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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. ...

It hit me between 2:30 and 3 in the morning. Having fallen asleep on the couch as usual, I awoke to a mellifluous voice flowing from the TV. The voice spoke of horses and racing, and after a few seconds of unscrambling my brain, I remembered that I had been watching one of my favorite racing shows, “Against the Odds,” on HRTV and must have dozed ...

As has been customary the last several seasons, a standing room only audience gathered in Fasig-Tipton’s Humphrey S. Finney pavilion for the Hall of Fall induction ceremony on Friday morning.  Sam the Bugler, wearing an outfit that was not what you’d expect─his red coachman’s coat and top hat─but a black polo shirt with the uneven tails ...

One of the meet’s best innovations has been having jockeys sign autographs and pose for photos on Thursday mornings at breakfast on the Clubhouse Porch. Considering the good that the program serves all people involved, you would hope that NYRA could figure out how to get it in an extra day or two a week. “We’ll do even better when more ...