Category Archives: Brooklyn Backstretch

Preakness Memories from Some Pimlico Lifers

No shortage of racing memories have been made at the track they call Old Hilltop. That hill in the infield isn’t around anymore, but there are plenty of people at Pimlico this weekend whose memories of the track and the … Continue reading

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Preparing for the Preakness: the Pimlico gate crew

Shortly before 6:20 tomorrow evening, nine horses and jockeys will head towards the starting gate at Pimlico Race Course. The noise of more than 100,000 people will accompany them as they step into small metal stalls, standing patiently until the … Continue reading

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Brian Nadeau Handicaps the Preakness

Pimlico: The GI, $1 million Preakness at 1 3/16 miles #1 Orb: Kentucky Derby hero made it five in a row in Louisville when he sat off a suicidal pace in the slop, rallied wide and rolled home as tons … Continue reading

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A Hope For NBC’s Preakness Coverage

Let’s get this out of the way: Michelle Beadle blocked me on Kentucky Oaks day, after this exchange (you can click to enlarge):   It seems a little mild to warrant being blocked, but Beadle can hardly be blamed for … Continue reading

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Who do you like? Betting the 2013 Preakness

While no one would suggest that making money on the Kentucky Derby is an easy proposition, at least the big field offers a variety of ways in which to cash a juicy ticket. The Preakness, on the other hand, offers … Continue reading

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“He liked this big old track better.” McGaughey on Easy Goer, the Phipps, and Derbies past and present

It’s Saturday afternoon, and Shug McGaughey sits placidly in a chair in the shedrow of barn 20. Intent on his Blackberry, he seems pleasantly oblivious: to approaching visitors; to an impending storm making itself known in stirring winds and scudding … Continue reading

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The Preakness: The Lost New York Years

The Preakness is Maryland’s race: it’s “Maryland, My Maryland” and black-eyed Susans and blue crabs. It’s so important to the state that when financial difficulties threatened racing in Maryland,the governor stepped in to make sure that the Preakness would stay in … Continue reading

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Tie Break And Me, And A Long Road To Akindale Farm

It all started at Aqueduct, on a Saturday afternoon in January of 2005. It was the day of the Sunshine Millions: a horse named Lava Man was racing at Gulfstream, and an undefeated Florida-bred, California-based sprinter had shipped east to … Continue reading

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Welcome Back to Belmont

On Sunday afternoon, a bouquet of roses lay outside barn 20 on the Belmont backstretch, their colors nearly matching the red paint on the sign identifying the barn as the home of the Phipps Stable. The bouquet wasn’t quite as … Continue reading

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History And Horse Racing On Brooklyn’s Sportsmen’s Row

An archaeologist by training, Lucas Rubin has spent a good deal of his life immersed in the past. He also loves cities, and he loves sports. In his book, Brooklyn’s Sportsmen’s Row: Politics, Society & the Sporting Life on Northern Eighth … Continue reading

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