After much anticipation, it’s time for horse racing fans to celebrate a small Victory. On Wednesday, April 14, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that a limited number of spectators will be allowed at horse races starting Thursday, April 22nd. This, of course, includes both Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park. The New York Racing Association (NYRA) is looking forward to welcoming back the … Continue reading Toga, Toga, Toga !
Attention Saratoga racing fans – the New York Racing Association (NYRA) has just released more details regarding the upcoming 2021 summer meet at Saratoga Race Course. The 40-day Saratoga season will feature 76 Stakes Races worth $21.5 million dollars in total purses. Last month, NYRA announced that the 2021 summer meet at Saratoga will begin on Thursday, July 15th, and conclude on Monday, September 6th. … Continue reading Saratoga Dreaming
The Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup, for the past 70 years, have been proving grounds for a long list of Thoroughbred racing’s greatest Champions. Some horses, though, transcend the sport’s most famous stages. Horses like KELSO. KELSO never ran in a Triple Crown race and his legendary career ended some 18 years before the Breeders’ Cup even began. Yet in eight years of racing, … Continue reading The Amazing KELSO
On Saturday, (as most of you are aware) the fifth running of the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series was held at Gulfstream Park in South Florida. The Stronach Group which operates Gulfstream, transformed the course and grounds into a socially distant entertainment experience, welcoming 1,500 fans (15% of typical Pegasus World Cup capacity) to the race track for the first time since the outset … Continue reading A Successful And Safe Pegasus
Thoroughbred horse racing saw a quarter of its race days eliminated in 2020 because of precautions and restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. Ever-resilient bettors, however, supported the available product as best they could. While thoroughbred owners saw a decline in purses that mirrored the loss of race days. In this difficult year, racing business fared well compared with other sports, … Continue reading Handle It
Last week we looked at some Winning attitudes attributed to successful horseplayers. Seeing as how it’s the resolution time of year, today’s topic is bad habits (at the track), and how to overcome them. We all have them, from novices to the railbirds. Some bad (track) habits are worse than others. The good news is that you can break a habit, but first you need to identify … Continue reading Break The Bad Habits
2020, as we at DRB so commonly referred to as a dumpster-fire, was a challenging year on so many levels. But the successful completion of the racing season did bring some consolation with a number of feel-good stories. Here are just a few: Aftercare Aid. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance announced in late November that it had awarded $3.5 million dollars in grants to 81 Thoroughbred … Continue reading 2020 Wasn’t ALL bad
Nick Zito grew up near Aqueduct Racetrack. His father would take him to the track as a young lad. But back in the day there were age restrictions on admission to the track. So the elder Zito would leave young Nicholas with a friend of his, who just happened to be a security guard at the Big A. It was there and then that Zito … Continue reading A Classic New York Bred
The New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced Friday that America’s Day at the Races will broadcast its final edition of 2020 with coverage and analysis of Saturday’s Grade 1, $250,000 dollar Cigar Mile at Aqueduct Racetrack. Presented by America’s Best Racing and Claiborne Farms, America’s Day at the Races will air Saturday from 1-4:30 p.m. on MSG+ and 3:30-4:30 p.m. on FS2. The Cigar Mile … Continue reading TV Coverage Wrapping Up For The Year
As teenagers, some youngsters tend to think the world is theirs for the taking. Not so for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Mr. Mott did not dream big as a youth. “I was 18 years old and hauling horses around in a two-horse trailer to the bush tracks,” recalled the native of Mobridge, South Dakota. “I never imagined training for anybody else other than … Continue reading Mr. Bill Mott
