Happy New Year, Space Cadets

Tweet Happy New Year to all that follow this blog. 2010 has been very good to me and I owe a debt of gratitude to those who visit, have befriended me and have provided me opportunities over the past year.

2010 had a lot of highlights for me and the blog that included:

- The entrance of the Space Filly in November, whose barely a month old. I look forward to her first track visit, she's got some catching up to do!

- A successful initial endeavor with ThoroFan resulting in a new collaboration with the TBA to provide a weekly Handicappers' Corner. I'm told that it generates a solid number of weekly hits and we've given out some terrific winners in 2010 (highlighted by Joe Nevills' 20-1 shot Exhi in the Blue Grass Stakes). We'll be gunning up the 2011 Corner in January for a second consecutive year.

- Speaking of ThoroFan, I was honored to be asked to sit on their Board of Directors in October and look forward to a long relationship with this non-for-profit 501c3 into the future.

- I participated in the inaugural Wireplayers.com Derby Dozen which was a great exercise that we all had a lot of fun with.

- I was fortunate to add 3 more initial track visits (Space Invasions) this year, Finger Lakes, Aqueduct and Pimlico (for the Preakness), ironically two of the three are located in my home state.

- My Belmont Stakes streak is intact at five. The Space Gal and I watched from the finish line to see Drosselmeyer upset the field and had a great day at Big Sandy.

- Calling the Derby exacta cold (and hitting the Oaks-Derby Double cold with my man Ernie), and winning an iPad to boot in a Horse Racing Nation contest.

- The Space Kid added the fourth track to his young life in January on Sunshine Millions Day at Gulfstream. By age two, he's been to Churchill, Keeneland, Saratoga and Gulfstream....not too shabby.

- Finally, in the being in the right place at the right time category, being asked to fill the huge shoes of Bob Summers as the racing correspondent for The Buffalo News, was certainly the highlight of my "racing year." You can check out my year in review from yesterday's paper. Thanks to everyone who helped me make this leap of faith from the blogging ranks.

I'd say 2010 was quite a year after reviewing the highlights above. I look forward to 2011 and am resolved to continue to post and have fun with this blog. I appreciate the regular readers and commenters (Norm!), my fellow TBA'ers and those who happen to stop by on occasion to see what's cooking in the Space Lab. And finally a special thanks to the Saratoga Resident who introduced me to this sport a short seven years ago....who knew?

Happy New Year.

2011: The Return of Kreskin

Tweet It's that time of year again. Time to put on my prognostication glasses and figure out what's in store in racing for the year 2011. First off, let's take a quick look at last year's predictions and score it at home.

We were almost Kreskin-like in some areas, not so good in others.....

2010 Predictions and Self-Scoring

1) Year of the Dude. Score = 1. We said the colts would take back the Preakness, Haskell, Woodward and BC Classic. Goaaalllllll.

2) Post Time Favorite Wins the Derby. Score = 0. We thought we were looking good with Eskendereya a week prior to the Derby, but an injury and then a poor post position on the rail for Lookin at Lucky gave us the big goose egg here.

3) No TC Weather Issues. Score = 0.67. As Meat Loaf used to say 2 outta 3 ain't bad. A soggy Derby was offset by beautiful weather in Baltimore and Elmont.

4) A Sub 4 hr Trek to the Spa. Score = 0. A 4:02 and a 4:12 were the closest I came in four trips to the Springs. The record will fall in 2011. I don't give up easily.

5) No TC Winner....again. Score = 1. Ok, so I threw a gimme in there.

6) NTRA Accreditation % is Perfect. Score = 1. Sure has been quiet on this front. I gave up beating on this drum.

7) National Pick 4 Returns. Score - 0. You know the drill.

8) Rachel Alexandra Loses. Score = 1. Three times a lady.

Final 2010 Tally = 4.67 out of 8. Not bad.

Ok...here goes our 2011 Predictions and we won't be so easy on ourselves this year while summoning our inner Kreskin......

1) A Derby/Preakness Double. So what I'm saying here is that there will be a Triple Crown shot in June. We haven't had one since Big Brown in 2008, so playing the law of averages here.

2) A Filly will be ITM in a TC Race. The fillies have been stepping up in the past few years, why not in 2011?

3) The Belmont will be won by a horse with double digit odds. The Belmont seems to be the race where a longshot tends to upset the field. I'm projecting it to happen in 2011 and that I won't have said winner.

4) Fly Down will win a Grade 1. Back in early March, I was the lone pollster in the WirePlayers Derby Dozen (see others receiving votes) to give Fly Down a vote after I watched his allowance win at Gulfstream. In 2011, he'll grab his first G1 somewhere down the line.

5) The Arkansas Derby will give us the 2011 Derby winner. Oaklawn Park has provided us with some solid Derby horses (Smarty, Alex, Curlin) in the past ten years. They're due to give us the Derby winner.

6) Sub 4 hour trek to the Spa. We had our all-time best in 2010 with a new back route. If I have to leave Buffalo at 5am, I'm getting this done next year.

7) Santa Anita is awarded the 2012 Breeders' Cup. This means they'll make the decision before New Year's Eve 2011, but the return to dirt and the return to the nice weather will entice the BC board to be westward bound.

8) A 3 year old wins the BC Classic. I'm betting on a solid group of 3 year old colts who will dominate the older horses late in the season. No, I haven't been drinking.

9) Haskell Hat is green. I've studied the past 12 years worth of hats, and I'm going green in 2011.

10) Garret Gomez wins his first TC race. He's got his first Classic, now it's time to add a Classic, don't you think?

So those are my predictions for 2011, let's hope it's a great year for racing!

Getting Dirty at the Great Race Place

Tweet One of the biggest stories leading into the New Year is the racing surface change at Santa Anita Park. An 83-day meet running through mid-April 2011 and highlighted by the Santa Anita Derby on April 3 commences this afternoon in Arcadia, California. The winter/spring meet is much anticipated as the return to all-natural dirt will be welcomed by handicappers and horsemen alike.

After the track owner failed to negotiate an agreement with the Oak Tree Racing Association for the fall meet, the track has been idle since April for the first time since 1968. “We’ve been idle for a long time and people are very anxious to come back to Santa Anita and we’re anxious to have them back. Additionally, many of our best customers are looking forward to racing on a dirt surface again, as are our horsemen,” said Santa Anita President George Haines. The other good news here is that the Breeders' Cup will be sure to return in the near future (2012?). My 2009 experience at the Great Race Place was second to none; the weather, the people and the backdrop were all truly spectacular.

Sunday’s opening day card includes two Grade 1 races, the $250,000 La Brea Stakes and the $250,000 Malibu Stakes as well as the Grade 2 Sir Beaufort Stakes. These three graded stakes races make up a Pick 3 starting at Race 6. So if you’re poo-pooing the players’ boycott, let’s take a stab at the graded stakes Pick 3 and we’ll feature the horses that will make up my Pick 3 play.

I know you were expecting an exacta or trifecta box, as it is Boxing Day, but we'll wrap up the year with my favorite wager. This most likely will my last wager of 2010, as we will focus the remainder of the week on Syracuse’s football bowl game and the World Junior Hockey Tournament being held in our hometown, Buffalo. Of course, make sure you check the scratches and the weather report (looking good this morning) before making your play.

Race 6 – La Brea Stakes, 7-furlong sprint for 3-year old fillies.

3 – Switch (Sadler, Rosario) – This filly has come out of two very good races in losing to the great Zenyatta in the Lady’s Secret and finishing second to Dubai Majesty in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. On class alone she has to be on my ticket.

7 – Malibu Pier (Gaines, Gomez) – This Malibu Moon filly should be rounding into form as she comes in third off the layoff (one of my favorite angles). Trainer Carla Gaines is 32% coming off a win and I like the cutback in distance here for the Pier. My top choice.

9 – Always a Princess (Baffert, Bejarano) – Hard to count out this combination and take note that Bejarano jumped off Malibu Pier to ride this filly. Her sire Leroidesanimaux was a terrific sprinter and Rafael is one of the best riders around.

Last horse tossed: Champagne d’Oro.

Race 7 – Sir Beaufort Stakes ($150,000), 1 mile (Turf) for 3-year olds.

4 – Sebastian Flyte (Cecil, Leparoux) – Julien Leparoux ships in to ride this 3-year old colt for Triple B Farms and gets a five pound weight break from the favorite. JuLep is shipping in for a reason and if you look at his last two races, he was right there in both, losing by a neck in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby and by 3/4 length in the Grade 2 Oak Tree Derby. That’s enough for me not to leave him off my ticket.

5 – Sidney’s Candy (Sadler, Rosario). The class of the race, Sidney’s Candy owned by the Craig Family Trust is as close to a single as I could find in this sequence. His speed figures are well above any of the others in this field, though he has never won at the mile distance. He shows a couple decent workouts and should be rested coming out of the Breeders’ Cup Mile, finishing sixth behind the likes of Goldikova and Gio Ponti. The pick.

Race 8 – Malibu Stakes, 7 furlongs sprint for 3-year olds.

2 – Alcindor (Baffert, Bejarano). A late blooming 3-year old Unbridled’s Song colt (no relation to Kareem), that has two impressive wins in his only two races. He has the right connections, we’ll see if he’s for real, and he should be at a decent price based on the quality of the field.

3 – Thiskyhasnolimit (Asmussen, Gomez). Another horse with stellar connections and is cutting back in distance. Finished second to likely 3-year old champion Lookin at Lucky in the Indiana Derby and the 7-furlong distance might be the answer on Sunday.

5 – Noble’s Promise (McPeek, Leparoux). A horse for a moment looked like he was going to win the Kentucky Derby last May, ran a monster race on the Breeders’ Cup undercard winning the ungraded Jimmy V Stakes going away. Can handle the dirt and I won’t risk getting beat by him, so he’s on my ticket as part of a deep third leg (which I believe is the toughest in the sequence).

9 – Twirling Candy (Sadler, Rosario). Wouldn’t it be something if John Sadler swept this Pick 3? Don’t count him out with the horses he has going. This one suffered his first career loss trying older horses in the Grade 1 Goodwood, so I expect improvement in returning back against 3-year olds. This will be his first career start on dirt, but too much talent not to include him against these foes.

11 – Smiling Tiger (Bonde, Baze). Comes out of a super competitive Breeders’ Cup Sprint where he hit the board in third. He’s raced his last four against older horses, so he’s a seasoned 3-year old. The only question in my mind is better at a shorter distance. Too good to pass on.



Last horse tossed: Caracortado (he's going to beat me, isn't he?)


The Play: $1 Pick 3: 3,7,9/4,5/2,3,5,9,11 (Cost: $30)

Update (11:43PST - Sebastian Flyte scratched and we're off the Turf...will add Champagne D'Oro in the first leg and Caracortado in the Malibu and cut down the ticket to 4x1x6 to $24.

Good luck and let’s cash some tickets…

It's a Racing Festivus 2010!

Tweet It's that time of year where we dance around the Festivus Pole and discuss 2010 Racing's Feats of Strength and Airing of Grievances. If you remember we had our initial Festivus post in 2009, and we're all about tradition here in the Space Lab.

After downing a nice ham and a nice Pepperidge Farm cake adorned with M&M's for dessert (the Festivus dinner) we're ready to unveil our 2010 Festivus for the rest of us.....here on Festivus Eve.

"Feats of Strength"

- Calvin Borel's forehead vein. The Bo-Rail forehead vein was a-poppin' in the Breeders' Cup Marathon post-race festivities. Eyes buggin', fists swingin'....that dude was showin' some real strength (for a short guy) who was ready to wrestle Javier Castellano to the death. Borel also won his 3rd Derby in the last 4 years (a record) which gives him the leg up on our Feats of Strength list.

- Cliff Berry's 7 win night. Jockey Cliff Berry reeled off seven wins on Friday December 10th at Remington Park in Oklahoma City. This coming on the heels of a five win card on the day before.

- The Toddster Captures 3 Breeders' Cup Races. Pletcher, who prior to 2010, has struggled in Breeders' Cup races won three races over the two-day event, all with 2-year olds. The Pletcher machine rolls forward towards the 2010 Derby once again.

- Steven Slater. Legend has it that Jet Blue flight attendant lost his cool with a passenger at JFK, grabbed a beer, popped the emergency chute and slid off the plane, caught a cab to Aqueduct and made a significant wager. Well played, sir.

Ok, so those are the 2010 feats of strength.....but I'm sure this is what you can't wait for...

"The Airing of Grievances"

- NYCOTB's shuttered? I need my fix to make a bet in Manhattan and they want me to take a bus to the Big A?? C'mon Man.

- CHRB Takeout Increase. Horseplayers be damned. C'mon Man.

- No $0.50 P3, P4 or Trifecta Wagers at NYRA Tracks. Take a chapter from the Keeneland and Churchill folks.

- No National Pick 4. I know I've been beating this drum hard lately...but c'mon NTRA, this was a good gig when you were rocking it in 2005 and 2006.

- Adobe v. Apple. What are we in fourth grade?

- Maryland Racing, dead? Say it ain't so.

If you have any of your own grievances to air or feats of strength to mention, giddy up and leave them in the comments.

Comma Sense

Tweet It's one of those days....

- Yeah, that was fun waiting for the CashCall Futurity yesterday while the favorite and ultimate winner Comma to the Top waited to for someone to run down to Payless and get him a new pair of shoes. Luckily, the Syracuse-Iona game was on SNY so the 35 minute delay didn't mess me up too much. Regardless, the horse looked impressive, as did the late run of JP's Gusto, but shouldn't he have been scratched? This is up to the stewards?

- Fun fact: Per Urban Dictionary.com comma to the top is another way to say apostrophe. The blog site I link above was "inspired by hearing people refer to what the world knows as an "apostrophe" (') called a "comma to the top." What is wrong with the word apostrophe? Why are we redesigning grammar? I've dedicated this to similar public faux pas, grammatical errors, misspelling and pure irony found in public media." I'll bet you can find an Amar'e sighting in there somewhere.

- Fish Squished, 17-14. Always a joy. Speaking of football...that D-Jack return was crazy today.

- The TBA photo contest is in full swing. Vote now. (Well not right now, after you finish reading me).

- Feeling overly sensitive about my apostrophe use; just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone's not watching.

- In case you missed them, my article in The Buffalo News on technology aids for horseplayers and my racing gift ideas post for the racing fan in your life in The News' Sports, Ink Blog.

- Finished 352nd in the Equibase Capping Tourney at Hollyrock this weekend. Swept three straight (races 6-8) which paid $62.80 for the Pick 3 if you played it (I didn't), but could only muster a second earlier in the contest. Another reason I don't play the Cali tracks...and it's not because of a boycott sponsored by...oh I'm not going there.

- Did you hear that the 2011 NHC Tour membership is only $45?

- Rolling out something new here at the blog later this week...stay tuned.

Whatever Happened to....

Tweet Some light lifting after spending a quick 3 hours and 45 minutes at the Ralph today. Can't remember the last time I was home before 4:30pm on gameday. Thanks to the Browns coaching staff for running the ball 300 times today to keep the clock moving in that horrid weather. I took my dad to the game today and watching the Browns I started wondering....

Whatever Happened To (we'll alternate between sports/pop culture & horse racing)...

- Brian Sipe? The leader of the Comeback Kids of the 70s for the Browns...

- The NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance? Crickets. Shouldn't we be getting the annual propaganda report right about now? Too busy milking that Zenyatta thing, I guess.

- The Monkees? Hey, hey we're the monkees. Yeah, those guys. Where are they now?

- The National Pick Four? In case ya missed the earlier post....

- The Vuvuzela? Has there ever been another instrument that's fallen from grace faster than the vuvuzela?

- The marketing for the Beulah Park Fortune Six? I totally forgot about the 25 cent wager that captured my fancy last winter...has the wager lost it's luster?

- Earl Weaver? I miss the Earl of Baltimore. Best sequence ever during one of his 97 career ejections as manager of the O's was yelling at an ump: "I'm going to check the rule-book on that" the umpire replied, "Here, use mine." Weaver countered, "That's no good - I can't read Braille."

- Charismatic's ESPN Movie? Tap, tap, tap. Still waiting World Wide Leader....

- Sports Challenge? Best. Game. Show. Ever. If you don't remember this show that aired in the 70s and pitted sports teams against each other in a trivia contest format with Dick Enberg hosting....you don't know what you missed.

- The Eclipse Award for Lifetime Achievement? Oh yeah, they don't have one of those.

That's all for now...the TBA 2010 Photo Contest is up and running and submissions will be accepted up through next Friday (the 17th), so send in your best photogs of 2010.

Turn Out The Lights...

Tweet For those not old enough to remember Dandy Don calling MNF with Howard and Frank, you surely missed some true entertainment. You know you're getting old when the guys you watched growing up are starting to pass away. Dandy Don Meredith died yesterday at age 72 of a brain hemorrhage.

I always enjoyed these three and if you see some old clips you know they were smoking cigars and probably nipping at the bottle during the weekly broadcast. It usually made for high comedy television and even when the game was a blowout, you would keep watching to see what Dandy Don might do to keep the audience's attention.

Meredith's trademark song when a game was decided was Willie Nelson's Turn Out The Lights the Party's Over....here's a sound clip from a game where he serenaded the audience.....




From the booth to the racetrack..we're about to Turn Out The Lights on the 2010 Racing Season......

- Zenyatta's retirement turns out the lights on a great racing career. She is the Horse of the Decade regardless if she wins a little statue in January.

- Eskendereya, a promising 3-year old colt turned out the lights too early for us in 2010....oh would could have been....

- They're trying to turn out the lights on the NYC OTB, but they're like a bad penny and they keep turning them back on...

- They turned out the lights at Saratoga in September after a record 40 days of racing...

- They turned out the lights after a unforgettable Breeders' Cup, which ran under the lights for the first time over the two day championship meet.

- A fan favorite, Odysseus, turned out the lights way too soon while on the Derby trail, after a tremendous effort in the Tampa Bay Derby in an unbelievable photo finish.

- The Belmont winner, Drosselmeyer, turned out the lights right after his Triple Crown victory for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

- Turn out the lights on the Santa Anita Pro-Ride....the party's over.

- Jess Jackson turned out the lights on the amazing Rachel Alexandra after a disappointing 4-year old campaign after being upset in the Personal Ensign at the Graveyard of Favorites.

- Someone tell those folks in the Preakness infield - the party's over!

Any others you can think of?

Here's a clip of one of the MNF openings back in the 70s...classic stuff....enjoy.

Going Postal

Tweet We've been getting a number of inquiries here in the Space Lab and instead of hogging the blog page all to myself, I thought I'd share some of the stuff (racing related, potpourri and hodgepodge) I've been asked. We'll protect the names of those asking the questions as a matter of privacy (or maybe not)....

So here goes the first edition of the Space Bag.....

Q: So I hear you were trending on Twitter yesterday, what gives? ~Dylan from the 19th hole somewhere in New England.

A: Ho ho ho...that wasn't me...that was my Uncle Irv. He just happened to produce some movie named the Empire Strikes Back. RIP.


Q: So Top Chef All-Stars starts tonight and I hear your gambling pool is back in vogue. Who do you like? ~Culinary Pirate from Tampa, FL

A: Oh, I have TC gambling pool competitors who stalk this site trying to figure out who I like....and spoken like a true horseball...although if you really need to know I'm leaning towards Fabio, Angelo or Richard...any of which could easily have won their respective seasons without choking in the finale.


Q: So who do you like for Horse of the Year? ~Seth from Paris, Kentucky

A: Seth-Seth-Seth. Can you Blame me for taking a pass on this one?


Q: Did Stevie Johnson really Blame God?? ~Frank from Silver Spring, Maryland

A: Speaking of passes, I think the Almighty will give the immature Johnson one. Unfortunately, he'll probably drop it.


Q: So what's the new name for the newest addition to the Space Station? ~Steve from Virginia.

A: After much debate and a super majority vote from the Space Gal...we're going with an entry received from Wireplayers.com and drumroll please.........welcome the Space Filly.


Q: Chances the NYC OTB shuts down on Friday? ~Saratoga Resident from Buffalo, NY

A: Somewhere south of 1%.


Q: What do you think of the new Paulick Report format? ~Brad from Lexington, Ky

A: TBA poll results seem to favor it. Change is good. Like the respect the bloggers get their own tab for "Best of Blogs."


Q: Your picks suck. You should hang it up. ~Hank from Bristol, CT

A: Pot meet kettle.


Q: Have you tried Four Loko? ~Chris from LA

A: How do you think this post came about?


Q: You realize what legacy you're gonna pass on to your kids, right? ~Ian from the Big Apple (in reference to being a Buffalo sports fan)

A: Speechless.


Q: Did the Space Gal deliver.......DURING THE CLARK????? ~Ernie from the Big A

A: Post parade of the Clark. Last five minutes of the Auburn-Alabama game.


This was fun, I may make this a more regular thing....keep those cards, letters and losing tickets coming my way...