ELMONT, N.Y. - When the screens went up, there was only one thought coursing through the Breeders' Cup crowd like a wave of nausea: "God, no. Not again. Not here."
Exogenous was on the ground, blood trickling from one ear, eyes lolling backwards, her leg scraped from its wrestling match with the railing at the mouth of the grandstand tunnel. Then the screens went up, just like the screens went up 11 years before, shielding the death of Go for Wand from the eyes of a traumatized audience.
ELMONT, N.Y. - There was plenty of flag-waving in the ceremonies that preceded the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, but the races at Belmont Park did not generate much nationalistic pride. Rather, they underscored the declining state of America's Thoroughbreds - and the ascendancy of Europe's.
NEW YORK - In a week when the Breeders' Cup at Belmont was 1-100 to be the most important thing to happen in New York racing, along came politics to post an upset. The sudden and unexpected passage of an expanded-gambling bill by state legislators Thursday will bring hundreds of slot machines to Aqueduct next year.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Horseplayers annually relish the challenge of betting the Breeders' Cup pick six, but the wager has often been a little too challenging. In past years, a ticket covering most of the contenders, including the enigmatic foreign entrants, could cost tens of thousands of dollars. The difficulty of making a reasonable play is usually confirmed by the results: Two years ago the winning combination paid more than $3 million.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Imagine what it's like to never have a bad day. Socks always match. Pants are creased. The car keys are right where you put them.
Out in the world, traffic melts away and the lights are always green.
Colleagues approach to bask in your glow. The boss asks if everything is entirely to your taste. No, check that. You are the boss.
Welcome to the rarified air of the 2001 Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
ELMONT, N.Y. - The Old Pro is back for his fourth appearance in the Breeders' Cup, and he appears to have as good a chance as any in the Mile.
Affirmed Success raced on the dirt during much of his career, and the six furlongs of the Sprint was a bit too short for him. In two attempts, at 4 and 5, he wasn't close. Last year, in a bid to keep him going in top form, he was switched to grass. His people zeroed in on the Breeders' Cup Mile and he gave a rousing performance. He was beaten a neck and two noses.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Richie Migliore has a long scar at the base of his throat dating back to early June of 1988, when he needed 8 1/2 hours of surgery to fuse three vertabrae and graft a piece of his hip to the bones in his damaged neck. Sometimes, because of the nerve damage, his hands and feet still tingle and go numb.
Europe's best horses have come to Belmont Park for the World Thoroughbred Championships, and even a cursory scan of their records leaves no doubt that they are top-class.
Galileo won the Epsom Derby and the Irish Derby with ease, and then beat England's best older horses in June - an exceptional feat for a 3-year-old. Only one photo-finish loss blemishes his seven-race career.
Fantastic Light was the horse who beat Galileo in an Irish stakes race last month. That 5-year-old has won important races in five different countries and earned more than $6.3 million.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Day after day, year after year, the framed image stared down at Wilson Brown as he warmed himself in front of his sitting room fire. Three horses, charging headlong toward the artist, were tangled in a desperate dance, racing for the world's richest prize in the 1984 running of the Breeders' Cup Classic.