LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Someone once said that year-end reviews are what journalists write to avoid making New Year's resolutions. This is probably true, since I haven't gotten around to writing resolutions yet (number one, don't procrastinate?) At any ...

INGLEWOOD, CA -- Folks on the Southern California racing circuit have been rooting for Dan Blacker to win his first race as a trainer ever since the young horseman struck out on his own on Nov. 11 this year.They didn't have to wait very long.Sunday, ...

JUAN DIAZ, PANAMA -- "I've had some very good horses," owner Augusto Boyd remarked from his seat in the Fernando Eleta Salon at Hipodromo Presidente Remon, "but I love this one the most."The 3-year-old filly in question, a striking bay named ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Early evening on Nov. 4, and Corey Nakatani headed into the interview room at Churchill Downs. This wasn't just any news conference, but a postrace gathering after the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Nakatani had just ...

LEXINGTON, KY -- Gabriel Saez perched in the saddle aboard leading Breeders' Cup contender Havre de Grace on a brisk autumn morning at Keeneland Race Course. The 4-year-old filly was about to turn in her next-to-last work before a potential start in ...

LEXINGTON, KY -- Jimmy Toner could have worked for the city, serving as one of New York's finest or heading up a lifelong job in the sanitation department. Instead, he went to the racetrack."I had family members who were cops, family members who ...

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Saratoga changes after Travers Day. There's a chill in the air and mornings are calmer, less chaotic. Falling leaves drift down to the horse path. For the rest of the world, autumn begins mid-September. For everyone here, it ...

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- There was something about Bernardini coming back to the winner's circle seal-slicked with sweat, something about a blanket of lush carnations and a solid gold trophy and the honors of a Midsummer Derby score. It was the first ...

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- I'd crane my neck to catch a glimpse of Arlington Park, spaceship hulk of a grandstand looming just off Route 53, as a kid growing up in Chicago's Northwest Suburbs. We never went to Arlington, just passed it en route to one ...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- I'm not one for writing literary reviews. Frankly, most authors I enjoy and strive to emulate work outside of the racing world. We're talking about books, to be clear -- there are plenty of turf writers whose day-to-day ...