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Sword Dancer contender Point of Entry at Saratoga (Photos: C. Novak) SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - I stopped by Shug McGaughey's barn at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 11 not to visit Point of Entry, but to take pictures of our old friend Hymn Book, the Donn Handicap (gr. I) winner and subject of my first Novak at the Track blog. Hymn Book's stall is a ...

NYRA scheduled the best horses to race Wednesday in the fifth race instead of the ninth or the tenth. If by next summer the $100,000 Troy isn’t a graded stakes, there is something amiss with the way the American Graded Stakes Committee reads a Daily Racing Form.  Arguably, three of the sport’s most accomplished turf sprinters ran in the 5 1/2 ...

Charlie Lopresti, trainer of Wise Dan, is starting to toss the words Horse of the Year around and it’s obvious after his horse’s impressive score in the Fourstardave that he has his sights set on racing’s most esteemed annual award.Lopresti has the luxury of running Wise Dan just about anywhere he desires, knowing the son of Wiseman’s Ferry can ...

There have been 22 days of horse racing in Saratoga this summer─two fewer than the 24 mandated by the Harriman Law in 1962 that gave permanency to an exclusive season and 18 shy of the 40 that’ll be run before the leaves turn.   A new round of night life has ushered in the meet’s second half, replacing such tonier musings as black-tie ...

Alabama contender Grace Hall with trainer Tony Dutrow in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (C. Novak)SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Grace Hall rolled off the horse van Aug. 13 and headed out to graze on the backside of Saratoga Race Course with trainer Tony Dutrow keeping a capable hand on the shank. The bay filly who won the Spinaway Stakes (gr. I) here in 2011 ...

(Originally published in the August 18, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)  By Eric Mitchell - @BH_EMitchell on Twitter Amidst all the celebration of The Jockey Club’s recent marketing efforts and increased TV exposure for Thoroughbred ...

(Originally published in the August 18, 2012 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.) Breeder Diane ''Dede'' Snowden attended the Aug. 6-7 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale with one specific purpose: to watch her flashy Empire Maker colt bring big money. Snowden, ...

By Michele MacDonald      If there was a Horse of the World title, Fantastic Light would have earned it twice.      Few racehorses over the span of history have come close to accomplishing what he did during the five years of his racing career. He competed in seven countries and won group/grade I races in ...

In the last several years before he retired from serving as emcee of the Daily Racing Form’s morning handicapping show at Siro’s, Harvey Pack used to retry old gems on pet topics. Regarding The Jockey Club Round Table, Pack would say it’s the same old guys promising change and never delivering it.  Pack’s hackneyed comment might not be true ...

Three of Saratoga’s best five hot dogs are found on or near the racecourse grounds.  The other two are only a short drive away – one to the west of the racecourse at the end of Nelson Avenue and the other in the opposite direction where East Avenue turns into Excelsior. PJ’s Barbecue, now called Bar-B-QSA, abandoned most things Buffalo, N.Y. ...