A slide from a presentation delivered by NYRA’s Glen Kozak shows weather stations and forecasts at the Saratoga Race Course. Image via the Jockey Club’s “Weather Wise: How Sports and Racing Are Adapting” panel discussion in Saratoga Springs on July 31.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — On the turf or off the turf? For horse racing fans, the answer to this question can be more important than Hamlet’s existential query, “To be, or not to be?”
A panel discussion held in Saratoga Springs last week helped shed light on how the New York Racing Association (NYRA) monitors weather forecasts, which can decide whether conditions will allow races to be run on or off the turf (or, in more extreme cases, whether races will be run at all).
Glen Kozak, NYRA’s executive vice president of operations and capital projects, said that NYRA collects its own data via three weather stations on the Saratoga Race Course property. These stations capture data pertaining to moisture, temperature, wind speed, and air quality (the last of which has increasingly become an issue due to wildfires in Canada).
Kozak credited Kaleb Dempsey of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory with designing the equipment that provides real-time data that impacts not only decisions related to turf racing but also the track’s scheduling plans in general.
NYRA also utilizes the services of three on-call weather agencies, allowing them to consult with meteorologists whenever necessary.
“Dealing with the weather services, we’re able to get information on how we prepare the track, what we’re doing with the track; and then it’s the discussions with the racing office and the officials on what we would do for the day,” Kozak said.
Weather (pun intended) horse racing fans agree or disagree with NYRA’s decisions to alter or reschedule certain races, it can’t be denied that such decisions are well-substantiated.
Trainer Bob Dunham and his horse Come Full Circle.
If there is a horse’s name that reflects a trainer’s career, then Bob Dunham may have the horse with Come Full Circle.
Making his fifth career start in Friday’s eighth race at Saratoga Race Course (a New York-bred $30,000 maiden claiming race), Come Full Circle stalked the pace, then drew clear under Ricardo Santana Jr. for a 2 ½-length win.
Not only was this Dunham’s first victory this year, it was also his first Saratoga win since August 2021 when Byhubbyhellomoney, a filly that he claimed for $40,000 out of a maiden race in June that year, took the Fleet Indian Stakes.
Come Full Circle’s victory also had a personal connection for Dunham. The gelding is one of the last couple of horses bred by E. Siobhan McCormack before her passing on June 2, 2024. After graduating from Towson University, she moved to Long Island in the 1980s to become a pharmaceutical researcher while following her passion for Thoroughbred racing.
Dunham worked with McCormack for 25 years in both breeding and racing as their first winner was New York-bred Kaydeross over the Aqueduct Inner Dirt track in January 2009. Though, their follow-up New York-bred horses had struggled.
Crick was on the verge of winning his first race following two second-place finishes before Rudy Rodriguez claimed the mare for $25,000 in November 2020. Wind in My Sail went 0-for-11 after coming close with a second-place finish and five third-place finishes. Sachia never finished better than fourth in eight races. Second Fortune went 0-for-14 with just a second-place and third-place finish.
However, one of their state-breds provided a glimpse of hope: two-time turf winner Cirque, who is the dam of Come Full Circle. Of her 13 career races, Cirque finished second twice and third two other times. The 9-year-old mare is currently in foal to Galilean, a winner of six black type stakes races on the West Coast after originally brought for $600,000 as a two-year-old.
“She was into New York-breds and had four mares at one time,” Durham said. “Cirque is the best thing that she had. Though, I tried to get her to upgrade.”
Durham also has one other horse under the McCormick estate: Kaaterskill, who is slowly training following a minor setback. Her lone victory came late last year on the grass in beating a group of state-breds competing at a $75,000 maiden claiming level. Since that race, she has also been in foal to Galilean.
“She had an ankle issue, but she is getting back into training,” Dunham said. “We have just the two mares who are in foal. We’re trying to hold onto them.”
At 88, Dunham has a memorable horseman career – even outside of racing – that spans more than six decades. Being from Lexington, Kentucky, Dunham always had an interest in working with horses and those who were associated with them.
His interest led him to gallop horses while attending the University of Kentucky. After a couple of years, Dunham admitted that he was tired of attending classes, but still wanted to be around the horses.
Since college was no longer an option, Dunham enrolled in the military as he went through the first six weeks of basic training (including learning to jump out of a tree from an ex-paratrooper) in Kansas, then going to Fort Knox for the second half where he scored well on tests that landed him an opportunity to learn about being a counter intelligence coordinator.
Durham eventually went back to the horses by working as an assistant to Moody Jolley, the father of Hall of Fame trainer Leroy Jolley, in the late 1950s. During his time with Jolley, he got a chance to work with five-time Eclipse Award winner and 1958 Horse of the Year Round Table, as well as Doubledogdare, who was a champion filly at two and three years old, and 2-year-old champion colt Nadir.
That experience became a pathway to his career. One of his highlights was training Chou Croute to become the 1972 sprint champion after winning 8-of-15 races that year, including the Fall Highweight Handicap in which she defeated Icecapade.
Dunham also had a good trainer-jockey relationship with the late Mike Venezia. In fact, both of them went to the Kentucky Derby twice, which included one of them overcoming an accident.
In the 1970 running, Action Getter jumped over Holy Land who clipped heels with another horse and fell around the half-mile pole before finishing 13th. Shortly after that race, Venezia jokingly entertained the idea of steeplechase racing for the horse.
“Mike Venezia and I were close, and we won a lot of races together,” Dunham said. “He was a great guy and very intelligent. Mike’s horse jumped over the other horse going into the turn. As Mike is unsaddling the horse, he said to me that ‘We didn’t win the Derby, but we may win the Grand National.’ I thought that was so great.”
Another person that was integral to Dunham’s career was Carl Hughes Jr., who played pool while they were in a Bourbon County high school in Kentucky. When they were in Keeneland, Dunham convinced Hughes Jr. on a mare, Ten Ahead, who didn’t have much success on the track, but there was potential through breeding.
Hughes Jr. took Ten Ahead, and in return, he gave Dunham a horse: Dunham’s Gift, who won 9-of-25 races that included a pair of Saratoga allowance races and the Westchester Handicap. Dunham’s Gift was also a promising 3-year-old with on-the-board finishes in the Bay Shore and Gotham Stakes before finishing sixth in the Wood Memorial.
Hughes Jr. and Dunham also had two other horses who were graded stakes winners in the mid-1980s: Aggressive Bid and Moment of Hope. Aggressive Bid, a winner of 7-of-13 races, took Aqueduct Handicap. Moment of Hope won 6-of-23 races, including the Stuyvesant Handicap, Discovery Handicap, and the Salvatore Mile Handicap while finishing second to Lac Ouimet in the Jim Dandy Stakes.
While Dunham still has a passion for training horses, he also enjoys fly fishing and his yellow retriever. In fact, after Friday’s winning race, he planned a trip to Vermont for a weekend of fly fishing. He believes all of this is part of his longevity.
“This gives me something to do. If you got a dog and a horse, I think you live longer. I’ve got a yellow lab and I’ve got the horse,” Dunham chuckled. “Racing has been great to me.”
With the Saratoga win, it may be fair to say that Dunham’s career has come full circle.
In what seemed like the true opening of the Saratoga race meet, the New York Racing Association hosted a full house for the running of a stellar Whitney Stakes card. On a perfect weather day, Saturday’s stakes-filled racing card produced a robust betting handle, making up lost ground from the first two weeks.
After the unveiling of a slew of expensive first-time starters in the early races, the sundrenched crowd saw Sierra Leone prove best in the Whitney. Fierceness, the even money favorite, disappointed with a lackluster effort. Sierra Leone now seems destined to seek a repeat of his victory in last year‘s Breeders’ Cup Classic, while questions remain about Fierceness’ future.
Saratoga Yearling Sales
The annual Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sales, (also benefitting from beautiful weather), were held this week with stunning results across the board. Total sales exceeded $100 million with the average price up a whopping 18% at $629,469 and the median price up 8 % to $450,000. A combination of recent tax cuts for the upper brackets, newly enacted accelerated depreciation for race horses, and a strong expectation of increasing inflation fueled the appetite for investment in equine assets. The sport, at least at the upper end, remains on firm footing.
Disqualifications
From coast-to-coast, racing saw several controversial disqualifications this week. In what seems to be a reversal of the general hands-off approach of racing stewards when it comes to non-contact interference or contact out of the starting gates, bettors were generally surprised by these disqualifications. This new strictness is partially a result of the use of drone television footage, which more clearly and dramatically shows if a horse deviates from a straight path. This may lead to a trend of more disqualifications, which is usually an unsatisfactory outcome, but let’s hope the racing stewards are careful not to overreact to this new technology.
Computer Assisted Wagering
Last week’s column spoke of the dramatic effect computer assisted wagering (“CAW”) is having on the payouts on certain bets and the need to assure a level playing field for bettors. As if on cue, two glaring examples occurred at Saratoga this past week when the lightly bet quinella wager actually paid more than the same race exacta. In an efficient market, a quinella should NEVER pay more than an exacta…NEVER. It is clear this inefficiency in the market is caused by the outsized influence of CAWs on the exacta pool. Since the quinella bet is only offered on races 2 and 4 and is lightly bet, it is not targeted by the CAWs. For the small player, it is a bet worth considering (twice a day).
Rosemary Pasquarello – Clerk of Scales
It is always nice to see a true racetracker move up the ranks within the sport and the appointment of Rosemary Pasquarello as the new Clerk of Scales squarely fits the bill. Ms. Pasquarello began her career in racing as a hotwalker (as did this writer), and worked hands-on with horses for more than a decade with Gary Sciacca’s barn.
Entering NYRA’s employment in 2016 first in the Horse Identification Department, and then the racing office, Ms. Pasquarello admirably performed in numerous roles. In July 2025, she was named NYRA’s Clerk of Scales, a role that makes her responsible for ensuring jockeys carry the correct weight, get to the paddock on time, are wearing the correct silks, and generally overseeing all the preparation necessary for racing. It’s a position that “wears many hats” and one that requires the type of experience and dedication Ms. Pasquarello possesses. A wise choice.
NYRA teams with Emerald Ecovations on track sustainability
The huge Whitney Day crowd did more than their share of eating and drinking on Saturday. Over the past decades, the Saratoga Race Course has become as much a food service location as a betting location. This volume of activity inevitably leaves its mark on the environment and by teaming with Emerald Ecovations, the industry leader in sustainable food service, the New York Racing Association is greatly softening that mark.
Emerald Evocations will provide a variety of sustainable food service products for use across Saratoga Race Course, including cups, bowls, containers, napkins, and utensils. You will see their name emblazoned throughout the racetrack.
Ralph Bianculli, president/CEO of Emerald Ecovations and a horse owner on the circuit, sees NYRA leading the way in sporting facility environmental stewardship.
Your day at the races should leave behind only memories, not environmental refuse, so kudos to NYRA and Emerald Ecovations and here’s hoping other venues follow.
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced the lineup of attractions, entertainment, and events for the 2025 summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course.
Highlighted by the 156th edition of the Grade I, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on Saturday, August 23, and the Grade I, $1 million Whitney on Saturday, August 2, the 40-day summer meet will open on Thursday, July 10 and run through Monday, September 1.
Following the four-day opening week, racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, apart from the final week, when the meet will conclude on Labor Day.
First post will be 1:10 p.m. every day except Saturdays, when first post will be 12:35 p.m. The only exceptions are Whitney Day featuring a 12:05 p.m. first post and DraftKings Travers Day with first post at 11:40 a.m. Post times for Labor Day weekend will be announced at a later date.
Admission gates will open for live racing at 11 a.m. for all but Whitney Day, when gates will open at 10 a.m. and DraftKings Travers Day, when gates will open at 9 a.m.
Giveaway #4 – Saratoga Pennant:
Friday, August 8
Fans can commemorate the midway mark of the meet by claiming a red and white commemorative felt pennant featuring the familiar images of historic Saratoga Race Course. Available free with paid admission, while supplies last.
Corgi Competition:
Sunday, August 10
Fans will have the chance to register their Corgis to compete on the main track at Saratoga Race Course. Fans are encouraged to check back for more information about this dogged competition at NYRA.com.
Stewart’s Shops Day at the Races:
Wednesday, August 13
Stewart’s Shops will delight fans with free scoops of its award-winning ice cream, while supplies last. Fans can purchase their Saratoga season pass at a $5 savings off the regular price at more than 175 Stewart’s Shops until July 13, in addition to $50 NYRA Bets Gift Cards, which are available through August 31.
Military Appreciation Day presented by Rivers Casino:
Thursday, August 14
NYRA will pay tribute to active military members and veterans in appreciation of their sacrifice and service to our nation. All veterans and active-duty military will be honored with a special ceremony in the Winner’s Circle and receive free admission with a military ID.
Saratoga Breakfast and Breeding Farm Tours:
Every Thursday-Sunday
Saratoga’s Breakfast and Breeding Farm tours will be offered every Thursday through Sunday, beginning with Opening Day, Thursday, July 10, and continuing through Sunday, August 31 (excluding DraftKings Travers Day and Sunday, August 10 whose tour will be offered on Wednesday, August 6). Presented by New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. (NYTB), this year’s itinerary will feature Old Tavern Farm, Sugar Plum Farm and Song Hill Thoroughbreds. The package includes buffet breakfast, transportation, guided tour of a local breeding farm and admission to Saratoga Race Course. Tickets are $95 for adults and $35 for children 12 and under. Each tour accommodates up to 52 guests. Tickets may be purchased at NYRA.com.
Taste NY Pavilion:
Every Thursday-Sunday
New York-made food and beverages will be available for sample and purchase at the Taste NY Pavilion, located inside Gate A at the Top of the Stretch, where fans can enjoy New York craft beers, wines, spirits, jams, jellies, granola and ice cream (must be 21 and older to sample and purchase alcoholic beverages). Featured products hail from across the state as a showcase of New York’s robust food and beverage industry.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A star-studded cast featuring champions Fierceness and Sierra Leone and a sextet of fellow millionaires led by four-time Grade 1 winner White Abarrio are set to line up for the 98th running of Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Whitney at Saratoga Race Course.
The 1 1/8-mile Whitney for 4-year-olds and up, a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic November 1 at Del Mar, serves as the headliner on a 13-race program that includes five graded-stakes worth $3.2 million in purses.
Derrick Smith, Repole Stable, Michael B. Tabor, and Mrs. John Magnier’s Fierceness, the Champion 2-Year-Old Colt of 2023, had his perfect record over Saratoga’s main track ended in the Grade 1 Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap on June 7. Prior to that, he had won three times at the Spa, highlighted by the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and Grade 1 DraftKings Travers last summer.
Fierceness encountered some early trouble in the Met Mile, contested out of the Wilson Chute, and pressed the pace but had to settle for second as the favorite behind Raging Torrent, who was retired in July with a leg injury.
“He was second-best on the day,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. “The way it unfolded he had a bit of a rough start from the inside draw. We had some concerns about the Wilson Chute to begin with but, in all fairness, Raging Torrent ran a good race. We just regroup and get back around two turns and look forward to running him the way he’s been training.”
Second to Sierra Leone in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Fierceness won the Grade 2 Alysheba May 2 in track-record fashion at Churchill Downs in his only other start this year. Hall of Famer John Velazquez is named to ride Fierceness from post 9 in the field of 10.
Pletcher also entered Repole and St. Elias Stable’s Mindframe, a winner of his last three starts. After capturing the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Mile March 1 in his return from more than seven months away, the 4-year-old Constitution colt won the Grade 1 Churchill Downs sprinting seven furlongs and Grade 1 Stephen Foster going 1 1/8 miles, the latter June 28.
Although Pletcher entered both horses, the veteran conditioner noted that he did so with the intent to run one horse.
Pletcher is a four-time winner of the Whitney, finding previous success with Left Bank [2002], Lawyer Ron [2007], Cross Traffic [2013] and Life Is Good [2022].
Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Brook Smith’s Sierra Leone is searching for his first win in three starts this year after finishing third in the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic and second by one length in the Stephen Foster. Beaten a nose in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby last spring, he also finished behind Dornoch and Mindframe in the Belmont and Fierceness in the Jim Dandy and Travers prior to his Breeders’ Cup Classic triumph.
Gary Barber, C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stable’s White Abarrio is the richest of the Whitney participants with more than $7 million in purse earnings from 22 starts, 10 of them wins, including a 6 1/4-length romp in the 2023 Whitney for previous trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. Now back with Saffie Joseph, Jr., the 6-year-old son of Race Day won the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup and Grade 3 Ghostzapper at Gulfstream Park to open 2025 but most recently finished a troubled fourth in the Met Mile.
Joseph, Jr. has another entrant in Daniel Alonso’s well-traveled 6-year-old Skippylongstocking, an 11-time winner that comes out of a popular three-quarter-length victory in the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup May 26 at Santa Anita, his first time going 1 1/4 miles. A veteran of 15 different racetracks in 32 starts, Skippylongstocking prompted the pace in last year’s Whitney before tiring to be fifth behind Arthur’s Ride.
Also returning from last year’s Whitney is Hillwood Stable’s Post Time, who ran third at odds of 25-1 for Maryland-based trainer Brittany Russell. By 2016 Whitney winner Frosted, the 5-year-old Post Time ran second in last year’s Met Mile and has never been worse than third in 18 starts, 11 of them wins including the 2024 Grade 2 Carter presented by NYRA Bets at Aqueduct.
Second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and third in the Grade 2 Cigar Mile presented by TwinSpires.com to cap last year’s campaign, Post Time has two wins in three starts this year. Third, beaten 1 1/4 lengths by 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan in the Grade 3 Blame May 31 at Churchill Downs, he scored a popular 3 1/2-length victory in the 1 1/8-mile Deputed Testamony June 28 at Laurel Park last time out.
Highland Falls, a 5-year-old homebred of Hall of Famer Curlin, will represent Godolphin Stable and trainer Brad Cox in the Whitney. Highland Falls won three times last year including his only prior run at Saratoga in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, before being defeated in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He launched his 2025 campaign with a 5 1/2-length optional claiming allowance triumph going one mile June 27 at Belmont at the Big A.
Completing the Whitney field are Winchell Thoroughbreds’ $1.4 million earner Disarm [Joel Rosario, post 6, 120 pounds, bar shoes OFF], runner-up in the 2023 Travers and third in last year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen; and Jonathan Hardoon’s Mama’s Gold [Romero Maragh, post 4, 120 pounds], most recently second in the 1 1/8-mile Commentator for New York-breds July 4 at Saratoga for conditioner James Ferraro.
Jack Knowlton and Tiz the Law provided by Knowlton.
Hall of Fame inductions define careers and those who made significant contributions to that area, whether it is music, sports, or even science. They also create debates and discussions for inductees and those who did not get nominated or inducted. Thoroughbred racing is no different.
As the Class of 2025 will be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Friday, Jack Knowlton, operating manager of Sackatoga Stable, is hoping that two notables will some day get their recognition: the late Funny Cide and trainer Barclay Tagg.
Funny Cide catapulted Sackatoga Stable to national recognition by winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2003, which eventually gave him the Eclipse Award for 3-year-old male champion. The gelding, who was foaled at the McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbred Farm in Saratoga Springs, won 11-of-38 (for earnings of more than $3.5 million), including the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes, before retiring at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington until his passing on July 16, 2023.
“Certainly, I think Funny Cide deserves to be there,” Knowlton said. “He had over ten 100 Beyer figures in a row. We won 11 races. He was second and third in a lot of stakes races. We went to a lot of different racetracks and ran well in stakes races. He went to Woodbine as a 6-year-old and won a Grade 2 race up there. That’s my barometer.”
Along with advocating for Funny Cide, Knowlton is hoping that his long-time trainer Barcley Tagg is recognized for his accomplishments and role as a horseman. Tagg, who worked with Ruffian as assistant to Hall of Famer Frank Whiteley Jr., has won over 1,600 races, with nearly $67 million in earnings over a career that has expanded more than five decades. Along with the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, Tagg won the Belmont Stakes, Florida Derby, Champagne, and Travers with Tiz the Law, as well as multiple Grade 1 races with horses like Showing Up, Tale of Ekati, Nobiz Like Shobiz, Island Fashion, Bit of Whimsey, and Jersey Town.
“I think he should be there on what he has accomplished with the stock he has had to work with,” Knowlton said. “He has a number of Grade 1 winners when you look at the list. How many trainers have won all three legs of the Triple Crown without winning the Triple Crown? And doing it with New York-breds! I know he is highly respected by all of his peers.”
Knowlton is hoping to add more onto Tagg’s expansive resume in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga Race Course with Tiz Dashing, a 3-year-old colt by Tiz the Law. Tiz Dashing comes into the race off a strong third-place finish to Zulu Kingdom—beaten only a length—in the Grade 3 Manila Stakes during the July 4th Racing Festival at Saratoga. That was the first graded stakes test for Tiz Dashing, who trained at Saratoga last year before winning his debut at Aqueduct. With the exception of the Kitten’s Joy Stakes at Gulfstream Park, Tiz Dashing has finished within a length of the winner in his other four races, including last year’s Awad Stakes, where he was beaten by a head.
“We took a shot in the Manila. That was kind of ambitious,” Knowlton said. “He ran a game race and got beat by a horse who won a Grade 1 race on [Kentucky] Derby Day. He jumped up significantly. Nobody expected much from him in his last race. I think he’s got some credibility.”
Coming into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes, Tiz Dashing again faces a competitive field with Zulu Kingdom, last year’s Skidmore winner Out on Bail, multiple stakes winner Tank, and European shipper Luther.
“It looks like it’s going to be a challenging race with a lot of good horses in there,” Knowlton said. “He’s stakes-placed twice already, including a graded race. Hopefully, the best is yet to come.”
Knowlton also has two more horses by Tiz the Law: O’Bay the Law and Spirit of the Law.
O’Bay the Law, purchased for $170,000 as a yearling at October’s Fasig-Tipton Sales in Keeneland, has yet to race, but he has been posting respectable workouts. Knowlton is hoping O’Bay the Law can make his first start sometime in August.
“We’ll see if he can take to the turf. If he does, he should be ready to run next month,” he said.
Spirit of the Law, sold to Sackatoga Stable for $60,000 as a yearling at the 2023 Saratoga Fasig-Tipton New York-bred sales, is still looking for his first career win as he has finished third twice—once on the turf and once on the synthetic surface—in three starts this year.
Since retiring from racing after 6-of-9 career races and now standing at Coolmore in Kentucky, Tiz the Law has become a promising sire by already producing graded stakes winners who have sold for respectable prices as yearlings and 2-year-olds in training.
Some of these horses include the following: Tiztastic, winner of the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby who sold for $335,000 at Keeneland in September 2023; Out on Bail, who sold for $110,000; and Cloe, a listed stakes winner who sold for $145,000. Both Out on Bail and Cloe were part of last year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales in Florida.
This year’s 2-year-olds in training sales at Ocala also produced eye-opening results with an unnamed Tiz the Law colt selling for $1.5 million. Other 2-year-olds sired by Tiz the Law sold at the sale included Beutane for $1.15 million, Valley Princess for $1.05 million, and Tiz Authority for $825,000.
“It’s really kind of neat to see all of these horses that he sired,” Knowlton said. “They are good horses and they are selling for good money. He’s very popular having sired 2-year-olds this year. Coolmore advised me on the ‘Tizzies’ that were there when we purchased Tiz Dashing as a weanling. They said, ‘Jack, that’s the one you want to buy.’ I took their advice and I have no regrets.”
Knowlton also doesn’t regret being the face of Sackatoga Stable. While he may not consider himself as Hall of Fame status, he is grateful for the success over the last 25 years, especially since his partnership has brought about 300 people into ownership and breeding.
“We’ve done a lot in 25 years and are highlighted by the success of Funny Cide and Tiz the Law, arguably the most successful New York-breds of all time,” Knowlton said. “Over that period, we’ve brought over 200-300 people into Thoroughbred ownership. Several have spun off and formed their own and others have gone into breeding operations.
“I’m grateful for Barclay and assistant trainer Robin Smullen not only for the training job they do, but also for serving as Sackatoga Stable’s bloodstock advisers,” he added. “We haven’t spent a lot of money buying exclusively New York-breds, except for the two Kentucky-breds sired by Tiz the Law. We’re about having fun. That’s what we tell our people. We will show you a good time, hopefully win some races, and everybody will enjoy the sport of kings.”
Photo of Sovereignty in the 2025 Jim Dandy Stakes via NYRA.
Thoroughbred racing fans were treated to a tour de force performance by Sovereignty in this year’s Jim Dandy Stakes. On a beautiful day in front of a large appreciative crowd, Sovereignty showed his dominance defeating Baeza, who tried hard all the way to the wire.
The Jim Dandy field was strong, and in an elongated Saratoga racing season, it seemed more like the Travers Stakes than a Travers prep. The crowd treated it like a coronation, and in many ways, it was. Sovereignty, under the usual heavy ride by Junior Alvarado, toyed with his opponents, at one point dropping back to last, only to make his usual powerful outside run through the stretch. The measured Jim Dandy victory seems to be a perfect set up for the Travers Stakes in a month’s time. Sovereignty is the undisputed leader of this extraordinary three-year-old crop.
Eyes now turn towards the older horses, particularly Repole Stable’s Fierceness, who is expected to be favored in the Whitney Stakes on Saturday Aug. 2. Run since 1928 and named for the Whitney Family, the race is among the most important races on the Thoroughbred calendar.
The Whitney is just one of several stakes races on a tremendous racing card. Sovereignty will face older horses if he were to run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar race track in San Diego on Nov. 1.
To Tapit or Not to Tapit? That is the question.
The sire Tapit has proven to produce tremendously talented racehorses. To date, he has produced almost 2,700 foals and stands for a stud fee of $185,000 at the age of 24. He is also known for producing very quirky offspring. Horses by Tapit simply run hard when they feel like it, and conversely, do not run hard when they don’t. Whether you will get a top effort from them is known only to them. They have minds of their own. It’s a frustrating trait in a sport where so much depends upon predicting performance.
This was on display over the past weekend at Saratoga. Tapit progeny showed equal flashes of brilliance and apathy. Arthur’s Ride, so brilliant winning the Whitney Stakes in 2024, returned to the races and was a laid-back nonchalant presence in the paddock, the post parade, the gate, and throughout the race. His mind was clearly somewhere else on Saturday as he seemed to simply go through the motions as the beaten odds-on favorite. It remains to be seen whether Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott can reignite the fire in him.
Another son of Tapit, Sandman, appeared to be unmoved by the addition of blinkers in the Jim Dandy. The striking three-year-old once again showed that Tapits run only when they feel like it. While there is no doubt that a big effort is to come from Sandman (who has become a social media star due to having an internet influencer in his ownership group), only he knows when it will happen.
On the brilliant side, Todd Pletcher unveiled a good-looking two-year-old colt by Tapit, appropriately named Tapit’s Legacy, to win at first asking in the slop on Sunday. It was a promising effort. He will likely be favored when he runs back. Beware.
Tote Technology – CAWs
Much of the recent conversation in horse racing circles is the continued late change of odds in the Win, Place, Show pools and the exotic pools. These changes occur from large last-second bets from Computer Assisted Wagering groups (“CAWs”) that are able to make large algorithmic wagers using information of what has already been bet. The general wagering public only sees the effect of these wagers as or after the race itself has begun. This week, Del Mar race track will be joining the New York Racing Association (NYRA) in banning or limiting these wagers in the basic Win, Place, and Show pools.
The industry has become reliant on these wagering groups since their handle is large. Some race tracks are actual investors in the CAW groups. This inherent conflict of interest is troubling. There is also the belief that some licensed trainers work for or with the CAW groups. These circumstances are rapidly causing a crisis of confidence among the non-CAW bettors.
Defenders of the CAWs, including influential industry voices, contend that the CAWs expend significant resources honing that edge, which goes to show how valuable that edge is to them. (It is worth noting that such expenditures are made largely outside the sport but are funded from winnings from mutuel pools.) While the New York Racing Association (and to a much lesser degree Del Mar) are to be commended for reducing the CAW edge in the basic pools, what is needed is an industry-wide stance to somehow produce a more level playing field. This crisis of confidence has the potential to cannibalize the non-CAW betting populace, and it is something that needs to be addressed quickly.
Edward L. Bowen passed away earlier this year. It was a shock to the horse racing community.
Ed was an icon in the sport he loved for over a half century. He wore many hats. Let’s start with journalist, historian, and prolific author of 22 books pertaining to the history of our great sport. How about Editor-In-Chief of BloodHorse magazine, and finally, heading the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation for 24 years.
On Friday morning Aug. 1, Ed Bowen will be enshrined as a Pillar of the Turf at the Hall of Fame ceremony in the Fasig-Tipton Pavilion. He will join a select club of horse racing’s most revered figures. It is safe to say that Ed was personal friends with a share of them. I was lucky enough to have this great gentleman as a friend and mentor for a good portion of my writing career. I would send every article that I wrote to him for his approval. To have the former editor-in-chief of BloodHorse magazine as my go-to guy was a great privilege that I will forever cherish.
During the Summer of 2021, I asked Ed if he would sit for an interview. To my delight, he agreed. The following remarks are an encapsulation of the more important subjects that we discussed.
Ed’s journey began as a teenager in South Florida. As a young lad, he followed the career of the great champion Nashua. The Belair runner’s exploits on the track fascinated him. Ed became enthralled with the glamour and excitement of “the sport of kings.” During his college years, he worked as a groom at Monmouth Park. At the time, he was pursuing his degree in journalism at the University of Florida. He applied for a job at BloodHorse magazine and was accepted. Ed then transferred his studies to the University of Kentucky to be in close proximity to his new employer. He stated, “I was, and have always remained, thankful and aware that so many things fell into place, and that so many people who didn’t know me took a chance on me.”
I asked Ed which of his numerous books he considered his best. He answered it this way: “Back in the days of my developing interest, the three-year-old campaign of Nashua really had sealed the deal for the love of the sport. To be able to write a book about him nearly fifty years later made the cliche ‘labor of love’ a statement of fact.”
I also asked Ed this one. His response is insightful. The three greatest American thoroughbreds in nearly every poll conducted have Man o’ War, Secretariat, and Citation leading the list. Does any racehorse that you have witnessed compare with them? “I have no quarrel with those three having pride of place,” Ed responded, “but I wish that Kelso would be recognized more widely as joining them to create a ‘big four.’ It is instructive of the many ways greatness in a Thoroughbred is summoned and expressed that each of those horses did things the others didn’t. Yet, I have yet to see any one racehorse have what I regard as a perfect career.”
You are an expert on the history of the breeding of thoroughbred racehorses. Is there one stallion that stands out to you as the sports greatest sire? “In terms of lasting influence still with us I would have to say, Phalaris because his legacy entails all the riches in the male-line descent from both Nearco and Native Dancer. That gives you Nasrullah, Bold Ruler, Northern Dancer, Galileo, Royal Charger, as well as Raise A Native, Mr. Prospector, etc. To focus on a more recent stallion and his influence in just a few generations, I lean towards Northern Dancer. He seems a distant figure in some ways, and yet he was close up (grandsire) in the pedigree of the contemporary Galileo.”
I inquired as to Ed’s opinion of both Keeneland and Saratoga and what made them so special. Here is his response…pure magic! “That leads me to an interesting aside. I remember once reading an interesting interview featuring the late Louis Lee Haggin II, whose career was wrapped up in Keeneland in a most personal way. He told the questioner that he could not quite put his finger on what makes Keeneland so special. I thought, ‘Well, if he can’t do it after living and breathing Keeneland all his career, the pressure is surely off the rest of us!’ The best I can do is pay tribute to Keeneland’s combinations: Social and business prominence within a relatively small population and a pastoral setting perfect to showcase the beautiful and sporting brushstrokes on the canvas of the turf. As for Saratoga, similar physical beauty is a part of its hallmark, as are the annual meetings, long history, and prevalent quality of racing. These are augmented by the ability within the human spirit to find elegance and comfort in creations whose history predates ourselves. Every year I go to Saratoga, my first glimpse of the roofline of the old stands clicks me into a unique and proper mood.”
Edward L. Bowen at Saratoga Race Course. Photo by Joseph Raucci.
There was so much more of interest discussed in our conversation; these are only the highlights (the entire interview can be found on Saratoga TODAY’s website).
Ed Bowen has left us. Yet, he lives on through his numerous friendships, countless acquaintances and admirers, along with a trove of superb books that will outlive us all. In a hereafter, it would be appropriate that the racing gods would be there to welcome Ed with open arms.
It’s 1955 again.The winter racing meet at fabulous Hialeah Park is in full swing. It’s Flamingo Stakes day. The gods have reserved a front row box seat for Ed to witness the brilliant champion Nashua—the horse that he adored as a youngster growing up in South Florida—romp home in Hialeah’s signature race. Wouldn’t that be a well-deserved entrance to the heavens for Edward L. Bowen, Pillar of the Turf?
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced the lineup of attractions, entertainment, and events for the 2025 summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course.
Highlighted by the 156th edition of the Grade I, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on Saturday, August 23, and the Grade I, $1 million Whitney on Saturday, August 2, the 40-day summer meet will open on Thursday, July 10 and run through Monday, September 1.
Following the four-day opening week, racing will be conducted five days a week, Wednesdays through Sundays, apart from the final week, when the meet will conclude on Labor Day.
First post will be 1:10 p.m. every day except Saturdays, when first post will be 12:35 p.m. The only exceptions are Whitney Day featuring a 12:05 p.m. first post and DraftKings Travers Day with first post at 11:40 a.m. Post times for Labor Day weekend will be announced at a later date.
Admission gates will open for live racing at 11 a.m. for all but Whitney Day, when gates will open at 10 a.m. and DraftKings Travers Day, when gates will open at 9 a.m.
Racing Hall of Fame Anniversary Weekend):
Friday, August 1 – Sunday, August 3
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is celebrating its 75th anniversary with new exhibits and events, highlighted by the annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion on Friday, August 1. The Class of 2025 includes seven new inductees: contemporary category racehorse Smarty Jones; 1900-1959 Historic Review Committee racehorses Decathlon and Hermis, and trainer George H. Conway; and Pillars of the Turf inductees Edward L. Bowen, Arthur B. Hancock III, and Richard Ten Broeck.
Whitney Day:
Saturday, August 2
New for 2025, the Grade 1, $750,000 FanDuel Fourstardave has been added to a blockbuster Whitney Day card that will now include four grade 1 events and six total stakes headlined by the $1 million Whitney.
Saratoga Race Course will host a Best in Pink fashion photo contest from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Jockey Silks Porch.
Adirondack Day:
Wednesday, August 6
Presented by the Adirondack Regional Tourism Council, fans will enjoy local products and attractions representative of the Adirondack region of New York State.
Backstretch Tram Tours:
Fans can go behind the scenes with a free, guided backstretch tram tour. Tram tours depart from the clubhouse entrance beginning at 7:30 a.m. with the last one leaving at 9 a.m. and running every 30 minutes. Tours are available on a first-come, first-served basis and are approximately 45 minutes in length. Tours are available every live racing day with the exception of DraftKings Travers Day and Labor Day.
Stake Races
*Mondays and Tuesdays = Dark Days. No racing.
FRIDAY, August 1
National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (G2): 3YO, 1 Mile- Turf, Purse $400,000
Photos of Joe Gold, James Redick, Brad Cua Fans can get a head start on their summer weekend with a Saratoga blanket perfect for a picnic at the track. Presented by Rivers Casino, the red 50”x60” polar fleece blanket displays a one-sided print with the Saratoga emblem. Available free with paid admission, while supplies last. rtis, and Matt Sgambati via the Amsterdam Mohawks.
