horse racing

The Kentucky Derby.  Where men with an underdeveloped sense of shame and no business wearing a white suit don it proudly; where, like the feathers of a peacock, the absurdity and color scheme of your hat is used to indicate social status; and where 20 of the world's finest 3-year old horses race for their sport's greatest honor. @JoeBianchino

20 horses.  A mile and a quarter. 2 Million Dollars.  It's a lot to take in.  We try and sort through it all with a brief look at the entire Derby field. @JoeBianchino

What a day from Churchill Downs.  It had exciting finishes, it had upsets, it had surprises and it had tremendous stories, certainly headlined by the redemption of Mike Smith and the stunning run of Drosselmeyer to take the Breeders' Cup Classic in both stunning and emphatic fashion.

An exciting day of racing graced the historic ground of Churchill Downs on Friday. The Breeders' Cup played out its opening act over the wet track in Kentucky with My Miss Aurelia a profound winner of the Juvenile Fillies and Royal Delta an impressive champion of the Ladies' Classic.

...What?  Did you think this was done?  Did you think track season ended when Saratoga closed its doors?  Not so fast my friend.  This Friday and Saturday the greatest horses in the world will descend on the famed Churchill Downs to compete in the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Two questions were being asked coming into Saturday at Saratoga.  How would Uncle Mo come back from injury, and who would step up to take control of the three-year-old division?  Well, both were answered in a loud way.  Uncle Mo would come back with a huge, albeit second best effort, and Stay Thirsty staked his claim as the best of his class.

Well folks, it's all come down to this.  The Saratoga season has been a slow crescendo to this moment.  The Jim Dandy, Whitney, Sword Dancer, Alabama - all mere preludes to this Saturday's running of the 142nd Travers Stakes.

It was a gorgeous summer day at the Saratoga Race Course for the 131st running of the Alabama Stakes.  The race was supposed to be the crowning of It's Tricky, the three year old filly who had already won two legs of the TVG Triple Tiara.  However, Royal Delta stole the show and scored an emphatic victory.

The Saratoga Race Course season continues its slow crescendo to the Travers with Saturday's renewal of the $500,000 grade one Alabama Stakes.  This race, for three year old filles at a mile and a quarter, features some real quality and will surely be a jewel of the 2011 Saratoga season.  I've broken it down and submit for your approval my preview of the Alabama Stakes.

The Saratoga season is reaching it's peak.  We're into week five and have therefore begun the crescendo into two of the Spa's biggest stakes races, the Alabama and the Travers.  In anticipation of these two races, which I'm sure will be infinitely hard to handicap, I thought I'd bring you a little article on how to bet the odds.  This is Talking Track:  The Novice's Guide to the Saratoga Race Cour

We're halfway through the 2011 meet at Saratoga Race Course and fans are proving that horseracing is alive and well in the Capital Region.

Well folks, the Saratoga season is in full swing.  And maybe you're wondering what it's like to be a gambler up at the famous Saratoga Race Course?  It's a little hard to put into words, but I certainly wanted to try.  I spent a day recording my thoughts before, during and after post time - Star Trek Captain's log style. So here we go, this is Talking Track: The Novice's Guide to the Saratoga Race