Spa Opening Weekend is just grand

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Irad Ortiz, Jr. on Questing

That's 18 year-old Irad Ortiz, Jr. giving the Big Guy a fist pump for his first graded stakes win in the Coaching Club American Oaks late Saturday afternoon in the first Grade 1 of the Saratoga 2012 meet aboard 3-year-old filly Questing. The kid was quite excited in the winner's circle after the win, showing the biggest smile around in capping off the first two days at the Spa. A recap of the race can be found on the Sports, Ink blog, my only assignment for the weekend.


The usual suspects were around for the opener, my pals the Saratoga Resident and G-Money have made this an annual event. We sat in the Club Terrace (for the first time) on Friday and on The Porch (my preferred location, if I'm not in the Paddock Bar) on Saturday, taking in the two days of racing, catching up with old friends, having a few lagers and meeting new friends. I was fortunate to meet SoCal blogger Rob (aka Amateurcapper) and his fine family taking in the Spa for the first time ever. Rob's been a contributing member at ThoroFan's Handicappers' Corner and is on the Derby Dozen panel with me over at the Wireplayers.com blog.


As for the wagering, Friday trumped Saturday, which goes to show you that speed capping can be a very dangerous thing (I didn't cap the Saturday card ahead of time). For the first time in my brief handicapping career I hit back-to-back Pick-4's on the same card, thanks to Pacific Ocean and So Many Ways on Friday. Those two wins also put me atop the leaderboard for 24 hours in Ernie Munick's annual Din Din Derby. That lead was short-lived after my selections in the CCAO and Sanford bit the dust.


Saturday was spent mostly in the backyard enjoying the shade, cold brews and watching the big screens. We stayed at the Grand Union Hotel (a last minute move that proved to work out quite well) and I'd go back just for the awesomeness of the shower. Sorry, if that's too much information.


The Toga Party contest is off and running with Green But Game taking the early lead, nailing the attendance within 200 patrons. Nice work...could this be her year?


We're taking next week off heading to the South Jersey Shore for a little family R&R, but am excited about going to next Sunday's Haskell with my pop as we detour north for an afternoon of racing.


Here's some pictures from the weekend....

Funny sign at the Grand Union

Trainer legends Lukas and Pletcher
in the Spa Paddock before the 3rd on Friday

Dale Romans saddles Sustained

Joel Rosario captured his first win of the meet
aboard slick filly Lignite

My single in the early Pick-4 Book Review
wins easily for trainer Chad Brown

Julien Leparoux and Ramon Dominguez
in the paddock with the Stay Thirsty statue
in the background

TVG's Donna Barton-Brothers
kids with Christophe Clement and Leparoux before the 7th

A view from the Spa rooftop

Gate Break for the 7th

Cosmic Energy crosses the wire
in front of Lily the Pink in the 7th

Pacific Ocean wins the James Marvin
for Babe Dutrow

Winning connex for the Marvin

CCAO Champ Questing
Irad Ortiz up

CCAO runner-up Zo Impressive
Rajiv Maragh up

Third place finisher
In Lingerie w/Javier Castellano in the irons

They're off in the Coaching Club
American Oaks

Questing wins the CCAO
for Godolphin Racing

A happy Kiaran McLaughlin
in the Winner's Circle

The champ

That's a wrap on the Spa's opening weekend...

Spa Opening Day: One for the Road

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We made it on site this morning...and yes, we finally eclipsed the 3:59 mark, although the Saratoga Resident is already claiming foul and requesting an asterisk. I pulled into the Saratoga Race Course at 8:56 a.m. in an all-time record 3:57 time frame. We had clear sailing on the NYS Thruway, making it to Amsterdam in a scorching 3:13, but that's when it gets interesting. A truck in downtown Amsterdam slowed things down and Geyser Road was no picnic, but we still had 3 minutes to spare, so he can put whatever asterisk he wants on it. Put a fork in it.

Our advance in this morning's Buffalo News on the Saratoga meeting is up and we also handicapped the Coaching Club American Oaks where we're drinking the Pletcher kool-aid. Hey, it's Saratoga...

Speaking of handicapping, Toga Party V selections are all in and we have 18 contestants trying to take down the annual Toga title. Thanks to everyone for participating. The Space Gal resisted at first, saying she wanted to "go out on top" but I enticed her to try and go for the first ever repeat crown. You'll notice her picks did not change from last year's, though she basically won it with Stay Thirsty.

As for today's card, some horses that look interesting to me today include the filly, 5-Liberty Girl in the 3rd, a 2-year-old firster for Eoin Harty with Ramon up. She sports a couple of nice workouts and her dam has 9 winners from 11 starters (including 2 stakes winners). I'll take a shot with her over the favored Ward filly 2-Lignite (2-1). We'll be watching that one closely as she finished second to Pletcher colt Rose Junction who is running in the Sanford on Sunday.

Other than the wide post, I also like 10-Living My Dream (10-1) in the 7th, who puts the blinkers on for Mike Maker and has Javier Castellano on the turf. Maker is 27% first time blinkers and the other stats (Jockey on Turf - 26% and Jock with Trainer - 25%) make her interesting at those odds. [UPDATE 12:25pm: Living My Dream scratched -- back to the drawing board]

As for the Marvin, I favor 5-Pacific Ocean (although you can't throw out JB at the Spa) and 7-So Many Ways (first time lasix and some killer workouts) in the Schuylerville.

Good luck!

Roller Coaster Day

Tweet It was one of those up and down days all the way around. I woke up to a happy Space Kid and made the family some breakfast before sitting down with my morning cup of joe and the paper. When I opened up the sports page first (a habit since 2nd grade) I was met with a front page (sports section) article saying that the Happy Handicapper had passed at age 66. Talk about a tough way to start the day. Bob Summers covered turf racing for the Buffalo News since 1984. I knew The Turk would be affected by these events and it wasn't long before he had a nice tribute up over on his blog. The News rarely provides the sport of horse racing the light of day outside of the agate section, but would on occasion provide the Happy Handicapper space to discuss the Triple Crown races or the Prince of Wales Stakes. He rarely picked favorites and always had an angle that he shared with his readers. I'll miss him along with many other Western New York racing fans and handicappers. The buzz around the Wehrle Drive OTB today was all about his sudden death and that he will be sorely missed in these parts...

Speaking of the Wehrle OTB, the Saratoga Resident and I met for a little lunch and handicapping of the first few races to celebrate the final Saratoga card of the season. In traditional fashion we played a four horse superfecta box (the bet that hooked me in 2004 on closing day) on the fourth race after an engaging debate over the last horse. Yours truly and both of us won out and cashed a nice ticket to keep our tradition alive. For the early part of the card, that was the lone highlight as I was getting murdered in the early Pick 3's. But a shooter in a slump keeps on shooting....

The environs changed back to the Space Station after bidding the Saratoga Resident farewell and I put together a final Pick 4 play (followed by a late Pick 3) which we cashed on and all was merry in the Space Pad. As Keertana cruised by everyone on the rail in the Glens Falls, the Space Kid was mimicking my "Oh Yeah!" shouts from the kitchen. The Kid is sooo ready for this game. Live in the finale to the top 3 choices, Voodoo Queen brought it home to close the meet and a very topsy turvy day.

While the exhiliration of hitting on the final bets of the meet was awesome, the realization that the meet has come to an end started to set in and we were on the downward side of the roller coaster again.....what a day.

One other note before we wrap up the holiday weekend, I downloaded a very cool app called Equibase Yearbook on my iPad on Friday. You can search any graded stakes race (and some non-graded ones), see the results and chart and watch the video. Very cool stuff and by late Saturday evening they already had the Woodward and Forego up within the application. A must have for racing fans and a nice way to search and watch replays.

Final results of the Toga Party III contest will be announced tomorrow after final numbers are released by NYRA.

I Wanna Be Your Superhero...

Tweet As I was having some dinner last summer at Max London's on Broadway in Saratoga Springs with the Saratoga Resident, we struck up a conversation with the gentleman next to us. We found out soon enough that he was one of the five owners of the Saratoga institution, Siro's Restaurant. He hailed from NYC and was enjoying a nice meal on the town, away from the bustle of Siro's. We made a few offers for the restaurant, but we couldn't quite seem to meet his number. Unfortunately, it had a few more zeroes attached to what we were offering.

Well, it looks like the former owners finally made a deal based on the following article in the Saratogian (hat tip to reader Dan D) and the roster includes various celebrity ownership including the two Entourage stars shown above (Kevin Connolly and Kevin Dillon) who play E and Johnny Drama, respectively on the HBO show.

Also included in the celebrity owner ranks are jockey Johnny V, Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds and head designer from Calvin Klein to name a few. The managing partner triumverate includes Paul Carlucci, the publisher of the New York Post. Very interesting, indeed.

It'll be interesting during the meet, with the track keeping The Paddock Bar open after the races, to see if Siro's is affected by this. Looking forward to my first Siro's cocktail under new management....



NOTE: Don't forget to send me your Toga Party contest picks before Thursday! 4 days to go.

Things About Racing That Don't Bug Me....

Tweet I've designed a one-part series on "Things About Racing That Don't Bug Me," just to show that I'm not always harping on the negative. It's not healthy to be all pissy and moany all the time, if you know what I mean. I started to draft a blog that was about things that bug me, but I figured why be all negative and uptight. So the happy me is editing today's number......

1. Saratoga. Opening day is a couple weeks away. I've already started to thing about Toga Party 3, the lone contest run here in the Space Station. 40 days watering down the meet? Hrrmph to the haters, I'll take the extra few days to enjoy the additional racing and the quaint little town in the Adirondacks. I also have a super secret back roads route that a new reader and former WNYer emailed me (and he's an ex-copper!) to help me get about the mendoza line of 4 hours.

2. 50 cent pick fours. Not gonna hate on the $2 pick six cuz that would just be negative. I'm not a huge player, but give me some 50 cent love and I'll rock that bet all day long. Memo to tracks that carry this: I will play your track (especially if the takeout is decent).

3. Fort Erie's day in the sun is approaching. With Ft. Erie trainer Nick Gonzalez winning the Queen's Plate with Big Red Mike, the Prince of Wales is around the corner and should draw a pretty decent crowd with the added local flavor. With Big Red's Disney flick coming out this year and Signature Red winning on the undercard, what more did you need to make a hunch bet on Mikey? Nice Plate Trial/Queen's Plate double for the big guy.

4. Late bloomers. I was sitting behind Kiaran McLaughlin on Belmont Day when Trappe Shot won his allowance race convincingly. I saw a very wry smile come over the trainer's face and a few fist pumps to boot. Yeah, he's a buzz horse now, but I liked what I saw at Gulfstream and he'll be running this weekend at the Shore in the Long Branch Stakes as perhaps a prep for the Travers.

5. Omnisurface star list grows. Franny Freud added a graded dirt win by winning the G1 Prioress and is part of the omnisurface stars list as the filly has won on all three surfaces. Of course, if Big Red Mike can pull off the Canadian Triple Crown, he'll join the winner of all 3 list. Only 5 horses are currently on the graded list. Great site.

6. Babe Ruth style wins. On Friday I commented to TKS that I was taking down his contest this weekend (*pointed to the right field bleachers*). Sure enough I nailed the United Nations with a mythical $50 win bet on Chinchon (IRE) using the Saratoga Resident's "bet on the foreigners on turf" angle. Unfortunately in the HRF contest, I boxed the two foreigners and took it on the chin. Moral of this story: Free contests don't bug me.

7. New Bloggers and Educational Sites. When I started blogging a few years ago, I think there were maybe 25 of us in the TBA. The number is something over 50 now and growing. The enthusiasm that our sport and that people want to write about it is growing and sites ThoroFan and HRF try and assist the newcomers to our game is encouraging. Thumbs up! While I'm at it I'll welcome two of the newer TBA bloggers, Tony Bada Bing from A Leg Up and Fionnuala from Calvados Bloodstock.

8. Tracks Not Afraid to Change. Monmouth took a big gamble, it seems to be working out, but even if it doesn't, they took a shot. NYRA does a nice job with it's social networking and uses popular people to promote the sport. The Cali tracks and Churchill have used night racing as a way to develop new blood and new forms of entertainment for Gen X and Yers.

9. Older horses staying in training. A big theme when I first started blogging was the defection of many "big name" horses after their 3yo season directly to the breeding shed. Take a look at the star power we now have currently racing. It's pretty damn good. It sparks good, healthy debate on how and when these stars will actually race each other, and should climax with some great racing at the Breeders' Cup (if they all stay healthy, God willing).

10. The Winner's Circle. Hey, who doesn't like the winner's circle? Would be even more fun to be in one someday.

What gives you hope or takes you to the racing happy place?

Revisiting Big Sandy

Tweet As many of you may know, I became obsessed with this great sport in August 2004 at the ripe age of 40, several months after watching Birdstone upend Smarty Jones's bid for the Triple Crown while on vacation with the Space Gal down in Key West. This year will mark my fifth consecutive Belmont Stakes and Belmont Day, which I feel has one of the top five cards in racing the year has to offer. So before we start our sojourn down to Big Sandy for the weekend's festivities, I thought I'd reminisce a little on my first four Belmonts and some of the memories I'll never forget.

2006: I had attended my first Derby to see Barbaro rock the racing world. Who can then forget the fateful moment at Pimlico after being reloaded after an early gate break that led to Bernardini's victory and the fate of a great colt. It was a motley crew assembled for the '06 Belmont that included the Derby runner up Bluegrass Cat and the fourth place finisher and deep closer Jazil, who stole the day for Fernando Jara's first (and currently last) Triple Crown ride. Derby show horse Steppenwolfer finished fourth and west coast stalwart Bob and John just didn't fire that day. Best memories of the day: 1) having the first bloody of the day at the Blarney Rock across for the Garden reading the Form in anticipation of a great day; 2) the Saratoga Resident had us in supreme box seats just past the finish line and with a great view of the winner's circle; 3) being way too close to the Toddster and posing in some pictures behind him for laughs and; 4) watching Gorella close like a freight train in the Just a Game

This is what too many Heineken 24 ouncers can do to a guy.












2007: My favorite Belmont to date. Seeing history is always special. Ranks up there with seeing a Stanley Cup celebration (even though we lost), a World Series home run (Joe Carter) and a Final Four buzzer shot (Keith Smart) to win a national championship. Rags to Riches became the first filly since 1905 to win the Belmont. Beating Horse of the Year, Curlin, made it all the more special. Again, the Saratoga Rez had us in tremendous seats (even better than 2006) down near the finish line and the place went crazy in the stretch drive. Memories from 07 include: 1) being in the box in front of the Imawildandcrazyguy owners who were having a good 'ole time; 2) seeing the Toddster's reaction four boxes over after winning his first TC race; 3) bloodies at the Blarney Rock (of course); 4) seeing Old Blackie (Better Talk Now) win the Manhattan with a powerful close; and 5) hanging in the Meat Packing District at Balthazar on Friday night with the boys ("A storm is coming")


Rags and Todd making their way from the paddock to the track. Johnny V up.












2008: Big Brown. 94,476 in the house. 95 degrees in the shade. Bathroom failures. Pregnant Space Gal. Empty bank account. But still had a whale of a time! While there was disappointment that we didn't get to see history, the card was terrific and thanks to the Toga Rez we had good seats just after the break and access to bathrooms that saved the Space Gal's day. 2008 Memories: 1) Benny the Bull winning the True North; 2) J Be K winning the Woody Stephens; 3) bringing the Space Gal to the Blarney for a Virgin Mary (do you see a pattern?); and 4) return trip to Balthazar on Friday and Da Marino on 49th for Saturday night's dinner and wine-inspired singalongs with the piano guy.

Jockey Shaq was in the house!













2009: Made the trip solo and roamed the vastness of Belmont Park all day long. Highlight of the day was meeting my pal Ernie and Dan Silver early in the morning and casually mentioning how much I liked Summer Bird. Was fortunate enough to attend the post-race press conference to see the joy of trainer Tim Ice and jockey Kent Desormeaux who achieved a tad of redemption after past Belmont failures. Memories include: 1) driving to Belmont for the first time and making it out of the war zone that was my parking lot after the day was over; 2) seeing blog comrades Alan H. and Robert from the TBA who I only see a few times each year; 3) getting my picture taken with Edgar Prado after his book signing and asking him if he reads my blog (he not too good with computer - umm, that's a negatory). 4) hanging with JB and the boys under their special tree for a few races and banging out a few show pool bets.

Bird is the word.















2010: ??????

We'll have some race thoughts up tomorrow evening before the Space Gal and I head out to Big Sandy.

Remembering the First Time

Tweet I broke my maiden at Saratoga Race Course on a Wednesday afternoon in August of 2004. The 25th if you're keeping score at home. The first horse I ever watched live at a racetrack win a horse race was named Lukelynn at odds of 7-1. Of course, I didn't have him. The second horse I ever saw win a race was named Closing Argument. Yep, that Closing Argument. The one who was 71-1 in the Kentucky Derby and finished second to Giacomo, leading to gigantic payoffs in the exacta, trifecta and superfecta wagers. He won a 2yo $45K MdnSpWt and paid $13.20. That's definitely something that stayed with me. Now he's at stud and I'm keeping my eye on him.

It took me four races to cash my first ticket, after the Saratoga Resident taught me how to call the numbers at the window, what an exacta and trifecta was, and how to box bets. I hit a $2 trifecta box of three horses that paid about $50. I'm not completely sure, but I think that's the moment I was hooked. There was something about deciphering all those numbers, figures, statistics meant within the hieroglyphics known as the Daily Racing Form. I'm still trying to figure it out, but that afternoon, it was like a light bulb went off in my head, that this was something I could really get into. The rest of the afternoon led to a profit of about $39 and one new fan for life.

I can't believe I missed out on all of the great races that happened prior to this day. Sure, I watched with the rest of the country on Derby Day, but usually with a casual glance at the tube. Maybe I'd watch the Preakness to see if the Derby winner would come back and win. But to be honest, I was never that enamored with it until I became engaged with the sport on site at the track. There's nothing like it. The way the crowd murmurs for the first quarter, half, top of the stretch. Then the noise starts building as they roar down the stretch. People screaming for their horses to "get up" or "stay up" or "go go go." The simultaneous groans of the losing ticket holders with the cheers of the fortunate winners and the rush that comes with it is something unmatched in other sports. Mainly because they are usually played at one team's home venue. This is something that fascinated me.

I remember watching Smarty Jones' Belmont down in Key West while on vacation with the Space Gal earlier in 2004, going for the Triple Crown. I am into watching significant historic sports events and you wouldn't find me on the beach that day, but in a bar packed with sports fans rooting the Philadelphia based horse home. Ironically, he was beaten by the horse who sired two of the 2009 Classic winners, Birdstone. A fitting beginning to peak my interest into the great sport of thoroughbred racing. What's cool for a newcomer like me is that the horses I followed and loved in my first years following the sport (see Roman Ruler) are now the hot sires of the current crop of 2 and 3 year olds.

I'm not sure how my interest has evolved into this? This being the 397th post (mainly on horse racing), and it sure has been a fun ride. I'm eternally grateful for that day in August at the Spa because it was before I knew of any of the problems that have dogged thoroughbred racing, so I was truly seeing it for what it is, a tremendous spectator sport (with a hint of gambling, of course).

Randomlicious

Tweet I came up with tonight's post title completely randomly (no pun intended), but ironically when I googled it to find a picture I found this blog instead, and it's worth a look...very funny. But I digress.....Randomlicious, it's the new rage in Kalamazoo.

- Wireplayers.com Derby Dozen Volume 3 has just been released and no change in the Top Two (Lookin at Lucky or Buddy's Saint) but a big jump up by Rule after his win over the weekend at Tampa has him jumping from 10th up into the top 3. Ten of my twelve selections are in the Dozen, with only Dave in Dixie and Dryfly not part of the elusive list. The two on the list I don't have are Drosselmeyer and Tiz Chrome.

- The horse I am highest on right now: Eskendereya. I have him #2 behind Lucky. His pedigree is decent, sire Giant's Causeway and broodmare sire the Slew. I'd bring up dosage, but can't take the mudslinging that may ensue. He can get the distance. Could he be Pletcher's (and Johnny V's for that matter) first?

- The TBA has a league set up in the Road to the Roses fantasy contest. Closest thing you'll get to fantasy football for horses. (League ID: 3173203388 and Activation Code: 2247553444). C'mon and join up and test you luck against some of the finest bloggers and race fans around!

- A new Derby-based poll is up on the right (no, your other right) sidebar. The polls have really been rocking (been averaging well over 200 votes) with some great questions over the past few weeks, make sure you cast your vote.

- Feeling kind of bad for the folk who bought tix for the original Apple Blossom on April 3rd, as Oaklawn may not be honoring those tickets on the 9th or granting any refunds? Kinda sucks, no?

- This race needs a name (ala Thrilla in Manila)....anyone? anyone? Bueller?

- Been working on some things with the folks over at Thorofan. They have started out on the right path and are doing good things for racing from an educational and charitable standpoint. Stay tuned.

- USA! USA! USA! Team Canada meet Ryan Miller (your worst nightmare on home soil). Rumor has it the Saratoga Resident is in Vancouver cheering on the red, white and blue...

- That's all for now....I could really go for a Filet o Fish right now.....told ya we were random tonight~

Ch-Ch-Ch Changes

Tweet So I was sitting by my computer today minding my own business trying to figure out what kind of tasty treat to give to my trusty dog, Tanner Jones, to celebrate his 2yo season tonight when the Saratoga Resident popped into my mailbox with a juicy link. If you read this blog, you know I "gots a thing" for (some will say bastardizing the English language) the stewards not reporting their rulings to the crowd when an inquiry is made after a race. I posted last year on the topic and the Toga Resident and I have gone back and forth on this issue in the past. I think he came over to the good guys side this past summer when experiencing some of my pain when a ruling cost him back to back monster payouts at the Spa. Anyways, Peter King's article today in SI.com noted the following analogous type situation in the NFL:

"It must drive NFL people crazy to hear Ed Hochuli go on those long, explanatory riffs when he's got his mike open. But I love it. Mike Pereira can't make stolid refs have Hochuli's personality, and he shouldn't try. But his explanations should be textbook for all officials in college and pro football. Fans deserve to hear exactly why something has happened." (I also like Kissing Suzy Kolber's spoof of his weekly column, but i digress).

Exactly. Fans and bettors deserve to hear exactly why a steward's decision is upheld or overturned. Is it so hard to give us a thirty second overview of what they saw, what they decided and what it was based upon? I think not. What's it going to take? Why isn't there more talk about this?

Now, if only we could change the BCS system.....

Hobby Horse Journalism?

Tweet I stumbled across this post by Steven A. Smith (not the loudmouthed former ESPN dude) from a website that the Saratoga Resident mockingly emailed me about Pullitizer Prize entries which is now eligible for online entries. After shooting him an "are you freakin' kidding me?" response, I clicked on a link to Smith's post and found it to be a pretty good read.

The post was about a speech he had given at a We Make the Media conference (whatever that could be), in Portland where he coined the term "hobby journalist" which he received a great deal of flack from a wide array of online writers. An interesting excerpt which will give you a flavor of the post follows:

"In general, it is extraordinarily difficult for people working on their own to sustain high-end journalism over time. I am not saying it is impossible. Difficult, certainly. Rare, yes.

The Portland conference was all about trying to develop new institutions with the capacity to support journalism and journalists, including those whose personal values and drive compel them to do this work part-time and without financial support."

I've always said this is just a hobby for me, and if a hobby journalist is what I am...so be it. Actually I would prefer hobby horse journalist...but you can call me anything you'd like. :p

The Good, the Bad and the Hungry

Tweet Is there a badder dude in movie history than Teddy KGB...I think not. One of my favorite movies of all time...so he'll be my category sponsor for the Bad....

I took a little hiatus from the blog trying to get back on East Coast time after the trip west for the Breeders' Cup. What a whirlwind trip it was so I figured I'd share my thoughts on the good, the bad and the hungry (Top Chef Pool update).


The Good (sponsored by the sun):

- Zenyatta. What more can be said. The girl was crazy good. Can't wait for the match race.

- Santa Anita Park. Coming from Buffalo you forget what that blur in the sky looks like and my goodness it was beautiful out there. The mountain backdrop, the shrubbery, the paddock, I could go on for days. It's a must see for you East Coasters that have never made the trip.

- Ernie Munick's vlogging. Top notch stuff. The cat kills me.

- Bench handicapping. Hangin' under the trees near the paddock in the early morning handicapping was super cool. Nice and breezy in the morning and there was quite a buzz in the air on both mornings.

- Two Days. Making the long trip for one day just wouldn't do it for me. It reminded me of my first Derby trip where we had a blast on Oaks Day (Filly Friday) with great anticipation of the big event of the Derby (Classic).

- My guest. Being with a horse guy and friend for the three days was tremendous. The things I learned from him over the weekend were invaluable. Let's hope his star mare La Chica Rica has a good comeback this winter.

- The Roar. The crowd went bananas during the stretch drive of the Classic. One of the coolest things I've ever encountered at a sporting event.

- Conduit and Goldikova. Back to back championships for these two turf horses. Was fun to see.

- The Fountain at the Americana. We were mesmerized by it, and any fountain that can do its thing with Sinatra playin' works for me.

(Honorable Mention: Flight from LA to Midway - sub 3:59...sweet.)

The Bad (Sponsored by Teddy KGB):

- LA Traffic. I hate the overuse of the word fail. Do I need to say more?

- Midshipman. Watching my NTRA Dirt Mile pick wash out in the paddock; I knew it was a bad omen (although he finished a respectable third). Going back and re-reading my thoughts on Furthest Land, I can't believe I chickened out picking him: ("I love this horse’s pedigree on the all-weather and he comes in second off the layoff. I’m very high on this horse and will be playing him in the exotics.")

- Handicapping. Many lessons learned.

- Colonel John. When I'm on him, he loses. When I throw him out, he wins. Go figure. Tried to play the sire card in the Classic (thought it was the year of the sire - see Summer Bird's Belmont), but he flattened in the stretch for the second straight year. Keyed him and Gio Ponti in a trifecta wheel over Twice Over, Zenyatta and MTB...so close.

- Picking the wrong betting line. Is it me or does everyone else always get behind the 5 minute wager guy? Cost me seeing Zenyatta's parade prance. Memo to all, don't get behind me in any line (food, DMV, toll, border crossing, etc.)

The Hungry:

This is where you racing fans can tune out. Thanks for coming.

Our Top Chef pool of $200 (winner/survivor take all) is down to five of the original nine contestants and oddly enough the top five selections are still alive. I thought for sure my boy Eli was going home this week for his popcorn/caramel apple/peanut soup (aka The Space Kid's tray after most meals). So we're left with #1 selection Jen (one of the Space Gal's Smo's), #2 selection Kevin (Saratoga Resident), #3 selection Michael Voltaggio (mom of fellow alumni), #4 selection Bryan Voltaggio (Space Gal) and yours truly had the #5 pick, and went with Eli after much deliberation with the Space Gal (looks like it's panned out so far). Personally I think it's going to come down to the V brothers (with the Space Gal coming away with the big V), as I think Jen will wilt under pressure, Eli's gone as far as he can and Kevin will choke ala Richard Blais last year. Of course you all know how my handicapping is. For more Top Chef hilarity, check out the weekly podcast or follow this top chef list in twitter (they are some funny folk).

Whirlwind Tour and My Racing Jones

Tweet There's no better medicine to get back your racing jones, than a two day swing through the Historic Saratoga Race Course (photo courtesy: me). Let's just say I'm back in the saddle and the place just recharged my batteries. It was great to see old friends, new friends, interweb friends and meet some new acquaintances, but it was certainly a whirlwind two days as the Saratoga Resident once again proved to be an incredible host.

We did a respectable 4:09 on a busy Wednesday morning in from Buffalo which was hampered by the continued construction between exits 39 and 40, an old lady in a pinto, a student driver and the loss of my GPS with 26.7 miles to go. The Puma was watching on the "Geno Cam" as he calls Twitter and sending me encouragement for the 3:59, but it just wasn't meant to be. Regardless, with the traffic at the corner of 9 and 50, I would have been hard pressed to make it if I was closer. I'll have a couple more shots at it later this summer.

The racing on opening day was spectacular, I hit the early double and exactas on the two early baby races to make day one on the gambling front a profitable one. The Schuylerville was a nice race and Hot Dixie Chick looks to be a good one.

It was great to see Pyro back from a long layoff, here's an awful picture I grabbed of him while three deep at the paddock fence....

Day one at the track was a wrap with the Saratoga Resident taking the early lead in the Toga Party contest. His attendance guess of 25,750 was only 306 higher than the NYRA reported attendance of 25,444. He based his selection on the fact that he doesn't have any visitors scheduled for the rest of the summer at the Residence (other than me). [Dollar Bill: need your Dandy pick or you get the post time highest choice]. We headed over to Siro's in the pouring rain for a post-race drink and smoke. I had a nice blogger meetup with some of my interweb comrades and we all shared some stories from the day and caught up.

Day two started off bright and early (can we blow it off?) with a round of golf at beautiful Ballston Spa CC. The Puma broke out both his Puma shirt and socks for the occasion (I think he was trying to psyche me out), but the Saratoga Resident and I held off him and the Dragon on hole 18 to pocket a few more dollars. The round had two highlights for me, I just missed my first ever hole in one (on the second hold - one foot away) and secondly the Toga Rez convincing me to try a Jean van de Velde-like shot out of puddle. Needless to say, I was wearing said puddle (and the mud) on me for the remainder of the round.

Back to the track and we wandered the box area and ended up sitting right in front of D. Wayne Lukas. I got the courage (after some prodding) to ask him for a photo and ended up chatting with him for a few minutes about his spreading of the Triple Crown races out. He was a classy gentlemen, even when I told him I was one of those crazy racing bloggers.

As you can see, D Wayne had his best duds on and looked extremely sharp...

Next we moved up to the Puma's box to watch the last few races of the day, including spending some time with my pal, JB and some of the Saratoga Resident's Albany buddies (and avid readers of EquiSpace - thanks guys). JB and I went down into the paddock before the Quick Call Stakes and the only horse I didn't get a picture of was the winner, and Linda Rice-trained Awakino Cat. I also met one of the owners of Canadian Ballet (running today at Woodbine) who also uses Linda Rice, and we both left the Cat off our tickets after we were talking for ten minutes about how good she is in turf sprints. Robert from They're in the Gate joined us for a race or two (nice call on Backtalk).

I did get a side view of winning jock Alan Garcia though before jumping on Awakino Cat:

We wrapped up the day at the track and I got to meet one of my favorite jockeys, Julien Leparoux who was kind enough to pose after riding the final race of the day on Regal Refrain....

Back to Siro's, where I found these two fine gentlemen just waiting to get their picture taken with these colorful jackets. I figured I would give them their 15 minutes of fame.

We had a fabulous dinner at Max London's at the bar, where we met one of the owners of Siro's, who was enjoying his meal next to us at the bar. We haggled over a price for Siro's, but just couldn't get it done. Nice guy and enjoyed our time with him. We headed over to the Grey Gelding for a nightcap where we met Frank the Postal Guy who told me it was a federal offense to mail back the Puma's lighter upon my return to Buffalo...good to know...you never know what you will learn when you spend some time in the Springs.

The trip concluded on Friday morning with some breakfast at Shirley's (my favorite Toga diner) and a little business. We visited my good friend and client over at Saratoga Eagle Sales & Service (the local A-B distributor) and had a great tour of their brand spanking new warehouse in the Grande Industrial Park. Thanks Jeff, for the great tour (and samples!!).

Well, I'm glad to report my racing jones is back. The Spa is just what the doctor ordered. Just in time for a great weekend of racing. On a side note, La Chica Rica is taking on male rivals for the first time on the West Virginia Derby undercard. Looking forward to seeing how she fares.

Ready to Rumble?

Tweet Tonight it's all about making sure all of the essentials are packed, so there's no time to waste in the morning. Fedora - check (not really). Ugly orange shirt - check. Cooler - check. Macanudo - check. Pens - check. Racing form - check. Space Gal's pink camera - check. Co-pilot - ummm....you're cancelling?? What?? Looks like I am flying solo down the great New York State Thruway tomorrow. Some unavoidable personal issues has my pal G-Money staying at home for the opening two days. At least his Abe Vigoda-like bladder won't hold up my commuting time (and secret new route) into the Springs. I'm officially calling it the Springs from this point on.

Looking forward to some blogger meet ups over the course of the day, as well as seeing many old friends from the greater Albany area. We have an interesting golf match set up with some industry folks (former and current) on Thursday morning at the lovely Ballston Spa CC, which should provide some good blog fodder for the weekend and then to the track for afternoon festivities at the top of the stretch.

The card is a tough one. I'm through the first five races and wow...there will be boxcar payoffs tomorrow, there is no doubt. Value hunting galore. The hunch bet exacta (courtesy: the Puma) is in the Schuylerville: Wild Without Wine w/That's How I Roll. And if you're the Saratoga Resident you toss in Hot Dixie Chick for good measure. Seriously, the James Marvin (Race 3) is a complete brainteaser. I'm currently hoping Pyro takes a lot of dumb money and that a longshot like Cassoulet (anytime you can get Leparoux at double digit odds...whoa) or the Sheikh's Honour Devil runs a big one and makes a big score. I think I am going to stick to straight win betting and rolling doubles tomorrow. We'll see if I can stick to the plan (unlikely).

I received a tweet directed at me by monmouthpark stating that Rachel Alexandra will be carrying 5 less pounds (117) against her nine rivals (notice the use of the word "rivals") in Sunday's $1.25M Haskell Invitational. Like she needs that kind of advantage. I wonder why it wasn't in the stakes conditions, guess they never figured a filly to enter this race....seems odd to me....but what do I know? (Don't answer that last question)

Kevin at Colin's Ghost has a super post up about opening day Saratoga 1919, make sure you check it out. Drop me an email if you'd like to say hello tomorrow or Thursday. And don't forget to get your Toga Party picks to me tonight! Looks like we'll have a full gate, as Val at Foolish Pleasure looks to defend her crown. Good luck and thanks for reading. Back in a couple of days with full reports from the Springs (kinda like the ring to that).

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.

Queens, Crowns and Plates

Tweet I was watching TVG this afternoon to see if anyone would hit the Pick 6 carryover at Hollypark (one ticket alive for $522K - lost...so another carryover tomorrow!) when Emilio Estevez joined Ken Rudolph on screen. I guess his dad, Martin Sheen, used to drag him to the track as a yute to play the ponies and he has been enamored ever since. What interested me more about the interview was that he mentioned that he was directing a new movie called Johnny Longshot with a harness racing theme. I guess it's been in the works for several years to be his next film since he shot Bobby in 2006. "He equated the new screenplay both with the sports drama aspects of The Mighty Ducks and with his life over the last ten years. It will be a family film about harness racing that he describes as inspirational." I love the name of the movie, and I know the Saratoga Resident will too.

I'm with John of Not to the Swift blog on Rachel Alexandra running in the Goose next Saturday. While I'm happy for the folks in New York that will get to see her live, I think there are bigger fish to fry for Team Rachel. What's the upside? Beating three or four other outmatched fillies? Say she loses, doesn't that really hurt her chances at HOY or legendary status? Seems like a no-win situation to me. Beats me why they picked this spot, other than to give NYRA a mulligan for passing on the Belmont Stakes. Can the Triple Tiara (not that anyone outside of racing knows what that is) be the goal? Anyways, I'm perplexed to say the least. Let's hope they come back to their senses and show up at the Spa in August for the Travers.

Speaking of the Tiara, the wiki site has a section title "possible future of the tiara" stating that over recent years prominent filly owners have petitioned the NTRA (?) to change the races making up the Tiara. The proposed races would be the Kentucky Oaks, the Black Eyed Susan and the Acorn to make them coincide with the colts' Triple Crown. Interesting thought. Since there's not a lot of tradition established with the current structure (they've already switched out the Acorn for the Alabama) who outside of racing purists care? I would think if they changed this and moved the Acorn to Friday and built another big racing day, Belmont and NYRA would benefit for the bump in attendance. Guess what attendance was on June 5th this year. A whopping 3,563. Are you kidding me? Seems like a no-brainer. Apologies in advance to the purists, just callin' it like i see it.

It's a big weekend for our neighbours (note the CDN spelling) to the North, so keep an eye on Triple Dead Heat's coverage of the Canadian Derby (err Queen's Plate) up through the big event set for late Sunday afternoon. I'm sure CanGamble and Pull the Pocket will both chime in with some opinions before the weekend's over on the first leg of Canada's triple crown. Of course, I'll chime in with some American thoughts.

I've found another addicting website that's had me busting a gut, beware, you could spend hours there.

North-South or East-West?

Tweet If you're lucky enough to be at Monmouth Park today, there's a Big Brown Bobblehead giveaway, which begs the question, will it bobble north/south or east/west? I need to know these things. I also debated writing back/front or side/side for those of you who may be direction inhibited.


Speaking of bobbleheads, I have a major collection of three. Todd Pletcher, Angel Cordero and Cal Ripken. There you have it. Not much else to say about that. Of course I got a late start on the racing game and my pals in Albany have always taken care of me that is when NYRA was giving away bobbleheads at the Spa. Hopefully with the new marketing team, they'll bring back the bobblehead. I would love a Johnny V one, and have been searching eBay for it.

Quickie post this morning as the Space Station is being prepared for massive arrivals of family for the Space Kid's christening tomorrow. The Saratoga Resident is in town to do his best Marlon Brando tomorrow. Today we'll play a little golf at heavily-trapped (90!) Niagara Falls Country Club. Yikes. So not much chance to handicap other than the Survival at the Shore races. The Monmouth Stakes looks like a monster race, I am leaning towards Proudinsky and Presious Passion (who I was on at the Sword Dancer when it was my turn for the big show pool bet where he finished fourth..ouch).

Have a great weekend everyone.

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...

The Old Adage

Tweet You've heard the old adage, "Never argue with people who buy ink by the barrel," attributed to both Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde. Well, it looks like we've lost another turf writer (hat tip to Paulick), but this time it appears to be of his own doing. Another one bites the dust in the print media. Life in the digital age moves on.

The Saratoga Resident was in town last night to share some laughs and cocktails (the perfect exacta) after prepping with a 4:10 from Saratoga to Buffalo for a 3:59 later this summer when the rubber hits the road. He was passing through on his way to the Indy 500 this weekend. I told him to put $10 across the board on Helio, and a $5 Helio-Danica exacta box. His response: That's why you are #1....and always will be.

Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend...