NEW YORK - The National Thoroughbred Racing Association held its annual meeting and marketing summit in Las Vegas last Monday and Tuesday and spent hours recounting what it sees as very good news about the game. Television ratings and exposure are up. Sponsorship dollars are flowing. Polls show that ever more Americans are interested in racing and receptive to spending a day at the track.
ARCADIA, Calif. - First came the Joe Hirsch Breeders' Cup writing award. Then the Joe Hirsch NTWA Scholarship, the Joe Hirsch Pressbox at Saratoga, the Joe Hirsch Media Center at Churchill Downs, and now the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on Saturday at Belmont Park.
ARCADIA, Calif. - There is a concept known as the "news fast," recommended for those of us who tend to consume potentially toxic levels of current events. Symptoms of "news poisoning" include CNN-induced stomach cramps, the news radio cold sweats, and a tendency to argue foreign policy with inanimate objects.
As it turns out, a week or so in strict avoidance of breaking news - terror alerts, presidential polls, anything with the name "Schwarzenegger" attached - can have a soothing effect. The spirit can be renewed. You will stop scaring the pets.
POMONA, Calif. - The National Broadcasting Company is devoting 90 minutes of its valuable airtime late Sunday afternoon to a piece of Breeders' Cup programming designed to whet the appetite for the World Championships coming up on Oct. 30 at Lone Star Park.
Lone Star is the nominal backdrop for the teaser, titled "Twenty to One: The Breeders' Cup Legacy," with Tom Hammond and Charlsie Cantey playing host, sitting in chairs near the winner's circle while a steady prairie wind whips banners in the background.
NEW YORK - With just 35 days until the Breeders' Cup, storylines and potential showdowns are starting to take shape. It may be too early to know who you like, but it's not too soon to argue with two premises that already have emerged in anticipation of the day: First, that Azeri is a realistic candidate for the Classic instead of the Distaff, and second, that there are no good 2-year-olds east of the Rockies this year.
POMONA, Calif. - Doug O'Neill won two races at Fairplex Park Wednesday afternoon to give him 11 for the current meet, 30 over the past three seasons, and 40 for his career.
Mel Stute countered by winning the Black Swan Stakes on Wednesday with Kachina Dream, giving him two wins at the meet and 178 for his career.
POMONA, Calif. - Declan's Moon slipped into the Del Mar Futurity flying well below the radar, won the race by a neck over heavily favored Roman Ruler, then just as quickly disappeared again, leaving the townsfolk slack-jawed and wondering what just hit them. He did everything but leave a silver bullet.
Who was that masked man?
POMONA, Calif. - It's getting a little scary out there. Tensions seem to be running high. Maybe it's the sales. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it is the looming prospect of spending a week in Texas just before Election Day.
For starters, there was the Keeneland uproar over the Japanese mystery buyer of that $8 million Storm Cat yearling on Sept. 14. The question has burned hotter than a Janet Jackson wardrobe change, amidst ongoing cries of righteous indignation from those who champion full disclosure.