Posts by National Steeplechase Association
Schoodic, Monbeg Stream shine under dreary skies
By Tod Marks A pair of timber stakes headlined Saturday’s National Steeplechase Association doubleheader in New York and Virginia, and though the meets were about 400 miles apart, wet weather played a role in each. At the Genesee Valley Hunt Races in Geneseo, N.Y., Tuscany Racing’s Monbeg Stream found the winner’s circle for the fourth…
Read MoreTimber stakes highlight Genesee, Virginia Fall meets
By Tod Marks A pair of stakes featuring veteran timber jumpers headline this Saturday’s National Steeplechase Association doubleheader in New York and Virginia. At the Genesee Valley Hunt Races in Geneseo, N.Y., the only steeplechase in the Empire State outside of the NYRA flat tracks, three races worth a collective $50,000 have been carded, all…
Read MoreBanner weekend for Young and Procter; Cracker Factory rallies to take Brown Advisory timber stake
By Tod Marks The first weekend of the National Steeplechase Association fall season was a blockbuster for Leslie Young, who padded her lead in the training standings, while Freddie Procter zoomed into the top three among riders. With a hat trick at both Shawan Downs in Cockeyesville, Md., and at Foxfield in Charlottesville, Va.,Young has…
Read MoreLegacy Chase kicks off fall NSA race meet season
By Tod Marks The first two of 11 meets through mid-November take place this weekend at Shawan Downs near Hunt Valley in Baltimore County, followed by the Foxfield Fall Races in Charlottesville, Va. After two months of high-profile flat-track steeplechase action at Saratoga, Colonial Downs, and Aqueduct, the National Steeplechase Association returns to the hunt-meet…
Read MoreMerry Maker pulls 16-1 stunner; Kingsley runs first, second, and third; Hendriks earns first Grade 1
By Tod Marks Thursday’s Grade 1 $150,000 Lonesome Glory stakes, which kicked off the Belmont at Aqueduct fall meet, was chock full enough story lines to fill any highlight reel. With Bruton Street-US’ Snap Decision coming off a five-month rest, punters bet down the multiple Grade 1 winner of more than $700,000 over hurdles, to…
Read MoreReady and rested, Snap Decision faces seven in Grade 1 Lonesome Glory
By Tod Marks Once again shouldering top weight – and conceding 20 to 22 pounds to his far less accomplished rivals – Bruton Street-US’ Snap Decision emerges from lengthy downtime on Thursday, seeking to avenge two previous losses in the $150,000 2 ½-mile Lonesome Glory handicap hurdle stakes on opening day of the Belmont at…
Read MoreBercasa takes $100,000 Life’s Illusion to close out summer at the flat track
By Tod Marks After an abbreviated four-race steeplechase program at Saratoga and 16 hurdle events at Colonial Downs, the National Steeplechase Association summer came to a dramatic end on Friday as Irv Naylor’s Bercasa gave the stable a season to remember while veteran NSA rider Ross Geraghty called it a career. In the Life’s Illusion,…
Read MoreAs summer winds down, Saratoga and Colonial Downs will host two more days of racing
By Tod Marks Allowance hurdlers will bring down the curtain on Saratoga season tomorrow as a field of eight is expected for the fifth and final jump race of 2023 at Saratoga Race Course, a $70,000 allowance event at 2 ⅜ miles. Post time is 1:10 p.m., and as always, NYRA races are broadcast live…
Read MoreLegendary trainer Jonathan Sheppard passes
By Tod Marks Jonathan Sheppard, the most recognizable, celebrated, and honored figure in American steeplechasing, died on Aug. 27 in his Hollywood, Fla., home at age 82. The Hall of Fame trainer was the leading National Steeplechase Association conditioner 26 times and campaigned 15 Eclipse-award winners over hurdles and on the flat. Sheppard, who officially…
Read MoreHall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard Dies
By Tod Marks Jonathan Sheppard, an acclaimed Racing Hall of Fame trainer whose accomplishments extended from steeplechase race meets to the highest levels of Thoroughbred racing, died Sunday, Aug. 27, at his home in Hollywood, Fla. He was 82. The British-born horseman had retired from training early in 2021 with records that will, in several…
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