JC / Railbird

Miscellany Archive

Headlines: January 9

– Eclipse votes should be made public, says Dale Austin. “There shouldn’t be secrets authorized in sports, especially in the attempt to glorify the great moments.” (Cap.)
– Georgia horsemen are on “a seemingly quixotic mission” to make horseracing legal in the state. Their argument: “Horse racing would help farmers, provide a new source of tax dollars and draw tourists.” (AJC)
– Aqueduct cancelled its Saturday card just before the fourth race, owing to unsafe track conditions. The Count Fleet Stakes was rescheduled for January 15. (NYP)
– Congrats wins San Pasqual Handicap, Badge of Silver takes Hal’s Hope Handicap. (LAT)
– Send links, comments to railbird at jessicachapel dot com

Posted in Miscellany on January 9, 2005

Headlines: January 8

– The fantasy of being a racehorse owner quickly turns to hard reality for “Dream Derby” contestants. (WP)
– Mr. Light’s world record of 1:31:41 for a mile on the turf has been verified, beating the previous record of 1:31:63 set by Elusive Quality at Belmont Park in 1998. (TT)
– The Jockeys’ Guild faces “the possibility of losing a significant portion its annual revenue,” after TRA and California racing officials said that the Guild had failed to provide them with adequate information about its finances. (DRF)
– The California Horse Racing Board admits to making “a crucial error in the wording” of jockey Pat Valenzuela’s suspension. (LAT)
– Churchill’s 2005 stakes will be worth a record $10 million. (CJ)
– Racing columnist Larry Stumes retires, revisits Greg Gilchrist, subject of his first feature, for his last column. (SFC)
– Send links, comments to railbird at jessicachapel dot com

Posted in Miscellany on January 8, 2005

Sports Museum Adds Racing Exhibit

I had heard that the Sports Museum of New England opened a Thoroughbred racing exhibit last month, but I didn’t hurry over to see it because I feared it would be nothing more than a small glass case with a tiny collection of memorabilia dominated by the photo of Seabiscuit winning the 1937 Massachusetts Handicap that appeared on Suffolk’s program cover all last year. Turns out I was right about the photo’s presence, but wrong about the depth of the display. (Lowell Sun)

Posted in Miscellany on January 7, 2005