Good morning!
One word can describe the Saratoga thoroughbred meet that ends this weekend: terrible. Dozens of races were washed off the turf, thousands of racegoers stayed away and the betting handle was off by millions.
Admission was bumped up to $10, a hot pastrami sandwich cost $23 and hot dogs were $12 plus $7 for bottled water.
Karma finally caught up to NYRA’s unquenchable thirst for the greenback dollar, and the industry was exposed for pushing young horses to the breaking point.
Saratoga is the perfect venue for television to combine human interest stories with the sport of kings, but live racing isn’t scripted. Prior to the $500,000 Test Stakes on Aug. 5, Fox aired a piece about Canadian trainer Melanie Giddings who’d battled through Stage 4 endocervical and ovarian cancer.
The 39-year-old Giddings trains for August Hill Farm which is owned by Bill Parcells. When the two-time Super Bowl champ learned of Giddings’ struggles through cancer surgery and treatment, he named his promising 2-year-old filly in her honor.
Maple Leaf Mel had won all five starts going into the Test and was the 2-1 co-favorite at post time. It was a made-for-TV moment. The camera showed Parcells in his box and the railbirds screaming as PA announcer Frank Mirahmadi yelled over the din as Maple Leaf Mel led down the stretch.
In the movie version of The Natural, Roy Hobbs hits a game-winning home run but in the book by Bernard Malamud he strikes out. That’s the difference between the movies and literature, and so it was at Saratoga that afternoon.
The chartwriter’s description of what happened down the stretch didn’t portend imminent tragedy. “Maple Leaf Mel edged clear to the eighth pole, remained clear inside the final sixteenth and was geared down inside the final seventy yards when suffering a catastrophic injury to the right front leg, fell in the shadow of the wire and was subsequently euthanized on the track.”
Tragedy doesn’t only happen at dirtwater tracks in Louisiana and West Virginia. At this writing 14 horses had died this summer at the Spa, including last weekend when New York Thunder went down in the final sixteenth of the $500,000 Jerkens Stakes and was euthanized.
At her barn the next morning, Giddings told pastthewire.com, “She was my little traveling buddy. It’s a sad day. It’s what she loved to do (but) I’m here. My crew is here. It’s not easy for them either.”
All things considered, the Saratoga summer meet was one to forget.
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The UMass football team has deservedly basked in the afterflow of its 41-30 win at New Mexico State. On Tuesday, a passerby congratulated UMass wide receiver Shawn Harris Jr. while he was walking to his car underneath the stadium grandstand.
“Hopefully we can do the same thing Saturday,” said Harris, a junior transfer from Stony Brook who had 28 all-purpose yards against the Aggies. At this writing Auburn was 35.5-point favorite to beat the Minutemen but Harris smiled and said, “Upset. Yeah, that’d be crazy.”
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Let’s set the record straight about UMass football’s success in season openers. Last week’s win against New Mexico State was the program’s first-ever road win against an FBS opponent on opening day. Its 26-10 win against Ball State on Sept. 1, 1984, was its last home win against an FBS team on opening day, and its 26-14 win at Holy Cross on Sept. 1, 2011, was its last FCS road win on opening day.
Got that? There will be a quiz.
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At a recent Northfield selectboard meeting, Pioneer principal Matthew Sullivan spoke of getting the track resurfaced and hosting a varsity girls soccer game on Sept. 27, the day Northfield celebrates its 350th anniversary. “A celebration of all things Pioneer and a celebration of all things Northfield,” said Sullivan.
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Deerfield Academy’s new synthetic baseball field is taking shape along Rte. 5. The need arose because the school is building a new dining commons and the temporary commons occupies Headmaster’s Field. Hence the need for a new ball field, the cost of which is small potatoes for a school with a $632 million endowment.
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Former NMH boys basketball coach John Carroll has been named Chairman of the Board of Directors of New York Renaissance Hoops. We’re still trying to figure out if that’s a significant move or merely titular.
Meanwhile, NMH has named a new hockey coach to replace Kevin Czepiel who’s now at the Berkshire School in Sheffield. Jake Bennett was an assistant coach at the Kent School in Connecticut and has scouted for the USHL’s Waterloo Blackhawks.
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SQUIBBERS: SI predicts that Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez will be the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year. … Kickoff is at noon Saturday at the Heights where BC is favored by 9 1/2 points to beat Northern Ill. Quarterback Emmett Morehead took over after Phil Jurkovec was hurt and subsequently transferred to Pitt. Morehead is a Cali surfer dude who plays guitar. … Symmetry in numbers: Cards pitcher Adam Wainwright and KC’s Zack Greinke have 422 combined wins and are a combined 4-22 this season. … Boomer Esiason after outfielder Ronald Acuna was accosted on the field by two fans: “You know what Spike Eskin said, ‘Every stadium should have a sniper.’” Some stadiums do have sniper nests, most of them at Super Bowl venues. … UConn had its biggest crowd in a decade at Rentschler Field on Thursday night, where 36,526 saw the Huskies lose to NC State, 24-14. The Huskies visit McGuirk on Nov. 25 after plans fell through to play at Gillette. … Greg Bedard to Nick Cattles after the Turk cut Bailey Zappe: “The Patriots are trolling other peoples’ trash now at quarterback, running back, and tight end. That is not optimal.” … Out-of-town broadcasters mistakenly use the UMass logo as a pronunciator. It’s not YOU-mass, it’s u-MASS. We’re not in Miami and this isn’t the U. … Phil Mushnick in the NY Post: “Jorge Polanco struck out in all four of his at-bats as he was very likely fixated on hitting home runs as per analytics, the accent on anal.”
Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning colum nist who has penned his observations about sports for decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached at chipjet715@icloud.com