INGLEWOOD, Calif. - As night began to fall on a dark Sunday at Hollywood Park, Mike Pegram stood beneath a tree in the paddock and recalled the first time he watched one of his horses go down on the track. Her name was Favored One.
"The first thing that goes through your mind is to think of the jockey," Pegram began. "You want him to get up. Then if he does, you just get sick.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - There was nothing in doubt. Left Bank, the favorite in the $350,000 Cigar Mile, was always the premier horse. In Saturday's holiday weekend feature at Aqueduct, he gave the impression that his 5-year-old season just ahead may be his best.
NEW YORK - Why are some people in such a hurry to declare the racing season over as soon as the "Official" sign goes up on the Breeders' Cup Classic?
There's a natural letdown every year just after the Breeders' Cup, a perfectly legitimate hangover after what's usually a great racing and gambling party. Most of the sport's titles and champions have been determined, and the next big thing that regularly captures the casual fan's imagination is the start of the road to the Triple Crown two months later.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Forget about the small talk. If you want to chat about the weather, or the Lakers, find someone who cares, because it isn't Michael Paulson, and it should come as no surprise.
"My dad was kind of a quiet, private man," Paulson said. "He didn't talk just to carry on a conversation. I guess I'm kind of the same way."
His father was Allen Paulson, whose death in July 2000 left a gaping hole in the fabric of the racing business. It took a lot of guts and a whole load of money to accomplish what he did in a relatively short span of time.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - The first time Phil Johnson ran Volponi in Grade 1 company was in the Travers at Saratoga this summer, and it didn't turn out too well. All Volponi got was hot and dirty.
Johnson is going to try his colt again on Saturday in the Grade 1 $350,000 Cigar Mile, and this time the trainer feels the attempt may be successful.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - When it comes to a tendon, most of the time there is no second chance. The damage can be bad enough. It is the healing that never goes quite right, and the leg is never quite the same again.
Then there is Val Royal.
Every competitive stride he takes is a gift. Every appearance is cause to rejoice. There are precious few horses of Val Royal's quality still running around, and to be doing it on a tendon that was once corrupted by injury is reason enough to show up at Hollywood Park on Saturday for his appearance in the $500,000 Citation Handicap.
WASHINGTON - If in-home betting offers hope for horse racing's salvation, there is one place where televised races and telephone wagering are almost certain to be a bonanza: California.
The state has an enormous base of horse bettors thwarted by geography. Hard-core fans in greater Los Angeles are deterred by traffic congestion from traveling cross-town to Santa Anita or Hollywood. Horseplayers elsewhere in California are served by a woefully inadequate number of off-track betting facilities.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - The plan to modernize and rebuild historic Churchill Downs at a cost of about $127 million would be considered audacious at almost any time. But coming as it has, at a time of national crisis, the focus of the industry on the proposal is keener than usual.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Friday is Thanksgiving . . . in Tokyo. And please note, before dishing out the wisecracks about turkey tempura and cranberry rice balls, the holiday of Kinro Kansha no Hi is intended to offer thanks for the honest and devoted labor of the Japanese people. Giblet gravy is not part of the mix.
TUCSON, Ariz. - Nothing's sacred anymore.
In a sea of doubt and uncertainty, when people desperately need anchors to steady their course, someone always shows up to rock the boat.
This time, not surprisingly, it's a television station: Channel Ten News in Sydney, Australia.
It says Phar Lap's heart is a fake.
Phar Lap was one of Thoroughbred racing's legendary champions, a huge chestnut, 17 hands, and a thunderous runner and national hero Down Under 70 years ago, when he won 37 of 51 races, including the famed Melbourne Cup of 1930.