Railbird

Forbidden

2008-12-01T22:30:00Z

NYRA canceled race nine on Sunday due to darkness following a lengthy gate delay the race before. Not that officials had much choice. According to the New York Daily News : Even had NYRA officials deemed the light suitable for one more race, a state law Read More......(read more)

Kelso at Aqueduct

2008-11-21T04:00:00Z

Kelso, center, with Never Bend to the left and Crimson Satan to the right. Photo by George Silk (LIFE) . A random bit of racing history ... The caption on this photo, found browsing through the LIFE archive now on Google ( via ), is simply "Kelso Read More......(read more)

Keeneland Down 45.6%

2008-11-19T04:30:00Z

Sales director Geoffrey Russell, asked how long the slump might last , replied: "I don't know because I am not an economist. I would like to see this turn around as quickly as possible. Definitely in time for [the Keeneland] January sale [Jan Read More......(read more)

Valuing Curlin

2008-11-17T21:30:00Z

From a November 3, 2007 Courier-Journal article by Greg Hall assessing Curlin's potential value: "If I had to guess, an educated guess, I would think somewhere between $60 and $70 million," [Rick Porter, owner of Hard Spun] said. "All Read More......(read more)

Unlikely Sight

2008-11-17T15:45:00Z

Trainer Steve Asmussen on whether Curlin might start once more in 2008 before heading to stud next year: "Without stepping on my own tongue, I don't see anything worthy of him," Asmussen said by phone yesterday. Read More......(read more)

BC Meeting Recaps

2008-11-17T14:00:00Z

... from Dana at Green but Game and Michael at Gathering the Wind . I'm still mulling over the two-hour conversation Thursday with Rotondo and Land; it was a useful exercise, the start of a dialog, even if no Breeders' Cup changes are likely to Read More......(read more)

Music Lesson

2008-11-14T22:55:00Z

"The lesson from Napster and iTunes is that there's even MORE music than there was before," marketing guru Seth Godin says in a recent interview. Pull the Pocket translates for racing : The lesson from ADW and the Internet is that there's Read More......(read more)

Plonk's Pipe Dream

2008-11-12T14:20:00Z

Jeremy Plonk lays out a year of racing with staggered meets, staggered post times in his latest ESPN column: CircuitJan-FebMar-AprMay-JunEarly 1GulfstreamAqueductBelmontEarly 2Philly ParkOaklawnChurchill DownsEarly 3Fair GroundsDelaware ParkPimlicoMid Read More......(read more)

It Bears Repeating

2008-11-12T02:30:00Z

A reminder: "Web 2.0 is a conversation." See also: "He was the first politician I dealt with who understood that the technology was a given and that it could be used in new ways." (There's a lesson for racing in that understanding Read More......(read more)

The Best Surrogates

2008-11-11T02:30:00Z

Writes Vic Zast, in praise of the noble turf scribe: These writers have access and research capabilities that bloggers and fans don't.... The NTWA member has been conscientious in serving the sport. It's the turf writer that takes the lead position Read More......(read more)

All that Remains

2008-11-10T16:30:00Z

... of Steve Haskin's inaugural 2009 Derby Trail column, posted on Blood-Horse this morning: A Haskin article that was gently critical of the move to retire Bernardini at the end of his 3-year-old year similarly disappeared in 2006, raising questions Read More......(read more)

Readings: Smith

2008-11-08T19:00:00Z

Excerpts from a Red Smith column that seem apt for this chilly, wet afternoon on which the Aqueduct feature, named for the much admired sports writer, is the final graded turf stakes in New York for the year and apprentice Jackie Davis earned her second Read More......(read more)

BC to Cut Ticket Prices, Meet With Fans

2008-11-03T14:00:00Z

Sports Business Journal reports this week that the Breeders' Cup is considering ticket price changes for 2009: Tickets this year were priced from $20 to $1,200, and many of them were bundled so that customers had to buy tickets for Friday and Saturday Read More......(read more)

Close Call

2008-10-30T16:30:00Z

... not just between Curlin or Zenyatta for Horse of the Year, but for 3-year-old filly division honors. Will the champion be Proud Spell or Music Note? - Proud Spell went 4-for-8 in 2008, with two Grade 1 wins in the Kentucky Oaks and Alabama Stakes Read More......(read more)

Hello, Aqueduct

2008-10-28T13:00:00Z

The Big A opens Wednesday. (Hooray!) First post, 12:30.... Read More......(read more)