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Then We Came to the End: So another Saratoga season ends. Trainer Bill Mott ran away with the training title (DRF), capping his fine meet with a win in the Hopeful Stakes by Majestic Warrior (Blood-Horse), who went off as the 6-1 third choice in the field of four. The Hopeful was expected to be a match race between trainer Todd Pletcher's talented Ready's Image and Bob Baffert's speedy Maimonides, and it was -- at the quarter pole, before Maimonides began to fade under Ready's Image's pressure after running the first quarter in :22.60 and the half in :45, and Majestic Warrior ran by both on...; [Posted September 3, 2007 11:00 PM]; ---

No Bounce for Lawyer Ron: So says the Beyer: Lawyer Ron's Woodward speed figure came back as 118 119*, two points higher than the figure he earned winning the Whitney in record time five weeks ago. *Adjusted, and still two points higher than the Whitney, which was upped to 117. Dick Jerardi explains (DRF+)....; [Posted September 2, 2007 10:00 AM]; ---

Monday Evening Notes: - I'd say the glow is off Saratoga: Fans booed the results of a stewards' inquiry into today's eighth race (Newsday). The race was won by Karelian, scratched from Saturday's record-setting Baruch Stakes (Blood-Horse), who bumped Dreadnaught in the stretch after eventual place horse Heat of the Night richocheted off him. For the sake of my exacta, I was rooting for the stewards to take down Heat of the Night; they declined to change the order of finish. - Nobiz Like Shobiz worked five furlongs handily over the Oklahoma turf course in :58.54. The Tagg trainee is headed to the...; [Posted August 27, 2007 11:00 PM]; ---

The Street Sense We Got: It wasn't the Street Sense who dominated in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile or the Kentucky Derby. The Street Sense who won the Travers, writes Mike Watchmaker, "was the Street Sense who barely edged Any Given Saturday in the Tampa Bay Derby, who missed in a photo in the bizarrely run Blue Grass, and who was nailed by Curlin in the Preakness when he pulled himself up after opening a clear lead in deep stretch" (DRF+). The great shame of Street Sense's imminent retirement to stud (BRIS) is that he'll never get a chance to overcome this immaturity and fulfill his...; [Posted August 27, 2007 09:05 PM]; ---

'Cide, Champ, Chicken: - Watching the works at Saratoga is the best way to start each day up here. Get a coffee, sit in the grandstand, watch the horses run by and try to figure out who's who. This morning, I saw two instantly recognizable horses: Discreet Cat, out for a light gallop, and Funny Cide, looking magnificent and dappled, sauntering along the main track in his new role as stable pony. - Wait a While was ultra impressive in yesterday's Ballston Spa Handicap, regaining her brilliant form to win by 2 1/4 lengths over Vacare at 3-1. "She showed today that...; [Posted August 24, 2007 11:30 AM]; ---

Off to the Spa: In just a few minutes, I'll be on my way north for Travers weekend. Despite the late start, I plan to get to the track in time for today's Ballston Spa Handicap, which drew a field of nine, including smashing Diana winner My Typhoon, in foal Iron Goddess, and Todd Pletcher's Wait a While. I'll surely arrive too late to catch NYRA's 1:30 news conference announcing a new member of the senior management team (Paulick?), but I'm sure one of my fellow bloggers will be all over that story when it breaks. Update: NYRA announced the hiring the Hal Handel...; [Posted August 23, 2007 10:30 AM]; ---

Street Sense Works: - It seems like Saratoga just started, but Travers week begins Wednesday and the end begins the week after. A couple of years ago, when I worked on the backstretch, this week was the one where everything -- morning tasks, detention barn afternoons, the newspaper lady delivering each day's Times and Form, the produce guy driving slowly past the barns calling, "Fruta! Fruta!" -- settled, became routine. It wasn't dull, though, of course not. Travers Day was approaching and Lost in the Fog was in an Oklahoma barn, First Samurai was all glorious potential, Bellamy Road was making his return....; [Posted August 21, 2007 11:00 PM]; ---

'Riches Possible for Travers?: We knew Rags to Riches wasn't too likely for the Travers, even though the Belmont winner is nominated for the race, but then trainer Todd Pletcher hinted at the possibility she might start in the mid-summer Derby after Rags to Riches outworked Magna Graduate in 1:00.50 over the Saratoga main track this morning. "I haven't ruled it out completely," Pletcher said. "But it's extremely unlikely. I did not work her this morning with the idea that this was a work for the Travers" (Times Union). The Toddster is such a tease. Is he wavering in his plan to send the...; [Posted August 19, 2007 08:30 PM]; ---

Still More Happy: Another Vindication baby winner for trainer Bob Baffert at Saratoga: Just like stablemate Maimonides last week in his dazzling debut, favored More Happy went to the lead early and widened her advantage to more than four lengths at the top of the stretch in today's Adirondack Stakes. Unlike Maimonides, she then tired pretty badly (check out the replay and watch for the tail pop indicating she's almost done), staggering to the wire barely three-quarters of a length ahead of A to the Croft to win. Todd Pletcher's Passion finished third after encountering some traffic trouble. Final time for the race...; [Posted August 15, 2007 09:30 PM]; ---

Curlin Out of Travers: - Trainer Steve Asmussen announced today Curlin would skip the Travers and train up to the September 30 Jockey Club Gold Cup. "After the Belmont, the Classic was the major goal for the second half of the season," Asmussen said. "Running him back in the Travers and keeping him at that level for another 60 days, I think, is unrealistic" (NYRA). Wait ... if Curlin ran in the Travers, he wouldn't start again until the Classic? Surely another race could fit into that 60 day layoff -- like the Gold Cup -- especially for a horse who seemed to thrive...; [Posted August 13, 2007 09:15 PM]; ---

What You Want to See for $4.6M: - Over a good track and under a handride, Maimonides romped in his debut at Saratoga this afternoon, crossing the wire 11 1/2 lengths ahead of place horse Sam's Passion. It was a super performance: Maimonides assumed the lead early, cruised easy into the stretch, then drew off with a shrug when jockey Rafael Bejarano shook him up at the 16th pole, seemingly just for fun. Final time was 1:04.41; Maimonides' Beyer speed figure came back an 89. Trainer Bob Baffert couldn't have been happier with the two-year-old Vindication colt's victory, which was the conditioner's first maiden win at the...; [Posted August 8, 2007 09:30 PM]; ---

Funny Cide Party Plans Set: Funny Cide's retirement party is all set for next Friday at Saratoga: The Kentucky Derby winner turned stable pony will parade for fans on the racetrack one last time, an oversized card will be available for signing, and NYRA will give away copies of a limited edition PEB poster commemorating the occasion, which will be autographed by members of Sackatoga Stable and jockey Jose Santos (who announced his retirement earlier this week) outside the silks room. "It's going to be a blast," said Jack Knowlton, managing partner for Sackatoga (Times Union)....; [Posted August 3, 2007 09:00 AM]; ---

Thunder Chicken: - Rags to Riches settles in at the Spa, makes a new friend, deals with paparazzi (NTRA). - Teuflesberg makes his turf debut in the Glow Stakes, Saturday's third race at Saratoga. "He's just doing so well and feeling so good that we wanted to find something to keep him on the level," said trainer Jamie Sanders of the move (ThoroTimes). Nobiz Like Shobiz will try the same on Monday, when he starts in the G2 Hall of Fame Stakes for trainer Barclay Tagg. - After nearly two years off, the bard made a triumphant return to the races on...; [Posted August 3, 2007 08:50 AM]; ---

Wednesday Evening Notes: - Week two at Saratoga got off to a better start than week one, although favorite Rumspringa was declared a non-starter after unseating rider Ramon Dominguez at the break in the first race. Dominguez was uninjured and all wagers refunded on Rumspringa, who was claimed by owner Michael Repole and trainer Bruce Levine. Winning Move Stable owner Steve Sigler is contesting the claim of the horse from his barn, since Rumspringa lost the jock and was ineligible to run for purse money (DRF). - Trainer Todd Pletcher went 0-for-4 at the Spa today, but both his regular riders scored a...; [Posted August 1, 2007 06:00 PM]; ---

They Won, They're In: - Did anyone else find Saturday's first Breeders' Cup Challenge day as much a yawn as I did? Three of the four horses who won at Saratoga were probably headed to the Breeders' Cup anyway, although Lawyer Ron was being considered for the Mile, a race perhaps more suited to his running style, and now has a berth in the Classic, a race he finished ninth in last year. Go For Wand winner Ginger Punch will have to be supplemented $180,000 to claim her guaranteed Distaff spot. It was great to see My Typhoon score a well-earned G1 victory following...; [Posted July 30, 2007 11:00 PM]; ---

Carryover Alert: Thanks to a parade of longshots, there's a one-day pick six carryover of $212,258 at Del Mar today; at the Spa, a one-day pick six carryover of $92,503....; [Posted July 30, 2007 07:30 AM]; ---

Record, or Teletimer Error?: From the Crist Blog: Lawyer Ron ran a huge race winning the Whitney Saturday afternoon, but his reported track-record time of 1:46.64 is so completely out of whack with the other races on the Saratoga card that there is serious doubt about whether the clocking was accurate. Internal fractions for the Whitney were :23.86, :23.51, :22.91, :24.07, and :12.29. NYRA is looking into the possibility of a Teletimer error, possibly in the third quarter. If the final time is right, Lawyer Ron's Whitney Beyer figure would be 128 -- a number achieved only by Ghostzapper in recent years. Update: Although...; [Posted July 29, 2007 09:20 AM]; ---

Legitimate Fractions: Lawyer Ron takes the Whitney in a record-setting final time of 1:46.64 on a speed-favoring track, paying $13.00 to win (video). Wanderin Boy set early fractions of :23.86, :47.37, and 1:10.28, and held on for second. Diamond Stripes was third....; [Posted July 28, 2007 06:10 PM]; ---

Zito, Live at the Spa: Trainer Todd Pletcher may be in a slump with first-time two-year-old starters at Saratoga, but trainer Nick Zito picked up right where he left off last year at the Spa, sending out War Pass in the second to win his maiden debut at 7-1 odds. In 2006, Zito started 17 two-year-old first-timers, winning with six (35%), and finishing in the money eight times (47%), with a median payout of $13.30. The numbers were a stark change from his 2005 record, in which the trainer went 1-for-12. "The owners of today like instant gratification," Zito said of the shift. "They like...; [Posted July 28, 2007 02:30 PM]; ---

Saturday Spa Stakes: Notes from a quick skim of past performances for the first four Breeders' Cup Challenge races at Saratoga, which have all come up pleasingly competitive ... In the Diana, trainer Patrick Biancone starts three, with Countess Scala running as a rabbit for Mauralakana, although Danzon seems more likely to benefit. The four-year-old filly, a closer, finished third in open company in the G1 Turf Classic on Derby day at Churchill. That stakes was won by Sky Conqueror, who followed up with another score in the Northern Dancer at Woodbine this month. My Typhoon starts off back-to-back wins in the G2...; [Posted July 28, 2007 01:30 AM]; ---

Saratoga Babies: - Ready's Image Beyer for Thursday's Sanford Stakes came back a big 104, which easily makes the strapping colt trained by Todd Pletcher the two-year-old division leader. As Steven Crist points out on his new blog though, "how far will he go, being by More Than Ready out of a Clever Trick mare?" My question is, how much of a monster is Rated Feisty? The Steve Amussen-trained filly beat Ready's Image by more than seven lengths in the G3 Kentucky Breeders' Cup in May, earning a 102 Beyer for that race. He came back from that third place finish to...; [Posted July 27, 2007 05:00 PM]; ---

And They're Off at the Spa: Just back from a whirlwind opening day trip to Saratoga. More on that, the Schuylerville and Sanford, the upcoming weekend Breeders' Cup Challenge races, the ADW mess, and Del Mar on Friday ......; [Posted July 25, 2007 11:55 PM]; ---

Opening Day Entries: For Saratoga are up. And what a card it is, with 10 full fields and the first juvenile stakes of the season. The Schuylerville attracted nine two-year-old fillies, including trainer Barclay Tagg's According to Plan, an impressive debut winner at Belmont last month, and Subtle Aly, one of trainer Steve Asmussen's many winning first-time starters at Churchill this summer, making her first start for Richard Dutrow....; [Posted July 22, 2007 11:00 AM]; ---

Saratoga Summer: Photos from the meet just ended ... Bellamy Road walks to the paddock before the Travers Horses are loaded in the gate for a seven-furlong race Two railbirds wait for a race on the final Wednesday of the meet A crowd watches the action near the backstretch mutuel booth Horses are given morning baths behind an Oklahoma barn Horse laundry hung to dry A Clare Court barn...; [Posted September 9, 2005 04:10 PM]; ---

Travers Day: And the crowds are out in Saratoga, both in town and at the track. I'm looking to beat Bellamy Road in the Travers with Reverberate and Andromeda's Hero, but probably will pass on betting the Hopeful or the King's Bishop -- First Samurai and Henny Hughes dominate in the former and unless something freakish occurs (as it did to Ashado in yesterday's Personal Ensign), Lost in the Fog is a lock in the latter. --- It's true. Alan did tell me he liked Shadow Cast when I saw him minutes before the Personal Ensign. I liked Island Sand, thinking the...; [Posted August 27, 2005 10:40 AM]; ---

Saratoga Saturday: By the numbers ... 5: The number of gawkers visiting First Samurai's stall this morning, including ESPN commentator Randy Moss and noted equine surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage. The two-year-old First Samurai won his last two races by a combined 11 1/2 lengths and will start in the Hopeful next Saturday. The colt breezed four furlongs in :47.46 on Friday morning, a time jockey Jerry Bailey, aboard for the work, attributes to there being a couple of horses ahead of him. "He had a target for half the work and it made him work a little bit better," said Bailey (Daily...; [Posted August 20, 2005 12:45 PM]; ---

Thursday Eve Notes: I see via Left at the Gate that congressman Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, chairman of the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, is most displeased with the response he's received from the Jockeys' Guild to his request for documents in an investigation into the matter of jockeys' insurance. It seems the Guild has dodged (Thoroughbred Times) providing documents relating to president Wayne Gertmenian's consulting company, Matrix, to which the organization has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in management and real estate fees. In a letter to the Guild, Representative Whitfield asks, among other things, that Gertmenian: Describe in detail the...; [Posted August 18, 2005 06:30 PM]; ---

The First Half: Monday marked the midpoint of the Saratoga meet; Wednesday kicks off the fourth week of racing. Ahead lies the Alabama (this Saturday) and the Travers (the following). I've had a great time in the past three weeks. The meet got off to a bit of slow start for me -- before last Saturday, I'd made a total of nine bets and cashed only two tickets, one on the Michael Matz-trained Quadrant, who ran an excellent second to Ice Wynnd Fire in the same allowance race on August 6 that Noble Causeway was pulled up in, and another on the Suffolk...; [Posted August 16, 2005 08:00 PM]; ---

A Belated Note from the Spa: I am chagrined. A little shamefaced that Railbird posting has dwindled to almost nothing in the past three weeks. All this time in Saratoga, and I've barely written a word. The situation is so bad that when I met Alan of Left at the Gate at the track on Saturday, he greeted me with, "What happened? It's like you fell into a black hole." Not quite ... just Saratoga, where racing crowds out all else. Some notes and observations on the meet's first half are coming soon ......; [Posted August 15, 2005 08:00 PM]; ---

Opening Day: Or, what I saw in the detention barn. A full report on that boondoggle, as well as comments on Monday's Saratoga Preview and the meet's opening days, coming Friday or Saturday. Posting three or four times a week may have been an ambitious plan -- the past week has been a blur of horses and people and I've spent less than, oh, an hour online in that time. Saratoga is fantastic, though, and I hope to write about it as much as I can over the next month....; [Posted July 28, 2005 02:35 PM]; ---

Railbird Moves to Saratoga: Saratoga opens on Wednesday, and I'm in town for the whole meet starting today. Through August, I'll be posting three or four times a week, and in a different format -- entries will be in more of a column or diary style, and almost exclusively about the Spa. If you're in Saratoga too, send me an email. I'd love to meet you....; [Posted July 24, 2005 07:00 AM]; ---

Nearing the Start ...: I was in Saratoga this weekend and spent more than an hour wandering over the grandstand and backstretch. The place was buzzing with preparations -- groundskeepers touching up paint, workers moving massive piles of United Tote boxes, newly-hired mutuel tellers training. In the barn area, I saw the new security accomodations. Fencing, screened on the front to block sight of the track, was up around a couple of barns and the tents that will be used to hold horses on race day. When I read about these tents, I was skeptical, but I have to say they looked solid, with...; [Posted July 18, 2005 10:25 AM]; ---

12 Days and Counting ...: Only 12 days to go until Saratoga opens! In about half an hour, I'll be on the Mass Pike heading west for the weekend on a little exploratory pre-opening trip. I'll be back on Sunday with a report on the track and some thoughts on the upcoming season. For now, check out John Pricci's handicapping tips for the meet (MSNBC) and Paul Daley's guide to betting two-year-olds (Lowell Sun)....; [Posted July 15, 2005 11:00 AM]; ---

Back to Belmont: More than half the 1800 horses stabled at Saratoga have moved back to Belmont Park, where racing begins on Friday, leaving the backside looking like a ghost town and some trainers feeling blue. "As far as I'm concerned [Saratoga] is the last remaining treasure in racing ... Belmont Park is a thing of beauty but other than days like the Belmont Stakes or a nice fall day of racing, nothing is happening down there. It is always happening up here. Every day is a party," Nick Zito tells the Times Union....; [Posted September 8, 2004 05:55 PM]; ---

A Cold Season?: "There was a chill in the air Monday morning in the backstretch at Saratoga Race Course, perhaps as much a metaphor of the mood of this meeting as a herald of the change of seasons. People working on the inside and fans alike just didn't seem to warm up to this six-week session as they usually do. I can't put my finger on all of it, but there was a negative buzz surrounding this Saratoga session," writes Matt Graves. Hm ... perhaps it was all the Getnick & Getnick Integrity Hotline signs plastered everywhere. (Times Union)...; [Posted September 7, 2004 07:50 AM]; ---

The Pair to Beat: With only one day left in the meet, Todd Pletcher has saddled 35 winners at Saratoga; John Velazquez has ridden 34 of those 35. "To their rival trainers and jockeys, the names Todd Pletcher and John Velazquez have been the most discouraging words at Saratoga Race Course this summer." (New York Times) Related: "Training Todd's labor of love" (New York Daily News)...; [Posted September 6, 2004 09:00 AM]; ---

More Like a Nightmare: Matt Graves imagines opening day at Saratoga, 2007: "Smith: 'We'd also like to introduce you to some of the members of the new team at Saratoga -- Martha Stewart, vice president of food and beverage; Ivan Boesky, chief financial officer; Alfonse D'Amato, general counsel and director of parking; Tom Ridge, head of security; and Bobby Hull, chief of promotions. By the way, Bobby tells me we'll be having 'NHL Day at the Track' every Sunday during the meet. We hope to see you all back here on Labor Day."' (Times Union)...; [Posted September 5, 2004 08:15 PM]; ---

One Last Trip to Saratoga: My racing companion and I made one last trip to Saratoga for the season on Thursday. We opened the day with a lovely little win in the first race on Fabulous Peak, a gelding shipped in from Suffolk at the start of August who's acquitted himself well at the Spa with two wins at the claiming $25,000 level. Our next win came in the third race, a steeplechase, when Tres Touche won at odds of 8-1. Between me and the RC, we're 3-3 on steeplechases this summer, a record that I must ascribe to dummy god intervention, because neither of...; [Posted September 3, 2004 08:00 AM]; ---

Wrapping Up at Saratoga: With a week to go, Bill Finley grades this year's meet. Todd Pletcher and Azeri earn As; Purge, no surprise, gets a D. (ESPN) Vans are pulling out of the Saratoga backside loaded with horses bound for Belmont, but trainer Bobby Frankel's barn is still hopping. (New York Daily News)...; [Posted August 31, 2004 05:45 PM]; ---

He Has Success, But No Stalls: Michael Gill is the leading owner at Saratoga so far this year, with seven wins from 43 horses, but NYRA won't give him stalls at the track: "While Gill's horses are welcome here, Gill believes he is not. As is the case in most jurisdictions, Gill is not allotted stalls in New York. Gill says it's because of his aggressive claiming tactics.... New York Racing Association officials, however, point to Gill's and his trainers' troubled past as to why he is denied stalls." (Daily Racing Form)...; [Posted August 26, 2004 09:15 AM]; ---

Best First Two Weeks Ever: Saratoga's success this year makes it hard to criticize NYRA: "After one-third of the 2004 meet, on-track attendance is just under 5,000 fans ahead of last year, but the staggering statistic is that on-track handle is up $6.6 million, or roughly 19 percent, when all the doomsayers had NYRA standing on its last legs." (Times Union)...; [Posted August 12, 2004 11:15 AM]; ---

Saratoga Daytrip: I couldn't stay away. Early Wednesday morning found me making the drive from Boston to Saratoga for the afternoon's races. I was rewarded for the hours in the car with a nice win in the first race and the thrill of watching an upset in the eighth race....; [Posted August 5, 2004 05:20 PM]; ---

And They're Off at Saratoga: Everything I'd heard about Saratoga was true: The track was beautiful, the racing magnificent, the atmosphere lively. I only wish I could have been there more than three days. No big wins for me, but my racing companion scored in the first race of the second day, a steeplechase, when 15-1 Paradise's Boss won, paying $32.20. Related: Compete DRF Saratoga coverage, and "How to $core at 'Toga Party" (New York Post)...; [Posted August 1, 2004 04:10 PM]; ---

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