Justify winning the 2018 Belmont Stakes to become the 13th Triple Crown winner. Photograph by Mike Lizzi.
Let us conduct a thought experiment, shall we? You are a world-class tennis player on the eve of the US Open. The night before it begins, a villainous individual steels into your room and injects you with a powerful, performance-enhancing drug. You, in a deep sleep, barely feel a pinprick. To you, it’s all a dream — but one that is about to become a nightmare.
Read MoreThose who were hoping that the 145th Run for the Roses would revive horse racing’s fortunes were jostled by winner Maximum Security being DQed.
And that’s why they call it a horse race.
After the favorite, Omaha Beach, was scrapped earlier in the week, the new favorite and winner, Maximum Security, was disqualified for drifting into the lane of War of Will. As a result, Country House — a 65-to-1 shot — was declared the winner. Code of Honor finished second and Tacitus, third.
Read MoreFans capture the moment when Justify captures the Preakness Stakes in the slop last year on his way to the Triple Crown. Courtesy Maryland Governor’s Office.
Who’s afraid of Howard Schultz? Everybody it seems. President Donald J. Trump was against the former Starbucks CEO-turned-possible presidential candidate, perhaps fearing he would corner part of the I’ve-done-the-business-thing-so-of-course-I’m-qualified-to-be-president market. Then someone must’ve reminded Trumpet that Schultz is a Democrat who would only rob the Dems of votes as a third party candidate, so Donnie Two Scoops has laid off.
Read MoreAn illustration from the poem "Guy u Chawgan" ("The Ball and the Polo-mallet"), an illuminated manuscript in the collection of the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, conveys the ancient Persian origins of polo as an exercise for the imperial cavalry.
If you are a reader of this blog, then you know that I am writing a series of novels called "The Games Men Play" and set in the worlds of swimming, tennis and football. The first two, "Water Music" and "The Penalty for Holding," are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The third will explore the equestrian worlds of show jumping, polo and Thoroughbred racing. It's a tale of bloodlines and bloodlust set amid rival equestrian families and told in part from the viewpoint of a colt that is trying to become the first since Whirlaway to win the Triple Crown and the Travers Stakes.
With this in mind, I thought you'd enjoy a repost from WAG Weekly, the e-newsletter that's part of my editing day job, about the other Open starting today in the New York metro area….
Read MoreGee, do you think Justify will be going to the White House?
The massive chestnut colt – huge, as a certain American president would say – secured the Triple Crown in decisive fashion Saturday with a win in the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in New York. Schooled by Bob Baffert, 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah’s trainer, Justify is the 13th colt to win the Crown and only the second to do so undefeated (behind Seattle Slew, 1977). Neigh-sayers (I couldn’t resist) note that …
Read MoreLast weekend was one for hats – at the royal wedding Saturday and later at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore for the Preakness Stakes, in which Kentucky Derby winner Justify edged past Good Magic, then hung on to beat Bravaro and Tenfold. (At least that’s what seemed to happen. It was hard to see the horses for the fog on the rainy, muddy track.)
Can Justify become the first undefeated horse since Seattle Slew in 1977 to win the Triple Crown? Already the naysayers – the No, No Nanettes – are out in force, noting that Justify looked tired and just squeaked by Bravaro. But he got the job done, didn’t he? …
Read MoreTwo of the best Sunday afternoons I’ve spent recently found me taking a break from blogging and novel-writing to relish show jumping at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, N.Y. and polo at Connecticut’s Greenwich Polo Club. Both sports figure in the third planned novel in my series “The Games Men Play,” a tale of blood and bloodlines about rival horse families told in part from the viewpoint of a racehorse trying to become the first since Whirlaway to win the Triple Crown and the Travers at Saratoga. ...
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