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One of my favorites for this year's Derby was Anak Nakal (pedigree) -- and four months later, he proved to be Derby-quality. Well... Pennsylvania Derby (gr. II), anyway.  (Pennsylvania Derby write-up.) I wrote briefly about Anak Nakal a couple of times (here and here) before this year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I).  ...

  Let me first start by acknowledging that Peppers Pride is a remarkable horse. To win 16 races consecutively, no matter whether running against New Mexico-breds, stakes horses or claimers, is not to be taken lightly. She and her connections should be celebrated for their accomplishments and if they go on to win one more and break the mark ...

The emphasis was on good racing again, the day after the circus left town.  Oh, sure, the NYRA marketing team trotted out a nifty cooler tote giveaway to inflate the attendance numbers.  But people who love the sport were treated to one of racing secretary P.J. Campo’s better cards – this, with only one day left on the Saratoga docket. ...

Saratoga officials didn’t set an attendance goal for Saturday’s invasion by Curlin.  But a projected crowd of 30,000 was bandied about in many corners, and 30,000 must have been the number intended.Well, only 22,572 people showed up.  The shortfall was not NYRA’s fault.  The track’s marketing team pulled out all stops.  If John ...

The police blotter in the newspaper is what all the guests at Carmel Grey’s 75th birthday party were talking about when Grey, a visitor from Indianland, South Carolina, returned from the racetrack to her son Ken’s house for the surprise event, held earlier this closing week.Granted, to delight in somebody else’s troubles may be a little twisted. ...

Hidden Brook is consigning 173 Adena Springs horses to the Keeneland September yearling sale. The huge consignment is one of the results of Adena Springs owner Frank Stronach's decision to cancel  his sale of 2-year-olds in training in Florida for 2009 and concentrate instead on selling the young horses he breeds as ...

On a day when the world loudly celebrates a couple of all-American political campaigns -- the Obama/Biden ticket is now official and McCain/Palin is today's big news -- I thought it would be fun to look at an aptly-named Thoroughbred whose influence on the breed is growing every year. Quiet American (SRO) is of course the sire of 1998 Triple ...

If you’ve ever wondered how much one of those big plastic bags stuffed with empty beer cans is worth, the answer is $25.  The “goat patrol” provides a public service for NYRA, scavenging the grandstand and picnic grounds, picking up the precious metal throughout the race day and afterward.  Then with the bags full of empties over their ...

  With so many divisions seemingly wide-open for the Breeders' Cup, there was at least one that we thought we had a pretty good grasp on. The Sprint. Not anymore. In the last seven days the Sprint went from being a division with two clear-cut favorites, to one with more questions than perhaps any other division. First, defending champ ...

The USS Saratoga ball cap that Tom Capstraw wore on Wednesday was not a tricked-up accessory to his NYRA-issued red vest, white shirt and black bow tie.  It was “Proud to be an American” day at the track, and Capstraw, an usher in Section J who served 17 months on the aircraft carrier and four years in the Navy before 25 years as a postal ...