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...
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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...
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Six television cameras, lined up in a row like the cannons at Fort Ticonderoga, were pointed at NYRA's communications director John Lee as he began an 11:00 am press gathering in the Saratoga winner's...
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It is time once again for the annual pilgrimage to the mecca of racing that makes me briefly forget all the problems the sport is facing and remember the way it used to be. This year marks my (gulp!) 49th...
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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. The success enjoyed by the 25...
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There is a guy named Don who sits alone in a clubhouse box and charts the odds with each click of the tote board. His is a lost art, as much a throwback as anything else to the bygone days when bookmakers...
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The trusting souls, who didn’t let the threat of inclement weather keep them away from the racetrack, were treated to a grand day of Thoroughbred sport. This does not mean that the competition was spectacular...
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There’s been an uptick in sales of ear plugs at the CVS drug store. The yearlings have returned to the Fasig-Tipton grounds on Madison and East, and sleep-deprived residents of nearby Fifth Avenue are...
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By Vic Zast Finally, the breakfast brigade had a morning on which it could enjoy bacon and eggs railside. The day was crisp in the manner required for those photos on postcards of horses emerging from...
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By Vic Zast Inclement weather is wreaking havoc with Saratoga. Yesterday, two men in tights from the New York City Ballet called off their trophy presentation to the winners of the third race because the...
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