Horses

Secretariat’s Triple Crown at 50

March 9, 2023 by Editorial Staff 3 Comments

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the racehorse Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989) winning the Triple Crown in 1973, a feat that had not been achieved since it was won by Citation in 1948.

Secretariat, also known as Big Red (a nickname shared with Man O’War), was the ninth winner of Triple Crown, setting and still holding record fastest time in all three races – the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes and the Preakness Stakes. He spent much of his career in New York State, and was notably beaten at Saratoga Race Course in 1973, but the only three races he ever lost were in New York State. [Read more…] about Secretariat’s Triple Crown at 50

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in Schenectady

January 5, 2023 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

On the evening of January 11, 1917, the Schenectady Daily Union announced the passing of William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody, who died the day before in Denver, Colorado, at age 71.

The Union Star described Cody as a “remarkable man,” a “hero of thousands of exploits,” and published a photograph of Cody with an extensive survey of his life and career as a guide, trapper, Pony Express rider, stagecoach driver, Civil War veteran, Medal of Honor recipient for gallantry, buffalo hunter (thus the nickname “Buffalo Bill”) and master showman. [Read more…] about Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in Schenectady

The Capitol Region’s Race Course: Island Park

November 24, 2022 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

The Hudson River in New York’s Capital Region has always been a vital transportation link, and it also provides a conduit to undertakings of the past. The area presently occupied by Interstate-787 and its connectors to NY-378 were constructed on what had been a cluster of islands in the Hudson River, near Menands, between Albany and Watervliet.

Even in the 1820s, the road here became noted for unofficial, and illegal, horse racing. [Read more…] about The Capitol Region’s Race Course: Island Park

Hempstead Plains Environmental & Cultural History

October 2, 2022 by Chris Kretz Leave a Comment

The Hempstead Plains were once a defining feature of Long Island. Covering some 40,000 acres, the Plains stretched from the Queens border in the west to the Suffolk border in the east, creating a sea of waist-high grass in the middle of what is now Nassau County.

Remnants of the Plains still remain, most notably in a 17-acre segment on the campus of Nassau Community College preserved by the Friends of Hempstead Plains. [Read more…] about Hempstead Plains Environmental & Cultural History

Featured Collections: West Point Military Academy Photographs

September 25, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

More than 2,500 photographs taken at the West Point Military Academy in the early 20th century are now available in the National Archives Catalog. [Read more…] about Featured Collections: West Point Military Academy Photographs

70-Year-Old Hiker Rescued By Helicopter From Adirondack Peak

September 20, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents throughout New York State. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people.

What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers. [Read more…] about 70-Year-Old Hiker Rescued By Helicopter From Adirondack Peak

Saratoga Race Course’s Grandstand: Some History

August 26, 2022 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

The Saratoga Race Course is instantly recognizable by its iconic roofline and unique treatment. The Gilded Age survives to our time through the turret-spiked, finial capped, slate roof of the grandstand.

The very distinguishable noble crown of racing’s dowager queen places one instantly at the Spa in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, and announces “Saratoga Springs.” [Read more…] about Saratoga Race Course’s Grandstand: Some History

New Book About Politics, Gambling and Horse Racing History

June 10, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Chicago in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was second only to New York as a center of both thoroughbred racing and off-track gambling. Its complicated history is one of political influence and class; the business of racing; the cultural and social significance of racing; and the impact widespread opposition to gambling in Illinois had on the sport.

A new book considers these topics and looks at the nexus between horse racing, politics, and syndicate crime, as well as the emergence of neighborhood bookmaking, and the role of the national racing wire in Chicago. [Read more…] about New Book About Politics, Gambling and Horse Racing History

American Sporting Prints: 19th Century Horses & Horsemen

May 17, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine, as early as 1829, had pictures of noted horses, engraved by well-known steel-gravers from paintings by Alvan Fisher [1792-1863] and J. Cone [possibly J. Cone Ruitiar]. A few years later the New York Spirit of the Times was issuing engravings from paintings principally by Edward Troye [1808-1874].

It all amounts to a gallery of horse notables: Fashion, Glencoe, Lightning, Shark, Leviathan, Monarch, and down the list. There are interesting side-lights on the costume of the boys holding their equine charges, one with an Eton jacket and a cap much like that worn by the American troops during the Mexican War, another brave in Hessian boots and epaulets. It is, however, principally the quicker lithographic process that pictured His Majesty the Horse. [Read more…] about American Sporting Prints: 19th Century Horses & Horsemen

New Equestrian Trails Supporter Patch

May 17, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The NYS Depart of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is releasing five recreation themed trail support patch designs throughout 2022, each available for a limited time only, or you can purchase the full set of all five designs at any time, while supplies last.

Just released, the third design features a rider on horseback with a green background. [Read more…] about New Equestrian Trails Supporter Patch