Happy Breeders' Cup Friday

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This weekend's office view

The Space Shuttle arrived safe and sound (well, mostly sound) in Southern California Wednesday evening after a long journey from the B-lo. The place is absolutely stunning and I could be convinced that a permanent home for the Cup has some merits. But that's a whole different topic and one that my predictions several years ago on the Blood-horse site really haven't come to fruition. (If you have time - check out the comments, some are pretty funny).

The Space Gal will be joining me tonight and for Saturday's races -- wait 'til she gets a load of this place...my credit card is definitely not safe.

I posted a few photos from yesterday morning below at Clockers' Corner, most of the BC horses were galloping on a beautiful, crisp morning. The big news yesterday was the scratch of Ron the Greek from the Classic from a quarter crack.

I have some analysis up at the Sports, Ink blog on Friday's late Pick-4 and check the HRF website for some picks of some of the blogging brethren. I'll be live blogging tomorrow's card at the Sports, Ink blog starting at 3 p.m. ET, so check it out if you have a moment, for a few laughs and info from the Great Race Place.

SPORTS, INK BLOG - FRIDAY QUICK PICKS

Sunrise over Clockers' Corner

Mucho Macho Man

Paynter

Goldencents

Julien Leparoux

Seabiscuit's barn

Have fun and enjoy the races!

Returning to the Scene of the Crime

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Seabiscuit statue in the
Santa Anita paddock

It doesn't seem like three years ago when I last walked the paddock at beautiful Santa Anita Race Track for the 2009 Breeders' Cup (BC), but man time flies. I covered the Dirt Mile for the NTRA that year and was afforded some sweet seats in the grandstand, which I shared with a good friend and client. Seeing Goldikova and Zenyatta win that afternoon created some memories that will last with me forever. Thursday afternoon, I return to the scene of the crime, covering the BC Classic for The Buffalo News.

I've spent some time with the PP's and have a game plan for Friday's card, and will have my thoughts on the last four BC races in my Friday online column at the TBN Sports, Ink blog. I'll try and get a post or two up here at the Space blog, time willing over the weekend, in case I come across anything worthy of sharing. You can follow me on Twitter (@EquiSpace) as I'll be posting pics and random "stay classy LA" captions for my sojourns into Tinsel Town after the races.

It has been a while since I posted so here are some thoughts on what's happening since I last invaded Canada...

Summer of Fun. I was fortunate enough to do a feature piece in Sunday's paper on the Bona Venture Stables' filly who drew the 2 hole in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf race to be held on Friday. The filly is 30-1 on the morning line, but has drawn the interest of one, Ramon Dominguez in the irons, so she could be an interesting long shot play. I enjoyed chatting with trainer George Weaver, who seems to be a really good guy looking to get a break and win a big race. The race is uber-competitive with Irish filly Sky Lantern, Woodbine invader Spring Venture and several other decent fillies looking to don the purple and yellow.

The Marathon. Looked at those PP's for over 45 minutes and still have no clue. I think we're just going to sit this one out (we being me, myself and I). If I had to like someone, I guess it would be Atigun, but I dunno.

The Juvenile Sprint. This race kicks off the BC and drew a whopping seven horses. I'm guessing Baffert will set the table early and win the first BC race since we're in his territory.  I favor Super Ninety Nine to edge Merit Man and Ceiling Kitty in the 6-furlong opener.

Sandy. For once, we were pretty fortunate in Western New York when we dodged the deadly storm that wreaked havoc with the New York/New Jersey area. We're all set for Christmas here at the Space Station, as we have plenty of D batteries. I sure hope our friends in the metro NY area are recovering and getting back to normal as best they can.

Horse I like the most on Friday's card. In the F&M Turf I'm really digging The Fugue.

ThoroFan. Check out the Handicappers' Corner this weekend, as 10 TBA bloggers will be posting their selections on many of the BC races. There will also be a ThoroFan meet up in the Grandstand at Santa Anita on Friday, details are here. If you're interested in a ticket for the races Friday, we have still have some remaining in the Grandstand that will only cost you a  $25 membership (seats are around the sixteenth pole). Send me an email if you are interested while we still have some inventory.

The Turk. Make sure you check out the Turk's thoughts on the Classic, as he has the assignment at the Handicappers' Corner and always is willing to share his bet strategy and handicapping agility. We shared a cigar last Saturday at the Tinder Box, a local Western New York establishment, it was good to see the 'ole Turk and talk racing, among other WNY stuff.

Off to LaLa land....

Good Crop, Bad Crop

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This is the time of the year after the first set of Derby preps where you'd typically start hearing what a bad crop of 3-year old colts we have to work with as we head towards the Kentucky Derby in Louisville in eight short weeks.

Personally, I think we have a pretty solid group of colts, wherein the top three finishers in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile are leading the charges in New York, Florida and California. With the final prep races still a few weeks away, I'm digging Union Rags as the horse to beat. Now the question is, can this crop of 3-year olds avoid the injuries that have plagued our sport before the big day. In just the last three years we've lost such hopefuls as Eskendereya, I Want Revenge, Uncle Mo, Premier Pegasus and that funny-named horse that was named after a grapefruit (The Pamplemousse).

I haven't started to do my homework yet, but in the next few weeks we'll have our Derby Space Sheet 3.0 up and running and the analysis will start. The Juvenile champ Hansen ran a big race in the Gotham last weekend, and points toward the Wood Memorial on April 7 at Aqueduct when racing returns to the main track at the Big A. Show finisher in the Juvenile, Creative Cause, made a nice wide move to move past a game Bodemeister (just can't get into that horse) in the stretch, to become California's top hope to challenge at Churchill.

A race you won't want to miss tomorrow is the Palm Beach Stakes at Gulfstream. The race features the fourth place finisher from that BC Juvenile race, Dullahan (2-1 ML), who looks to take the same route as Paddy O'Prado used to get to the Derby via the Palm Beach and the Blue Grass. The morning line favorite Howe Great (8-5) will challenge the Dale Romans-trained Dullahan in Race 7 tomorrow in Hallandale Beach.

I've been really sticking to a wagering strategy where I'm picking my spots this winter. I've been fortunate in playing only a race or two each weekend and not pissing away money on low level claimers or races that don't make any sense to wager on (like almost every race at Aqueduct where favorites are winning at an all-time record clip). I had a nice score at Santa Anita hitting a Pick 3 into the Big Cap for $355 on a measly $12 ticket thanks to Willyconker (IRE).

Only made one wager today, playing the Hard Spun colt Midnight Transfer across the board in the San Felipe. He finished third ($6.00 to show) and we broke even. He made a nice move to the inside of Bodemeister and I thought he was ready to explode like his sire used to, but he evened out on the rail in the stretch drive. Regardless, I was impressed by his effort at 12-1 (up from a 6-1 morning line).

Next weekend we have the Grade 2 Rebel at Oaklawn, which should have a terrific field with hopefuls Secret Circle, Gemologist and Sabercat all pointing to this race. Time to start working on my Derby Dozen for Volume III of the Wireplayers tri-weekly poll.

Buckle your seat belts, this could be a fabulous year on the Triple Crown trail.

To DQ or Not To DQ?

Tweet I'm all for a DQ....Dairy Queen that is. I think the blogosphere has blown up with all this Big Cap controversy. I was watching on TwinSpires Mobile when the inquiry occurred on Saturday and was quick to show the Space Gal, as I know she's a big Chantal fan. I didn't bet the race so I had no dog in the fight. No, it wasn't because I was boycotting, I just didn't like Twirling Candy but couldn't decide on who to play instead. I had toyed with a Baffert box, just for fun, but decided to just sit back and enjoy.

You can pretty much go to every blog or racing site and get a different take on the decision. I haven't seen such passion since, well, January. If you've read this blog, I've always been a proponent of the stewards vocalizing their decision to the fans (ala NFL refs), seems like Saturday would have been a perfect scenario.

Anyways, you won't find any blustery stuff here unless you're looking for a DQ Blizzard, then I'm in. It did remind me of a funny Seinfeld episode where different angles can show you different things (go to the 1:45 mark in the video - #6 on the List). To see the entire scene go here. Anyways....this is some funny stuff:

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…

Equinoxal Ramblings

Tweet Must be the full moon. Is equinoxal a word? Let's get ready to ramble....

- There is an equi in equinox, so it has something to do with horses, no?

- I can't believe I missed International Talk Like a Pirate Day this year, I'm seriously starting to slack here at the Space Station. If you're wondering, it was last Sunday. ARRRR.

- The Republican gubernatorial candidate is from Buffalo. He uses Thurman Thomas to ward off racist claims by his detractors. He's only 6 points behind heavily favored Andrew Cuomo in the latest NY Post Poll (so I'm told at the bar tonight). I'm pretty apolitical, but there are fireworks in the future for this race for the highest post in New York State. Could he actually win?

- Former high school pal and baseball teammate Bones came out of hiding and commented on my last post, and let the cat out of the bag that I used to cover my high school football team on the sidelines for the local paper. Did I mention the team went 0-8?

- Anyone need Bills tickets?

- If you haven't caught the E Train on the Breeders Cup 360 site, you don't know what you're missing. The latest Charles Town video was classic.

- The Space Kid inspired my recent Alphabet Soup post. The Space Gal had him outfitted in a tee shirt we bought last year at the Churchill Downs gift shop with a big H is for Horse on it. Kid looks the part.

- I love Autumn. It's one of the treasures of living in a region that is fortunate to have all four seasons. Too bad they couldn't run the Breeders' Cup in September when the leaves are changing in the Northeast sometime. It's quite striking.

- What's up with California Racing and why can't they get their act together? Just askin.

- Speaking of Cali Racing, after attending last November's Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita Park, I could almost be convinced that it could serve as the permanent site (especially if they go back to dirt). Talk about killing the golden goose? The weather, the beauty, the local attractions and places to go all make sense to me...I feel kinda guilty saying it as an East Coast guy, but after being there...I get it. Who wants to sit in a cold, wet, damp environment (that's me not raising my hand) with the iffyness of keeping the races on the grass.....tell me that's not Churchill's worst nightmare....

- Heading to State Penn (ahem, Penn State) for the weekend and my annual scalping extravangza on College Ave (I love the thrill of the deal)....wish me luck.

I Can't Hear You.....

Tweet Gomez: Yo man what the #%&$ were you doing out there.....driving me into the fence, you stupid $%^@#***!!!

Valenzuela Espinoza: What? I can't hear you.

Details here.

Happy Easter.

My Dream BC Rotation

Tweet So as the anticipation builds (are you holding your breath?) for the Breeders' Cup Committee to release their rotation plan for the next few Cups (or maybe more), I am putting out there my dream rotation and in-depth reasons why. There is much debate on whether pre-setting the lineup makes sense or not. My dream plan rotates a synthetic track in every three to four years, rotates the larger venues more frequently, but adds a "boutique" track every four years also.

Of course 2010 is set in stone at Churchill Downs, so we'll start the dream rotation with 2011.

2011 - Belmont Park. It'll have been six years since the Big Sandy hosted. I remember it well being in Hilton Head on a golf trip in '05 with a few horseballs who skipped a back nine for the start of the Cup.

2012 - Del Mar. One of the "boutique" rotations, but also notching a synthetic track on the rotation. Warm weather, great facility, Southern California knows how to promote it....if they could pull this off it would be tremendous.

2013 - Churchill Downs. Why not? The facility is tremendous, they can pack 'em in and maybe the first ones under the lights? Plus it'll be the big 5-0 for me and a cool trip.

2014 - Aqueduct Racetrack. OK, stop laughing, it should take about 5 years to get the renovations done and since they'll have selected the winning bidder for the VLT's in 2012, it should be good to go in 2014. Hey, I guy can dream, no?

2015 - Keeneland. Let's give a brother a chance. Questions on the capacity and parking could be solved via temporary/infield seating and a shuttle service? It's a great facility and deserves to hold the Cup someday. Boutique/synthetic rotation works too.

2016 - Hialeah Park. Hot damn would that be great or what? Let it Ride, baby.

2017 - Belmont Park. The six year rule would kick in and bring it back to New York, New York.

2018 - Woodbine. Synthetic rotation and I'm only 90 minutes away which is why it had to make the rotation. May have to bring in some large space heaters. Back up plan: Santa Anita. 24 years is a long waiting period.

2019 - Gulfstream Park. Nice Florida weather, Halsey should have the place in ship shape and adding some additional seating on the stretch drive should do the trick. 20 year anniversary of the last GP Cup.

2020 - Santa Anita. Surreal setting, can't go longer than 10 years without a return visit. Great sightlines (20/20 get it?)

That's my ten year plan with some serious speculation regarding a couple of the venues...whaddya think?

The Power of Zen

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When in Los Angeles and you speak of the power of Zen, one usually thinks of super coach Phil Jackson of the Lakers. Not this weekend. There’s not much more that can be said or written about what I and 58,844 of my closest friends witnessed yesterday at Santa Anita Park. It was truly a majestic win in what can be called the Sport of Queens for the racing year 2009. Five year old mare Zenyatta certainly didn’t disappoint the hometown patrons who showed up en masse on a beautiful day at the Great Race Place. I can certainly say I came away a believer and with a lot less dough than I came with, but to witness history in the making was certainly one of the coolest things I’ve seen in my brief sojourn as a racing fanatic and well worth the trip to La La Land. Not only did trainer John Shireffs pull off the Double-Double for the two 2009 Classics (Female and Male) but he became the first trainer to train a filly or mare winner in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Cheers to the connections as they truly had her ready to roll and she ate up every minute of it. I was aboard Colonel John (son of two time Classic winner Tiznow) and Gio Ponti (thanks JB!) and had Twice Over in my exotics, but just didn’t think she could get the distance, not to mention I’m not Mike Smith’s biggest fan. She sure did prove me and many others wrong. The only downside to it all is we have to go through three months of Horse of the Year blather, I'm going to leave it up to the voters, cuz my opinion matters not. Why can't folks just savor the moment, I know I certainly will?

We had another spectacular day at the track and finally had a couple winners early to ease the damages, but overall I had difficultly trying to figure out the Pro Ride, the Euro invaders and how the East Coast horses would fare. That’s the name of the game on the big race days now with the three surfaces (you could argue more as each synthetic has its own idiosyncrasies). Regardless, we had an absolute blast and I have memories to treasure for a lifetime that will certainly have a place on the shelf in my top ten sporting events Space List.

We frequented the paddock for most of the day, so here’s Breeders' Cup Day Two in pictures:

We were on fire early so they brought in the locals to cool us off…would like to report that it worked.

Juvenile Turf winner Pounced ($6.80) parading in the paddock.

Turf Sprint winner California Flag ($8.80)

EquiSpace favorite Canadian Ballet…whoops Alan you’re on too soon….get off! She ran very respectful race and was in the hunt until the stretch drive. She did the boys from Obviously NY Stables very proud with the 5th place finish.

Dancing in Silks chillin’ in the paddock. Don’t you hate when you have a horse highlighted and starred in your Form and then don’t use her? Ugh. Did have show bets on Crown of Thorns and Cost of Freedom, but a big opportunity was missed here.

25-1 longshot Dancing in Silks ($52.60) making her move in the stretch drive to overtake 15-1 Crown of Thorns.

Garret Gomez on Lookin at Lucky in the post parade, nipped at the wire in the Juvenile by Vale of York. He ran a great race from the 13 post having to overcome a 7 wide clubhouse turn.

Two time BC Mile champ Goldikova making her patented stretch move just beyond the eighth pole.

How happy is Goldi’s connections doing the post race victory lap?

As predicted, Ready’s Echo blew up all my exotics in the Dirt Mile, here’s Calvin Borel up in the post parade.

Presious Passion first time by us – hey where’s everyone else? Still amazed he hung on for the placing after those crazy early fractions.

Mrs. Stronach not lookin’ so happy.......wonder why?

Zenyatta ruling the paddock like royalty.

Gio Ponti looked terrific in the jam packed paddock before the Classic.

They break in the Classic and Regal Ransom grabs the early lead.

Mighty Zenyatta with Mike Smith making his move on the outside on their way to victory

That’s a wrap on a great weekend in the City of Angels, hope you enjoy the pics.

Lastly, big kudos to the Breeders’ Cup for putting on quite a show.

Welcome to La La Land

Tweet I figured I wasn't in Kansas anymore when the concierge said the Starbucks wasn't within walking distance since it was seven blocks away. Piece of cake, dude. Anyways, we navigated the six lane freeway last night in our red Ford Focus rental and arrived in Glendale for a nice dinner with an aspiring actress (my pal's daughter) who was way full of energy for two guys who had been on a plane for seven hours, including layovers. I also found out that reality TV (see: The Hills) is scripted (I knew it) -- man, the Space Gal is not going to be happy about this....

But today, it's go time at Santa Anita, which also happens to be my blog title over at the NTRA, where I've got up my final selections for your reading enjoyment (or not). I wasn't going to post any picks this year for the other races, but what else is there to do sitting on a plane for six or seven hours. There were also a couple guys from Buffalo who we chatted with who were also heading to the Cup, you can always pick out the horseplayers...

Remember the Breeders' Cup payouts can be huge (see here for a chart of last year's payouts by bet type):

So here are the picks with tons of in-depth analysis (ha, I've managed not to read anyone's analysis this year -- I'll read them after the races!):

Marathon: 1-Nite Light; 2-Man of Iron; 3-Father Time

Juvenile Turf: 1-Junia Tezia 2-Lillie Langtry; 3-Smart Seattle

Juvenile Fillies: Have no clue (let's just say I have a five horse box planned).....1-She Be Wild; 2-Negligee; 11-Always a Princess

F&M Turf: 1-Midday; 2-Forever Together; 3-Rutherienne

F&M Sprint: 1-Sara Louise; 7-Informed Decision; 3-Ventura

Ladies' Classic (Hugh Hefner Handicap): 1-Music Note; 2-Careless Jewel; 3-Rainbow View

Good luck everyone...may all your tickets be winners.

"If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it"

Tweet I've been toying about heading out to the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita for several weeks and have yet to pull the trigger. My uncle lives in Corona del Ray and has always asked me to come visit him on the left coast numerous times. My first Breeders' Cup was at Monmouth in the slop last year, so I think the Space Gal would welcome the SoCal weather over the Jersey Shore in October, so that's not an issue. The fact that it falls annually on my birthday weekend is also a godsend (thank you, thank you). Well, I was surfing tonight and ran across yet the third word this week I had to run by dictionary.com regarding a special seating/viewing area at this year's Cup. The hosts will be providing a "experiential hospitality opportunity" for those fortunate enough to obtain a VIP pass on the infield, a "Champions Village" of such. Not that I am opposed to hob nobbing with the rich and famous, I'm sure I could make those folks a buck or two...but damn, experiential...what the hell is that?

I have to admit, I was still confused after looking it up, but the article gave me the gist of things. I can be Average Joe and I can fake it with the best of them when it comes to high class entertainment. The Saratoga Resident has had me in some nice spots, whether on the turf terrace at Toga or in a clubhouse box at the eighth pole for the Derby, or in the box seats on the finish line for a non-Triple Crown Belmont. Regardless of the location, I can clean up with the best of 'em. However, with all that's going on in the sport, this article just made me throw up in my mouth a little. I was half laughing, half getting sick and half dazed. I know that's one and a half, but the extra half is the part that is confused about this whole thing. I guess I'll see if the Saratoga Resident has some pull or ask my rich uncle if he has some juice, just so I could write about it, but I'd be just as happy sitting in my shorts and a polo catching some SoCal rays making fun of them from afar.

Maybe they should be making sure they have a decent track to run on before announcing crap like this. How much will these seats cost you ask? No word per the press release. "But if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it."

Mid Year Bests and Worsts

Tweet Happy Canada Day for all our Canadian friends to the north!

Two weeks to Del Mar and three weeks to Toga and summer racing. Now that we've reached the midpoint of the 2008 racing year I've listed MY five best and worst moments in horse racing for the first half of 2008.


Best Moments in Racing - YTD 2008

1 – Big Brown Wins Kentucky Derby from Post #20
A ton of doubt existed if he could do it from the far post, and when trainer Dutrow grabbed it with glee at the Post Position Draw on 4th Street in Louisville, it was exactly where he wanted to be. A stunning performance by the big fellah was easily the best moment for me so far this year.

2 – Curlin Wins Dubai World Cup in Romp
The world champion lived up to expectations in overpowering an international field of horses in the world's richest race ($6M). His record setting 7 3/4 length victory at the Nad was not only after a five month layoff since his BC Classic win at Monmouth, but was drug-free to boot.

3 – Tiago Outduels Heatseeker at wire in Oaklawn Handicap
In maybe the year's best race between two terrific rivals, Tiago nipped Heatseeker by a head in the Oaklawn Handicap. They would duel again later in early June with Heatseeker avenging the loss. Unfortunately, Heatseeker has suffered a career ending injury and will be retired.

4 – Pyro’s visually stunning victory in the Louisiana Derby
At the time, one of the leading Derby contenders, Pyro, made a visually impressive move late to win the La Derby at the Fair Grounds by three lengths. In all kinds of traffic, Pyro, ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, navigated the victory to put him over the $1M mark in career earnings. He recently won the Northern Dancer (G2) on Stephen Foster Day at Churchill. Unfortunately he disappointed his fans on Derby Day, but his performance on that day in early March, makes my top five.

5 – Proud Spell Upsets Indian Blessing in Louisiana Oaks
On the same day as Pyro's La Derby win, Proud Spell shocked BC Juvenile Filly champ Indian Blessing in the La Oaks (G2), with a time that was actually better than Pyro's in the La Derby. It was the second loss for Indian Blessing to Proud Spell, and a rematch in the Kentucky Oaks loomed. Unfortanately, Blessing was rested until Belmont Day and the rematch has still not occurred. Proud Spell went on to win the Ky Oaks, after flirting with entry in the Derby.

Honorable Mention: Big Brown's Florida Derby win from post 12, Student Council's Pimlico Special win in the slop, Sweet Vendetta's win in the Black-Eyed Susan for breeder David Cassidy.

Five Worst Moments in Horse Racing - 2008 YTD

1 – Eight Belles breaks down in gallop out after placing in Derby
Not much more needs to be said here.

2 – Congressional Hearings on June 19, 2008
The sport takes its shots on Capitol Hill with threats of governmental intervention if issues such as steroids/drug use, breakdowns, excessive whip use and centralization are not addressed. Worst moment #1 above, a big driver of the feds getting involved.

3 – Big Brown falters in Triple Crown bid
Whether it was the heat, the loose shoe, the bad ride, the faulty bathroom facilities, the starter or the quarter crack, the Triple Crown has still not been won in 30 years. While it drove up interest in the sport for a few weeks, it also showed the world the ugliness of the connections and the difficulty of the Test of the Champion in front of a huge NY crowd.

4 – Santa Anita track problems due to excessive SoCal rains early in year.
The $11M Cushion Track installed at Santa Anita last summer suffered major drainage problems in January and February, wherein 11 racing days and numerous revenues were lost. Just last week the track announced another overhaul of the surface to start this month with the Australian-based Pro-Ride surface replacing the current surface. With the Breeders' Cup scheduled for October, the installation schedule is very tight and they could be pushing the envelope with the timing.

5 – Jeremy Rose suspended for six month for abusive whip use at Delaware Park
With PETA already on the doorstep after the death of Eight Belles, comes an unfortunate incident wherein Rose struck his mount in the eye. Delaware Park officials immediately suspended Rose for six months. Another black eye.

Honorable Mention: Breeders' Cup moves all five ladies events to Friday and renames the Distaff, Einstein's owners fail to obtain NY license for Manhattan on Belmont Day, Preakness field weakest in years, Mother Goose gains only four runners, Pletcher finishes last in Derby for third straight year, Buffalo CPA starts racing blog :)

I'm sure I missed something feel free to chime in!