Another Big Contender

Tweet I watched the Jackpot last night on Twinspires TV and Big Drama ($9.80) held off a closing West Side Bernie (my first two choices) at the wire to take home the $450K first place money and virtually assure him of a berth in the gate at Churchill Downs in May. Looks like we have another Big contender on our hand, and not the Big Truck version. Isn't it fitting that his last name is Drama, exactly what we need in our sport and it should make some good headlines! Terrain faded in the stretch and wrecked my predicted trifecta and finished a disappointing fifth as the favorite.

Happy Birthday to fellow Western New Yorker The Turk who should also be basking in the following news:

Congrats to the MAC Champion University at Buffalo Bulls. They pulled a monster upset last night on ESPN2 against 12th ranked (in the country and the BCS) Ball State Cardinals in the MAC championship game in Detroit. It's not too often the words Buffalo and championship are used in the same sentence. A couple defensive touchdowns sparked Turner Gill's boys to a major victory for a school and town that has been craving a winner, and rendered Coach Gill speechless post-game. I was trading some Facebook posts with Las Vegas Review-Journal handicapper Richard Eng (author of Betting on Horse Racing for Dummies) who was publicly touting laying the 16 points. I warned him that UB was for real, but to no avail. It appears UB will be headed to the International Bowl, just up the QEW in the Rogers Centre (f/k/a the SkyDome) where the Space Gal and I are headed tomorrow - yeah call us traitors - for the Dolphins game.

In TBA news, a belated welcome to new member The Thoroughmetrics Blog, where statistical research is king. We've also started to Twitter (see tab on left), a new phenomenon (not really, but it sounds good) where streams of consciousness can be shared via web or mobile device. A tab at the TBA homepage shows those of us who are tweeting and twittering....I'm a little late to the party, but will give it a shot, and if Shaq can do it, so can I.

Saturday stakes selections:

Display Stakes (Woodbine): Bear's Rocket (update, 4th)

My Charmer (Turfway): Kiss with a Twist (update: 1st, $6.40 win)

Tropical Turf (Calder): Spice Route (update: 1st, $8.00 win)

Native Diver (Hollywood): Past the Point (update: 2nd, $3.40 place)

Hollywood Turf Club (Hollywood): Church Service (update, 3rd, $3.40 show)

Have a great weekend....will be tweeting from the Rogers Centre and the Great White North tomorrow.

Dutrow to be Suspended

Tweet Add another blemish to the Dutrow legend. ESPN is reporting this morning that Trainer Richard Dutrow will be suspended for fifteen days for exceeding the limit (doubled) on an approved medication called Clenbuterol on Salute the Count, a horse who placed second in an $100K Oaks Day stakes race at Churchill Downs. The purse money of $20,000 will also have to be returned. He has been suspended for drugs ("doping issues") for nine consecutive years now. "Clenbuterol is an approved medication in horses. The bronchodilator increases lung capacity, though it has steroidal properties. It is illegal to administer it on race day, but states vary on the length of time beforehand that it can be administered. In New York, for example, it cannot be administered within 96 hours of race day. In Kentucky, the length of time is 72 hours." Tough to teach an old dog new tricks I guess.

It's a tough news day for racing with the well-reported Jeremy Rose suspension that is covered here and here within the TBA. Not what the sport needs right now. This will certainly be further exploited by the PETA folks and is a total black eye for the sport.

Why athletes feel the need to call out others, like the well-publicized Shaq attack on Kobe, always gets me. Don't they realize what these folks say has a bigger impact than they realize. I have always been a huge Shaq fan, but was not very happy with his performance reported on TMZ.com. I'm not a Kobe fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I hope he lays low, stays under the radar and let's the topic blow over, the damage is done and Shaq looks stupid, no reason for him to jump in. Ok, I'm off my soap box now.

Congrats to WNY-based Bella Cavello Stables on their victory Monday by Gold Marie in the 9th, a $10K claimer, at Colonial Downs. Gold Marie (by Golden Missile, out of Cherry Flambe) paid $7.40 as the second choice and won by 4 lengths. The stable has Gregson (3rd race) and Coal Valley (4th race) both running tomorrow at Monmouth Park and La Chica Rica (9th race) running on Friday night at Mountaineer. Congrats and good luck.