ARCADIA, Calif. - Upon entering the main stable gate at Santa Anita and making a hard left, the neighborhood immediately becomes upscale.
First there are the Bob Baffert barns, ground zero for his ever-expanding sphere of influence. The exterior walls are adorned with hand-painted signs extolling Baffert's three Kentucky Derby winners, his four Preakness winners, his Belmont winner, his two winners of the Dubai World Cup and his two (only two?) winners in the Breeders' Cup.
NEW YORK - Anyone willing to concede that the racing industry is ultimately in the gambling business should be outraged rather than dismissive about what has been going on in the halls of Congress this past week.
Last Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill, by resounding voice vote and with no opposition, aimed at prohibiting Internet gambling by making it illegal for Americans to use credit cards or other electronic payments on gambling sites. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate.
ELMONT, N.Y. - With the Breeders' Cup three weeks away, virtually every major track in the United States is devoting its weekend programs to prep races, designed to help bring the participating horses to their goal in the sharpest possible condition.
But are we going about this exercise the correct way? In seeking to sharpen horses with these preps, are we instead dulling some of them? Jerry Bailey, a keen observer of the racing scene, thinks we are.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Chris McCarron recalls dismounting from his second ride aboard Flawlessly and voicing the following regret:
"She's a very good filly," McCarron told his agent, Scotty McClellan. "It's just too bad she's not sound. I'm not sure how long she'll last."
That was the summer of 1991. Three years later, after two Eclipse Awards, nine major victories, and $2.5 million in earnings, McCarron's prediction finally came true.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Los Angeles has been on fire again, which means it must be time for the Oak Tree meet.
It has become an angry ritual of early autumn, devastating homes and lives, as brush fires turn the skies surrounding Arcadia to hazy gray. That was ash falling like warm snow on Santa Anita last week from the 36,000-acre blaze in Angeles National Forest, less than 20 miles to the east. The fire laid waste to more than 70 structures and threatened horsey communities Glendora and San Dimas.
ELMONT, N.Y. - A star for a star.
Disappointment ran high at Belmont Park on Saturday when soft ground prompted the declaration of the magnificent Banks Hill from the $750,000 Flower Bowl Invitational for fillies and mares.
A smashing winner in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf last fall, Banks Hill showed even better form in Europe this summer, competing against male stars. Rock of Gibraltar, winner of seven consecutive stakes, was all out to beat her half a length in a Group 1 at Longchamp.
NEW YORK - Will the NTRA/BC ever become the NTRA/BC/TC? That's not one of the topics on the agenda at the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's annual membership meeting in Las Vegas on Monday, but it's an increasingly loud buzz among industry players when they're talking over cocktails and off the record.
ELMONT, N.Y. - New Yorkers, accustomed to seeing outstanding horses in every division during Belmont Park's fall championship meeting, may be in for a special treat on Saturday. France's Banks Hill, spectacular winner of the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf last season and widely regarded as one of the world's best horses in training, is on hand and ready for Saturday's $750,000 Flower Bowl Invitational. She could scratch from the race if the turf comes up soft.