Brooklyn Backstretch

If you’re reading this before noon, don’t forget to active your power horses in your Road to the Roses stable!
And we’re going to give this update thing another try this weekend, so it’s possible that the site will be down beginning Saturday afternoon for a couple of days.
Good luck and safe trips to [...]

Fair Grounds closes with a bang this weekend, offering up a contentious renewal of the Louisiana Derby, which is positioned five weeks out from the Kentucky Derby this year. All told, an overflow field of 13 is scheduled to meet the starter, including a pair of contenders from Todd Pletcher’s powerhouse barn. While they crawled [...]

That first race on Sunday at Aqueduct was slated to be a good one: an allowance optional claiming affair, horses trained by, among others, Rick Violette, Kiaran McLaughlin, and Bruce Levine, running for a $50,000 tag and a $44,000 purse. Of all the Sunday first races at Aqueduct in 2010, this one was arguably the [...]

Travel, technology, and logistics have delayed the renovation of the site, along with reactions to East Coast racing news over the last few days. Lovely as Florida is, it seems that I picked a lousy week to be away from New York, given the racing news emanating from my home state.
On Sunday, NYRA horsemen chose [...]

It takes exactly 13 hours to drive from Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina to Gulfstream Park. In case you were wondering.
It’s 3:00 on Friday afternoon and I rejoice at my luck. Spring break has begun; I am in my car; and I’m going to beat rush hour traffic. I am disappointed that the new date for [...]

Before we get to Brian’s preview of the Florida Derby, a few notes:
–Don’t forget to take advantage of this week’s supplemental draft in the Road to the Roses game; you’ve got until 11:59 tonight to add three horses to your stable. You’ve also got the chance to identify horses in your stable as power horses [...]

It was nearly 70 degrees in New York yesterday; warmer temperatures and delayed darkness have many of us thinking spring. And for New York racing fans, there is no surer sign of spring than the return at Aqueduct to the main track.
Racing on the inner track generally begins in early December, after the big stakes [...]

Looks like we’ve had some new stables join the Brooklyn Backstretch charity league—welcome! And congrats to all who earned points in last week’s races. Full league standings are below.
Our Road to the Roses SNAFU has been resolved, and it appears that much of the problem was not, in fact, an RttR technical problem. So—apologies for [...]

Saturday, March 13
(all times approximate)
1:30 Depart greater New York area with summer roommate for whirlwind (nearly literally) Saratoga trip in search of perfect summer rental. Encounter driving rain and vehicle-shaking winds as we wend our way up the Taconic Parkway.
3:00 Confirm with parents dinner plans, synchronized to permit maximize race watching.
5:30 Arrive in Saratoga to [...]

The San Felipe, Santa Anita’s final prep for next month’s Grade I Santa Anita Derby, brings together an outstanding field of youngsters that look to prove their worth of continuing down the Derby Trail. A trio of long distance specialists meets a speedy stretchout sprinter that has designs on a gate-to-wire score. Let’s take a [...]