The 55th running of the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) is Saturday at Saratoga. It is the traditional prep-race for the Travers’ Stakes (G1), which is August 24th this year. The Jim Dandy is a race for 3-year-olds, contested at 1 1/8 miles on the dirt, with a purse of $600,000 dollars. Here is a brief look at the field for this years contest. #1 LAUGHING FOX [ML 12-1] … Continue reading The Jim Dandy Stakes
You will occasionally catch trainers or turf writers referring to a big race as a key race in a horse’s preparation for an upcoming race. This usually means that the race was essential to the trainer’s plan for that horse, a race that meant a lot for the horse’s development. But when you hear handicappers and horse-players using the term key race, they usually mean … Continue reading Key-Race Longshot Angle
The last time the New York Racing Association cancelled a card at Saratoga due to expected excessive heat was thirteen years ago. That streak is over. Saturday’s racing at Saratoga has been cancelled for just that reason. Local forecasters are predicting the heat index will be near or over 100 degrees at times on Saturday, with extremely hot temperatures Friday throughout Sunday. The last time an entire … Continue reading Too Hot. No Handle.
The first four days of the revamped Saratoga Race Course meet have come and gone, and the new president and CEO of the New York Racing Association David O’Rourke seems happy with it. This years meet opened one weekend earlier than in past years. In regard to that O’Rourke said; “We’re not hiding from the fact that this is ‘The August Place to Be,’ but it’s … Continue reading Opening Weekend Numbers
The first Grade 1 Stakes race of the 2019 Saratoga meet is Saturday with the running of the $500,000 Diana Stakes which is contested at a mile and an eighth on the outer turf course. It is named for the mythological goddess Diana, the inaugural race was held in 1939. This years Diana has attracted an elite field of six older fillies and mares, each with … Continue reading The Diana Stakes
When I was 13-14 years of age she thought I was cute. I was giddy with this new (albeit childish) infatuation. From 15-17 I vied hard for her attention, only to be spurned for my lack of knowledge and experience. I vowed to get better. As I grew older and wiser my skills did improve and I thought I had what it took to Win … Continue reading And They’re Off
Unless you are still in a Kentucky Derby (The Most Exciting 22 Minutes in Sports) state of shock, then you are aware that the Saratoga Race Course opens this Thursday July 11th. One of the track’s more familiar monikers is The Graveyard Of Favorites. With that in mind, the Daily Racing Blog offers a quick refresher in finding Value at the track. DRB is always on the … Continue reading The Graveyard Of Favorites
There is no finer setting for thoroughbred racing than historic Saratoga Race Course. It was named one of the world’s top 10 sporting venues of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated. This year’s meet runs from July 11th through Labor Day. Many of the sport’s top owners, trainers, jockeys, and horses, along with hundreds of thousands of zealous and devoted fans will gather in Saratoga Springs … Continue reading Spa Fever
As you are now aware, opening day at Saratoga this year is July 11th. The earliest start in the history of the meet. Pending construction which is slated to begin shortly, about 150 feet from the Belmont Park paddock area may have been a factor in the earlier start to racing at The Spa. So while safety concerns certainly came into play when the New … Continue reading New Spa Schedule
There are certain thoroughbred race horses that always battle back. They dig in down the home stretch, and find a reserve of power that propels them across the wire. The type of animal that continually reminds us of the exhilaration that comes from giving everything, pushing to, and possibly beyond limitation. These beautiful stallions sate our hunger for something that was once perhaps grand and … Continue reading Saratoga Dreaming
