Recent publications
- It's a Boy! Rachel Alexandra's First Foal (Forbes.com)
- Notable NY-bred winners for January (NY Breeder, p. 24)
- Champion Silverbulletday: Horse profile for Hello Race Fans!
- Black jockeys in U.S. racing history (Forbes.com)
- Jim Rome, from The Jungle to the (horse) farm (Forbes.com)
- From Horses to Hope, From Auction to Adoption: How one calendar inspires and raises thousands of dollars for horses (at Raceday360)
Handicatting with Floyd…
…and with Imp and Furlong
Madison’s fund for feline welfare
The cat horse winners during the Belmont spring meet added up to about $250, which was donated to All About Spay Neuter, the organization that helps take care of the Belmont cat colonies.
$155, representing the money made by cat horse winners at Saratoga, was donated to New York City Animal Care & Control
Racing-related charities
Recommended Reading
- Colin's Ghost
- Crist Blog
- Ernie Munick's The Daily Me
- Fillies First
- Foolish Pleasure
- Green but Game
- Hello Race Fans!
- Left At The Gate
- Michigan Bred Claimer
- New York Daily News racing coverage
- New York Post racing coverage
- Old Friends Blog
- Owning Racehorses
- Post Parade
- Raceday 360
- Railbird
- ReRider Who's Lucky To Cope
- Riding Rough Shod
- Superfecta
- That's Amore Stable
- The Race is Not to the Swift
- The Rail at the New York Times
- The Turk: Horses, Handicapping and Hijinks
- TURF
- Turf Luck
Racing sites
Racing books I like
A Year at the Races, by Jane Smiley
And They're Off! by Edward Hotaling
Native Dancer: The Grey Ghost, Hero of a Golden Age, by John Eisenberg
Not by a Long Shot, by T.D. Thornton
Saratoga Days, by Sean Clancy
Seabiscuit, by Laura Hillenbrand
The Great Match Race, by John Eisenberg
The Noble Animals, by Landon Manning
Racing sites
Racing-related charities
Recent publications
- Black jockeys in U.S. racing history (Forbes.com)
- Champion Silverbulletday: Horse profile for Hello Race Fans!
- From Horses to Hope, From Auction to Adoption: How one calendar inspires and raises thousands of dollars for horses (at Raceday360)
- It's a Boy! Rachel Alexandra's First Foal (Forbes.com)
- Jim Rome, from The Jungle to the (horse) farm (Forbes.com)
- Notable NY-bred winners for January (NY Breeder, p. 24)
Recommended Reading
- Colin's Ghost
- Crist Blog
- Ernie Munick's The Daily Me
- Fillies First
- Foolish Pleasure
- Green but Game
- Hello Race Fans!
- Left At The Gate
- Michigan Bred Claimer
- New York Daily News racing coverage
- New York Post racing coverage
- Old Friends Blog
- Owning Racehorses
- Post Parade
- Raceday 360
- Railbird
- ReRider Who's Lucky To Cope
- Riding Rough Shod
- Superfecta
- That's Amore Stable
- The Race is Not to the Swift
- The Rail at the New York Times
- The Turk: Horses, Handicapping and Hijinks
- TURF
- Turf Luck
Monthly Archives: January 2010
Cool N Collective: Back in the gate at 13
In September of 2008, I went to Suffolk Downs to see Commentator run in the MassCap. Earlier on the card, in a $16,000 allowance optional claimer, a name in the program caught my eye. Cool N Collective? I knew that … Continue reading
Racing books: Women of the Year: Ten Fillies Who Achieved Horse Racing’s Highest Honor
…fillies and mares who do defeat males are highly special. In American racing heroines have come along with enough frequency that a female’s outrunning a male is not seen as a freakish occurrence, but it is not so commonplace as … Continue reading
Wednesday morning quick picks
I frequently count myself lucky to live in a city with newspapers that cover racing daily. Both Ed Fountaine at the New York Post and Jerry Bossert at the Daily News provide handicapping, insight, and race recaps every racing day … Continue reading
Devil Diver, Twilight Tear, and Three Year Old Fillies as Horse of the Year
Shortly after Rachel Alexandra won the Haskell last summer and speculation bubbled about her next start, the conversations began: Suppose she goes in the Woodward? Is she Horse of the Year now, with wins in the Preakness and the Haskell? … Continue reading
Brian’s back!
A very warm welcome back to Brian Nadeau, who will once again guide Backstretch readers through the Derby trail, with insight and handicapping on all major Derby prep races. In addition to his work at the Saratoga Special and Steeplechase … Continue reading
Next steps
Here at the Backstretch household, we’re trying to get used to life without Madison. Several friends have recently lost close family members, and the tragedy of the world beyond our borders is horrifying beyond contemplation, so the loss of a … Continue reading
Madison Genaro, 1996-2010
She came to me, along with her brother, in September of 1996. I had left my cat back in the States when I’d moved to England in 1995, and, having decided to remain in London for the foreseeable future, I … Continue reading
In the Aqueduct Handicap, Stymie 2, mares 0
Today at Aqueduct is the 91st running of the Evening Attire. Well, OK, not exactly: the race has been run, with a few gaps, since 1902; formerly the Aqueduct Handicap, the race was re-named to honor the gelding who won … Continue reading
Hello, Hialeah
I came to racing too late to make it to Hialeah to see Thoroughbreds; the shuttered track has been presented to me as a Shangri-La, the epitome of all that was good and right and beautiful about racing. I mourned … Continue reading
Hello, Hialeah
I came to racing too late to make it to Hialeah to see Thoroughbreds; the shuttered track has been presented to me as a Shangri-La, the epitome of all that was good and right and beautiful about racing. I mourned … Continue reading





