The freshly hatched farm boy Richie Migliore was working his way down the Hudson River Valley late Thursday morning, heading for work at Belmont Park. Earlier in the week, he was rabbit hutch shopping at the local Agway. In the coming weeks, he needs to deal with some serious equipment purchases. Then there's the winter ahead, which always hits sooner than anyone expects, but he's already got a guy who will plow his long driveway for $150 a pop.
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DRF Past Performances
Arnold Zetcher says he is retired, and after 45 years in the retail industry he has a right. But instead of grabbing a metal detector and heading for the nearest beach, or dusting off an old set of golf clubs, Zetcher managed to find a few other things to keep from going stale.
Like breeding a Grade 1 New York stakes winner.
Like winning one of California's biggest events.
Like buying California's most famous racetrack.
RUIDOSO DOWNS, N.M. - Mine That Bird's brief reunion with his New Mexico fans will end sometime Monday afternoon, when he will be loaded on Chip Woolley's Turnbow trailer at the state fairgrounds in Albuquerque and head west on I-40. They will follow the shadow of old Route 66, America's Mother Road, through Gallup, Kingman, and Barstow, and on into L.A., arriving sometime Tuesday morning, then settle in for a run at the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park on Nov. 7.
NEW YORK - Have we gone overboard in our praise of a 3-year-old filly beating older horses? Rachel Alexandra certainly deserves a great deal of credit for winning the Woodward Stakes, but she wasn't doing anything that hasn't been done dozens of times around the world in the last 50 years. The rush to create divinity where only excellence exists does neither Rachel nor racing any favors.
Let's put things in their proper perspective.
NEW YORK - Linda Rice winning the training title at the 36-day Saratoga meet that concluded Monday was remarkable on several counts. She became the first woman to win that title at Saratoga or any other major American meet, and her 20 victories edged out a trio of far more renowned and well-stocked stables, those trained by Todd Pletcher (19 winners), Bill Mott (18), and Steve Asmussen (13).
RUIDOSO DOWNS, N.M. - It was him. No mistake. Little bay, no taller than a fence post. Unmarked save for a bobby sock on a back foot and that ghost of a crescent moon glyph between his eyes. There was lanky Charlie Figueroa on board, crammed into a set of black and silver silks, and a handsome cowboy on the pony alongside, white shirt starched to within an inch of its life, moustache clipped in a horseshoe droop.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - After her electrifying photo-finish victory in the at Saratoga, Rachel Alexandra should be entitled to rest on her laurels. The filly has campaigned steadily since February, racing at seven different tracks and winning all eight of her starts. With three triumphs over males, she has virtually locked up the Horse of the Year title. Owner Jess Jackson and trainer Steve Asmussen would be happy to give her a breather until she resumes racing in 2010.
TUCSON, Ariz. - Jockey Kieren Fallon, the bad boy of English racing - and its six-time riding champion - returned to the track last week, after 18 months of banishment for cocaine use.
It was merely the latest chapter in a long history of sad personal errors, and the British racing press, one of the largest, most vocal, and best informed in the world, welcomed him back with open arms.
He is, after all, good copy day in and out, and his return energizes and certainly enlivens the British racing scene.
DEL MAR, Calif. - Rachel Alexandra has the American game by the throat. At a mile and one-eighth on dirt, where good American horses meet most often, over courses muddy, mealy, packed, and plowed, she has the mechanical efficiency of a great sprinter who jumps quickly into action, and the cardio-pulmonary depth to carry that efficiency as far as she's needed to go. So far.