Railbird 2004–2019

Archive for 2004

And HOTY Goes to …

Smarty Jones, says Pohla Smith at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Paul Daley, at the Lowell Sun, is a little less decisive, making cases for both Smarty and Ghostzapper.

Posted in HOF/Awards on December 19, 2004

Inside Job

“Raids last week at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga were precipitated by a tip from New York Racing Association management who learned that jockeys might have been allowed to carry the wrong weights in races, an executive of the agency said yesterday. Peter Karches, the agency’s co-chairman-elect, said that once its management became aware that some weights might have been misreported, it notified the office of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.” (New York Times)

Posted in NY Racing Issues on December 19, 2004

Headlines: December 19

– Declan’s Moon takes Futurity (LAT)
– Prep race changes cloud Derby trail (Sun)
– Jockey Fogelsonger to be on MTV (Pim.)
– Send links, comments to railbird at jessicachapel dot com

Posted in Miscellany on December 19, 2004

The Right Thing to Say

“When the Grade I $200,000 Hollywood Futurity is conducted Saturday (post time 6:05 p.m.), Hollywood Park will win the attention of the horse racing world because the word is out that the result will determine the winner of the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old colt. Here’s the proper response to a statement like that: ‘What a horrible thing to say about the Hollywood Futurity.'” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

Posted in Races/Results on December 17, 2004

Hundreds of Hopefuls Turn Out

Hong Kong is crazy for horseracing, and jockey there are well-paid celebrities. “So when the Hong Kong Jockey Club sought applicants for its apprentice jockey program, 150 candidates showed up — and almost none had ever been within spitting distance of a horse, much less sat on one.” Only six hopefuls made it into the eight-year training program. (International Herald Tribune)

Posted in International on December 17, 2004