After many years in the same profession, it is not uncommon to feel the need for a new and greater challenge. Charlie Hayward fit that bill, so in November 2004, following a lengthy career in publishing, Hayward was named the president and CEO of the New York Racing Association.

The single most significant number relative to a racetrack's business is handle. Pure and simple. It not only fuels the second-most-important number--purses--but is clearly reflective of the acceptance of a track's racing product by the wagering public.

Just three months after it was announced he was being pensioned, Storm Cat was represented by the top price Aug. 5 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale. How fitting.

At the tender age of 85, after nearly three decades in the business of owning and running horses, Harry Aleo finally felt the love of the racing gods.