You’ll forgive me this week if I concentrate on Saratoga Raceway.

I am partial to Saratoga.

I worked for a number of years near Woodstock and travelled up to Saratoga in the summer for my horse racing fixes.

Yeah. That’s right. I have a horse racing fix. Don’t you?

Anyway….

This summer, the troubled raceway will give away (courtesy of the NY Racing Association)two shirts, an umbrella and a baseball cap during its summer meeting in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

NYRA, which operates horse racing at Saratoga Race Course, released the giveaway schedule recently. The number of giveaways is the same as last year.

The four free items are:

• an Irish-themed Saratoga T-shirt, on July 29

• a hat celebrating the race horse Rachel Alexandra, on Aug. 8

• a black Saratoga umbrella, on Aug. 22

• a gray long-sleeve shirt, on Sept. 5

All giveaways are free with each paid admission to the race course.

The 142nd Saratoga meet opens July 23.

Patrons will receive free general admission that day, with racing beginning at 1 p.m.

The meet will run through Labor Day weekend—a total of 40 racing days, the longest Saratoga meet in more than a century.

NYRA was approved for a $25 million state loan in June, which kept the association from having to shut down and lay off all 1,450 employees.

Without the loan, NYRA expected to run out of cash this month, which would have forced it to cancel the storied Saratoga meet.

If you have never been to Saratoga, GO. It’s an awesome place.

If you have been, then you know what I mean.

Next posting, back to talk about horses and racing.

It’s been called the “Greatest Horse Race in the World” and the “Longest Horse Race in the world.” Either way, the Mongol Derby is not a challenge just any horse rider is willing to take on.

Indeed, the 1,000 kilometer (more than 630 miles) endurance race over the Mongolian steppe — a diverse, often unforgiving terrain that includes forest, mountains and desert — is so challenging that organizers of the race provide three days of training for the small group of international competitors who qualified to be in the race.

A true adventurist, 33-year-old Justin Nelzen, a-Pinehurst-farrier- turned-endurance athlete, is one of 16 representing five counties who qualified for the second annual derby to start Aug. 7.

Nelzen is one of the first three Americans ever selected for the 10-day equestrian event. And, while several might be happy just to finish the race, Nelzen’s standard is set a bit higher.

“My goal is to win it,” he said.

With only three years of endurance horse racing under his belt, some might think Nelzen is a risky bet, but his record says otherwise.

“Justin is very accomplished,” Rhita McNair of McNair Internationale, who has trained horses for more than 40 years, said. “I am very impressed with his skills as a rider and as a trainer. He took a mare he bought from me all the way to a world champion.”

Last year, Nelzen also swept first, second and third places in the Hog Scramble, a 30-mile endurance race in Huntsville, on horses he owns and trained. His 7-year-old daughter, Trinity, placed first.

So, who knows? He could win. Wouldn’t that be very very cool.

“I didn’t know anything other than to train my horses like I trained myself,” he said. “Someone asked me before my first race what I expected. I told them I expected to win, and I did. I didn’t know any better at the time.”

Excited at just the thought of Nelzen winning the derby, McNair said Justin is very good at reading horses, a skill that is sure to pay off when he selects his Mongolian mounts for the derby.

If the countryside and route don’t offer enough challenge and history then the horses supplied for the derby certainly do. Decedents of the horses that gave Khan and his warriors superior advantage over their enemies and helped establish the Mongol Empire, make up the pool of more than 200 horses the derby supplies.

“This is a land where horses outnumber people seven to one,” Nelzen said. “They are practically worshiped by the people there.”

Riders will get a fresh mount at each station choosing from a collection of the Mongolian horses on a first-come, first-served basis.

“I hope I’ll get there first, have a good selection and be able to choose a good horse,” Nelzen said.

We hope so too. I’ll let you know how he does.

I love watching Goldikova race.

Luckily, I was able to watch her race in the Queen Anne Stakes the other day and she performed wonderfully.  Put her in a race at a mile on good ground and she’ll get it done time and again.

I had my doubts at the beginning of the race though, because Paco Boy looked good.

But the champion mare had just enough left in the tank to hold onto the top spot by a head.

From a friend who frequents UK racetracks: “I didn’t give Noble’s Promise” much of a chance going into the St James’s Palace Stakes  but I’ve got to give him a lot of credit for his effort.

He didn’t win (he finished 5^th) but he ran hard and fit in decently enough with a very good field.  No word on where Noble’s Promise will be pointed to next, but I’d be shocked if he’s not pointed toward a race on the lawn at a mile back in the U.S.

All in all an exciting few days at the track.

Because I like to cover horse racing around the world, I thought it would be nice to tip the hat to six horses and four individuals who will be inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Mister Big is one horse. Remember him? The second biggest pacer of all time in Canada. His trainer, Robert McIntosh, will also enter the hall.

Mister Big  earned more than $4 million. He finished in the money 65 times in 85 career starts — 34 wins, 20 second-place finishes and third another 11 times. And 18 times the multiple Dan Patch and Nova Award winner posted a time of 1:49 or lower.

McIntosh, from Windsor, Ont., is a four-time O’Brien winner as Canada’s top trainer and is also the leading trainer in the Breeders Crown with 15 wins.

He has recorded over 3,562 wins and his horses have earned more than $78 million in earnings. WOW.

Other inductees include Belmont Stakes winner Victory Gallop, along with Lady Angela. They join builder Mel Lawson of Hamilton and trainer-jockey Frank Barroby.

Joining Mister Big in the standardbred class of 2010 is broodmare Classic Wish along with builder R. Peter Heffering and A Worthy Lad in the veterans category.

The 10 new inductees will be enshrined Aug. 19 at the Mississauga Convention Centre.

Lawson, 87, and Jim Dandy Stables were involved in the breeding and racing of quality horses for almost 50 years.

Barroby, 66, dominated racing as a jockey, winning titles in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C.

Heffering, of Port Perry, Ont., has campaigned many notable horses including Precious Bunny, a winner of over $2 million and a member of the Hall of Fame.

Congratulations to all.

Correspondents in China (reporters for the U.K. newspaper, the Telegraph) note that an ambitious 10-year project  aims to create a “Tianjin Horse City” (see photo of the city above) with an international equestrian college, horse-breeding centre, auction base, animal feed factory, racetrack, and 7-star hotel with sweeping, phoenix-shaped grandstand.

How is it gonna be financed? Oil money (Dubai) of course.

The Dubai-based Meydan group, the developer of the world’s biggest horse racing complex, said it had been invited by the Chinese government to use its know-how to take horse racing in China to the next level.

China is hoping to emulate that success, having legalised horse racing in 2008.

So we’ll see. But I wouldn’t bet against the chinese.

Previous attempts to kick-start racing in China ran into difficulties, with the government shutting down a number of racecourse in 2000 in an anti-gambling campaign.

Racing was introduced in China by the British in the 19th and early 20th century, with the sport becoming a popular pastime.

However the sport was banned after the Communist revolution.

Work on the Tianjin Horse City is slated to begin in May, with plans to complete the 660-acre equestrian college, stud farm and animal feed factory by the end of 2011.

The Chinese racing industry has argued that legalising on-track betting could generate up to three million jobs, clean up illegal gambling and generate some £4bn in tax revenues.

We’ll see. But the plans look very promising. To say the least.

And I’ll bet you feel the way I do.

So let’s talk Triple Crown.

Ain’t been done sine 1978, Affirmed.

Other winners include Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973) and Seattle Slew (1977).

This year the Triple Crown races will take place, as I said at the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on 1 May 2010, the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on 15 May 2010, and the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on 5 June 2010.

366 horses already have been nominated to race. Early nominations, in case you didn’t know are $600 per horse…later on, entries are $6,000.

All entries will be closing on 27 March 2010.

And what are some names to look for? Try  Lookin At Lucky, Vale of York, She Be Wild and Blink Luck, have made their way onto the nominations list, with eight nominations from Ireland, three from Britain and four from Canada.

Nominations for this year’s event have dropped off a little compared to the 401 early nominations of 2009, and eleven were added to the nominations list after the early phase of nominations.

Senior vice president for Churchill Downs racing, Donald Richardson, commented that even though the nomination field is smaller this year, it has not taken away the competitiveness of the event, as all the nominations are worthy contenders in their own right. Everyone will be holding their breath for the Kentucky Derby to see who will take the lead to be a contender for the Triple Crown title.

Can’t wait.

I love this story, which I heard about on the BBC. [OK, I'm a nerd. I monitor the BBC]

Eight British race courses will open their gates for free over six days between Monday 26 April and Saturday 1 May.

Ain’t that cool?

Taking part are some of Britain’s biggest racing venues such as Ascot, Goodwood, Kempton and Doncaster.

We’re talking both afternoon and evening meets, as well as a choice of racing over jumps or on the Flat.

The free-admission are:

• Monday, April 26 – Towcester and Wolverhampton

• Tuesday, April 27 – Sedgefield (evening)

• Wednesday, April 28 – Ascot and Kempton (evening)

• Thursday, April 29 – Huntingdon (evening)

• Friday, April 30 – Doncaster

• Saturday, May 1 – Goodwood

Towcester has long offered free admission and benefited from bigger crowds and increased revenue on betting and catering.

Some of the racecourses will limit the free admission to general enclosures.

The week is also to be used by Racing for Change to introduce a number of its trial initiatives announced at the beginning of the year, including a new display of photo-finish results on big screens and modernised raceday announcements.

In her final work for this coming  Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, Zenyatta turned in a flawless six-furlong work in 1:12.40 on Saturday morning at Hollywood Park with regular jockey, Mike Smith aboard.

Zenyatta worked in company with her  staablemate Green Cat.

They began the work at the 5 1/2-furlong pole with Zenyatta starting about three lengths behind. Zenyatta gradually crept closer oin the turn, then drew away through the stretch and finished five lengths in front.

Russell Hudak, the official clocker at Hollywood Park, timed Zenyatta in fractions of 24.60 seconds, 36.60, 48.40, and 1:00.20.

Hudak timed her galloping out seven furlongs in 1:25.20.

Zenyatta looks ready for the Cup race.

We’ll be updating this site regularly this week, in anticipation of this weekend’s cup races.

I received news the other day from Churchill Downs Inc., saying they are going to (finally) install permanent lights at their racetrack, which is of course the home of the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby 2010.

This follows on the hoofs of a review by the racetrack of their Churchill Downs’ Spring Meet night horse racing schedule. It was successful.

The racetrack had its first EVER night racing on June 19, June 26 and July 2, 2009. The average attendance each of the three nights was 29,705 with 33,481 in attendance the final evening, bringing the total attendance for the three nights of racing to 89,115.

“We found our racing fans loved the experience, officials said.  The Company plans to invest in racing’s future despite the troubled economy and reduced handle throughout the industry.

Churchill Downs will poll fans and horsemen to assist in determining the optimum mix of day and night racing.