Gavin Landry, whose contributions to racing in New York are defined by the buffoonish invention of NYRA Nation, the short-lived and widely ignored mascot Auggie Belmont, the elitist, failed Saratoga “preferred access,” the large piece of wooden furniture now in the clubhouse lobby at Belmont Park and...

A meeting at Saratoga bookended by Commentator winning the Whitney Handicap a second time and Curlin taking the Woodward saw the six weeks unfold with a magnificent effort by the best mare in training, Ginger Punch, another by three-year-old Proud Spell in the Alabama and a truly memorable Travers in...

Saratoga Springs, New York Regardless of what has transpired during the last six weeks, there is always a touch of melancholy on the last day of this meeting. The lemon has been more than squeezed dry this year. The lemon is dehydrated by long days on which too many races have been run in the service...

From NYRA Louis Olah, who was the silks man for the New York Racing Association for more than 40 years, will be honored on Monday, August 11th at 10:30 a.m. when the Saratoga Race Course silks room is dedicated to his memory. Additionally, Monday’s first race has been named in his honor. Olah passed...

Saratoga Springs, New York At the end of this meeting, we may look upon Saturday as a highlight, not because it was a Saturday without a graded stakes but because it was a day without rain, the only day of the meeting’s first 17 free of rain from dawn until dark. Were the racing card better, it would...

Saratoga Springs, New York (treading water) Uncle. Enough already. What happens next? The Travers canoe sinks? NYRA announces a sponge giveaway? Mildew is designated the official flower of the Spa? An hour after racing was canceled on Friday, the sun was shining at the Spa and, strangely, much of the...

Interesting that a pamphlet – Guest Service Tool – distributed to employees of the New York Racing Association is written in both English and Spanish. Cultural diversity and political correctness aside, why would NYRA hire non-English speaking people for jobs that require verbal interaction with a predominantly...

At first, it seemed that perhaps the voiceover that accompanied a local television spot touting participation in the NYRA Nation’s celebration of the 140th season of racing at Saratoga with “Historical fanfare.” Historical fanfare? It was late -- after a long night at the yearling sales. Historical fanfare...

After eight days of racing at Saratoga, the New York Racing Association and the intrepid legion known as NYRA Nation have yet to see a positive business day. The people who paid $15,000-a-chair for "preferred access" just aren't betting much. This week's early returns show attendance...

Saratoga Springs, New York Two days of rain and a marketing misjudgment have put the New York Racing Association so far behind its early 2007 figures that the meeting is unlikely to recover over by Labor Day. The first two days of the 2007 meeting at Saratoga drew 62,123, a figure inflated by a bobble...