Just want to give a shout out to Johnny V, who took a bad spill at Keeneland today. Our thoughts are with you and your family… get well soon!

That’s what the roulette dealer (spinner?) said as I quickly spun my way through my initial $40. Meanwhile Jessica, the Roulette prodigy, easily (and giddily) doubled the same amount. I’ve never been to Vegas and can’t say that I’ve been all that interested in casinos, so I was surprised to find out how lackluster the odds were at the tables.

After a long day of presenting, mingling, discussing and trying to process all that was going on, Roulette provided the perfect mix of slightly engaged yet brain dead action with a hint of better odds and no counting.

I’ve managed to avoid conferences for my entire career. I’m bad at networking, worse at small talk and even more worse at public speaking. What was I thinking? I suppose, among other things, I was wondering what the heck goes on at a conference geared towards marketing horse racing and what the heck are racing executives like. Were they the hapless, greedy, uncaring, non-email answering lot we’ve made them out to be?

I was pleasantly surprised to find that all the people I spoke to were not only open to what we had to say, they really REALLY wanted to hear it… AND talk about it. It was a profoundly good vibe, something I never expected from any conference let alone a conference on racing.

In fact, after the presentation, aside from all the congratulations (no doubt for setting a world record for “um” usage), more than one person noted that it was a “tough room”. While I didn’t pick up on that, it did seem to me like there were folks who already got what we were saying and others who didn’t but were interested to know more. Perhaps the tough part of the crowd skipped our presentation.

Overall the biggest highlight for me was when Mike Maloney, whale extraordinaire and ardent proponent of wagering integrity, came over to Jessica and I to not only say that he reads both of our blogs (probably just Jessica’s) but to thank us for Self Appointed Fan Committee! I wish I could remember exactly what he said but it was along the lines of “it’s necessary” and “great work”. Totally mind blowing!

In a photo for biggest highlight was breakfast on the second the day with my new bestest pal Alex Waldrop, Mike Maloney, Mel Moser, Jessica, Patrick and non-blogger panel member Troy Racki (founder of the excellent NTRA Ambassador Program).

We sat outdoors on the terrace overlooking the mountains and discussing such topics as “are there different types of blogs” (yes), “turf writers vs. bloggers” (some blogs are more akin to reportage and others aren’t), “the stigma of gambling in the US” (Alex has a loose theory that the puritans are to blame… hint: Australians love gambling), “marketing the “gaming” aspect of racing” (Patrick = no, Mel Moser & me = yes) and probably a lot more I’m not remembering.

The topic of Larry Jones came up (prior to his retirement announcement) and Mike Maloney had a story to tell. At one point he was considering putting horses in training with Jones so he went to barn to get a first hand look at the operation. He was struck by the fact that every horse came up to the front of the stall to say hello as he walked by, unlike other barns where there would always be a number of horses cowering in the back of the stall with pinned ears. The horses at Jones’ barn were happy and well cared for. While not a surprise, nothing like a first person account to validate what you already believe to be true.

Throughout the conference I had a number of occasions to chat one on one with Alex. I found him to be very direct, easy to talk to and generally sincere if not totally down to earth. I don’t envy his job (which I think I mentioned to him several times). Any CEO’s job is to go around selling the vision but in most cases the CEO has the ability to make people get with the vision. Obviously this isn’t the case with the NTRA. As he put it (and I’m paraphrasing), “people think of the NTRA as a trade organization, but that would imply that everyone is of the same trade”. He slightly chuckled at the end of the sentence, sans snorting.

The thing that I liked about both Alex and Keith Chamblin is that they’re not bullshitty. They’re not acting like there aren’t problems, there not acting like they know how best to solve everything and most of all they really do want input (cough, SAFC, cough).

The night before the conference officially kicked off, we were invited to dinner by Keith and John Della Volpe of Social Sphere (the mastermind of the whole task force and man you should thank for pointing out to the NTRA that “your core fans are pissed”).

Dinner was festive and Keith & John were great hosts, although it’s not like it was hard to get the gang to hold forth on any number of topics… how often do you get the ear of the NTRA?

I was a bit reserved (and tired) but Keith yelled across the table “Are you gonna talk about Self Appointed Fan Committee tomorrow?”. As Patrick already alluded, he ran a pretty tight ship on what was included in our recommendation, so fairly early on the group settled on keeping the recommendations focused on creating new fans as opposed to addressing issues that effect existing fans. Since SAFC is specifically for existing fans (I hope new fans aren’t complaining yet!) it didn’t even dawn on me to include it in the presentation (more on the task force and recommendations later!).

Not to disappoint our host, I gladly agreed to talk about SAFC (even though when it came down to it, I stammered and “um”-ed my way though). “We love Self Appointed Fan Committee” he said. “How often do you get to talk to these people, go for it” was his advice. Not only was this exactly the kind of encouragement one would hope for in this situation, it was the correct approach and spirit for reaching out to your loyal fan base and, in part, why I believe them when they say they’re listening.

Alex gave the keynote address at lunch the day of our presentation. He’s a good speaker. At one point he half joked that racing is like a rorschach test, when you look at it do you see a butterfly or a bomb exploding? He said latter that that part was not in his notes and probably a little flip, but I have to say I think there’s some truth in that analogy.

Do you think they’re listening and will to try to make changes or do you think it’s hopeless and anything is too little, too late? Winston is right, we as the really pissed fans have to remain vigilant and part of that vigilance is letting them know what we think. After all, they do after all love SAFC!

The morning of the presentation I had forgotten my badge and had to go back up to my room. On the way back I rode in the elevator with a normal looking guy, probably 30s, khaki shorts, golf shirt, ball cap and freshly opened beer. It was 7:45 am. It was the perfect example of the kind of stuff that stays in Vegas. My suspicion is that the stuff that happened at the conference has left Vegas and will be seen again in the near future.

Wanderin’ Boy is a GbG fav and the equivalent of a big foot sighting in racing as a 7yo HORSE. I always wondered about that and now feel enlightened thanks to an excellent post by Steve Haskin over at his Bloodhorse blog.

It’s always refreshing to see big fancy deep pocket owners keep their horses in training, particularly when fate provided so many opportunities for retirement! Wanderin’ Boy really made big bad Curlin work for his win in the JCGC. Go on with your bad Wanderin’ self (and stay sound and healthy while you’re doin’ it)!

Also from the “right on” department, Crist has a fantastic column this week about the BC gender division tom foolery entitled “If you must fix what ain’t broken…”

Proponents of a Filly Friday and a Studly Saturday are difficult to locate outside the Breeders’ Cup offices, and most fans and pundits seem to hate the idea. The most frequent criticisms are that it is inherently sexist (and renaming the Distaff the Ladies’ Classic sure didn’t help) and that it marginalizes half of the racehorse population by relegating it to second-class status and a much smaller television audience. Shouldn’t racing be showcasing the likes of Lady’s Secret, Personal Ensign, and Azeri on its biggest day rather than on a Friday afternoon?

He goes on to propose some viable, and less alienating ways to divvy up the races over two days. Hear, hear.

People come to my site in search of Chantal Sutherland all the time. In fact, she’s my most frequent search criteria (ok, currently tied with ‘green but game’, but that’s a recent development). Usually, they’re looking for photos but today’s inquiry was a first.

My mid afternoon malaise of error message writing (don’t ask) was pleasantly interrupted by an email from an employee of Guru Energy drinks. It seems as though Chantal Sutherland has become a fan of Guru and they’re trying to get a case of it to her, but not having much luck. Something about a wrong apartment number.

The best advice I could give was to contact Woodbine. But after looking at their site, I have some more advice… do an ad campaign featuring lady jocks!

Aside from Chantal, there’s Shannon Uske and Dierdre Panas at Monmouth, Maria Charles at Philadelphia Park and Jacqueline Davis at Belmont to name a few. And these are just the ones I could easily track down pictures of/think of off the top of my head.

Give it some thought Guru, nothing says organic and natural energy drink like lady jockeys!

Don’t get me wrong, I love Curlin… I schlepped my exhausted self out to Belmont specifically to see him on Saturday and he did not disappoint. One of the many things I love about him is that he always shows up, a real pro.

I thought all of the stakes races at Belmont were great. I really liked Cocoa Beach but had her with Lemon Drop Mom instead of the gamely Ginger Punch. I discounted Dynaforce in favor of Communique over Mauralakana. Fab Strike was still impressive fighting back against Black Seventeen (E – I wish you were right!)… and I think Kodiak Kowboy (my choice with Fab Strike & First Defence) might have gotten there at 7F.

Last but not least was the performance that impressed me the most at Belmont, Grand Couturier in the Joe Hirsch… wow! And all this time I thought he was a yielding play against (which is why Shamdinan was my long shot in last year’s BC turf, and not Grand Couturier).

Curlin was the chestnut cherry on the excellent racing day cake. Swifty and I double high-fived as he crossed the line and let out a simultaneous and emphatic “YES!”… along with the rest of the smallish celebratory crowd.

But let’s not overlook the 50 ft woman, as Ernie likes to call her or Stardom Bound… her 2yo protege in the “Little Ladies”* Division who’s sometimes called Zenyatta Jr around the barn. These two put on one hell of a show and should not be overshadowed by Curlin’s transformation into racings 10 Million Dollar Man.

Zenyatta staying perfect while making the impressive Hysterical Lady look like an allowance level entrant trying to jump in class:

Stardom Bound, going 8 wide to show those other Little Ladies a thing or two:

Get your check books out, Stardom Bound will be part of a liquidation sale come November, but she’ll come with a reserve. I don’t suppose Fasig-Tipton accepts esnipe?

*Editor’s note: I’m going to call the Juvenile Fillies the Little Ladies as long the Ladies Classic name stands.

Additional editor’s note: while I know this post is not at all timely, I’m trying to get back in the habit of posting and this was a heck of a lot easier to start off with than trying to do the Marketing Summit and Task Force justice. Not to worry, I haven’t forgotten!

Fan favorite Evening Attire at Aqueduct (Sarah K. Andrew)

No doubt the blogosphere and racing sites in general will be regaling Evening Attire with well deserved retirement send offs in the next couple of days.

Until then, just wanted to say a simple “thank you” to Evening Attire and his connections.

His last out, a win on the road in the Greenwood Cup at Philadelphia Park:

The announcer couldn’t have said it better, “Evening Attire, amazing!”

(psd)

You may have noticed it’s been a virtual love fest across the internet and blogosphere today what with all the thanking and congratulating going around. While it’s gonna take me a few days to do some proper posting full of insight, observation and wit (ok, maybe just posting) I wanted to post a little something so you don’t think I’m still stuck in the casino wearing the same thing I had on Monday (but I could be posting this from my phone, couldn’t I?).

Seriously, it was a really great trip! Everyone was incredibly nice, genuine and excited about what we had to say and the summit in general. I met so many great, dedicated and engaged folks, to say it was eye opening would be an understatement. There were too many great moments to note here and now, particularly when I have laundry, unpacking, bill paying and, in general, “normal” stuff that I’ve been ignoring for at least the past 2 weeks.

So, until I get around to some real posting about “what happened in Vegas”, many thanks for all the well wishing and congratulations! Plus a big BIG shout out to all the task force members for what only can be described as a marathon of intense discussion frequently veering into intense debate and often ending up as intense arguing… all in the name of improving racing, something we all obviously love.

I don’t think there was any topic we didn’t discuss and I’d be hard pressed to think of a topic we all agreed on! But, we’d be fools to think that wasn’t by design. Guess this would be a good time to thank Social Sphere as the masterminds of the whole operation! And, last but not least, many thanks to the NTRA for having the fortitude to invite us! They had to be at least a little nervous, no?

More to come!

(mlsnp)

Super early tomorrow morning yours truly will be on her way to Vegas for the NTRA marketing summit. I have the good fortune to be flying out with Jessica on Jet Blue where, in addition to being in good company, I can indulge in all sorts of non-low rent snack foods, watch TV, have more leg room and possibly be seated near someone with an emotional support animal!

As you may have guessed, both Jessica and I will be discussing matters related to the internet. We’ll also be giving a few little demos to keep things lively and hopefully more insightful than just explaining twitter or widgets.

Speaking of twitter, you may have noticed the tacky new widget prominently featured over there on the upper right. I plan on “live twittering” (is that a phrase?) the trip. Mind you, it will more than likely just a be series of my failings in the sports book + what snack foods I’ve indulged in (I’m kicking off the trip with a blueberry cake donut from Dunkin Donuts in the Jet Blue terminal!) but who knows, I might be able to impart some insights from the conference or some juicy tidbits (but don’t count on it).

You can also follow along here, grab the RSS or sign up for a twitter account and “following me”.

As I settled down in front of the idiot box last night good fortune smiled on me again. One of my fav movies, Casino, was on. I couldn’t think of a better way to get in the mood for this trip as I’m sure my trip will totally parallel the film.. minus the violence, large amounts of money, more violence and stealing. I guess that just leaves gambling and wearing giant glasses… both of which I’ll definitely be doing.

(rustyrabbit)

The entries are in and it’s time for you to choose your favorite. That’s right, our little DIY Marketing Presentation contest has been loaded in the gate and is ready for the start. Now it’s up to you to go vote!

Mind you, we’ll send them all the NTRA but we want you to choose your favorite. Feel free to leave thoughts on them here (since we haven’t gotten around to getting SAFC on a content management platform yet).

Many MANY thanks to all of those who put together presentations… they’re all great!

Tough Tiz’s Sis at Belmont prior to her career ending work out (EASY GOER)

All I have to say is UGH.

According to trainer Bob Baffert, Tough Tiz’s Sis took an awkward step at the end of the workout. Baffert said an exam revealed the “beginning of a condylar fracture” in her right front. “It makes you sick to your stomach; she was peaking at the right time.”

More info here…