Category Archives: Racetrack visits

90 Miles in 4 Hours; or, a Visit to Colonial Downs

I lived in the mid-Atlantic for seven years, and I logged more hours than I care to remember on I-95, making my way home to friends and family in New York and Saratoga.  When I left the area in 1995, … Continue reading

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Preakness pics

I approached my first Preakness with trepidation:  I’m not a Big Event kind of person (with the exception of this kind of Big Event) and I hate crowds.  But this year’s Preakness presented some opportunities too good to pass up, … Continue reading

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Keeneland Sunday

It’s Sunday morning in Lexington, Kentucky.  Sundays are meant to be a day of rest…but there’s much, much too much to do to rest. On the road to Keeneland for workouts, we end up behind a horse van, and we … Continue reading

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Breaking a Churchill maiden

Monday morning, April 19th:  It’s been quiet for a little while, but at about 8:25, the stirrings begin. The clockers resume their places: binoculars are raised, stopwatches poised. After a morning of commonplace workouts—oh, except for that bullet that Rachel … Continue reading

Horses, Kentucky Derby, Racetrack visits | , , , , , | | 3 Comments

Homiletic Handicapping

It’s Sunday morning, and I confirm that yes, mass will be celebrated on the grounds at Keeneland at 10 am. “I call it ‘Our Lady of the Sales Pavilion,’” quips a local acquaintance. The little room off the main sales … Continue reading

Brooklyn Backstretch, Racetrack visits | | | 4 Comments

Travelling to Tampa

At racetracks as in life, first impressions count for a lot. Our first experience at a track will, fairly or not, determine whether we return; just like visiting an open house or going on a first date, our gut tells us whether we … Continue reading

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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

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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

Hialeah, Racetrack visits, racing history | | Leave a comment