Thoroughbred Racing
Three grid spanners in the middle give us a thoroughbred racing mini-theme. Nothing else that I could see.
32. New York city with a historic race course: SARATOGA SPRINGS.
37. 2015 Triple Crown winner: AMERICAN PHAROAH.
38. California race that's a stepping-stone to Kentucky: SANTA ANITA DERBY.
As a 3 year old, American Pharoah won the Kentucky, Derby, then the Preakness and Belmont to become the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown. He ended his career with a 9-1 record and became the only horse in history to win the "Grand Slam" of thoroughbred racing when he won the Breeders Cup Classic.
He also won at Santa Anita as a 2 year old in the FrontRunner Stakes, but didn't he didn't run in the Santa Anita Derby. The FrontRunner Stakes has been renamed the American Pharoah Stakes in the horses's honor.
His only loss came in Saratoga Springs at the Travers Stakes.
Across:
1. Jimmy Choo shoe brand co-founder Mellon: TAMARA. No idea, but it is Friday. Thank you perps.
7. Athlete's feint: HEAD FAKE.
15. Cast out: EXILED.
16. Dander, e.g.: ALLERGEN.
17. "Sadly, that's not the case": ALAS, NO.
18. Not just requested: IMPLORED. Beseeched. To my ears, implored sounds more modern than beseeched.
19. Duff Beer server: MOE. The Simpsons
20. Gives the go-ahead: OKs.
21. Sources of renewed energy: NAPS. Our friend WikWak must have a lot of energy. I think I'm going to follow his model and see if it works for me.
22. "Who, me?": MOI. Miss Piggy was famous for asking, "Moi ?"
24. Wise teacher: GURU.
26. Pull (out): OPT.
28. Historic time: ERA.
29. Unified: ONE.
30. Muse with a lyre: ERATO.
39. Minute Maid Park player: ASTRO. Astro Alex Bregman was MVP in last year's All Star game. His 10th inning home run put the AL'ers ahead of the NL'ers 7 to 6. His Astro teammate George Springer followed with another round tripper as an insurance run. and the AL won the game 8-6. In 89 games, the AL leads the summer classic 44-43-2. That's pretty even. Also pretty even ? Runs scored in the All Star games. The AL leads 769 to 767. Tuesday, July 9th will be the 90th game. It would be neat if the NL won by 2 runs.
40. Denver-to-Omaha dir.: ENE.
42. Talks acronym: TED. Technology, Entertainment and Design.
43. Country in a Beatles title: USSR. It's where I learned B.O.A.C.
45. 1992-2001 Expos manager Felipe: ALOU.
48. Boom source: TNT.
49. "__ Baby Baby": 1965 Miracles hit: OOO. Smokey Robinson will be playing in Temecula tonight at the Pechanga Summit. Tickets for the 8 PM concert are $39, but you might do better if you Shop Around.
51. Has a revelatory experience: FINDS GOD.
54. Many city workers live in one: SUBURB.
57. Like Greenpeace, e.g.: ANTI NUKE.
58. 2017 biopic about a figure skater: I TONYA. Tonya Harding.
59. "Good Day Sunshine" album: REVOLVER.
I also especially like Got To Get You Into My Life from the same album.
60. Called for: NEEDED. Despite the fact that the Rum Swizzle called for crushed or pebble ice, Tinbeni ordered it straight.
Down:
1. Spot to drink: TEA.
2. Rose of rock: AXL.
3. '80s-'90s Heat home: MIAMI ARENA.
4. Additionally: ALSO.
5. Go back to the table: RENEGOTIATE.
6. Hubbub: ADO.
7. Very short poem: HAIKU. CSO to our occasional visitor Haiku Harry.
8. Stately trees: ELMS.
9. The Zugspitze, e.g.: ALP. Been there. You can not only see Austria from it, you can straddle both countries while doing it. It is the tallest of the Alps in Germany. The Zugspitze is not the tallest in Austria though. That claim belongs to the Grossglockner, which is the second highest of all the Alps, trailing only Mont Blanc. Just as the Zugspitze shares two countries, so does Mont Blanc, with France and Italy sharing the mountain.
10. With 44-Across, "Summertime Sadness" singer Lana: DEL. And 44. See 10-Down: REY. Never heard it before, but the video has 185M views, so either it's popular or there have been some bots at work.
11. It's off the ground during a wheelie: FRONT TIRE.
12. Asian shrine city: AGRA.
13. Word with watch or time: KEEP. Also for quiet and still.
14. Stops: ENDS.
20. Pizza seasoning: OREGANO.
22. Flat-topped lands: MESAS. Buttes, plateaus...
23. Slangy event suffix: ORAMA.
25. Reverse, for one: UNO CARD. One of the action cards, of which there are 5 or 7, depending on your game deck. There are 4 reverse cards. You can only use the reverse card if you are playing it on a card of the same color, or on another reverse card.
26. Harry Potter and Tom Sawyer: ORPHANS.
27. Procession plan: PARADE ROUTE.
30. 1930s Rhine/Zener experiment: ESP TEST.
31. Circa: ON OR AROUND.
33. Painter's work area: ART STUDIO. Atelier.
34. Singer DiFranco: ANI.
35. Cape Cod feature: GABLE.
36. With pause, perhaps: SHYLY.
43. Anesthetized: UNDER.
45. A long way off: AFAR.
46. Queue (up): LINE.
47. Being broadcast: ON TV.
48. Tip in Vegas: TOKE.
50. Orchestras tune to one: OBOE.
52. "Weekend Update" show: SNL.
53. Bloke's address: GUV.
54. Offense: SIN.
55. Manhattan part: RYE.
56. Disobedient, to Fido: BAD.
