Visionaire winning the Gotham at Fogeduct (Sarah K. Andrew)

To pick your 3 supplemental draft horses for Road to the Roses!

I’m leaning towards Visionaire, Denis of Cork & Elysium Fields.

Hillside Turf course at Santa Anita (Charles Pravata)

News of the Pyro deal prompted some excellent posting by a couple of my esteemed colleagues. Jen at the Down The Stretch takes a look at racing to the breeding shed while Superfecta compares and contrasts the early retirement ages of race horses in different countries.

Kevin at The Aspiring Horseplayer is featuring a “best of the TBA” that includes a nice collection of posts. One of the posts I contributed was along the same lines as Jen & Superfecta’s.

You can count on Alan at Left at the Gate to have all the latest about the Spitzer “situation”. The comment thread on the current post is stellar, as always. Everyone I’ve encountered (at the deli and my laundromat) was laughing about what an idiot he is, but clearly there are racing implications too (not just poking fun at elected officials).

The Breeders’ Cup has just announced a new sponsor, Sentient, a private aviation company (not the hottest name, when did being sentient become a differentiator in the aviation space?).

Sentient will also provide Breeders’ Cup with a variety of customized private travel programs for its constituents.

Does this mean they’re going be making more enticing arrangements for overseas horses? I hope so!

In thinking about Indian Blessing potentially missing the Oaks I had a couple of thoughts…

1) was it me or did Gomez give her the same kind of ride he gave Hard Spun in the Belmont (i.e., not working with her natural speed) and 2) not a bad move really. Unlike the colts with the Derby she probably doesn’t “need” the Oaks as much to up her value (I feel gross even typing that) + it’s nice to see someone not feel like they “have to” run in an event if it doesn’t feel right for the horse.

Speaking of 3yo colts, I’m not ready to throw in the towel on Majestic Warrior and Tale of Ekati just yet, particularly Majestic Warrior. He had come to come 3-4 wide in both turns, I bet he improves off the effort. Also, J Be K wasn’t allowed to harness his early speed, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s got a longer distance as well.

I leave you with the very foggy Gotham, well done to race caller John Imbriale… “when last seen Saratoga Russell was leading…”

Nashoba’s Key in the Santa Margarita at Santa Anita (Charles Pravata)

Nashoba’s Key didn’t get a chance to throw down with the undefeated Zenyatta, but she looked pretty good putting away the field in the Santa Margarita!

Next time darling, next time.

This just in: Pyro to Darley (which is pretty much the same thing as saying “This just in: puppies and kittens are cute”).

From the press release:

Winchell Thoroughbred’s Pyro, impressive winner of yesterday’s Louisiana Derby (G2), and one of the favorites for this year’s Kentucky Derby, will stand at Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Darley in Lexington at the conclusion of his racing career.

However Bloodhorse frames it like this:

According to a press release from Darley America, Pyro will continue to be campaigned in Winchell’s colors through this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

We all know what “…at the conclusion of his racing career” means, but did Bloodhorse get a special press release? The official one from Darley didn’t state anything about a time frame. Again, not that I’m hopeful about anything past this year’s BC.

War Pass is already married off to Lane’s End. The issue of early retirement is gonna be the next one I try to get fans to get involved and organized around. I’ve actually had the domain lethorsesrace.org registered since around the time Hard Spun was snatched up. Stay tuned Ladies & Gentleman, stay tuned.

Update: Mike Curry at Thoroughbred Times fills in some detail:

After the Breeders’ Cup, Sheikh Mohammad will decide whether Pyro will remain in training or be retired to stud, said Jimmy Bell, president of Darley America.

If anyone can incur some risk it’s Sheikh Mo, no? Perhaps if we ask nicely?

Barry Irwin of Team Valor and Jan Rushton at Aqueduct discussing the Gotham (Sarah K. Andrew)

Congrats to Barry Irwin and all the connections of Visionaire for their win in the Gotham yesterday… and a special thanks to Mr. Irwin for signing the Take Back The Race petition!

I’m obsessed with the reading the comments that petition signers are leaving at Take Back The Race. They’re as diverse as the fan base. Some people focus on the name of the race, others don’t like a two day format while still others either want a Saturday/Sunday format OR a championship day and non-championship day. In my mind this is making the point about a Fan Committee.

As I’ve been making the rounds publishing the link to the petition I noticed at least one other point that we didn’t broach in the petition, but again, a Fan Committee would identify…. purse structure. If the new format is indeed “two separate but equal championship days” as stated by Peter Land, chief marketing officer for Breeders’ Cup, then why is the “Ladies’ Classic” purse not also increased to reflect that “equality”?

Here’s a sample of some the comments…

Most folks work Friday – no plans to wager or attend. Seen every BC race since the very first one, losing interest with the dilution of the categories, (“everybody gets a ribbon”), useless syn tracks, terrible sites like last year, etc. The Ladies Day angle seems rather gay. Racing suffers – marketers win…..in the short term.

I am not all that excited about watching a race that sounds as if it is named after a razor. As well, I am not able to take a Friday off work to devote to watching all my favorite filles and mares race. I guess I should only pay attention to the colts from now on.

This is not a good idea. The greatest thing about the BC was its diversity in racing. Without the females racing it changes everything.

This is a disgrace to the pagentry and tradition that makes up the Breeder’s Cup. Most years the Distaff is just a competitive and exciting as the Classic. Changing its name and pushing back ALL the filly and mare races to one day is just moronic. What a snub to all the great fillies, mares, and their owners and trainers.

These are only a few of the many excellent and diverse comments… won’t you go add yours?

A game Circular Quay training with Pleasant Strike at Belmont October 2006 (Sarah K. Andrew)

My apologies for all the typos in my rush job of a picks post… as usual I waited just a bit too long to before starting the post, not that unlike Evening Attire out of the gate!

While I didn’t have a stellar day (I’ve had worse), I did manage to cash 2 tickets, predict Daytona would show, Pyro would win and unexpectedly got to see a glimmer of hope for the handicap division!

As I feared, Euroears was the real deal… and an impressive real deal at that. I’m looking to forward to seeing him again, no doubt in graded company.

The New Orleans Handicap was both annoying and fantastic. During the parade I had noticed that Circular Quay looked great, really sharp and ready to go… Brass Hat on the other hand looked like he was ready for a nap. I literally laughed out loud but decided to keep with my plan (like an idiot), which was to box Silver Lord (who dumped his rider out of the gate) and Brass Hat… end annoying part.

With no Silver Lord it was Grasshopper and Magna Graduate setting the fractions. At one point Magna Graduate took over but a hard held Circular Quay was uncorked at the top of the stretch and the fantastic part of the race unfurled! What a stretch duel, going back and forth between them… Circular Quay is back on form!

It was fitting that his win came on the same day as the Louisiana Derby, the site of his last victory. As the guy beside me said, “now maybe Pletcher won’t be afraid to run him at two turns.” I should also mention that I had Reporting for Duty across the board, which didn’t even pay for the ticket since he showed (I didn’t really think that one through… back to annoying).

Moving on, I overlooked the winner of the Mervyn Muniz but had noted that he liked yielding turf and had won off taking a month off. I did have French Beret across the board, which significantly cut into my loses and as predicted Daytona set the fractions and then dropped. It looked like French Beret could have caught Proudinsky with a bit more distance.

For fun I boxed Acacia and Wisconsin Girl… what if Indian Blessing and Proud Spell had unseated their riders too? Go Proud Spell! I thought she would do it in the Silverbulletday but she did it today and she did it with authority.

As for the Louisiana Derby, I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that I would wagered differently had I thought J Be K would rate against soft fractions. I dismissed both My Pal Charlie and Yankee Bravo thinking that they needed a slower pace to perform well. At least I can take some solace in getting that right! Instead I put Pyro over Blackberry Road and Unbridled Vicar thinking they would benefit from a fast pace. Ugh. I also exacta boxed J Be K, Majestic Warrior and Tale of Ekati… basically my wildcard box.

Losing tickets aside, Pyro turned in a nice performance… I can’t wait to see him and War Pass duke it out! I’m willing to give Take of Ekati and Majestic Warrior another race, that wasn’t exactly the easiest spot for a debut.

Brass Hat winning the Mass Cap (Imfedore)

I was finally able to do some handicapping this morning and am off to “the office” to play the Fairgrounds card. Things over at Take Back The Race are progressing nicely, it’s really great to read all the comments. I’ll be posting some more banners here for folks to grab and display later this weekend… on to the picks!

Euroears looks tough and Noonmark looks promising but I’m going to go with Semephore Man. He’s held his own with both Bordonaro and Diabolical (who just crushed at Nad Al Sheba). His works are also fantastic! My questions about him are can he ship and can he rate? He’s definitely the horse for the distance and I’m gonna take my shot with him. King of the Roxy is a wild card to me here, he should do well at the distance and he’s won off a break so I may use him too.

Grasshopper looks tough to beat, but you know I’m gonna try… and I’m gonna try with Brass Hat! I think the pace will be on the slow side with Silver Lord leading the way and Brass Hat is the only one, aside from Grasshopper, who has done well off a slow pace. I would consider Magna Graduate but I think he needs a faster pace. Circular Quay is a bit of wild card but I’m hoping he takes some sentimental money (but I’m sure Brass Hat will too). Reporting for Duty has put in two nice efforts and could do well off a soft pace too.

I love a turf race when it’s soft! I liked Daytona last out and of course think he has a shot here but I really like Brilliant and Fracas. Both like it soft and both have gone up against some stiff competition. I love Brilliant’s odds and his last race Saratoga was on rock hard turf so I’m expecting him to really improve here + he’s improved off a break in the past. Fracas training pattern looks like he might run a big one + he’s placed to Dylan Thomas and likes it soft.

I’m taking a pass on the Fairground Oaks, it’s either gonna be Indian Blessing or Proud Spell, take your pick. If it’s one of the other two I’ll be supremely bummed that I didn’t have her.

Finally, a Derby prep with some pace! I’m not sure if what I’m gonna do here because Take of Ekati and Majestic Warrior are big wild cards. Both have been training well and will benefit from J Be K’s pace, as will Pyro. The pace should also help Unbridled Vicar and Blackberry Road so who knows! I think Pyro will win it but I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the aforementioned colts won. I’m not sure Stevil, My Pal Charlie or Yankee Bravo can handle what looks to be a fast pace.

Best of luck to all!

I love horse racing. On a practical level there are several things about it that keep me honest, and in that regard I like to think of “playing the ponies” as my practice.

Horse racing reminds us that it’s not over until it’s over, in the shadow of the wire when it looks like everything is all wrapped up, things can change drastically. This is something that I find very important to remember on a day to day basis in my “normal life”. Keeping this little lesson in mine gives me hope when I’m down and keeps me grounded when I’m up.

Additionally, I really, really like the practice of putting my money where my mouth is… it forces me to be deliberate and reminds me of the importance of thinking about my choices. Also, as the idiom suggests, it keeps me from just running off at the mouth, which is not something I’m prone to, however it does happen from time to time.

Take the recent Breeders’ Cup format changes, plenty of folks have had plenty to say about it, and rightfully so. Instead of just running off at the mouth, a few of us have decided to put our money where our mouth is and petition the Breeders’ Cup to change the name of the Ladies’ Classic, create a formal feedback mechanism (fan committee) and explore alternate scheduling options. We’re prepared to not wager, watch or attend the Friday card unless our demands are met.

Interestingly I noticed an article entitled A New Way Forward yesterday at NTRA by Alex Waldrop, it’s President and CEO. It discusses some changes that are afoot at NTRA including continuing the Tour, that was created out of gathering feedback from fans, creating a Horseplayer’s coalition to assist in lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill to address tax burdens and “engage our most enthusiastic players on a massive scale and foster the collaboration so necessary for real change”.

Ultimately, almost all of racing’s competitive challenges can be traced to one indisputable fact: The fundamental economic engine driving virtually all sectors of the horse racing industry – racino subsidies aside – is pari-mutuel wagering. So, to accomplish positive change within the horse racing industry, it stands to reason that we must engage and connect with those who wager – namely, horseplayers.

Indeed, this is something fans have been saying for awhile and it’s very hopeful to see it acknowledged by the NTRA. The list of things that fans would like to see addressed is long but rarely aligns so well with an opportunity to make an organized point by withholding that “driving engine” in an impactful way.

However, today it IS aligned and it looks as though a spot on the rail has opened up for us to put our money where our mouth is and ask for one of the changes we all have been discussing. Things look hopeful, but just remember, it’s not over until it’s over.

So, my question to you dear readers… are you willing to put your money where your mouth is? If so (and I know you are, you’ve been training so well!), get yourself over to that petition and Take back the Race!

Majestic Warrior schooling in the paddock at Saratoga (Jessie Holmes)

I may have to sneak over the office this weekend to play the extremely enticing Saturday Fairgrounds card. In addition to a full card, this weekend is also Pool 2 in the Futures wagers.

The Louisana Derby is the debut for several very promising 3 year olds…

There’s Majestic Warrior (pictured above – Hopeful):

Tale of Ekati (Futurity Stakes):

The field also includes undefeated west coast shipper Yankee Bravo, undefeated Zayat Stables J Be K, and a host of youngins that could be teetering on a breakout race such as Unbridled Vicar (my fav second stringer), Blackberry Road, local My Pal Charlie and the extremely fully loaded combo of LaPenta/Zito’s Stevil.

There’s someone else though… who is it? Hmmm, I know there was someone else.

Ah yes, Pyro:

It looks like there might actually be some pace in this race with J Be K, although his prior two were sprints so we’ll see. Is it just me or is War Pass the only confirmed speed horse of the whole lot?

At any rate, looks like a fun weekend… I better get back to work if I have a hope in hell of handicapping later in the week!

Patrick had the pleasure of watching the Battaglia as it happened but the replay is up now up KentuckyDerby.com so get thyself over there to watch it!

That was a seriously impressive move. It’s not YouTube yet, but her performance in the Caressingh at Churchill as a 2yo on the turf was startlingly similar (official race replay from Churchill, no embedding).

On another note, yesterday was a day for longshots. Besides Absolute Cindy ($41.60) there was Malibu Moonshine ($31.40) in the Stymie, Ever a Friend ($20.60) in the Kilroe Mile and Heatseeker ($16) in the Big Cap. While my hunch bet of Great Hunter didn’t work out, I did manage to cash my first ticket of the year with Malibu Moonshine!

I just happen to turn on the OTB channel about 15 minutes before the Stymie. I was eating lunch and watch the parade and the both Malibu Moonshine and Temporary Saint looked great in the paddock and parade (wish I had boxed them!). I like to practice my visual handicapping when I’m not able to handicap proper and this just happen to be one of those times when I synched-up doing well with actually placing a bet. Needless to say, I was jumping up down like a crazy person in front of my TV.

On another note, I love the way Evening Attire looks when he runs. He looks a bit like a cartoon character with neck stuck so far out and kind of low. It’s very endearing.