Opinion
Thankful for the blue-collar horse
Bemoan racing’s lack of high-end, sticking-around stars? No, thanks. Be thankful, instead, for the blue-collar horses that are the spine of the industry.
Flightline’s retired, and I’m not feeling too good myself
Flightline’s retirement one day after the biggest victory of his brief career, smacks you right in the face with the business end of racing.
CounterPoint: California the place for Breeders’ Cup
Breeders’ Cup should find one permanent home, and Southern California, where better weather and other factors make better racing, is it.
Point: Breeders’ Cup should move around
In its first two decades, the Breeders’ Cup took the best of racing to people all over the country. It ought to return to traveling.
Off the Pace: Scheduling towards full fields
In a new “Off the Pace”: Mike Valiante proposes a new schedule for Mid-Atlantic racing designed to promote full fields and minimize disruption.
Off the Pace: Catching up with Chris Sobocinski
In a new “Off the Pace”: Mike Valiante catches up with Chris Sobocinski, linemaker and PR maven for Delaware Park.
Off the Pace: Catching up with Eric Pignataro
In a new “Off the Pace”: Mike Valiante catches up with Eric Pignataro, former jai alai player-turned-jockeys’ agent plying his trade at Delaware Park.
Off the Pace: A quartet of memorable Preakness stretch runs
In a new “Off the Pace”: Mike Valiante remembers four editions of the Preakness where the final quarter-mile proved absolutely thrilling.
Rich Strike offers argument for Triple Crown change
Rich Strike’s defection from the Preakness is one more argument for changing the series’ configuration to acknowledge changes in horsemanship.
Off the Pace: Triple Crown schedule just fine
In a new “Off the Pace”: Mike Valiante shares snippets of more than 50 years of Kentucky Derby memories, from heartwarming stories to impossible upsets.
Opinion: Bob Baffert and the ol’ razzle-dazzle
Bob Baffert and his legal team have decisively won the public relations war over Medina Spirit’s Derby DQ. But they’re not likely to win in the courts.
Opinion: In Maryland, time to make a splash
That four of Maryland’s linchpin stakes are less prominent than they were 10 or 15 years ago is a problem that requires fixing: it’s time to make a splash.
Derby points update: What’s missing here?
The race for Kentucky Derby points is well underway, with 14 races already complete and another up this weekend. So why are 40 points unawarded?
Off the Pace: Top Midlantic stories of 2021
In a new “Off the Pace”: Mike Valiante recaps a baker’s dozen of the top Midlantic racing stories of 2021.
Off the Pace: Catching up with John Hiraldo
In a new “Off the Pace”: Mike Valiante catches up with Midlantic-based rider John Hiraldo, one of the year’s leading apprentice riders.
Off the Pace: Dear New Delaware Park Owners
In a new “Off the Pace”: Mike Valiante offers Delaware Park’s new owners the perspective of a horseplayer with nearly a half-century of experience.
Opinion: Breeders’ Cup the bad and good of racing
This Breeders’ Cup was the sport of Thoroughbred racing writ small. The humans at the top screw it up, and the horses redeem it. Lather, rinse, repeat.
At Colonial Downs, successes both fresh and familiar
The return of live racing to Colonial Downs after a challenging 2020 meet went better than just about anyone could have hoped.
Off the Pace: Rich Glazier a “genuine everyman”
In a new “Off the Pace”: Mike Valiante remembers Delaware Park’s Rich Glazier as a “genuine everyman” who truly loved what he did.
What we have is a failure to communicate
Bob Baffert won’t have a horse in the Belmont, but all anyone can talk about is Bob Baffert. It’s exhausting, and another whiff.
