INGLEWOOD, Calif. - As the Lava Man entourage gathered in the Hollywood Park walking ring prior to his appearance in the recent Whittingham Memorial, a few of the faithful peeled away to pose for photos in front of the imposing marble arch marking the grave of Native Diver.
"Hey," observed the fellow with the camera, "there's a horse who's already won it three times!"
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Today's assignment is based on the concept of training a horse to win a race like the Hollywood Gold Cup over three consecutive years.
Michael E. "Buster" Millerick did it in 1965, 1966, and 1967 with Native Diver, a California-bred son of Imbros who was bred and owned by Louis K. Shapiro.
Douglas F. "No Nickname" O'Neill is trying to do it in 2005, 2006, and again on Saturday with Lava Man, a California-bred son of Slew City Slew who was claimed three years ago by owners Steve, Tracy, and Dave Kenly, and their partner, Jason Wood.
TUCSON, Ariz. - It is summer, with blue skies, a warm sun, and fresh, clean air after cooling showers.
And Thoroughbred racing celebrates this glorious season watching glaciers melt.
Wouldn't it be wonderful, the faithful speculate, if Street Sense, Curlin, and Rags to Riches could meet in the Travers on Aug. 25 after laying off since May and early June.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The career-ending injury to the reigning Horse of the Year, Invasor, has cut loose a familiar round of hand-wringing recriminations, as fans and industry leaders scan a Chinese menu worth of choices in their efforts to wrestle with the why. Take your pick:
Invasor's retirement rams one more nail into the coffin of the Thoroughbred breed, giving aid and comfort to the notion that the species has become as frail as newborn kittens. Or . . .
NEW YORK - Leaders of the American racing industry cheered and congratulated themselves last October when Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act of 2006. Never mind that the Act, called "the stupidest law ever passed" by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chair of the House Financial Services Committee, was never debated or even read by most legislators after being sneakily and cynically tacked on to an unrelated port-security bill.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Sunday's modest program at Hollywood Park is topped by a group of Cal-bred fillies who will try to beat 6-year-old Vaca City Flyer in the Valkyr Stakes - good luck - but fans arriving early will get to watch the 9-year-olds Barron H and Mysterious Cat next to each other in the gate for the opening event, planning to run six furlongs for $8,000 claiming tags.
NEW YORK - Imagine a parimutuel paradise where the handle is huge, the takeout is 7 percent when there's any takeout at all, and multi-race payouts can be worth triple the parlay. It sounds like a fictional afternoon at Utopia Downs, but it happened last Wednesday amid a perfect storm of pick-six carryovers at Belmont, Churchill Downs, and Hollywood Park.
WASHINGTON - The Belmont Stakes didn't generate much prerace excitement, but when Rags to Riches won a thrilling stretch duel, she stirred the emotions of everyone who watched - and she made history, too.
Rags to Riches was the first filly in 102 years to capture the final leg of the Triple Crown series. To many casual viewers of ABC's Belmont telecast, it may have seemed extraordinary that a filly could defeat colts and overcome such historical odds.
In the world of human athletics, the top female in a sport would have no chance against her male counterpart.
NEW YORK - Be careful what you wish for.
Turf sprints used to be nearly as rare as triple dead heats in New York racing, run only as an occasional summer novelty even as they proliferated elsewhere. Horseplayers frequently asked why there couldn't be at least a few more, since they were often entertaining and wide-open affairs with close finishes and longshot possibilities. Until recently, management's standard response was that such races had to be carded sparingly to keep the turf course from being chewed up, which made little sense.