The Hambletonian

This week is the 87th anniversary of the first running of The Hambletonian Stakes.  This is the Kentucky Derby for harness racing and in 1926 the first race was run on August 30th in Syracuse, New York.

The first winner was a horse named Guy McKinney.

Now the Hambletonian Stakes is run every year on the first Saturday in August at the Meadowlands race track in New Jersey.

This years winner, Market Share, was part of history as he was the first winner of this race trained by a woman, Linda Toscano.

2012 Belmont Stakes

Today was the running of the 144th edition of the Belmont Stakes and the 3rd and final leg of the US Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Horse Racing.   We didnt have a Triple Crown winner this year even though I'll Have Another won the first 2 legs of the crown, he was scratched due to worries of tendinitis in his front leg.

Union Rags ran the rail to nose out Paynter for the Belmont victory and gave Michael Matz, the trainer of Barbaro, a Belmont victory to add to his illustrious career.

England's Triple Crown

In case you missed it the UK Triple Crown of horse racing has also begun with the running of the 2000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket Race Track, a 1 mile straight sprint.   "Camelot" came away the winner of the 2012 race and is the favorite for the upcoming Epsom Derby.

The second leg of the English Triple Crown is this Saturday June 2nd with the 233rd running of the Epsom Derby, 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yard track, and this will also be the official kick off to the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II.

The 3rd and final leg of the English Triple Crown is the St Leger Stakes run at Town Moor in Doncaster, Yorkshire.  This is 1 mile,6 furlongs and 132 yard track.



All of these tracks are considered "Flat Tracks" and are not set up like american tracks with 4 turns and 2 straightaway or "frontstretch" and "backstretch", they are long and winding tracks with no real turns.

These are really courses that test the straightaway speed (Guineas) and stamina (Epsom and St Leger).

The last horse to win the English Triple Crown was Nijinsky II in 1970, and the first since 1935.