History

Somebody is gonna make Big Brown earn it.

My Son, Derby Thoughts

First post in a long time:

Worst Derby Ever? Yeah, that's pretty much become a cliche at his point. Is there even a question about that? I mean c'mon.

I watched the race with my dad who was in front of a TV that wasn't attached to some kind of girder or wall, because it was the day of his granddaughter's (my niece's) first communion and we were all stuck at the post-communion party, otherwise he'd have been at the track.

I usually like to be alone in front of the TV for at least an hour before the race.

The ending of the race presented possibly the worst outcome imaginable. I am very grateful that my son wasn't old enough to comprehend what happened (4 years old). I'm always telling him about horse racing and horses and trying to get him interested in the sport. He does enjoy it, more than baseball or boxing (my other 2 favorites), and chooses to have me put on TVG over the Dodger game or Friday Night Fights.

He wasn't even paying attention much to the race, since to him it was just another chance to ask me "I have #4, who do you have?," so I sent him out of the room as soon as I realized what was happening. Eight Belles breakdown made me sick, I've been in a low-grade depression ever since.

It was terrible. There is not much more that can be said. I'm not sure how I feel about the sport at this point, although I want to defend it, what is there that can be said in defense? Should I raise my son on racing like my dad did with me? It seems like tragedy's like these are becoming more and more prevalent.

Santa Anita Rains

As most know, racing has been canceled for the third consecutive day at Santa Anita due to drainage problems with the newly installed Cushion Track. I went out this morning just to check it out for myself and ran into an old friend of mine who happens to know quite a bit about what's going on at the track.

According to him, from what he knows, when the Cushion Track was installed over the summer, the asphalt base was completely sealed off due to extreme heat (105+ degrees) at the time. And that's why it won't drain "vertically". It seems that the asphalt isn't nearly as porous as advertised.

If this is true, it's worse than the official story. And it would seem that solving the problem is more complicated than most think.

I'm not sure if this has been reported anywhere else but it seems to make sense. Another guy I talked to thinks it's that the sand in the track has coagulated, from the rain, preventing adequate drainage. That's more like the official story. But, the surface is the same as the one at Hollywood Park? And it's been raining there too. Everyone I talked to agrees that there is more to the truth than is being told by track officials.

Any way you look at it, it seems that the smart thing to do is to tear the whole thing up and start over. They can't keep canceling racing every time it rains, since I think everyone agrees that they're going to have to put in a new surface anyway.

Skywalker's Grandkids

Skywalker had a big day at Santa Anita on Saturday. Three of his grandkids won Cal Cup races.

Take a look at him here in the '85 Santa Anita Derby (from my You Tube account). Man, did Pincay teach Gary Stevens a lesson that day.

Breeder's Cup Heartbreak

For lots of reason's I've only made it out to the track once since August 19 (Pacific Classic Day) and that was on Oak Tree's Opening Saturday (Commemorative Stein Day).

Saturday I was home, watching the Breeder's Cup Championships with my 3-year-son, trying to get his little 3-year-old consciousness to care about the races when all he wanted to do was go outside and ride his tricycle.

I enjoyed the races, especially The Turf Mile as one of my favorites, Kip Deville, put it all together "just in time" after an inconsistent '07 year.

I was aware of George Washington, but as an American racing fan, I wasn't really aware of some of his great accomplishments, reputation or personality.



How is it possible that a heroic horse like George Washington, who gave so many racing fans thrills and memories with his brilliant stretch running style could die in the stretch on a muddy, dreary day on the other side of the ocean, a year after his "retirement"?

Just saying accidents or injuries "happen" doesn't seem to make any real sense. What we should say is that, since we're going to continue to race these heroic animals for our entertainment and industry, accidents will continue to happen, even on artificial tracks.

I've defended the industry against critics, even after Barbaro's death, but what is there to say this time? George Washington wouldn't even have been racing any longer if he had proven to be more lucrative at stud.

If there is any consolation at all maybe it's that the death of George Washington didn't happen in front of his home fans, it happened in New Jersey.

The Truth About Del Mar's New Surface

After watching and digesting the 2007 running of the Pacific "Classic" I've come to one conclusion: The secret ingredient in Del Mar's new "Polytrack" is quicksand. I'm not trying to say that something must be "up" because Lava Man didn't finish in the money. That was bound to happen sooner or later. After all, they're horses not robots.

But when the winning time is 2:07 and change for a 1 1/4 mile race, something is seriously amiss. This is a completely different sport than the one we're used to.

And three horses that barely figured finish 1-2-3, the so-called "Classic" that resembled a walk-out 9th race of 16K claimers. A million-dollar "Classic" race isn't supposed to be a "great race for a bunch of 10-cent superfectas". You should be able to be at least somewhat certain you can pick at least one horse that will finish in the top 3 or 4.

And now Student Council earns a automatic berth into the 2007 Breeder's Cup Classic. That's not a changing of the guard, that's a joke!

Pacific Classic Sunday

A great field has been put together for Sunday's Grade I, $1 Million Pacific Classic at Del Mar (1 1/14 Miles on the Poly Track).

Defending champion Lava Man is the 5/2 morning line favorite to repeat. The Mike Mitchell trained Big Booster is 9/2 on the morning line. I'm not sure if he merits 9/2. He ran 3rd in the Hollywood Gold Cup behind Lava Man and A.P. Xcellent who is 8-1.

But Mitchell has been working miracles with former claimers like On the Acorn who won the San Juan Capistrano and Sun Boat who won the San Diego Handicap. Sun Boat is 6-1 and my gut tells me that a lot of "educated" money is going to be placed on him.

Top West Coast 3-year-old, Tiago, is 6-1. He won the Santa Anita Derby and Swaps Stakes and ran 3rd in the Belmont Stakes in June. Other 3-year-olds in the race are Albertus Maximus (2nd in the Swaps) and Time Squared.

Strub Stakes winner Arson Squad is 12-1.

Rounding out the field are Student Council, Awesome Gem, Porfido, Salty Humor and Hello Sunday.

It's a great field and a nice betting race. My heart tells me Tiago, my gut tells me Sun Boat and my head tells me Lava Man. We'll see.

Best Pal Stakes on Sunday

Two-year-olds will line up on Sunday, 8/12, at Del Mar for the Grade II Best Pal Stakes (6 1/2f on the dirt). The field includes Hollywood Juvenile Championship winner Salute the Sarge, runner up Leonides and four others. It's a prep for the big one of the meet, the Del Mar Futurity, to be run on Del Mar's closing day, September 5.

Last year the race produced three Triple Crown "contenders": Great Hunter, Stormello and Cobalt Blue. So don't say you haven't been warned.

The Santa Rosa Fair

I broke out of my slump and ended up with 4 winners at The Santa Rosa Fair today. My "horse of the day" was a 15-1 shot named Sylvie in the 11th - Maiden Claimers at 1 1/16 miles on the Santa Rosa turf.

Sylvie had 3 lifetime starts dating back to late May. In her first race she pulled up and was vanned off. She ran last in her next race and something like 3rd in her most recent start with a Beyer Rating in the high 50s. Her rating was the 2nd highest of any horse in the race.

I like Maidens that show any kind of interest in their most recent race. At 10-1 on the morning line I put a few buck on her to win. She was the 3-horse and was 21-1 when I placed my bet. At race time the horse was 15-1.

Sylvie broke well and went to the lead and stayed at or near the lead along the backstretch and into the turn

At the top of the stretch another horse took the lead by a head but she fought back gamely, buoyed by a spontaneous chant of "3, 3, 3, 3. . ." taken up in mid-stretch by some die-hards at the table under the "Santa Rosa TV".

It was pure drama unfolding on the screen, as we saw it from our position in the Pavilion at Santa Anita Park, 500 miles away. Sylvie won it.

Thank you Sylvie for reminding us why we come back.

Panty Raid

Good horse, dumb name. It's a good thing the horse doesn't know how dumb her name sounds.

Pick 6 Mania

I'm just glad that an everyday, $2 bettor was able to nab part of the $10 million Pick 6 Pool at Hollywood Park the other day.

One bettor at Los Alamitos hit Monday's record pick six at Hollywood Park twice with a $2 bet and a $4 wager for a combined payoff of $1,152,128.80.

It just goes to show how much luck is involved in hitting a Pick 6. The article also mentions that a $24 ticket in Victorville also hit the Pick 6 that day.

Lava Man Is Smart

Lava Man is a smart horse. He just knows where the finish line is. His win in the Gold Cup on Saturday was one of the most dramatic I've seen in a long time. Just check out Vic Stauffer, what a great call he gave us. Thank you Vic!

Now, if Lava Man were an east coast horse, would it matter that he couldn't "ship"? Would the racing press still treat him like a glorified side show? He's a great horse, plain and simple.

He doesn't like to fly (or travel) and has been doing his best to communicate that to his connections but they just don't pay attention to him.

I watched the Gold Cup a few times on You Tube and it reminded me of a race, the '88 San Bernadino Handicap, with Alysheba, Ferdinand and Good Taste nearly hitting the wire together. Alysheba was another great horse that just knew where the wire was. And he threw in a clunker once in a while too.

2007 Hollywood Gold Cup


1988 San Bernadino Handicap

Invasor Retires

He got dinged during a workout Saturday morning. I feel like we hardly got to know the guy. But I'm just glad his people did the right thing and retired him rather than risk serious injury.

Simulcast Blues

I had the day off from work on Friday so I decided to head over the the track and play some simulcast races, particularly races from the Stockton Fair. Hollywood Park had their races at night on Friday so there were no "local" tracks running during the day.

But after yesterdays experience I don't think I'll be going back to Santa Anita on Fridays when Hollywood runs at night. The problem I had is that all the patrons are funneled down into a cavernous, fully enclosed, air-conditioned, underground room, surrounded by banks of television sets and self-service betting machines. How hard would it have been to turn on a couple of betting machines upstairs? The pavilion and the runways under the grandstand were open but the only way to bet from up there was to walk around the corner and go down the stairs.

Things have changed so much at the track in the last 10-20 years. What's the difference between a quinella and an exacta box? For me, the whole simulcast experience is hard to get used to. I mean, I understand it but I don't like it much. There were 10 or more different tracks running yesterday including Mohawk. Mohawk? I was trying to concentrate on Stockton but the TV in front of my table that was featuring Stockton somehow ended up showing races from Mohawk and the Meadowlands. You know, races with horses pulling carts loaded up with an aerodynamic pilot called a driver. Yeah. It was disappointing to say the least.

Part of what makes Santa Anita such a great track is the atmosphere. Yesterday I might as well have been at a sportsbook at some sleezy casino out in the California desert. The pavilion at Santa Anita is a great place. So is the grandstand and the runways behind the grandstand.

The underground room isn't such a nice place.

Bay Meadows Lives (in principal)

Long live Bay Meadows! Sounds like the California Racing Board has granted a one-year extension or a waiver, so the track will have extra time to install the required synthetic racing surface. Developers must have been salivating at the chance to build thousands of condos on the site of the 73 year old facility, right in the heart of the inflated Bay Area housing market. Ha ha.

I've never been there but I always refer to the place as "up north". I did drive by it once. I was up there with a girlfriend (in San Mateo) and we were leaving our hotel and we drove south on whatever street it is and I looked to my left and, there she was. Bay Meadows!

We didn't stop though. Everything in life is timing.

Tiago Back In Swaps?

Above is a picture I snapped of Tiago in the paddock before the Santa Anita Derby. Mike Smith looks supremely confident above the 29-1 shot Tiago. Tiago looks nice and relaxed. I was anxious to get to the window and get him into an exacta with King of the Roxy.

It looks like he might be making his next start in the Swaps Stakes, Grade II (1 1/8 miles) for 3-year-olds at Hollywood Park, July 14. You know, he might go off as the favorite that day, and that's funny since he's really only put his nose on the line first in one race (Santa Anita Derby, Grade I). His maiden win was via disqualification.

But he ran a nice race in the Belmont Stakes as Mike Smith held him just off the leaders, instead of far back which seemed to be the tendency. He may grow into this style.

Cobalt Blue is back on Sunday in the Affirmed Handicap at Hollywood Park(1 1/16 miles for 3-year-olds). He finished second as the heavy favorite in the Alydar a few weeks ago and Merv (Griffin) is trying to get him back into the winner's circle for the first time since his win in the San Felipe Stakes on March 17.

Speaking of action at Hollywood Park, the Hollywood Gold Cup is June 30.

A Story About Detachment

On Saturday afternoon, about 10 minutes before the Belmont I scribbled the numbers 7-3-2 in my program. A trifecta bet. Rags to Riches - Curlin - Tiago. I didn't bet it. I instead bet a Rags - Tiago exacta and Rags to win. I covered myself okay. But I was stubbornly still in awe of my own handicapping abilities dating back to April 7 and the Santa Anita Derby when I had the Tiago - King of the Roxy exacta which paid $191 for the $1 bet. How did I do that? I got lucky.

Bettors all around were scratching their heads while I cashed my ticket. Rule #1: Never stand in awe of your own handicapping abilities. As Charles Bukowski teaches us, to "beat the races" you must have, "the character, the knowledge, and the detachment."

So I missed the trifecta in the Belmont because I somehow figured Curlin out of the equation. How is that for detachment? Rule #2: Bet who you think will win, not who you want to win.

As we know Rags won. She'll probably go on to be Horse of the Year and in time will become a "legend of the sport" and the ghost of her as a racehorse will haunt us. The best ever! The best racehorse of all time! That I saw! Never a faster filly! Never a tougher one!

Even as the ghost of Magnificience haunts our dreams and causes us to wake up in a cold sweat in absolute terror as we stare at the ceiling.

So, now what? In some years, when detachment sets in, Rags to Riches will be the kind of horse that will force the most jaded of horse players to stand in awe. Consider the breeding angle. I don't know squat about the politics of breeding but one thing I do know is that attempts will be made to breed Rags with some good horses. Rags to Riches with Point Given for example. Curlin? Oh the horror!

There will be a maiden special weight race at Hollywood Park, in let's say, five or ten years. Two years olds going 5 furlongs. There will be a colt or filly named (insert name here), running in the race. A guy will flip open the Racing Form, turn to the race and take a look at the field. All first time starters. The guy next to him will say:

"What do you think of the 7 horse? Gomez aboard..."
"Forget Gomez, take a look at the mare."

Silence for a moment as both men, grizzled track vets, fight off the chills as they scribble a 7 in their programs.

This One Was Great

Do you think she'll run against the boys again? Or was the point made? Forget that, do you think she'll be invited back after abusing her rivals today?

She deserves Horse of the Year honors already. I doubt another horse will win 4 straight Grade I races this year. And she might win 5 (or more)!

What an impressive run it was too. She broke slow and was wide around every turn. Curlin is still a bit of a freak but what does that make Rags? A monster!

Tiago and Hard Spun are still nice horses. I expected a little more from Imawildandcrazyguy but what can be expected when a deep closer spots world class horses 20 lengths.

It was exciting watching it on the big screen outside at Santa Anita. People were excited. And like we were saying today, 'the smart money was on her'. She's ours and now she belongs to everybody.

Not to mention the fact that I only cashed two tickets today, and she gave me one of them. Thanks Rags!

2007 Belmont Stakes

Let's Play Beat The Favorite: The So-Cal Exacta

Every handicappers favorite game: Beat the favorite.

Curlin has to be feared and respected. He's the best horse in the race (on paper) and has really done nothing wrong in his 5 career races. His performance in The Preakness shows why he will go off as the favorite tomorrow in the Belmont. He'll probably go off near his 6-5 morning line.

So...

With that said, Rags to Riches is the class of the field. Three straight Grade I wins. All class. She's done nothing wrong either. She may go off at 3-1 or maybe even 2-1 if people start to get real excited about her. She's bred for the distance. Todd Pletcher has to pick up a Triple Crown win sooner or later, why not with his best 3-year-old? She wins.

Tiago seems to be improving and if Mike Smith keeps him close and keeps his head in the game, he'll be flying late in the stretch when half the horses start running backwards. He might go off around 8-1.

Let's put Rags (Santa Anita Oaks winner) and Tiago (Santa Anita Derby winner) in a $1 exacta box and see what happens.

Belmont Horror Stories

My first Belmont heartbreak was Alysheba. I still think he could have handled the mile-and-a-half if he hadn't decided to throw in a clunker that day in 1987.

In 1998, when Victory Gallop ran down Real Quiet with an inch to go in the race to deny him history and the Triple Crown I was at a baby shower. Yep. But I did watch the race. I found a TV at the house and watched the darn thing by myself, with the party going on in the background. Never again.

In 2004, I had myself all set up in my living room to watch Smarty Jones take his run at the Triple Crown. As the horses were being loaded into the gate, there was a knock on my screen door. It was two Mormon missionaries asking me if I believed in God. "Well, I believe in Smarty Jones, so ask me after the race."

They waited at my door while I watched the race. I watched as Smarty Jones succumbed to Birdstone and the Curse of Billy Penn.

This year, I've already made plans for the race, and will be watching it at my local off-track wagering site. No interruptions.

1987 Belmont Stakes