If you claim enough horses — and in this case, “enough” is probably equivalent to, say, three — you’ll have good ones and bad. There’s no way to control for all the variables in the claiming business.
It’s safe to say, though, that you could claim a lifetime’s worth of horses without finding another Lava [...]
Our fellow blogger Teresa, over at Brooklyn Backstretch, suggested (here) a few weeks ago that she and I are, as she put it, “separated-at-birth siblings.”
At the time, I poopooed the idea as a suggestion that would come as news to our mothers. Now, I’m beginning to think that she was right all along. [...]
The idea of a commissioner (or, in some circles, czar) of racing has gained major traction in recent months among many who bemoan racing’s myriad problems.
Indeed, it’s become somewhat of a holy grail, a catch-all solution for everything that anyone perceives to be ailing the sport. Horse breakdowns, drug rules, too many tracks racing [...]
One of the best steps that racing could take to improve the health and well-being of the largest number of horses is to raise purses, not for better horses but for worse ones: claiming horses, particularly bottom-level claimers. If need be — and it certainly would need to be — the money ought to [...]
A thoroughbred barn just before the races begin is like a locker room before game time.
The rituals of preparation are in full swing. One horse is walking the shedrow, getting the blood flowing, the legs stretched. Others are pawing at the ground, stamping their feet, throwing their heads around. It’s showtime, and [...]
Tomorrow begins what is my favorite part of the national racing calendar. Del Mar opens, Saratoga can’t be far off, and that means that summer is upon us at last.
Last year marked my first-ever trip to Del Mar, and time and distance will conspire to prevent that from becoming the annual ritual I’d wish it [...]
Jess Jackson has a bit of a conundrum on his hands. It’s a good problem to have, but a challenging one nonetheless.
Curlin’s second-place finish in yesterday’s G1 Man O’ War at Belmont Park left Jackson with plenty of arguments both for continuing on turf and for switching back to dirt. Curlin, of course, [...]
It’s somehow typical of horse racing — the sport characterized by decentralization, not to say disarray — that, after years of fans suffering in silence, there are suddenly not one but two groups aiming to give voice to the long-suffering fan and punter.
Our pal Dana, who is “Green but Game,” along with Jessica the Railbird, [...]
In recent months, much has been made about the cruelty — or at least, callousness — of horse racing.
The court of public opinion, seemingly, has decided: horsemen, trainers in particular, are bad guys. They drug their horses. They drive them to perform when they are unable. They shoot them full of steroids. [...]
I don’t blog much about betting, and there’s a simple reason for that: I don’t bet very often, or very much.
It’s certainly not a moral stance; indeed, I got into racing as an owner specifically through my love of handicapping.
But it seems the more time I spend with racing, the less I spend with betting. [...]
