Forego

How did we get hooked on this sport? We all have stories about how our love affair developed and blossomed. The TDN will be reaching out to numerous notable people in the industry to get their stories to find out how they got hooked and stayed hooked on the sport. Richard Migliore My first memories of racing were watching the Channel 9 show every Saturday at 6 o'clock on WOR with Frank Wright, Charlsie Cantey, and Dave Johnson. I just got enamored with that show. No matter what I was...

TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack handicaps Saturday's five Grade I races at Saratoga, headed by the 155th renewal of the Travers. GI Sword Dancer (Race 9) - Can't envision a scenario where the Sword Dancer doesn't go through either of the Godolphin/Charlie Appleby runners Measured Time (GB) (#2) or Silver Knott (GB) (#4), who both enter off impressive graded wins over the Saratoga lawn. Silver Knott is already proven at this 1 1/2-mile trip and has never been in better form, and we still may not have seen the...

You had to see it to believe it. With Firenze Fire (Poseidon's Warrior) savaging favored Yaupon (c, 4, Uncle Mo--Modification, by Vindication) repeatedly down the stretch in Saturday's GI Forego S. at Saratoga, the 2-1 pacesetter battled on gamely along the rail to secure a dramatic head victory. Chance It (Currency Swap) was third. "I will watch that replay many times in my future," winning trainer Steve Asmussen said. "For that to happen in a Grade I at Saratoga with two horses on the lead, that will be memorable. I...

Live Oak Plantation's homebred Win Win Win (Hat Trick {Jpn}--Miss Smarty Pants, by Smarty Jones), victor of the GI Forego S. at Saratoga in his most recent start Aug. 29, has been retired from racing due to a tendon injury. The versatile 4-year-old was targeting a start in the GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland for trainer Michael Trombetta. Stud plans will be announced at a later date. "I would like to thank Mike Trombetta and his staff and the Live Oak Stud crew for all...

The seven-year itch, in the current racing herd, represents the best kind of mid-life crisis: reinventing yourself as a champion. An Eclipse Award would certainly be a credible aspiration for Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) should he derail the Volatile (Violence) express in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. at Saratoga Saturday. Next weekend, another flourishing 7-year-old, Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike), will seek to consolidate his ascent to the top of his own division in the GI Whitney S. Over the past two weeks, meanwhile, their contemporaries Zulu Alpha (Street Cry {Ire})...

HANNAH MATHIESEN, OAKMONT HORSE CLUB Favorite: My favorite racehorse of all time is definitely American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile). He was running when I was first getting involved in racing, and I followed him closely since he ran early in his career at my home track, Del Mar. One day, a family friend who writes for the local newspaper said she was going to interview Bob Baffert, and asked if I wanted to come along to be her photographer. Having only been to the backside a handful of times and...

JULIEN LEPAROUX, JOCKEY Favorite: My favorite racehorse is Tepin (Bernstein). What she accomplished in her career was amazing and it was an honor to be a part of it. She was also a sweet filly to be around, very playful. She loved to play with my whip when I put it in my back pocket, taking it from me and chewing it. Best: The best horse for me that I watched was Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}). The way he won his races against very good fields was just amazing. JOHN...