Railbird 2004–2019

Miscellany Archive

Headlines: February 1

– Owner Michael Gill’s quest to win an Eclipse fell short for the second time this year. Why? Easy: In the eyes of some voters, “Gill hasn’t done anything superior.” (DRF)
– With rebate shops, “everyone comes out a winner,” says Bill Finley. (ESPN)
– Jockey Gary Boulanger is showing signs of improvement, although he remains in critical condition, following surgery on Sunday for injuries he sustained at Gulfstream on Saturday. (BH)
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Posted in Miscellany on February 1, 2005

Headlines: January 31

– Take a right on Funny Cide. WinStar names it roads after its best-known horses. (LHL)
– A wedding planner called trainer John Servis last spring in hopes of renting Smarty Jones for a post-nuptial carriage ride. Funny. (Cap.)
– Suffolk rider Jill Jellison, at Tampa for the winter, trails Vicki Aragon-Baze by only two wins for third place on the all-time winningest female jockeys list. (DRF)
– Jockey Gary Boulanger is in critical condition after a fall during the Mac Diarmida Handicap at Gulfstream on Sunday. (Globe)
– The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority is expected to recommend this week the creation of a worker’s comp fund for riders (TT) … How other states handle insurance for riders and workers. (LHL)
– The Cornell equine testing lab is freezing urine samples now for use as new performance enhancing substances tests are developed. (NYRA)
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Posted in Miscellany on January 31, 2005

Headlines: January 29

– The Happy Handicapper narrows his Kentucky Derby picks to 14 (BN) … Gary West notes that picking Triple Crown contenders has become a “Sisyphean puzzle.” (ST)
– Jockey Patti Barton remembers her appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. She earned a pencil flip for telling “the Cliff Thompson story.” (LAT)
– New York Governor George Pataki’s proposal that anyone bidding for NYRA should expect to pay a $250 million franchise fee “is a not-very-veiled way of telling NYRA it’s not being invited back in the game after its turn ends.” (CN)
– Jay Cronley thanks those who finance racing: the slot machine players. (ESPN)
– NBC is airing the Sunshine Millions today, with coverage starting at 4 p.m. (Eastern Time). (BH)
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Posted in Miscellany on January 29, 2005

Headlines: January 27

– Rockport Harbor worked five furlongs at Oaklawn yesterday. The workout was the undefeated colt’s first since suffering an injury in the Remsen Stakes last November. (Inq.)
– Midas Eyes looks like the favorite in this Saturday’s Sunshine Millions Classic. (ESPN)
– More than 5,000 turned out for Laurel’s “soft” reopening on Wednesday. The official reopening is set for Saturday. (Sun)
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Posted in Miscellany on January 27, 2005

Headlines: January 26

– “Paths plotted for top runners.” Sweet Catomine may race against males in Santa Anita Derby, Kitten’s Joy could head to France for the Arc de Triomphe. (BH)
– Eclipse winner Declan’s Moon is “Maryland’s horse,” says breeder Brice Ridgeley. (Sun)
– NYRA announced on Tuesday that it was cutting off six more simulcasting sites, and won’t restore the signal unless the sites comply with a strict disclosure code. (DRF)
– January: “The month when the sport’s long-simmering problems became too hot to ignore,” writes Kevin Modesti. (LHL)
– Saturday, January 29, is the third annual Sunshine Millions. (Official site)
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Posted in Miscellany on January 26, 2005