This Saturday, May 19, Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another will try to annex the Preakness Stakes, the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown. He’ll have to defeat a full field of 14 horses, including

• Bodemeister, who he ran down in the late stages of the Derby,
• Went the Day Well, who was a fast closing fourth in the Derby, and
• Creative Cause, who lost a photo finish to I’ll Have Another in the Santa Anita Derby and ran a close fifth in the Kentucky Derby, and may be ready to produce a top effort that could put him in the picture at nice odds.

Horse racing is immensely popular with many Americans, but not followed nearly as closely as some of the principal sports. Thus, it can be difficult to find NYC bars showing the Preakness Stakes.

Mustang Harry’s is one of the best sports bars in NYC, and we’ll be showing the Preakness in its entirety, to a fair-sized audience of racing fans. Come try our new line-up of craft beers and our ever-expanding menu, which continues to delight our customers every day as we roll out previews of our new menu.

Looking for a venue to host your next private party? How about a convenient restaurant/bar that can seat 300 people comfortably, offers a wide selection of craft beers on draft, has a newly revamped menu, and is easy to get to from within or outside the city – and has been called the best sports bar in NYC? Yes, we might be a little biased, but Mustang Harry’s has long been a favorite venue for New Yorkers who are getting a group together. With our food menus – offering food ranging from Cajun Catfish to burgers to Seared Sesame Salmon Salad, we have something for everyone, perfect for a large group. And, of course, since we’re located just around the corner from Penn Station, friends from any corner of the city and beyond can easily get to and from the event, via subway, train, or car – no excuses not to make it!

Reserve our dining room for a sit-down brunch or event, or, book our very private upper-level mezzanine bar/lounge (seats 125) for a fun, social experience — with two seating areas and a central bar area, the mezzanine encourages mingling – great for a blogger meet-up or other occasions where the crowd may not yet know each other. Private TVs in the mezzanine area can also be tuned to whatever channels you like, making it a perfect place to get your group together to watch the next big game.

Whatever your budget and group size, contact us to arrange your event. If you’re coming to drink, we offer open bar plans starting at $25 a person for 2 hours (beer and wine) to $40 per person for 2 hours of full open bar. If you’re looking for a meal or appetizers, we have appetizer platters, prix fixe meals, and a full buffet options – basically, whatever you want, we’ve got it. Our event planners are happy to help you find the right plan for your group! Just call us or complete our events form today to start your reservation.

The Rangers have played in just eight Game 7s in their 86-year history, winning all three on home ice and losing all five on the road. Let’s look back at all of them.

1939: NHL Semi-Finals: Lost to Bruins, 2-1 in 3OT
The 1939 season was the first time that the NHL used a best-of-seven series to determine the Stanley Cup. The Rangers finished second in the league, but were forced to play the first-place Bruins in the semi-finals under an odd playoff format that had the top two teams play in one semi while teams 3-6 six played three-game series for the other place in the final. The Rangers lost the first three games of the series, but stormed back to force a Game 7 at the Boston Garden. The game was decided in the third overtime by Bruins rookie Mel Hill, who scored his third overtime winner of the series, earning himself the nickname “Sudden Death.”

1950: Stanley Cup Final: Lost to Red Wings, 4-3 in 2OT
The Rangers upset the Canadiens in the semis to play a Red Wings team that dominated the regular season but was without Gordie Howe, who suffered a life-threatening skull fracture in the semis. Madison Square Garden was booked to host the circus, forcing the Rangers to play two “home” games in Toronto and five games in Detroit, including Game 7.

The Rangers had leads of 2-0 and 3-2, but the Wings came back to force overtime. At 8:31 of the second overtime, Detroit’s Pete Babando slid a backhander past Rangers goalie Charlie Rayner for the winner. It was the first time that the Stanley Cup was decided by overtime in Game 7 (this has happened just one other time, when Detroit beat Montreal in 1954). In the video, you can see Detroit captain Ted Lindsay celebrating by skating around with the Cup; this was the first time that a team had celebrated that way.

1971: NHL Semi-Finals: Lost to Black Hawks, 4-2
Led by Walt Tkaczuk, Brad Park and the Goal-a-Game (GAG) line of Jean Ratelle, Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield, the Rangers finished second in the league and defeated Toronto in the first round. Against Chicago, they fell behind 3-2 after Bobby Hull’s OT winner in Game 5. Facing elimination at the Garden, they erased a 2-0 deficit to force overtime.

The Hawks’ Stan Mikita missed a wide-open net in the second overtime (moments after hitting Rangers goalie Eddie Giacomin in the mask). Early in the third overtime, Pete Stemkowski buried a rebound to win it for the rangers and force a Game 7 at Chicago Stadium. Unfortunately, an early third period goal by Bobby Hull broke a 2-2 tie and the Hawks added an empty-netter to clinch a 4-2 victory.

1974: NHL Semi-Finals: Lost to Flyers, 4-3
This was the first time the Rangers and Flyers met in the playoffs. The home teams won each of the first six games to set up Game 7 at the Spectrum. The defining moment of the game came when Flyers enforcer Dave Schultz began pummeling the Rangers’ Dale Rolfe, who was not a fighter, and no Ranger came to Rolfe’s aid. After the game, Rangers coach Emile Francis called his player “Fat Cats.”

The loss marked the end of an era for the Rangers, who would trade away Hadfield in the offseason, and Ratelle and Park the following season. After making at least the semi-finals in four straight seasons, the Rangers would not advance further than the preliminary round for the next four years.

1992: Patrick Division Semi-Finals, Beat Devils, 8-4
In Mark Messier’s first season with the team, the Rangers won the President’s Trophy for the league’s best record, but they’d face a tough test in the first round. The series in best remembered for a bench brawl at the end of Game 6. The best parts: 2:30: Adam Graves going after Claude Lemieux and 3:25: Scott Stevens and Tie Domi fighting on the bench.

The Game 7 was the first time the Rangers hosted a Game 7. Messier, Graves and Darren Turcotte each scored twice as the Rangers cruised to an 8-4 victory.

1994: Eastern Conference Final: Beat Devils, 2-1, 2OT
We’ll skip to Game 6. After lifeless performance in Game 5, Messier guarantees victory. Jersey takes a 2-0 lead in the first, but Alexei Kovalev responds with a goal in the second. In the third: Messier, Messier and Messier.

In Game 7, the Rangers led 1-0 until Valeri Zelepukin tied the game with 7.7 seconds left. But in the second overtime, Fetisov for the Devils played it cross ice into the far corner, Matteau swooped in the intercept …

1994: Stanley Cup Final: Beat Canucks, 3-2
You probably have this game committed to memory, so all we’ll do is remind you how close Nathan Lafayette came to tying the game with six minutes left. And here are the highlights.

2009: Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals: Lost to Capitals, 2-1
The Rangers led the series 3-1, but the Caps came back, Torts splashed a fan with a water bottle and Sergei Fedorov scored the winner with five minutes left in the third. Let’s forget about this one and end this thing on a high note: John Amirante’s drowned-out anthems before Game 7 in ‘94. Let’s go Rangers!

This time is different.

For the first time since 1996, the Rangers have home-ice advantage for even one round of the playoffs. In fact, they’ll enjoy it all the way through, except perhaps in the finals. As Larry Brooks writes for The New York Post, “The Rangers aren’t sneaking in by the scruffs of the collective neck the way they did last year, pretty much the way they always have made it lately. They’re not booked for the tour in steerage class. They go into tonight’s Game 1 not grateful to be included, but rather with great expectations.”

The expectations are understandable; the team had its secon-best season ever, winning 51 games and garnering 109 points, the most in the Eastern division. Only two losses at the end of the season prevented the team for having the best record in the league.

Alas, as Brooks also writes, “The Rangers are no longer in first place. No one is. When the playoffs begin at Madison Square Garden tonight against Ottawa, the one-seed Blueshirts have the same 0-0 record as the eight-seed Senators, with each club the same 16 victories away from the Stanley Cup.”

Make Mustang Harry’s your pre-game and in-game headquarters for all 16 of those victories. As the best sports bar in NYC, we’ve long best known as the best NY Rangers bar, with members of the team often stopping by for their post-game meal. We also show all Rangers games, both home and away, and we attract a boisterous crowd for them. Don’t sit home and watch the conclusion to the most exciting Rangers season in many years by yourself; come share it with a gang of blue-shirted fellow fans.

Mustang Harry’s has an outstanding, ever-expanding menu and a full line-up of Irish and craft beers on tap.

The New York International Auto Show comes to the Javits Center from April 6 to April 15. Click here to see the promo video.

The New York Times has a preview of what to expect at this year’s show.

Bringing kids along? The Mommy Poppins blog has some excellent advice for enjoying the NY Auto show with kids.

Looking for the best restaurants near the Javits Center?

Mustang Harry’s, the best sports bar in NYC, is a family friendly restaurant, just a ten-minute walk from the Javits Center, on 7th Avenue, between 29th and 30th streets. We’re right next to Penn Station, so we’re easy to get to by train or subway.  Enjoy a great meal with us. We offer a wide range on our menu, from our famous Disco Fries to Spicy Shrimp Scampi, a full line-up of American craft beers, a kids’ menu and we offer discounted weekend parking at ICON Parking on West 28th between 7th and 8th.

How easy can that be? Park at ICON on West 28th or take the train or subway into Penn Station, walk over to the Javits Center and enjoy the show, come back to Mustang Harry’s for a festive meal, and then hop back in your car or train for a quick trip home!

On Thursday, the club fired general manager Pierre Gauthier as well as his predecessor, Bob Gainey, who had been working as an adviser. The Habs’ dismal season can be blamed on several questionable moves made by Gauthier and Gainey, but none more so than a June 2009 trade Gainey made to acquire Scott Gomez.

The Rangers were desperate to off-load Gomez, entering the third year of a seven-year, $51 million deal, to free up cap space to sign Marion Gaborik. Gainey not only agreed to take on Gomez’s contract, but also to give up University of Wisconsin defenseman Ryan McDonagh, the team’s first round pick in 2007, as part of the package headlined by Chris Higgins (who was later traded to Calgary for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust).

McDonagh, of course, has developed into one of the best young defensemen in the game, while Gomez has just 19 goals in three seasons and at one point went more than a year without scoring. Oh, and he still has two years at $7.3 million per left on his contract, which the Habs will probably buy out this offseason.

The Canadiens HF Board from the day of the trade tells you everything you need to know. Just the rumor that Higgins was being traded to the Rangers sparked the response “Probably Gomez in return. I freaking hope not though!” As the trade is confirmed, some posters try to rationalize the deal, while one writes, “What a ****ing nightmare if true. We’re kneecapped with that bloated salary. I’d rather cut bait and rebuild than construct a team around a 7.5M Gomez.”

By page 9, they receive news that McDonagh is in the deal and all hell breaks loose:

• “Ryan McDonagh too??!?!??! I’m gonna start crying… Oh dear lord… Oh my ****ing god… holy ****ing ****…”

• “If McDonagh got traded I’m buying season tickets to just throw garbage on the ice.”

• “We better learn that McDo had an uncurable cancer or something like that because anything less would make that trade unaceptable…”

Come celebrate the Rangers’ great season tonight at Mustang Harry’s, where we’ll be having an excellent Happy Hour promotion sponsored by Bud Light. Be sure to raise a glass to the dearly departed Bob Gainey, for without him we would have McDonagh, Gaborik or Pruster. And one for Gomez (who unfortunately will miss tonight’s game with a concussion) for at least being a better free agent signing than Wade Redden.

And raise one for the Islanders, too, for sweeping a home-and-home against the Penguins. Thanks to them, the Rangers need just five points in the remaining five games to clinch first place in the East.

Mustang Harry’s, a family friendly Irish restaurant near Madison Square Garden and Penn Plaza, looks forward to greeting the families attending Big Apple Feis. We have a kids menu for the young ones and outstanding Irish and American fare for the adults in the group. Of course, we also serve fine Irish beers, as well as a full line of American craft beers. Everyone finds exactly what they are looking for, at reasonable prices.

For fans of Big Apple Feis, the prices are even more reasonable – we offer a 10% discount to all of them. Just ask your server and we’ll mark down your bill 10%.

If you’ve ever been to Cirque du Soleil, it’s easy to understand why some fans make it a point to see every single Cirque performance. If you haven’t been yet, this is truly a must-see performance. More than acrobatics, more than a light show, more than just an incredible production, Cirque is truly a one-of-a-kind experience. The troupe defines itself with 8 classifications: Acrobatics, Acting, Art Forms from Around the World, Imaginary Worlds, Dance, Daring, Dexterity, and Grace…and they truly incorporate all of these characteristics into every performance.

While the performance elements are consistent across Cirque performances, every production is truly unique. Each performance has its own theme and storyline, and one of the most highly anticipated Cirque shows ever is finally here. The “Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour” show pairs Cirque’s signature style with the King of Pop’s music and dance moves, for an unforgettable performance. The show, receiving 4 stars from audience members, features many of Michael’s greatest hits, and even has a role for a monkey playing Bubbles, Michael’s long-time companion.

This show, a must-see for fans of both Cirque and Michael, comes to Madison Square Garden April 3-5. Check out the official trailer video here for a sneak peek,  check for tickets and start planning your night! The performances start at 8 PM, so there’s plenty of time to grab a quick dinner before the show. Looking for a family-friendly option? Bring the kids, and come see us at Mustang Harry’s. Called one of the best sports bars in NYC by New York Magazine, we’re also one of the few restaurants near the Garden that will welcome you and the kids, and get you in and out in time for the show. Our kids’ menu will keep them happy without emptying your wallet, and the adults will enjoy the range of our menu and, of course, our full bar. Whether you’re bringing a date or the family, Cirque du Soleil and Harry’s will make it a perfect night.

Some things just never go out of style – and Bruce Springsteen is most definitely one of them. Of course, many of us remember The Boss most fondly from Born in the USA, but this New Jersey boy has become famous for his political involvement in recent years as well. He was  a huge supporter of President Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, speaking at rallies, and ultimately performing his song “The Rising” with an all-female choir as the opening number at Obama’s Inaugural Ball on January 18, 2009. He has since performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, won a Golden Globe (for “The Wrestler”), and been named one of Rolling Stone’s 8 “Artists of the Decade” at the end of the 2000s.

But, back to the music….Springsteen has always been known for his concerts. From his early days and videos featuring live shows (remember Courteney Cox dancing onstage in the “Dancing in the Dark” video?), he has always put on a great show. He has played Madison Square Garden many times since the 1980s, so his return on April 6 and 9 is highly anticipated.

Of course, he will be playing with the talented E Street Band, who has played alongside him for many years. Iconic on their own, the E Street Band has recorded with Bruce and many other famed artists, including Sting, Ringo Starr, and Lady Gaga – among many others. The band’s lineup has evolved over the years, but original members included Garry Tallent, Clarence Clemons, Danny Federici, Vini Lopez, and David Sancious. They performed throughout the 80s, briefly broke up in the 90s, and really hit the scene again in 1999. Sadly, tragedy struck the band in June 2011, when popular saxophone player Clemons suffered a stroke, dying six days later. The band remained committed to producing music and performing, and Jake Clemons, Clarence’s nephew, took over for his uncle.

The 2012 Wrecking Ball Tour began in early 2012 in support of the new album, “Wrecking Ball,” and comes to Madison Square Garden on April 6 and 9. Heading to the show? We will be partying all night at Harry’s. Just around the corner from the Garden, we expect a large crowd of Springsteen fans before and after the show. So, grab a bite or a few beers with us before the concert, or come see us afterward to keep the party going. You’ll see why New York Magazines and others call us the best sports bar near MSG!

Two New York state teams will be in action Friday, with Union College, the No. 3 team in the country, playing Michigan State (3:00 p.m.), and Cornell playing second-ranked Michigan (9:30). The other games are Denver v. Ferris St. (5:30) and UMass-Lowell v. Miami (6:00).

Saturday has a full day of games. It begins with the North Dakota Fighting Sioux playing CCHA champs Western Michigan at 1:30 p.m., and continues with top-seeded Boston College against Air Force (4:00), Minnesota against Boston University (5:00) in a game two of college hockey’s most historically successful programs, and defending national champions Minnesota-Duluth against Maine (7:30). The night will also include Friday’s winners playing for a place in the Frozen Four at 6:30 (Union/MSU v. Lowell/Miami) and 9:30 (Denver/Ferris v. Michigan/Cornell).

Sunday has the potential for two outstanding match-ups. The first regional final, at 4:30 p.m., will likely feature BC against either Duluth—in a match-up between the last two national champions—or Maine, in a rematch of the Hockey East championship game won by BC. The second final, at 8:00, could be North Dakota against Minnesota, one of the game’s most heated rivalries. The teams met in the WCHA semis, where the Sioux fell behind 3-0 but roared back with six unanswered goals in the last 26 minutes of the game.

Rangers fans should keep on eye on #19 for Boston College, Chris Kreider. Considered by many to be the Rangers’ top prospect, Kreider is a 6’2” power forward with a great shot and elite speed. There has been speculation that he could be called up to the Rangers this year after BC’s season ends.

Islanders fans can watch North Dakota’s leading scorer, Brock Nelson, #29. Like Kreider, Nelson is a big forward with good speed and a wicked shot.