The 100th running of the Grade 2, $750,000 dollar Wood Memorial is this Saturday at Aqueduct Park. Having begun in 1925, the Wood Memorial has long been an important proving ground for Kentucky Derby contenders. Originally contested at a mile and 70 yards (and later 1 1/16 miles) at Jamaica Race Course, the Wood Memorial is named in memory of the late Eugene D. Wood, … Continue reading Don’t Knock The Wood
There is at least one racing term that immediately inspires respect, and admiration from people in the racing industry and from those with little knowledge of the sport – the Triple Crown. The difficulty of capturing the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, at three distances, on three tracks, all in the span of five weeks is not hyperbole. The task is such a tall … Continue reading The Triple Crown 70’s
Last year was the 50th anniversary of SECRETARIAT Winning the Triple Crown. Big Red was moving like a tremendous machine that afternoon at Belmont Park, his Winning margin a whopping 31 lengths. So, with the Belmont Stakes being held at Saratoga this year it’s fitting to recall when the superstar horse came to The Spa in the summer of 1973. SECRETARIAT arrived in town the … Continue reading Secretariat Heartburn At The Spa
Jason Kelce is a former NFL star, and will work for the world leader of ignorance in sports- ESPN next season analyzing professional football. Football, it would seem, is something Kelce can speak about semi-intelligently given that he played the game. Kelce also is a co-host of a podcast with Taylor Swift’s boyfriend. And even though ESPN has a long-storied history of hiring ex-athletes that don’t … Continue reading Village Idiot
As the racing community celebrates the 50th anniversary of the greatness that was SECRETARIAT in his Triple Crown Winning season, it would be remiss not to talk about the beginning of the G.O.A.T’s racing career. Most of the fans in attendance at Aqueduct on July 4, 1972 probably had no idea that they had just witnessed the debut of one of the greatest horses who ever raced. … Continue reading SECRETARIAT’s Humble Start
Saratoga Race Course has a vivid history in all things horse racing. But perhaps The Spa is most well-known for this: it’s the racetrack where favorites lose and longshots score the biggest Victories of their lives. MAN O’ WAR and SECRETARIAT lost at Saratoga. A horse named JIM DANDY Won the 1930 Travers Stakes over that year’s Triple Crown Winner GALLANT FOX at amazing odds of 100-1. … Continue reading Travers Upsets
Most of the fans in attendance at Aqueduct on July 4, 1972 probably had no idea that they had just witnessed the debut of one of the greatest horses who ever raced. For SECRETARIAT, it began 50 years ago today with a bad trip and a 4th-place finish in a Maiden special weight race with an $8,000 purse. It would be the worst performance of … Continue reading G.O.A.T. On The 4th Of July
