Borel strikes a pose on the gallop out at Churchill (Kincsem15)

Word is out that Calvin Borel will join David Letterman on the Late Show during Belmont week.

One can only hope that Letterman, who enjoys horseback riding, would be willing to ride with Calvin the way he rode with Madonna in 2005!

The fun starts at 3:37:

Think of the fun the two could have galloping down 53rd street. I doubt Calvin would be phased by Letterman’s race riding technique and could definitely teach him a thing or two. Personally I think there’s potential for comedic genius afoot. Fingers crossed!

Pyro returns to training for his 4yo campaign (Banamine)

While we wait around for some decent racing this weekend and the Belmont jockey announcements a few things caught my eye.

My beloved Pyro is back on the work tab! I had heard that he’s been galloping at Keeneland for awhile but nothing official until now. As if the news of the Belmont Special service being restored wasn’t enough, Pyro will be based in New York with Rick Mettee! Perhaps we’ll get a chance to see him at Belmont before the end of spring-summer meet.

This week’s HANA pool party takes place this Saturday at Canterbury Park, race 8. If you’re not familiar with Canterbury Park, check out Ted’s excellent recap of opening day!

I’m not sure about you but I’ve been enjoying Equidaily’s hilarious new editorial graphic trend… well done!

Are the now seemingly repetitive tote failures the side effect of Mercury Retrograde? We should probably be so lucky as Mercury Retrograde ends on June 14th.

Kennedy has a nice look at some of the current 3yo sprinters who are overshadowed by the Triple Crown while Ghostnapper has an interesting take on how team Zenyatta really needs to step it up.

And finally, buried at the bottom of a DRF post about something else, it looks Channing Hill is heading back east to Monmouth for the summer:

Two jockeys who found California a tough circuit to crack have left for greener pastures. Channing Hill won just two races from 53 mounts in Southern California and has left for Monmouth; Jesus Rios won 13 races from 163 mounts and left for Calder.

Be sure to say hi to Channing while you attend the ReRun 3rd annual Day at the Races Fundraiser at Monmouth on June 13th!

Chantal Sutherland and Mine That Bird in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (Hen Bros)

Mike Smith is going to honor his commitment to the Shirreffs and the Mosses (cough *Zenyatta* cough) and stick with Madeo in the Whittingham at Hollywood Park on Belmont weekend. This could leave Mine That Bird without a mount (again!) if Rachel Alexandra is entered.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d like to see Chantal Sutherland reunited with Mine That Bird! If you were buying “Blinkers Off’s” Animal Planet conspiracy theory, you’ve gotta think that there’s at least 7-2 shot at a reunion if Rachel Alexandra. Stranger things have happened!

And speaking of Zenyatta, who makes her debut in the Milady this coming weekend, now that Rachel Alexandra has beaten the colts and a gelding in a classic race, she’s probably gonna have to beat BOTH Rachel Alexandra and some males (BC Classic, no?) if she wants HOY this year. Jerry Moss, do you read GbG? I hope so!

Rachel Alexandra and Calvin Borel winning the Preakness (wendyu)

Congrats to Rachel Alexandra and her connections and a particularly big THANK YOU to Jess Jackson.

Congrats to Mine That Bird and his connections as well, nice to see them prove that his Derby win was not a fluke… poor stallions.

(partymanners)

Steve Crist sums it up nicely:

Good for her and good for him. Rachel Alexandra and Mine That Bird made the unprecedented Preakness showdown between an Oaks and Derby winner live up to and exceed all expectations with a pair of excellent performances and a clean, straightforward horse race.

I’m usually cranky about so-called feelgood stories, but it’s hard not to feel good about this one. Rachel Alexandra is obviously something special, and she got the historic job done over a likeable gelding who vindicated his shocking Derby victory with another strong effort.

And celebrating abounds all over the twitterverse… there was even a rainbow in Baltimore!

If I may quote myself on the outcome…

I had the tri and the teeny tiny P4 but that pales in comparison to how exciting that race was and how FABULOUS the outcome was

Ok, I think I hear my alarm clock…

Rachel Alexandra getting her Preakness day morning bath (wendyu)

I still haven’t had a chance to handicap and it’s the big already! It hardly seems to matter since the Preakness is one of the most competitive and exiciting races that comes to mind in the recent past.

No doubt I won’t be able to keep from throwing some money around but I have half a mind to just back and enjoy the show!

Good luck to everyone today and let’s get everyone home safe!

Update: I’ve hit two back to back long shots (both 13-1) in the parade in the 3rd & 4th and am seriously thinking that today is gonna be a parade play kinda day.

Rachel Alexandra & Scott Blasi tooling around the grounds (wendyu)

Yours truly has been too busy to join in on the speculation and fun of the impending events. I’m hoping to spend tomorrow night obsessing handicapping, in the meantime go check out Wendy’s photos from Pimlico.

She took some great stuff last year and lucky for us she’s back in action! I’m sure she’ll keep those photos coming too, so check back often!

It was hard to find a good pool pic for Iowa (What Makes The Pie Shops Tick?)

Tonight’s Pool Party is the 6th at Prairie Meadow, a wide open 1 mile claiming race for fillies and mares 3 & up.

It’s so wide open in fact that I’m gonna wait until I see the parade to make my picks, although I’m leaning towards #4 Mercy Came Arunnin and #5 Fuhr the Stars.

Regardless of how the race turns out, I sincerely hope QQ has a fabulous first date!

Tale of Ekati discussing his retirement with Funny Cide (Capitol149)

I thought I might take a moment amidst all the excitement and speculation about the Preakness field to thank Tale of Ekati. I had a suspicion that he might be retired after the Carter.

Tale of Ekati was one of those oddly inconsistent horses that had many stumped and no doubt burned a lot of money. Just when everyone (except me) had written him off, he won the Wood. Just when even everyone (except me) thought he couldn’t be competitive cutting back, he won the Jerome. I cashed very nicely both times both and for that, I thank him!

His retirement got a tiny little mention during what has been a crazy news week, so I wanted to make sure he didn’t go unnoticed. He was as versatile as he was inconsistent, and I for one (or is that won?), will miss him. Have a great retirement!

2008 Wood Memorial:

The best 3yo in training will now get a chance to prove it (Sarah K. Andrew)

Next stop, buying a lottery ticket!

Next stop, Baltimore! (brykmantra)

Now that Mine That Bird is officially in the Preakness, what do you think his chances are? No chance? Depends on the weather? He’s better than we’re giving him credit for? Gulp… Triple Crown potential??

Imagine THAT outcome for a moment… and we thought Saturday was wild. In fact, if he won the Triple Crown I think we’d be sitting on the feel good story that could seriously turn racing around from a popularity stand point (ahem).

A dear friend referred to the outcome of the Derby as:

A shining moment for undistinguished individuals everywhere.

Indeed!

There are those who are nitpicking though. Blah, blah, blah shady owners who probably made the purchase with illegally obtained proceeds. Did we love Curlin any less?

Additionally, grousing about Chip Woolley, the trainer, not giving good media abounds. I’m not going to begrudge the guy a little surliness directed at the inanity of asking him some stupid, pointless questions on what had to be the most shocking moment of his life. I love that he’s not some insincere slickster with the ready made “feel good” response that the media craves. Let him have his moment, I’m sure his head was about to explode… after all, he did drive 21 hours to get there!

I’m also not ready to concede that this year’s crop of 3yo colts are sub-par. For all of those folks making fun of Friesan Fire, I look forward to taking your money sometime in the near future. In fact, that holds true for any number of previously well regarded starters who, for whatever reason, had an off day.

Dunkirk? Stumbled, twice. Hello 8-1 next out! Regal Ransom, did exactly what I expected, here’s to 10-1 in a more suitable spot. Desert Party? I still think he’s a better horse than he showed, let’s go 20-1!! And here’s hoping Quality Road, I Want Revenge, Friesan Fire, Dunkirk, Pioneerof the Nile, Musket Man, Papa Clem and Chocolate Candy have a rematch in the Travers.

With 3 weeks out I asked if you had a Derby horse yet. At the time the field wasn’t clear so I didn’t include everyone by name. Naturally 47 of you said that you liked a horse that I didn’t mention by name (I really should have listed more of them, next year!). 35 of you said Friesan Fire was your horse, 32 of you liked I Want Revenge, 23 of you (myself included) said that you hadn’t made your selection yet, 21 of you liked PotN, 14 of you liked Quality Road and 4 of you liked Papa Clem. As always, thanks!