Author: Ed McNamara

By Ed McNamara Saturday’s Travers day card is easily the best one we’ll see until Breeders’ Cup Saturday, and it’s hard to imagine that the races on Nov. 6 at Del Mar will be tougher …

By Ed McNamara Handicapping and gambling: different sides of the same coin. Monmouth Park guru Brad Thomas, one of the country’s best longshot pickers, recently offered this insight: Handicapping is easy; it’s the betting that’s …

The 152nd Travers Stakes, the Mid-Summer Derby, is Saturday, Aug. 28, at Saratoga Race Course. The top race of the summer for 3-year-olds is contested at 1¼ miles with a purse of $1.25 million. In …

The 152nd Travers Stakes, the Mid-Summer Derby, is Saturday, Aug. 28, at Saratoga Race Course. The top race of the summer for 3-year-olds is contested at 1¼ miles with a purse of $1.25 million. In …

The 152nd Travers Stakes, the Mid-Summer Derby, is Saturday, Aug. 28, at Saratoga Race Course. The top race of the summer for 3-year-olds is contested at 1¼ miles with a purse of $1.25 million. In …

The 152nd Travers Stakes, the Mid-Summer Derby, is Aug. 28 at Saratoga Race Course. The top race of the summer for 3-year-olds is contested at 1¼ miles with a purse of $1.25 million. In the …

By Ed McNamara Trivia time: What do Go for Wand, Silverbulletday, and Shuvee have in common? All are in the Hall of Fame, won the Alabama Stakes and have major races named in their honor. …

By Ed McNamara Horses for courses: It’s a universal angle that works better than most. Exhibit A is Fourstardave, who won at least one race at Saratoga in eight consecutive years (1987-94). Maybe it was …

By Ed McNamara The improbable journey began long ago in Laredo, a dusty Texas town on the Mexican border. For the Asmussen clan it’s always been about grinding relentlessly, rising before the sun to take …

By Ed McNamara They’ve been running the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes since 1928, and so many great horses have won it — War Admiral, Kelso, Dr. Fager, Alydar, Easy Goer, to name only a few. …

By Ed McNamara J.J. Pletcher is 83, and his hair has been gray for a long time. It’s safe to say that worrying about his only child didn’t cause it. On Friday, this career horseman …

By Ed McNamara The late, great Woody Stephens loved to talk and was always worth listening to. One of Woody’s pearls of wisdom has stuck with me for a long time. Whenever an odds-on favorite …

By Ed McNamara The pedigree screamed turf. Her sire was Irish River, winner of seven Group 1 races in France. Her damsire was Roberto, hero of the 1972 Epsom Derby. It was August 1988, and …

If you grew up in New Jersey, as I did, during the summer you never said you were going to the beach. You went “down the shore,” a Jersey-ism whose origin is unknown. For as …

By Ed McNamara Saratoga isn’t just a unique racetrack, it’s a destination. “The Summer Place to Be” has lured tourists, casual fans and serious horseplayers every year but star-crossed 2020, when pandemic restrictions kept them …