Sasscer HillMonday Movie: Ghosts of Preakness PastRace o’ the Day: Pimlico 3

May 17 2012

Preakness Memories: Miracle Wood and gifts that keep on giving

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Ferris Allen, MD-features, Preakness

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The Daily Racing Form’s Jay Hovdey has called the 1986 Preakness “the gift that kept on giving.”

Four of the runners that day went on to stellar careers in the handicap division.  They combined to win more than a dozen graded events after the Triple Crown series and earn over $11 million.

And then there was local hope Miracle Wood, who finished fifth in the middle jewel.

Or, more precisely, there is Miracle Wood, who at 29 is living out his lazy days on a Virginia farm.  Miracle Wood is a gift that’s kept on giving, too.  He gave Ferris Allen, who trained the horse for his father Bert, his one Preakness starter to date and vivid proof that in horse racing, lightning strikes. Read the rest of this entry »

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May 17 2012

Race o’ the Day: Pimlico 7

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Race of the Day

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Just three more racing days in the Pimlico 2012 meet, and two of them are going to be stuffed with stakes races.  That makes today’s card the last “normal” card of the meet, and we’ll turn our attention (and surprising run of good fortune) to race 7.

It’s a $30,000, grass claimer for fillies and mares.  It’s open to three year-olds and to older horses that have never won three races, and it’s going five furlongs.  In races like this, I usually give preference to three year-olds that have won more than the requisite number of races and also to horses that have already won one allowance race. Read the rest of this entry »

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May 15 2012

Preakness Memories: Sasscer Hill

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MD-features, Preakness, Sasscer Hill

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Sasscer Hill is a racing fan from way back when who these days is better known as the author of two popular racing-focused mystery novels.  Her first, the Agatha-nominated Full Mortality, introduces readers to exercise rider and aspiring sometime jockey Nikki Latrelle, who finds danger and mystery in and around Laurel Park.  Nikki returns in Racing From Death, which the Baltimore Sun called “a page turner… a wild ride.”  In the new novel, Latrelle travels from Laurel to Colonial Downs and finds that jockeys are dying mysteriously from a designer diet drug.  More than a racing fan, Sasscer has been as hands-on as one can be in racing: she has bred, foaled, broken, and helped to train a number of horses on her family’s farm near Washington, DC.  Learn more at her blog, here.

Q. Preakness week is upon us.  As an owner/breeder and fan, what are your memories of it?

It’s a wild week because of all the big horses in town and all of the media hype and attention.  There’s a wild buzz at Pimlico that week.  We won a race there at Pimlico one Preakness week, and, honestly, we felt a little bit important.   There’s a bigger crowd than usual.  All of the good horses are over on the front side, in the stakes barn.  When you walk the horses over from the backside for a race, you really pick up the buzz. Read the rest of this entry »

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May 14 2012

Monday Movie: Ghosts of Preakness Past

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Jeff Krulik, MD-features

by admin

For today’s Monday Movie, filmmaker Jeff Krulik has mined the archives — the National Archives, that is.  He’s found Preakness clips from the Universal Newsreel collection during the last decade those newsreels were produced.

Among the famed winners in this nine-minute reel are the great Northern Dancer (’64); Maryland-bred Kauai King (’66); Greek Money (’62), winner of one of the roughest and most controversial runnings; and Damascus (’67).

Enjoy the film, and as they say locally, Happy Preakness!

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May 13 2012

Race o’ the Day: Pimlico 3

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Race of the Day

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It wasn’t much of an exacta in yesterday’s Race o’ — 18 bucks and change — but we’ll take it all the same.  And then we’ll set ourselves up for failure by confronting today’s third from Pimlico.

It’s a $16,000 maiden claimer for three and up going six furlongs on the main track.  There’s a field of eight ready to contest it, and four of them have morning lines between 5-2 and 4-1.  In post position (and program) order: Read the rest of this entry »

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May 12 2012

Race o’ the Day: Pimlico 9

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Race of the Day

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No stake at Old Hilltop today — but don’t worry, there’ll be plenty next Friday and Saturday, as Preakness weekend is nearly upon us.

We’ll turn today — after we snapped our epic streak of atrocious Race o’ picks with yesterday’s triple, huzzah — to the putative feature, which is the ninth.  It’s a screwball allowance condition that’s meant to do one thing and has done both that and something else entirely. Read the rest of this entry »

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May 11 2012

Pic of the Week: I’ll Have Another

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MD-features

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I'll Have Another looks right at home as he gallops at Old Hilltop on Friday morning, May 11. Photo by Jerry Dzierwinski, Maryland Jockey Club. Click to see large size.

 

 

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