Flashbacks

Tweet I'm out of it lately when it comes to racing. I've had only one focus with respect to racing but I'll get to that later in the post. I've been under the weather still...summer colds sure do suck. I can't seem to get my bearings and have been treading water over the past two weeks with respect to life in general. Maybe it's just a summer lull, but nothing has really got me juiced about racing and everyone seems to be whining about everything from suspensions to slots. I guess I'm just not that into you anymore, racing. Yet, I can't quit you. Give me that spark, that little something...

I have been having flashbacks though, probably due to the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing which eerily followed the death of the man who announced it to us live, the iconic Walter Cronkite. As a boy growing up, you remember things, like being in 3rd grade and the AV guy (Captain Video) rolls in the big black & whites so we could watch the lunar landing in class. Captain Kangaroo seems to be popping up in my flashbacks too. Maybe due to the resemblance to Cronkite. Scary huh?

But it's less than 10 days to opening day at Saratoga and I'm going to make a full out attempt at the 3:59 (look for some updated road rules next week) as G-Money and I will be descending on the Saratoga Resident's residence (say that 5x fast) for Wednesday and Thursday's racing and a revenge golf match with the Puma. I am working on a Saratoga contest (similar to last year) with some new quirks and items - this year I won't make you pick the Travers winner in July!

Ok, so here's my racing obsession. I've stopped gambling until opening day, taking a break and just focusing on handicapping contests until then. It's paid off so far as I sit in 26th place in the Survival at the Shore at Monmouth with one life preserver in tact. The contest started with over 4,300 entrants and we're down to 312. Survive through July 29th and another life preserver can be had. I'm still a bit away from the top 3 spots, but the top 10 is in sniffing distance. I'm going to keep up my current strategy and just try to outlast the others without trying to go big, that can wait until mid to late August. Approximately 60 players fell off on Saturday when it was a tough day for chalk, wherein I still had a 2nd and a 3rd, so my capping has been pretty solid. Fingers crossed.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Tweet "Those aren't pillows!" ~Steve Martin in Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The streak is alive. I'm heading to my fourth consecutive Belmont Stakes and super psyched about it. I won't exactly be taking the same route as last year, which ended up being about a ten hour train ride to Penn Station from the B-Lo, but as usual I will be attempting a circuitous route to the Big Apple via Altoona, Pennsylvania through Allentown PA (to handicap and sleep) onto Elmont Saturday morning. It's a long story, so don't ask. I've never driven to Belmont Park, so I'm sure that will be a treat in itself, and hoping Mr. Tom Tom can guide me safely into the east side parking lot of the third jewel of the Triple Crown. Huge props to the Space Gal for encouraging me to take the journey while she attends graduations and visits with her folks.

The Belmont undercard looks pretty fabulous and I look forward to seeing Hull and Kensei again in the Woody Stephens, they ran 1-2 in the Derby Trial on opening day at Churchill during our Kentucky trip. I'll start my handicapping tonight, but I better have my Belmont pick for the office tomorrow, I think some of my admin staff are now regulars at the Niagara Falls Boulevard OTB (geesh what have I done). Who woulda thunk it that I will be seeing back to back races for Better Talk Now, who last ran at Keeneland during the aforementioned visit to the Bluegrass State. The Manhattan Handicap (G1) looks like a monster race which I'm thinking I'll have to go pretty deep on my Pick Four play. That race will be my first live looks at Court Vision, Gio Ponti and Cowboy Cal.

As someone who's office is off of Audubon Drive, my initial thoughts on the Belmont are focused on Mine That Bird, Summer Bird and Flying Private (the Audubon Triple). I'm actually liking Flying Private to hit the board, his race comments show one nightmare trip after another. But I could be reaching...more analysis required...

A bonus on Saturday will be to see local Saratoga favorite My Man Lars, who scored nicely on a tip from the Puma last 4th of July. He'll be running on the undercard in race 5 for owner Jimmy Olson (no relation to he of Superman lore). People have asked me why I nicknamed my pal the Puma...gotta be the socks...now you know. We'll be checking in late tomorrow night from A-town. Drop me a line if you'd like to meet up in the backyard.

Join Me and 50,000 of My Closest Friends...

Tweet Well at least now we know it will be quite roomy for me and 50,000 of my closest friends on June 6th.

Pros:
- It should be comfortable moving around spacious Belmont Park
- Betting lines should be scarce (and the Belmont could end up being a pretty good betting race)
- Beer lines should be manageable and if it rains...
- The trains won't be jammed
- Meeting up with friends and acquaintances (JB! The Puma! Saratoga Rez!) won't be impossible
- There's still a terrific undercard with $1M guaranteed all-stakes Pick 4 and all-stakes Pick 6 wagers)
- I'm driving in from Altoona, PA and google maps says 5 hours, I'll be shooting for a 4:59 (naturally)
- The Luv Gov's got a shot now (check out this post I discovered today from Newsday.com last August that linked right here)
- I'm not even going to say it (and jinx the waterworks situation)

Cons:
- Not much history to be made unless Calvin gets his jockey triple.
- TV ratings and our chance to capture some of the public that was becoming enamored with Rachel Alexandra is slowly slipping away.
- We'll have to read a million posts about where Rachel should run next (did you know that there's a filly triple crown?)
- If you made your attendance guess in the office pool before the announcement and you thought she was coming, thanks for the donation - you just lost.

Last three Belmont Stakes Day attendance figs:
2006 - 45,037 (Jazil)
2007 - 46,870 (Rags to Riches)
2008 - 95,476 (Da'Tara)

I wish I could understand why a city with 19 million people can't fill this joint every year...

Hot Tip: BC Juvie is Munnings Baby

Tweet I received a couple of those hot tips one receives every now and again, this morning. The Puma passed on a tip that included the word "unbeatable." Hmm. Do I pass it on, do I keep it to myself. Well, as we all know, there's a reason they run the race. Dutrow's horse in the 8th is a lock. Came in second. Beatable. If it looks like a duck....
[update and full apology to the Puma: i just re-looked at the entries and there were 2 (!) Dutrow horses in the race and I played the wrong one in By The Light as his entries weren't coupled and I was rushing to make the bet (text message was silent)...WTF...so I missed a $25 winner and played a $7W ticket...would have been a cool $90].

When will I learn? The second tip was Galluscio's horse in the 10th [maybe he meant in the 5th/Maid of the Mist (a Western NY gem btw), where 75-1 Stormy's Smile paid $153.00], as he had won three of the last four Empire Classics. Where did Raffie's Treasure finish? Still running. Must be a duck.

Had a great time last night up at Casino Niagara, where fellow blogger Winston and I played a few races together and tipped a few lagers. Hat tip to him for giving me Petite Cherie (IRE) underneath in a winning trifecta score in the 5th at Oak Tree.

The BC Juvenile is a race that has only produced one Derby winner (Street Sense in 2007) and this year's race is shaping up to be a good one. The painting above is by Alfred Munnings, one of England's "famous painters of horses." Why is this relevant? Well, his namesake, Munnings, is one of the top juvies entered, and will be testing the synth for the first time on 25Oct at OSA. I'm hoping Johnny V retakes the mount. He finished behind Vineyard Haven in the Champagne (G1) two weeks ago, and behind VH and Cribnote in the Hopeful (G1) at the Spa on closing weekend. The Speightstown colt's dam is La Comete who never raced, his sire was a champion sprinter winning ten times and hitting the board fourteen times in sixteen lifetime races. I like this colt and although their is some serious competition in this race (Street Hero, Square Eddie), I'm sticking with him.

Cheap Buffalo Sports Interruption

Ok, I just finished watching the Sabres lose in a shootout after four straight wins picking up a well-earned point with a late Pominville goal. Welcome to Pominville, population two (his second goal of the year). Heading out to the big game at Rich Stadium tomorrow versus the Chargers and LDT's bad toe. Coming off the bye, our beloved Bills are looking to go to 5-1 and two games up on the hated Pats. Go Bills.

We will now return you to the regularly scheduled horse racing blog.

The TBA continues to blog away at the Blood-Horse, and with Breeders Cup week starting tomorrow, be sure to check out the group's blogging efforts over there. Have a great Sunday.