Noted: July 13
– Strange things happen in racing. Consider the story of Joey P., “the offspring of a $25,000 claimer named Close Up out of a mare named Luckey Lipco, who was bought by breeder-owner John Petrini, a retired state cop, for $500. Trainer Frank Costa had been around for a while, but he was the type of hard-luck guy who never seemed to have a good horse and had never won a graded stakes in his 33 years in the business. Jockey Alfredo Clemente? Let’s just say he didn’t exactly remind anybody of Jerry Bailey.” Joey P. is now for 5-for-5 and one race away from meeting Afleet Alex in the Haskell (ESPN).
– Albany Times-Union columnist Matt Graves announces his retirement in a farewell column that looks back at 35 years of sports writing. “Remarkably, I spent much of my career writing about athletes who never uttered a syllable — Ruffian, Affirmed, Funny Cide, Seattle Slew and all the rest.”
– Egg Head, the only three-year-old to seriously challenge the undefeated Lost in the Fog, was euthanized Monday after succumbing to laminitis. “This is devastating,” said trainer Kieran McLaughlin (Daily Racing Form).
