Sean's Blog

A First  Jen Paragallo lunged at the clubhouse television. The one where horsemen hide, where dreamers dream. Arms waving double windmills with each waning stride of the $30,000 New York-bred maiden claimer, the trainer then did the unthinkable, the unbelievable. She turned away – screeching and screaming – from the TV … Read More

Big week this week for Riverdee. Thanks and congratulations to all our partners. We hit the Monday double at Colonial Downs. Palio dominated a maiden and Jimmy Dan rallied to win the 115 handicap. Two nice horses. One imported from the British hurdle scene and one reclaimed from the American … Read More

“The average niceness of the consignors is about 10 times higher than the trainers.” That was from 17-year-old Alec DiConza. The soon-to-be high-school senior returned for his second summer at Saratoga this year. He was laughing as he said it.  With a gaggle of interns – Fin Maroney, Julia Reedy … Read More

The Chilean ex-jockey shook his Indian comrade. “Bhupat. Bhupat, wake up, we’ve got to go. We’ve got to go to the farm,” Luis said. “If we go any later, we won’t be able to make it.” Power long since out, snow falling fast and furious, Bhupat Seemar woke up shivering … Read More

Applause An Albany number popped on my phone Monday afternoon. Hey, were in Saratoga, a 518 number could mean anything – a new advertiser, a renewing Reader’s Club member, a free round at Fidens, a last-minute Heavy Heavy show at Lark Hall.  I answered it on one ring. And, in … Read More

Karl Glassman stopped a few feet in front of the Saratoga winner’s circle. In a purple Breeders’ Cup baseball hat, a gray suit, a yellow tie and clutching a rolled-up program in his left hand, Glassman looked to the sky and pumped his right fist once, twice, three times. “That’s … Read More

Correction I killed a man. On an aimless, restless walk, a day or two out of my second round of Covid, I was drifting and dreaming and jumping genres from newspaper writing to creative writing. I found a photo pinned to a tree, conjured up a story and killed a … Read More

We met George Grey last week. A mainstay for Hall of Famer Allen Jerkens from 1970 to 1985, the 69-year-old groom came back to Saratoga to work for Phil Serpe this summer. Serpe knew Grey was our kind of guy. Wow was he right.  Grey talked about Onion, Kinsman Hope, … Read More

The Hall of Fame. And the Hall of Famers I have known. Carl Nafzger. Inducted 2008. The former bull rider picked his way across a muddy Clare Court back when Street Sense was flying high in Saratoga. “You’ve got to pick your islands,” Nafzger said as he tip-toed across the … Read More

I stumble across the photo, the tree, the setting on a slow Tuesday morning.  On a walk, going nowhere, just strolling, through Clare Court, down in the valley, past Greentree, up the road along Yaddo’s backyard, wondering who’s writing poems, who’s writing classics on the other side of the woods. … Read More