Tin Man On Track

When I was a kid going to Santa Anita in the '80s my favorite horses were always the old guys that used to run their guts out in the 9th race for a $16K tag at a distance of 1 1/16 miles. Old guys - 7, 8 year olds - like Trento, Bedouin and others (I wish I could remember more names).

Now we have Tin Man. He's 9. He's on track for the Grade I Shoemaker Mile, May 28 at Hollywood Park. having worked a mile in 1:38.4 on Tuesday.

Also of note: Apparently, Stormello was eased in the Kentucky Derby (according to the official designation: see the very bottom of linked article above). I have no problem with that, he deserves a vacation anyway.

Tin Man wins the '06 Arlington Million:

Don't Sleep On Curlin!

I guess it's "one and done" for the Curlin bandwagon? It may be just me but I think Curlin's third place finish in the Run For The Roses was pretty impressive.

I mean, the only horse to get a better trip in the race than Street Sense was Hard Spun. Curlin meanwhile was "shuffled back" and in between and among all kinds of horses for much of the race and emerged from the pack as a strong third, in his first race against "top" 3-year-olds and in the first race in which he wasn't able to dictate the terms.

Now the buzz is about Circular Quay and how everybody likes his chances in the Preakness. Well, what about the big chestnut? In a race like the Preakness, with a smaller field, Curlin might be able to stalk the leader or leaders and make a run on his terms.

Does he have the speed, does he have the class to compete against Street Sense, Hard Spun, Circular Quay and the rest? Well, experts and fans alike seemed to think he did before the Derby. And with a big race like that under his belt doesn't it even make him a stronger contender?

Crazy Prices in Japan

-I just caught the Grade I Victoria Mile from Tokyo Racecourse, in Tokyo, Japan on TVG. It's a 1.4 million dollar race. The final time was a very quick 1:32 2/5 for the one-turn mile. But that didn't turn out to be the noteworthy thing.

The 4-horse Kiouta with Masami Matsuoka aboard won and paid $282.00 to win. The next two finishers (Asahi Rising, Daring Heart) were both 55-1 . The 2-dollar, 4-3, exacta returned $4,946. There were no tickets with the trifecta nailed but the $2 trifecta 4-3-all paid $10,655.

Unfortunately, nobody came close with the $1 superfecta as 4-all-all-all paid a mere $81.80.

-On The Acorn took the Jim Murray Handicap at Hollywood Park Saturday (1 1/2 miles on the turf) with a great big kick on the inside outrunning Prospect Park in deep stretch. The field was walking through 3/4 at 1:17 1/5 but really kicked loose and ran the final 3/4 in 1:11 and change. Notable Guest finished 3rd so Bobby Frankel is denied his 7th Jim Murray.

Victor Espinoza rode the winner who paid $7 to win. Mike Mitchell trains On The Acorn, a former claimer, claimed and owned by a conglomeration of L.A. sports personalities (Indizguys Stables) including Jack Disney, Buck Rogers (former Angels manager) and Ross Newhan (sportswriter).

Mitchell has resurrected On The Acorn who has back-to-back wins and has won 4 races so far this year.

No Pimlico Special Saturday

I guess didn't get the memo on this one. Pimlico Race Course officials have cancelled (at least for this year) the running of the Grade I Pimlico Special.

Since the race was brought back in 1988 it has been won by such greats as Invasor, Cigar and Bet Twice. Apparently, track officials have decided not to run the race this year due to purse shortages and because they want to keep the available money from going to out of state owners/horses.

I usually look forward to the race since it's a nice touch-stone race for the classic division and it's something to look forward to in between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. Oh well.

Jim Murray on Saturday

Jim Murray, Hall of Fame sportswriter, was a big horse racing guy. So fittingly, he has a great race - The Jim Murray Handicap, Grade II, 1 1/2 miles on the turf at Hollywood Park - named in his honor. It's the feature race on Saturday.

A good field is expected to turn up this year, including On the Acorn (San Juan Capistrano winner), Fourty Niner's Son (San Luis Rey Winner) and others.

Trainer Bobby Frankel is trying to win his 7th with Notable Guest.

Here is a link to Jim's last column published on August 22, 1998. It's about Free House's win in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

R.I.P. Chico

Diego "Chico" Corrales, one of the great ring-warriors of this generation died yesterday in a motorcycle accident. He was 29. In an era where the top fighters protect their undefeated records and pad their resume, he never ducked any opponent and left it all in the ring.

At a time when people lament the so-called sad state of boxing, and worry about where the next "superstar" will come from, true old-school fighters like Diego Corrales were few and far between.

Boxing and Horse Racing used to be the premier sports in this country because of the natural drama ingrained in both sports and the heroic nature of the participants.

Here is Round 10 of what is considered one of, if not the, greatest fight of all time. Back in 2005 vs. Jose Luis Castillo:

Old-Fashioned Derby Replay

I found this on YouTube. It's the Derby with the old-fashioned split screen and without the stupid overhead angle that NBC chose to use for about 22 seconds (between the 1/2 mile pole and the 1/4 pole). It's the Churchill Down's replay with the Churchill race caller, the way it is meant to be. With the fractions posted in the corner and the odds real big at the bottom.

It is so much more exciting shown like this and I don't feel like I'm watching a video game. In the end it's just a horse race I don't know why NBC had to make it so complicated.

I love seeing Tiago fly through everybody on the gallop out about 10 seconds after the race was over. If only he could get himself unwound a little earlier next time. Imawildandcrazyguy was flying too and you couldn't really see that with NBC's coverage.