NEW YORK - It's been a pretty good week for Boston sports fans. On Wednesday night the Red Sox thrashed the Yankees to advance to the World Series, and the next morning Suffolk Downs restored the simulcast signal from Belmont Park after a five-week blackout. It's a photo finish as to which outcome pleased Back Bay horseplayers more. Bostonians hate the New York Yankees as much as they love New York racing.
ARCADIA, Calif. - At the end of the upcoming episode of "Woody's World" dedicated to the memory of Secretariat, the incomparable broadcast journalist Heywood Hale Broun fishes into his jacket, takes out his wallet, and displays to the camera a worn, laminated snapshot of a red horse in a green pasture.
"He's my pocket piece," Broun explains. "My good luck horse."
NEW YORK - You could easily spend the next seven days poring over the lifetime past performances of all 101 Breeders' Cup pre-entries and breaking down the charts and watching video replays of all the key prep races. At least that's my plan.
TUCSON, Ariz. - The evolution of American racing in one man's lifetime - from a crowded racetrack with thousands of guys wearing fedoras cheering on the ramp, to 50 folks sitting sullenly or shouting obscenities at television screens, to the near future with wireless communication permitting betting from anyplace at anytime - has been a panorama of change.
ARCADIA, Calif. - For those who prefer to view the glass as half full, the California Cup festival at Santa Anita on Saturday offered an entertaining program of 10 races populated by 90 runners who had the good dramatic sense to produce three nose-bobbing finishes and three more that came down to less than one length, much to the delight of the 24,450 fans at the track and the thousands more who participated via simulcast. The total handle approached $16 million.
Kitten's Joy, if all goes just right, could end up Horse of the Year.
NEW YORK - A graphic artist trying to get an early start on designing next year's American Racing Manual recently asked who the likeliest candidates are to be the 2004 Horse of the Year, whose picture will appear on the cover. I told him to wait until sundown Oct. 30 to spend much time on it, but he would probably be safe if he limited himself to chasing down pictures of eight horses: Azeri, Birdstone, Funny Cide, Ghostzapper, Kitten's Joy, Pleasantly Perfect, Roses in May, and Smarty Jones.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Dream of Summer will be jumping into deep water Saturday when she tries a distance of ground for the first time in the $150,000 California Cup Matron against the likes of Yearly Report, Royally Chosen, and Summer Wind Dancer.
But fear not. Jim Weigel, her owner and breeder, spent a career as a field engineer servicing sonar systems for a variety of international military and civilian clients. The man knows his way around the murky depths.
NEW YORK - Two cheers for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's success in getting a bill through Congress that will repeal the 30 percent withholding tax on winning wagers made by foreigners in American parimutuel pools. The regulation was a major impediment to getting worldwide participation in American racing, and forced even Canadian tracks to form their own betting pools on popular signals from just over the border.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Go ahead. Try to keep pace with Dan Hendricks.
Sitting deep in the cushioned seat of his black, six-wheeled, cell-powered chair, his right hand finessing the joystick at the end of the armrest, Hendricks zipped across an open patch of Santa Anita backstretch hardpan, bounced over the rutted gap, then spun a hard left to pick up the concrete pathway running past the clockers' shed while dodging a security guard, an umbrella stand, and two jocks' agents.
"Slow down, man," protested the guy dropping behind.
ARCADIA, Calif. - It's not easy being a Californian these days. Oh sure, there's always the movie stars and the coast line, mega-malls and miles of scenic highway. For a while, there was even a couple of baseball teams to follow, but now the game has returned to Houston, where it truly belongs.