For years we’ve watched with wonder as Jerry Bailey, Gary Stevens, Chris McCarron, Laffit Pincay, Bill Shoemaker, Jorge Velasquez, Pat Day, Jacinto Vasquez, and Angel Cordero. – There are so many talented riders it would take up ten pages just to scratch the top.- It was the time. Going to the races was an […]

One of the last big weekends before the Derby is coming up on tap and we better start thinking about building that bankroll. – By now you should start whittling down the Derby list and bein the long hard focus on who you should play and why. – Here are some free selections to use […]

Here’s your good buddy the H.H. coming your way shortly after Easter and April Fool’s Day. – The holiday is one for the celebration of family and friends, and the second is what Mother Nature has been playing on the country. – One day you get 70 degrees and sunny, and the next it is […]

    I’ve worked at the races since I was 18-yrs-old. I’ve had every job on the track minus selling tickets. – During this time you meet some pretty interesting people. Adding to the list was track photographer Pat Lang. – I first met him when I made my way down to get my picture taken […]

The hullaballoo of boycotting Keeneland was the topic of the fall. There’s always going to be a subject up for a vote or an issue being talked about. – According to the Paulick Report: The Horseplayers Association of North America (HANA) and Playersboycott.org have jointly announced that a horseplayer boycott of Keeneland is underway, citing an increase in […]

Today has me winding back clocks and looking forward to an extra hour of sleep. Not a bad thing coming off a long Breeders’ Cup weekend where I’m tuckered out from reading and doing homework. I’ll need a day off before I start digging into the reports of how the horses came back. For The Happy […]

As the cool crisp breezes blow through the trees, it takes me back to an introspective time. – The heat of the summer sun, the racing ovals that open the doors to the bright morning sunshine and the bevy of racing action that has to last another fall-winter-spring. Just think, there are only 241 days until […]

      Two men walk into a race track. – Now before you think it sounds like the start of an old joke; it’s true. – The two older fans have been walking into the races together for quite some time. – For many, it’s not an unusual trek from the car to the gates. […]

For years I made treks to Beulah, Louisville-Trackside, Churchill, Keeneland, Arlington, Turfway, and many others. The trip with friends and conversation was worth a million bucks. – As we would walk into large buildings prepared to put on the best contest possible. The top three would be going to Vegas, and the rest would be going […]

The winds of fall blow gently through the trees as the sweltering heat of summer fades into the sunset. The Happy Horseplayer readies for the fall racing season with dreams of cool days and autumn foliage in Kentucky. Maybe its the thought of going to Keeneland or the Breeders’ Cup around the corner. But the […]