Archive for 2006

Eva Wilson was a short stocky lady, who drove a huge Studebaker and always wore black. She frequented Santa Anita and Hollywood Park and eschewed Del Mar, as “that track Bing built in the sticks.” A cross between Aunt Bea and Pittsburgh Phil, she was a win bettor. “You can beat a race, but you can’t beat the races”…

Hall of Fame trainers are ordinarily single-minded. They talk horses morning, noon and night. The few hours of sleep they get each evening is punctuated with dreams of winning races and nightmares of bad rides…

Here’s a little Breeders’ Cup follow-up from this observer…

As much as I love summer, the fall brings football, the World Series, hockey and the Breeders’ Cup. Here are my notes on this year’s races…

It was the last race on a typical Wednesday afternoon card at Santa Anita – the track that has become known as “The Great Race Place.” The six and one-half furlong event, on the downhill turf course seemed to be an ordinary maiden race, but for this fan, it was a dream come true…

Racing aficionados will also have to come to grips with new words, Polytrack and Cushion Track. The talent at TVG has already embraced the use of the new words and their shortened forms – Poly and Cushion – when referring to workouts and races, so it is imperative that you know what they are talking about…

The NTRA’s clever “Who do you like today?” ads feature a cute little girl who says, “I like 11-year-olds.” It is the perfect blending of innocent puppy-love and handicapping fact, delivered by someone who, “oughtta be in pictures”, as my late friend Joshua Shelley would say…

The Green Monkey is safely bedded down in the stable of Todd Pletcher at Saratoga. His $16 million price tag made even the hardest of boots take notice…

Summer sale time is rapidly approaching. The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Selected Yearling Sale, Saratoga Selected Yearling Sale and the granddaddy of them all, the Keeneland September Yearling Sale – a true barometer guaging the state of horseracing – will all be taking place in the next three months…

By reading the British fashion press, one learns that gloves, like cars, should be black or white. In England, it is required that you get your gear on right…