JC / Railbird

Miscellany Archive

Catching Up

Now that I’ve returned from my little jaunt to Lexington, Kentucky, it’s time to start blogging again. That is, as soon as I catch up on news, emails, mail etc. I was in Lexington to do some work on my book about America’s greatest racehorses (due to the publisher August 1, a deadline approaching with angst-inducing speed) at the Keeneland Library, and while I did spend several hours there, I also took time to visit Old Friends (a wonderful organization devoted to caring for retired thoroughbreds), Kentucky Horse Park (which celebrated John Henry’s 31st birthday on Thursday), and Turfway (no big wins, but I came away impressed by the excellent customer service and glad to have had the chance to see Polytrack up close). I also stopped at Ramsey’s Diner in downtown Lexington to try a bit of Kentucky cuisine, the hot brown, a dish that horrified me when the waitress plunked down a plate that appeared to be filled entirely with melted cheese, but turned out to be quite tasty once I found the turkey and tomato underneath (thanks to Ed for the recommendation).

Posted in Miscellany on March 13, 2006

This Week

Railbird will be on hiatus this week, as I’m in Kentucky for a few days. Posting will resume on Monday, March 13.

Posted in Miscellany on March 6, 2006

Odds & Ends

– Jockey, 62, has never broken a bone. “I’ve had many spills but I’ve never broken anything,” said Nuke Shim. “That’s why I keep going.” Shim started riding in 1959 and says he may continue until he’s 65.
– Forget handicapping. Just sprinkle some race track occult powder over your Form.
– Polytrack moves west. The California Horse Racing Board will require all tracks running meets longer than four weeks to install the surface by the end of 2007.
– Imagine the embarrassment. Given a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of calling a race, reporter Roger Clark badly bungled the call of the third at Aqueduct on Thursday. Listen to the debacle on NYRA’s RaceReplays site.

Posted in Miscellany on February 17, 2006