Saturdays feature event at Saratoga is the 142nd running of the Alabama Stakes. The prestigious stakes race for 3-year-old fillies is one of the oldest races for females in the United States, with its first edition taking place in 1872 in a race Won by WOODBINE, a horse owned by August Belmont. The race itself was not precisely named in honor of the great state of Alabama; rather, it was … Continue reading The Alabama Stakes
Just like the horse for which it’s named, the Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga has come a long way since its inaugural running in 1985. From 1987 to 1994, the New York-bred gelding FOURSTARDAVE Won at least one race at Saratoga yearly, including the 1988 Albany Handicap, the 1989 and 1991 West Point Handicaps, and consecutive editions of the Daryl’s Joy in 1990 and 1991. Trained by Leo … Continue reading The Fourstardave
Given the immense talent and extraordinary depth of the star-studded jockey colony competing at Saratoga this year, an interesting question arises. Where does this group rank among the greatest of all time? The talent begins with Irad Ortiz Jr. but hardly ends there. Ortiz swept three consecutive Eclipse Awards as North America’s leading rider from 2018 to 2020, a stretch matched only by Jerry Bailey, … Continue reading The World’s Best Riders
Wednesday marks the beginning of the third week of racing at Saratoga Race Course, and the second visit to the Spa for the Daily Racing Blog. It is day 15 of a season of 40 racing cards, at a track where top horses, trainers, and jockeys congregate, for some of the best racing action all year long. Saratoga is universally considered one of the premier … Continue reading Some Saratoga Horse Sense
This Saturday the Saratoga Race Course will host the 94th running of the Whitney Stakes. The Daily Racing Blog would be remiss if we didn’t talk about the Queen of Saratoga– Marylou Whitney, who passed away July 19th of 2019, at the age of 93. For seven decades, Mrs. Whitney was among the most successful owners in thoroughbred racing. In 1958 she married Cornelius Vanderbilt “Sonny” Whitney, one of the founders of the National Museum of … Continue reading The Whitney…Marylou
The 2022 season racing season at Saratoga is two weeks old. The Daily Racing Blog would love to report that it’s kicking ass and taking names, but no horse player at this stage of the meet is drinking anyone’s milkshake. It is the nature of the beast here at America’s track. There are certain thoroughbred race horses (regardless of their odds) that always battle back. … Continue reading The Summer Place To Be
Saturday is the 58th running of the Jimmy Dandy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. This race originated in 1964, and is for horses three years-old and up. It is raced at a mile and an eighth, on dirt, and classified as a Grade 2 Stakes race with a purse of $600,000 dollars. The track record for this race dates back to 1996 when LOUIS QUATORZE (that years … Continue reading The Jim Dandy Stakes
When temperatures start rising above 90 degrees (as they did this past weekend), spectators at Saratoga Race Course grow concerned about the horses. The Daily Racing Blog and staff were in attendance at The Spa over the weekend and can attest to the fact that it was more hot springs than spa. The New York Racing Association (NYRA) said it closely follows New York State’s … Continue reading Horses & The Heat
The $500,000 dollar, Grade 1 Diana Stakes on Saturday is the first major race of the summer season at historic Saratoga Race Course. Though drawing only a field of six, there is no lack of class or competitiveness among the group which has a combined 31 Wins in 73 career starts on grass and over $3 million dollars in earnings. Here Are Three Of The Top contenders: #3 … Continue reading The Diana Stakes
There is simply nothing like opening day at Saratoga Race Course. No other occasion is so filled with color and hope, ambition and chance, all of it reflected in the high shine of horses’ coats and the gemlike gleam of the silks. No place so perfectly combines aesthetic splendor with the fine-tuned equine athletes. The iconic clubhouse roofline and infield gazebo lend a timeless air of … Continue reading Let The Spa Begin
