2023 Another Impressive Year for Riverdee

One more road trip before the season finishes. The Aiken Steeplechase offers a crescendo. Seven competitive races. Most of the championships are locked up, the trainer’s title still on the line. It will be the first time to the new course for me. Not many courses I haven’t seen in … Read More

Took the long road home Monday. Option A was I-95, straight and true, 30 minutes shorter than Option B, a route north, winding, through the flatlands of South Carolina. The forgotten towns, main streets running perpendicular, a traffic light in a few. An old man sitting on a bench. A … Read More

Another road trip coming to a close. About to get on the road, the long road home. It’s longer when you don’t win. It’s that simple. We didn’t win. King Tsunami ran hard to finish third, came back lame with a grabbed quarter. Enough to explain his tame finish. Cool, … Read More

Welcome back to Camden. South Carolina. Steeplechasing returns to the Colonial Cup for the first time in eight years. Once a mainstay, the mainstay, of the steeplechase calendar, the Grade 1, title-clinching, race of races was canceled, mostly for financial reasons. Like canceling Christmas. The sport lost its signature race. … Read More

Second leg of the road trip about to begin. Lexington to Camden. Two new recruits from Keeneland, on their way north. Went 2-for-2, then 2-for-6. The anatomy – and art – of a horse sale. As always, I was congratulated for my purchases. And, as always, I thought to myself, ‘Congratulate … Read More