Fans returned to tracks with great enthusiasm after a year’s absence due to the pandemic. Business was brisk on all fronts as racing celebrated some sense of normalcy and looked hopefully to what shows every sign of being a bright future. Tom Pedulla recalls some of the year’s most significant moments:
Tag: The Sport
2022 Kentucky Derby Hopeful Snapshots: Epicenter
Welcome to 2022 Kentucky Derby Prospect Snapshots, where we’ll take a look each week at a recent winner on the Triple Crown trail, usually from the Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule from which the racehorses earn points toward qualifying. The 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve will be held May 7, 2022, at Churchill Downs.
Charles H. Strub: The Man Called ‘Mr. Santa Anita’
Dr. Charles Henry Strub was one of those entrepreneurial businessmen seemingly capable of succeeding in any imaginable enterprise. He started out small as a baseball player of modest ability and as a dentist keen to embrace innovation. By the time of his death, he had kickstarted the career of baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, amassed a multimillion-dollar fortune, and transformed Santa Anita Park into one of horse racing’s greatest stages.
Flightline Mesmerizes in Runhappy Malibu, Express Train Surprises in San Antonio
On Stephanie Hronis' first visit to Saratoga, in 2019 to attend a board meeting as a trustee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, her TOBA colleagues took her to the Saratoga yearling sale. She, Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds, and bloodstock agent David Ingordo put their heads together, and by the end of the sale they bought a son of Tapit for $1 million. "I said that I was going to enjoy the Whitney weekend and soak it all up," said Hronis. "I had some horses picked, and David pulled it together."
