Dear NTRA,

I was chatting with a few friends this morning and there’s something we’d like to share. We thought that it would be of particular interest to you as one of your mission statements is to “Leverage television assets and yearlong promotional programs with ESPN to promote big event days and create stars”

This Saturday Churchill has a fantastic card headlined by Curlin, our reining horse of the year, in the Stephen Foster. Not only is Curlin undefeated in 4 starts, has won 9 out 12 starts, and never been out of the money. Most importantly he’s the horse racing equivalent of a big foot sighting as a horse with a successful 3yo campaign returning for a 4yo campaign. I’m sure you know all this.

What I’m writing to tell you is that this was a GREAT and TIMELY opportunity to build on the skyrocketing viewership of the Belmont just last weekend by marketing and televising this card on ESPN or ESPN2. Few got what they wanted out of the Belmont, which leaves a wide gaping whole of yearning for a kick ass horse race to be filled. The Stephen Foster provides just such an opportunity.

And think of the excellent story that Curlin makes on the heals of Big Brown. He was last year’s Big Brown, going into the Derby undefeated with only 3 starts. While his path didn’t take the same trajectory as Big Brown’s, look at him now, poised to potentially sweep in to the international scene and prove that America can produce great horses that can race and win in drug free circumstances abroad. It’s a story of redemption all the way around, and one that could let casual fans know that Big Brown is still a good horse with a shot to come back later in the year for his shot at redemption.

How many people thought Curlin’s spirit could have been broken after his gut wrenching performance in last year’s Belmont at the end of a grueling Triple Crown season where he had NO 2yo foundation? Then to have him return in the Haskell to turn in a mediocre performance, leading us all to believe that perhaps we only got a brief glimpse of what could have been.

But then came the Jockey Club Gold Cup… where he ran down the Lawyer Ron, who was looking like the horse of the year, in a thrilling stretch battle that sent the memo, “don’t count me out yet, I’m just getting my game back”!

This performance led to his current string of impressive, indomitable wins in the BC Classic, Jaguar Trophy Handicap and Dubai World Cup. HE’s our horse, and we should be marketing him as such.

Certainly there are other great story lines to be had as well. As some of my friends pointed out, like building a Curlin/Einstein rivalry as it seems likely they will meet again in the Arlington Millions as Curlin will need a grass prep for the Arc. This could also play out as an Asmussen/Pitts rivalry.

The bottom line is that this was a very timely missed opportunity to help us build that new era.

Your friend,

Dana Byerly

P.S., another friend wants you to know about another opportunity before it’s too late.

Curlin and Pancho survey the land at Churchill (JerryLewis)

Since we’re fortunate enough to have Curlin running in the US weekend, I thought I’d take a moment to help us all transition from the long and tiring Triple Crown by way of a Curlin palate cleanser, if you will.

Curlin is set to break from the first post position in the Stephen Foster this weekend, despite his weight assignment. The entire card is action packed so it looks like I won’t get that handicapping break I was thinking of taking!

Fellow TBA-er Superfecta nominates Curlin as our ambassador as he prepares to gallivant around the globe. I agree! She also points out that he has a foundation, which is a part of his site, which has a section about Pancho! (below the human caregivers, which are also nice to see).

Who? Curlin’s stable pony! You may remember that Bloodhorse’s Morning Line Goes to Dubai blog had a post on him as he accompanied Curlin to Dubai.

Scott Blasi, assistant trainer for Curlin was quoted as saying:

You can tell Curlin relaxes when Pancho is by his side. Curlin is so big, but Pancho doesnt get intimidated. Hes even bigger than Curlin and hes so seasonedhes been everywhere with the stable.

And back at the Go Curlin site, the following post World Cup heartwarming scene was described:

After being festooned with a bright red fringed cooler proclaiming him the winner of the worlds richest race, Curlin made his way out of the crowded enclosure, the intensity of the race still vividly on his face. Yet when he saw Pancho, his ears shot up, and the pair walked out together, sharing in a small way this win that they both had worked so hard to achieve.

I was first alerted to Pancho by Swifty, who, on one of our many phone calls, told me to search Pancho in the Facebook groups (without telling me what that meant)… I quickly found out. Curlin also has a fan page on Facebook.

Here are some highlights to get you in mood for Curlin this weekend (sans last year’s Triple Crown, we want to stay focused on moving forward). And just remember, after all is said and done, he gets to come home to Pancho afterwards! We should all be so lucky!

Jockey Club Gold Cup – the performance that answered any remaining questions I had about Curlin

Breeders’ Cup Classic – “an absolutely stylish performance”

RIP George Washington

Jaguar Trophy – his warm up for the Dubai World Cup

Dubai World Cup – stunning

(Note: I felt bad for my beloved Premium Tap and I’m sure that’s the last time we’ll lay eyes on him)

I hope you’re now feeling prepared for the next course, I know I am!

The Belmont Stakes trophy awaiting it’s recipient (Jason Moran)

Fellow TBA-er Frank had a post last week on patience that I really liked and had wanted to reference but had become too scattered (perhaps there’s a follow up post to be had about lack of attention span?).

The post talks about the lightly raced nature of this years TC horses in general but really speaks to the grind of the TC and the general lack of patience in bringing horses along.

I was so jazzed about last year’s prep season all the way through to the Belmont, but this year I can’t say the same. I still really like Pyro and am hoping to see him regroup, but this year was just so full of odd twists and turns of the not so great/total let down variety that I’m starting to the think that, like fellow TBA-er Teresa, that I might also be a little disenchanted with the grind of the Triple Crown. (note, she’s more disinterested than disenchanted).

Historically (read that with irony, I’ve followed exactly 2 seasons) I haven’t done so well on Derby prep/TC races with the exception of last year’s Derby and this year’s Wood. I really enjoy following spring/summer and fall at Belmont and, of course, Saratoga much more. At the very least, I FEEL like I’m in a position to make better calls because there’s more of an element of stability in following a local track.

But, I’m sure I won’t be able to resist the siren song of the trail next year, so would someone please tattoo the sentiments in this excellent piece by Steve Davidowitz on my forehead (backwards, so I can read it in the mirror). [DRF+ – requires subscription]

If we step back to objectively examine details that were staring us in the face, we just might learn valuable handicapping lessons. Lessons that I thought I had learned many years ago.

That sentiment does make me feel a bit a better… while it obviously takes patience to prevail, periodic introspection can’t hurt either.

Pays to Dream on the outside lives up to his name (Bud Morton)

They’re retired with an injury!

Pays to Dream, the long shot that came on to surprise in the Dixie and then ran a game third in the Manhattan was retired with a fracture. Ugh is all I can say to that, and of course, get well soon!

Here’s his eye popping run in the Dixie on the Preakness Card:

And his game effort in the Manhattan:

The long sandy stretch at Belmont (~ RAYMOND)

In honor of the continued Triple Crown traffic surge, I thought I would direct you to some actual content (as I take my customary Monday night Law & Order rerun pass on posting).

Filed under “kick ’em while their down” or “you’re probably glad someone else said it”, a compilation of interesting points and “I told you so”s, an excellent witty retort, a scatological international point of view and a pithy poke.

Filed under “who couldn’t look at photos for hours”, a rather big gallery of the day, GbG regulars Raymond, Charles, Jason, Bud and Sarah.

And closer to home, the most commented on post yet and did anyone get my Tale of ETAKI joke? I know, not so funny… I mean it wasn’t even really a joke.

And in other classy news, let the finger pointing begin!

Lava Man returns to form in the Charles Whittingham at Hollywood Park (qtfeather2000)

Looking beyond the triple crown for a moment, I was happy to see Lava Man’s performance in the Whittingham… he’s back!

I think the turf suits him and he responded well to his new jock, Tyler Baze as they set an aggressive pace and held on gamely as Artiste Royal and Monzante came on strong to win and place. Now THAT was a race!

Sorry about the quality, this was the only clip on YouTube. You can also watch it here at NTRA. I really like both Artiste Royal and Monzante and it looked to me like Monzante would have liked even more distance than the 1 1/4 mile Whittingham. Well done to all!

News has also surfaced that our old friend and member of the “almost but not quite Triple Crown club”, War Emblem is actually covering mares again!

You may remember that he had basically been refusing to cover mares for several years which fueled (silly) speculation that he might be gay or at least in my estimation bored.

When it became apparent that he has some talent as a sire there was a renewed interest in renewing his interest. Apparently at least part of the problem was that he’s just picky. I’m picky too, but then again it doesn’t impact how I perform my job!

His therapy program, which commenced in early spring, consists of a combination of changes in housing and management to naturally build maturity and breeding confidence, changes in breeding-shed handling techniques to maximize response, and carefully managed hormone supplementation as needed to boost libido to reduce his mare choosiness while his confidence builds.

Hmmmm, Spanish fly perhaps? Dr. Sue McDonnell, a specialist in stallion behavior and breeding management at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center summed it up perfectly…

I sure don’t know how horses think about these matters, but observations of his behavior indicate that War Emblem appears to be quite enthused about his new direction.

Well then, welcome back to both Lava Man and War Emblem!

There’s plenty of discussion going on about Kent D’s ride yesterday in the Belmont, primarily here but also here (mixed in with other discussion) and perhaps elsewhere too.

I’m vacillating between prudent and unsportsmanlike, but what you do you think?

Our last poll was one of the more uninspiring polls of late with only 19 voting! 6 of you thought that the Governments involvement in racing is the only thing that could make it worse, 5 of you thought it was about time and 4 of you didn’t expect much or thought it was the coming of the 4th horseman, so to speak.

As always, thanks!

Starters out of the gate for the Belmont Stakes (Bud Morton)

Everyone comes back ok!

And as usual, you can count on Barclay Tagg for a good quote, he said of Tale of Ekati who came away with a gash:

He was fine until he got stepped on. He has a gash. I don’t know how bad it is. I know he is walking sore on it. Anytime a 1,000-pound horse steps on your heel at 40 miles an hour, it’s not pretty. I don’t know how long the gash will take to heal. Each gash and each horse is different. It should heal in about a month, but you never know.

Big Brown is a no show for his date with destiny (Sarah K. Andrew)

What a day, nothing like last year… well, maybe a little something, but I’ll get to that.

Never in my life did I drink so little liquid on such a hot day. The well reported on bathroom situation started not too long after I arrived so thankfully I hadn’t totally tanked up on water yet.

One of the many bright spots was that my pals the Hennegan Brothers generously comped me a ticket to Garden Terrace for my work with them on their site for The First Saturday in May (buy the DVD!). The benefits of their generosity were that 1) it was great to meet and hang with their friends 2) I think it was the only area with air conditioning and 3) for the most part the bathrooms were working and the lines were NOTHING like downstairs.

That’s not to say that bathroom weren’t disgusting, they were, in more ways that one. At one point the toilets were so backed up that I was hard pressed to recall a more outhouse like experience in such a fancy context. Teresa has a great account of the day and my comment sums up my bathroom experience in the Garden Terrace (so I won’t repeat it here).

Another bright spot was getting to meet a lot of the TBA-ers in person! I hang with a couple of them regularly as we all live in the city and I had met Superfecta once before at last year’s BC but it was great to put faces to blogs and have at least an all too brief chance to chat with everyone. We should definitely plan some low-key non-event race days to hang out.

I had another abysmal day at the windows cashing no tickets. In fact the one race I called exactly was the only one I didn’t place any wagers on! I correctly called the Acorn as Zaftig, Indian Blessing and Game Face but since they all had really low odds I took a pass (although it kept me alive in the Pick 4 for one more race!). As Swifty and I recounted our respective days at the window I said “At least I called the order of the Acorn” and he replied “How many horses were in that field?” (note: he picked Game Face). I’ll take what I can get! In fact, seeing Zaftig power home was the most exciting part of the day for me.

As for the Big Brown one, the good news is that he’s ok AND he’ll stay in training. I’ve read plenty of interesting thoughts, conjectures and opinions this morning. There’s a lot of lively commenting going on over at The Rail that I found interesting and (so far) without unnecessary bashing. I found this comment in particular to be insightful on the potential combination of the post position, heat and steroid regiment cycle.

Other thoughts have surfaced around the ride itself. Was Desormeaux being lazy or taking the appropriate precautions? OR, deciding to ease him as opposed to have him come in 7th or so on his own?

I’ll take my fellow TBA-er’s word for it that Kent D has a history as more than one of them that I trust have expressed the opinion (and I’ll keep an eye out for myself in the meantime so I can form my own opinion). I go back and forth between feeling relieved that he probably did the right thing and that it was totally unsportsmanlike to throw in the towel if your horse throws a clunker.

We can never know and I can’t really fault him for being cautious, however the beginning of his ride reminded me of Gomez’s awful ride on Hard Spun in last year’s Belmont. Hard Spun was rank and Gomez fought him and kept him hard held through the race, not that I think Hard Spun would have won, but he certainly could have done a little better. (Note, watching last year’s Belmont made me feel a little better!).

As for the other entrants, I was as flabbergasted as anyone else about Da’Tara. I wouldn’t have been as surprised by Anak Nakal and I was really happy to see him and Ready’s Echo hit the board! They all looked tired as they lumbered down the stretch, the heat couldn’t have helped but Da’Tara really put them away!

As Swifty and discussed how we felt the race would unfold, we imagined Da’Tara would go right to the lead, BB would sit chilly not too far behind with Tale of ETAKI not too far behind. We thought about midway through the backstretch BB would come on and it would be over a la Secretariat, but not nearly as dramatic (please note, I AM not in any way comparing BB to Secretariat, just using the timing of how his run would unfold!).

As they neared the end of the backstretch Swifty said “they’re not doing what we thought” a couple of times as it was becoming clear that something was amiss. It was hard to tell what was going on coming into the stretch but the first time Swifty said that BB was being pulled up I thought he was joking, but then said it again. It was an incredibly nerve wracking several moments until we could see that he didn’t seem to be injured. As he cantered through the stretch there were several a-holes booing him. I yelled at the one closest to me to shut the F-up (and he did). People never cease to amaze me.

As Swifty and were making our last minute wager determinations, I was planning a super wheeling BB on top over Tale of ETAKI, Denis of Cork, Macho Again, Guadalcanal and I was going back and forth between Anak Nakal and Icabad Crane. Swifty decided to split the ticket with me and he settled on Icabad Crane.

You’ll notice the winning horse was nowhere in our mix, we both TOTALLY disregarded him. In fact, it seemed odd and a bit reckless to me that Zito entered him. As Teresa has pointed out about Zito, he likes to honor the history of the races by actually entering horses in them (now there’s a concept!), which is great and I totally applaud. But I inappropriately wrote Da’Tara off as a “there’s a classic race in New York and I’m entering it”. Well, let’s just say I’ve learned that lesson the hard way! Additionally, I think this a great time in my handicapping career to make the effort to learn more about breeding!

Fellow TBA-er and night owl semi-frequent poster Nellie has a great wrap-up with a lot of good points to ponder, most notably that what might be this year’s weak or at the very least inconsistent crop could turn out to be next year’s strong handicap division… let’s hope so! She also notes something that cheered me up too, that Mushka is back on the work tab!

On a final note, if I gave you my card yesterday (and you’re still reading) say hello, leave a comment! And please, PLEASE don’t judge my beloved Belmont on it’s backed up toilets and garbage mountains, come back when it’s a regular old Saturday… it’s one of the best places to spend an afternoon I can think of, and you won’t have to pee in the bushes, unless of course you want to!

Da’Tara and Alan Garcia reach a different conclusion in the Belmont (Sarah K. Andrew)

Congratulations to Da’Tara, Alan Garcia, Nick Zito and Robert LaPenta in one of the more stunning upsets as of late!

More later on the craziness that was the Belmont…