T.D. Thornton

Author, My Adventures with Your Money & Not by a Long Shot. Thoroughbred racing journalist. Chronicler of con artists, gamblers & America’s glorious underbelly.

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, each of us will have two ideas.” — George Bernard Shaw

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

Re-immersing into the routine after a blissful week absorbing this. Friedrich Nietzsche never hiked the Utah & Colorado canyonlands, but he got it right when he wrote, “If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

Escaped to the White Mountains of NH for a pleasant Sunday hike in gazillion-percent humidity. Where is that damn Snow Miser when you really need him? Views still stellar, no matter the season. This is from atop Mt. Percival w/ Squam Lake to the south.

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

It’s only June 28, but I’ve already written my “what I did on summer vacation” essay. Thanks to @theTDN for indulging this eerie stroll down memory lane.
https://t.co/TVPWygKT1X

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

Escaped for a few days hiking in the blissful little corner of New England where MA, NY & VT intersect. I try to plan excursions where I am certain to encounter extinct species. This is Green Mountain Park (Pownal, VT), which ran T'breds 1963-76, harness '64-77 & hounds '76-92.

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

Here are my hoss-by-hoss trip notes for all 20 runners, as written up for @theTDN. Two general observations: 1) Cleanest-run Derby I have ever covered; 2) Not a single trainer (from what I saw in published quotes) used the "didn't handle the track" excuse. https://t.co/l6RgsbDlWS

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

Zandon is my “likeliest winner” pick for the Derby rankings in @theTDN. Still 5 hours to go, but quite surprised Z is 7-1 in the betting. Other prices that stand out are Taiba (currently way underlaid at 5-1) & Simplification (completely ignored at 42-1). https://t.co/Psaiw6kaZI

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

Classic Causeway’s price actually drifted up TWICE during the running of the Davis S. at Tampa, from 6-5 to 3-2 before settling at 8-5. Don’t often see such pronounced reverse action on frontrunning faves, esp. in $600K+win pool. Long shot chasing him hammered from 22-1 to 13-1.

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

Latest edition of my @theTDN Derby Top 12 just published.

As The Who famously sang, "Meet the new boss...Same as the old boss."

A little bit of emerging intrigue in the ranks starting at No 4, however...

https://t.co/Jeg0YCdJXp

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

I consider any @theTDN column that requires me to spend an afternoon sifting through decades-old Saratoga charts while also getting to quote the late, great Marshall Cassidy to be a fun writing endeavor.

https://t.co/6cn4lcXNni

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

My first @theTDN Derby Top 12 rankings of the season are up. We're inside 2,978 hours until post time, but who's counting?

https://t.co/L0I1FFq1LI

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

Halfway thru 1/1/92 card, a cranky trainer came to the press box to berate the new kid for “mispronouncing” a name LC had actually said correctly. “Get it right!” he barked. LC politely thanked him. After the gent stormed out, LC & I burst out laughing simultaneously. Pals since!

[Larry Collmus @larrycollmus]

Hard to believe that 30 years ago today was the reopening of @SuffolkDowns and I was the new announcer. It was a 60 degree day in Boston. The East Boston Oval has stopped racing but left me with a long list of lifetime friends and great memories. Happy New Year everyone!

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

About 45 seconds into my phone interview with Mr. Rosette, I could tell by his enthusiasm and respect for his $3,500 claimer that this was going to be the proverbial “story that tells itself.”

Read on @theTDN…

https://t.co/89Aa53ZHpG

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

Dole gave me a big smile and gregariously extended his hand. But when he saw me whip out a reporter’s notebook, he scowled, quickly withdrew his greeting, and muttered, “Oh, you’re one of THEM!” before turning to another student and flashing the same fake enthusiasm. (2/2)

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

Just read of Bob Dole’s passing. He provided one of my formative experiences as a student journalist. During the ’88 presidential primary, I was assigned to cover his campus rally for the UNH paper. I approached after his speech to ask a question. (1/2)

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

True racetrack press box “characters” are a vanishing breed. We lost two of them over the weekend—Bob Neumeier and Sam Spear. I penned a piece for @theTDN that tried to capture the panache and spirit of both of them. Tough to do in 1,800 words.

https://t.co/thuWCbNgJf

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

Been wondering which redneck in my tranquil neighborhood has been blasting .38 Special tunes for the past hour. Then I realized it IS actually .38 Special playing live at the Topsfield Fair, about 5 miles away. Cracked a beer & opted to “hold on loosely” for the rest of the set.

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

This evening's bike ride on the North Shore of Massachusetts brought to you by ye olde double rainbow.

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

Getting correspondence about “Not by a Long Shot” is a gift that keeps giving. Today I rec’d a letter from an anonymous reader who would like some crowdsourced help to try & solve a decades-long personal quest: Was there something "sinister" about Race 7 at ‘Gansett on 1/8/1972?

[T.D. Thornton @thorntontd]

The White Mountain National Forest is synonymous w/ New Hampshire. But a little slice of extends into Maine. We hiked Evans Notch this week. Mrs. Thornton shot this from summit of Caribou Mt. At the 2:00 position above my head is Mt. Washington (highest peak in East) 20 mi. off.