Slacker, yes.

This post is brought to you by Patrick.

Yes, tis’ true; this blog has been left unattended for what seems to be (thanks to Patrick) 10 days.

No, it doesn’t mean I’ve been wallowing over the events that took place at Pimlico nearly two weeks ago. In fact, I have been doing a lot, and all I needed was a swift kick in the arse.

Hey, that’s what Friends are for.

Don’t ask me how, but incredibly and surprisingly, I managed to make a stop this past holiday Weekend at Grants Pass Downs for the first stop on the summer fairgrounds tour.

GPD was very cool and unique. A tiny track that actually houses a high school football field in the infield. I was able to witness a few races – the highlight being a 1 1/16 race that went FOUR turns!! The folks I was with – non horse fans- were delighted to be so close to the horses and the excitement. As as I. Where else do they sell 50/50 raffles (benefitting the local high school marching band I tink) at the racetrack? For those of you keeping track at home, it was a quinellas only affair (with Tri's also offered).

I guess now I HAVE to go visit Tillamook in a few weeks when the fair circuit moves to the coastal, cheese famous town.

So, after being swamped with work, I was able to see the horses in a new, unique environ, check out some Redwoods, hang out with locals in Crescent City, Calif, spend time enjoying the New England feel of Ashland, Ore., and witness the sheer beauty of Crater Lake.

1,100 miles later I was back in reality. Getting my b*&#s busted for having the same post up for 10 days.

I guess life is not so bad.

Here are some photos:



Race 1 - Sunday May 28th, 2006


Road trip crew (me taking the photo)

'Tis a tough day....

Where do you even start talking about yesterday’s tragic, eventful day of horse racing?

It is times like these that truly challenge a neophyte’s writing skills. All of the emotion. Huge quantities of action –both on and off the track. Is it insensitive to focus on the race and betting rather than the tragedy and transcending pain?

One interesting note I came across was over at LATG, where a reader commented about Barbarino’s early exit from the gate – a false start if you will:

“Do you think it possible that Barbaro knew he was hurt, and busted out of the gate to spare himself from running the race? It seems like odd behavior, for a horse who seemed to genuinely love a good race...”

Very interesting. I brought this idea up to the girlfriend who grew up on a horse farm and demanded that I stop the TiVo so we could watch the race together. She loves to tell me over and over how stupid the t-breds are and how high strung and difficult they are/can be. When I posed this eerie theory (is that allegory or alliteration?) she poo-pooed it rather succinctly:

“It’s not likely that there was any THOUGHT put into breaking through the gate early to TRY and get scratched. There is no logic going on with the horse linking breaking through the gate early and not having to race. However, there is a good chance that he WAS feeling something awry within. This subconscious physiological action that was making him feel completely out of whack – a sense of not being right - dictated the action that pushed him forward prematurely.”

I buy it.

But in the end, who really cares. It was a sickening event and continues to try the soul.

A sadder fact though, is that a lot of people are pretending to actually care about the horse, when we all know deep down, for those vested, this is strictly “monetary based sympathy.”

However, for once I will forgo the cynicism and pessimism and offer the following:

Larger than winning a triple crown, could this horse EVER get well enough to race again and WIN? That would be the biggest story, the greatest pr push this sport could ever have. It’s not likely, but it would be nice.

Finally, did we need any more evidence of exactly who and what Fran Stronach actually is? Thanks for ending all of the doubt about your character, sir.

Sweetnorthernsaintbernadini

Oy. Somehow I have the feeling that Bernadini will be the Preakness' version of SNS from two weeks ago.

With everyone scrambling for value, it looks like Bernadini is the fashionable pick.

The big question in my mind is what will the final odds look like? Will Brother Derek drift upwards from his expected 2-1ish price? What will the late-money-taking SNS finish up at? Will Vinny Barbarino go off at less than Even Money?

It almost sounds like the last scene of the old Batman TV show....."tune in next time (The Preakness) to find out if Modest Michael Matz can overcome the media squeeze.....Can our Italian Named favorite break the Even money barrier....is Like Now, like fast enough? Tune in this Saturday as Terrible Tom Hammond (terrible as in terrible makeup/facelift) guides us along the slippery slope of the middle leg of the Triple Crown (brought to you by YUM! brands.com)"

Now back to reality.

In a perfect world I would like to see Bernadini somewhere around or above 8-1 and Brother Derek no worse than 5/2 just to have some real action. I don't think either of those is a reality, though.

Do I think Vinny Barbarino is going to lose? No. Did I bet him? No. Did I even include him in my three-horse exacta box? You guessed it. Negative.

I like 1. Brother Derek 2. Bernadini 3.Diabolical in a three-horse exacta box and a cheap tri-box.

What fun is it to use Vinny B. in the mix here unless I was working with straight tris or supers?

My prediction is that Barbarino wins by about 2 1/4 and a nice fat priced horse comes out on top in the Belmont June 10th.

We back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I'm in!!!!

July 30th, 2006

....and spots are going fast. Who's with me?

Who will win the Preakness?

-Welcome Back Kotter is etched in my memory like so many of the 70's and 80's sit-coms that permeated my brain for so many childhood hours. Who knew the glory that was Mr. Kah-TARE, Arnold Horshak, Epstien and of course Vinny Barbarino only lasted three seasons. If you read the imdb link in the previous post you might have noticed this tidbit:

"The writing was great. The timing was awesome. The theme song by John Sebastian is breathtaking. The show was purely magical in its first few seasons.

There were problems, as life deals us sometimes.

Gabe Kaplan's lack of involvement in the show's fourth and final season was just one of the many problems which doomed the show. The writing in that final season was sloppy, unrealistic, unfunny, and was so amateurish. Another major problem with that show in the fourth season was that the actors who played the Sweathogs. The problem with actors playing teenagers is that they were older than teenagers when they began portraying those characters. To prepare to portray teens, they had to learn how to be teenagers again. It worked in the early days.

However, by the time the fourth season had arrived, the actors had matured and developed as adults where they were getting too old to portray teenagers anymore. They also did not look like teenagers, either. Let's not forget John Travolta and his blossoming as a movie star. These factors led to the demise of the series.

The series was about a concept so fresh, people in this modern era can relate to it even more now than they could back in the 70's."

I thought John from Southfield, MI summed that up nicely.

-As far as beverages go for Saturday, I obviously got this from our dear friend Quinella Queen a week ago, but it is certainly worth passing around as many times as possible. As far as drink comparisons, the Black-Eyed Susan sounds much better than any mint-julep I've ever had. Here is the actual recipe, but feel free to revisit QQ's post from May 10th for full, original effect.

-Is it possible to predict this far in advance?

from everything I am hearing and feeling around the paddock it seems that Barbaro is as close to a sure thing as any 3-5 shot 3 yr. old is.

my emotions are mixed. on one hand, it would be cool if there was FINALLY a triple crown winner. However, at the same time, my visions cannot help put the past few years behind me. It seems so anti-climactic at this point.

For the past few years we have "this is the next great horse" + "is this the next triple crown winner?"

I think my senses are dulled. I want Barbaro to lose to either Sweetnorthernsaint or Brother Derek. Two quality horses that if they should upset Matz' current star, can certainly be appreciated. I think that would set up a great Belmont where a lot of quality horses would be entered thinking they had a shot and would see a nice full, competitive Belmont field. Not unlike the Derby field.

In case you're not getting it...

That is Vinny Barbarino to your right.

More substantive posts to follow. I promise.

Although, if Saturday's field stays at six, I will be pissed.

Fantabulous...

Go out immediately and purchase this:

Fantabalino

How dope is this...

As I was brutally hung over waiting for my connection flight in Dallas on Sunday, I picked up a stray sports section from the Star-Telegram (Dallas/Ft.Worth).

First of all, what a GREAT overall sports section they have. This thing just towers over and stomps on my Oregonian.

However, one thing stood out at me (the dope comment) and here is the link.

"You want fries with your bet?"

Have you ever heard of drive through betting windows? What a fantastic idea!! I know my peeps in the greater NYC area would love this idea. To me, this is one of those quirky marketing ideas that makes me believe horseracing CAN have a bright future with just a little creativity.

Long time no winnings...

“It's hard to read about people struggling when they have no desire to actually improve their current conditions and live more in the moment. A lot of people who blog are lost souls hoping to connect with other lost souls. Sometimes they get lucky. But even the lucky ones are lonely at the core.”

I was going to begin my first post since ‘nam with something else, but I came across this quote pulled from Pauly’s blog. Interesting how that guy messes with my mind constantly. Pulls me quickly from joy to sorrow, then hurriedly back to pain and frustration and finally a little relief. Good writer that guy is.

I never did make it to a computer to post my Derby picks. That isn’t to say I haven’t checked out everyone else’s picks. The Derby was super fun to watch and be a part of from the fans perspective. I didn’t and wouldn’t have had Barbaro, I liked Point D. So much for that.

From Thursday through Sunday I was down in New Orleans for JazzFest and was unable to pull myself out of bed Saturday until 6pm. Between the Derby and my extremely limited sleep time, I decided to forgo a second day at the Fairgrounds in order to immerse myself in my passion – horses.

New Orleans is fucked up. Sorry to say. It is a sad, depressing place and I blame the federal government. All partisanship aside, Dem. or Rep. What the fed has done (or lacktherof) with just an incredible city is disgusting and disgraceful.

How do you abandon a great American city? All you see around town is abandonment of not just homes or streets, but ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOODS boarded up and left to rot. Obscenely sad. I strongly believe it is every American’s duty to go down there and visit. It is worth your time and money to visit first hand.

Instead of me going into more detail, just read these two quick recent articles about “famous people” experiencing New Orleans. These folks have seen it and their observations are not hyperbole or exaggeration.

Article #1
Article #2

"I'm lovin' it...."

THIS is why I love the Internets.

Mr. Crist may not actually read Patrick's site on a daily basis, but I bet he WILL view this one.

Tough week for me and others...

In 1991 FOX debuted a TV show called “Herman’s Head”. Somehow, my 15 year-old television saturated mind fell in love with this show which counted amongst its young, yet to be famous cast; Hank Azaria and Yeardley Smith.

A contributor on imdb.com has put together a brief synopsis of the show which gives you a good idea about this show’s overall plot:
“Herman Brooks is an aspiring writer working as a fact-checker at a publisher. While dealing with life in the big city, his inner thoughts are played out by four characters representing his intellect, fear, compassion, and lust. His "outer world" consists of a trivia-trove boss, two female co-workers, one mouse-ish and the other a social-climbing bombshell, and a best friend who’s both a successful writer and a sexist pig”

The beauty of this show was how the viewer was able to literallywatch Herman’s head work out all of the moral dilemmas and difficult decisions each and every one of us has to face on a daily basis.

Unfortunately for me, I have recently been way too wrapped up in my own trials and tribulations to be able to enjoy my passions. My current job seems to at times suck all of the energy and pizzazz out of a once vibrant, fun, sometimes unpredictable existence. 40+ hours a week spent somewhere you really don’t want to be can have a severe negative effect on any creative output, and mine has been hit hard these past few weeks.

Unable to follow the past week’s comings and goings in the world of horseracing, the following are the only two horse related thoughts I came across all week. It took me until late Friday afternoon to see these two things:

1) “Bluegrass Cat's jockey injured, will miss Derby” (ESPN.com)
2) “Jockey John Velazquez to miss Derby with shoulder, chest injuries” (equidaily.com)

Finally, by 8 pm pt, I was able to understand the full impact of what had taken place in Thursday’s Forerunner Stakes at Keeneland by reading the myriad accounts of this awful event.

Coupled with my recent first time viewing of the Real Sports piece on the Jockeys Guild- filled with horrifying jockey spills- it is difficult to relay the amount of uncomfortably I had in my stomach reading each and every added detail of this story-photos included.

Compounded by the fact that the reprehensible Wayne Gertmanian is still fresh in my mind, all of these recent events add up to a disturbing inner feeling, leading to one uncomfortable horse racing fan.

As far as I go: This story is B-A-D for this sport.

Will it actually have any major impact on anything in the larger scope? Probably not. The Derby will still “sell out” with the maximum 20 entries and a rider will of course dutifully fill-in for Johnny V. The quest for the Triple Crown will go off as planned at 6:04 pm et and all our respective worlds will move on.

I’m fine with that. I just hope this sick feeling in my stomach goes away. I know it’s not just for the jockey. Thinking about that horse-and the many others before it- is just not sitting all that well with me right now.


-Emerald Downs opened for its 10th Anniversary season tonight. A 6pm (pt) post. I am looking forward to making AT LEAST(!) one visit there this year. For the first time ever, Emerald’s Ultimate Qualifying Tournament (for the DRF National Handicapping Tourney) will be asking for an entry fee. No complaints from me. Maybe this year I will be able to get in after being shut out for the past three years. If you’ve never been, Emerald is a really nice track set right at the base (ok, maybe a few miles off) of Mt. Rainier. For the East Coasters and Southern folks, that means a GIANT snow covered mountain just behind the first turn. Good times.

Tough Weekend...

There has been A LOT of action over the past few days and I have been absent here on ye olde blog.

I did have many a words to put together following the weekends flurry of Derby action and other horse related matters that were all put on the way back burner when some (one?) lowlife(s) decided to kick in my basement door and ransack my house for $20 or $30 bucs for his/her meth habit.

Luckily, these a#$holes only got my super low end DVD/VCR combo player which cost me all of $50. However, as anyone who has ever been robbed (their home specifically) knows, it is more the violation you feel than the loss of material items.

Several hundred dollars later, my home is now just shy of Ft. Knox status, which is both good and bad. Who really wants to live in a constant state of lockdown? I am sure the uncomfortableness and minor paranoia will subside within a relatively short amount of time.

Between wheeling Storm Treasure up and down, while not ACTUALLY getting the bet in – costing me $300+ dollars- and having my house ransacked, it was not the best of times this past weekend.

All is well now, though it takes me three separate turns of the key to even step foot inside my own house.

My hockey team unleashed a furious “closing kick” to win the Atlantic Division and were rewarded with a seven-game series with those pesky Blueshirts. For more information (though biased as it may be) check out Alan’s Rangers blog.

For the worst piece of news I saw all day (except for those minor resignations and people losing their lives for $4.50/gallon gas) go HERE

It's about time

It’s about time THIS finally showed up on our radar screens. Our moles inside the industry had alerted US to this latest development in media coverage surrounding horse racing. The Daily Racing Form is usually right on in keeping up with the outside world in terms of media coverage—maybe only a half-step behind.

With the added possibilities of folks linking here because of JOHN, I felt it was a good time to update ye’ olde site. I did have a nice picture of a spring-butterfly in my profile, but that has changed (or will change whenever blogger feels like registering it).

I know I have been remiss in posting anything worthwhile regarding the Derby, but to tell you the truth, I am not that into the yearly speculation that is the Derby.

Don’t get me wrong, I am truly in love with the whole Derby concept-fastest two minutes in sports, etc.-but endless jibber-jabber and dosage references and blood lines and distance questions never quite captures my attention.

Added to that, I am not even sure I’ll be able to watch the Derby live this year. On the first Saturday in May I will be in New Orleans for JazzFest. Ironically, I will be at The Fairgrounds, normally a good place to catch a race on TV. However, I am not sure if while attending JazzFest at FG I will be able to catch the race live; or worse yet NOT EVEN PLACE A BET!!

I have placed an inquiry to Churchill Mgmt. Via the Fairgrounds WEBSITE, but have heard nothing yet. Needless to say, I will not be posting any selections or predictions for this year’s Derby until PP’s are drawn Derby week.

Again, don’t get me wrong, Derby day is truly a great day for horse racing and EVEN America in general. However, the Super Bowl-ish hype and buildup leading up to it (ranging anywhere from 1-365 days) does not interest me much. I leave that up to the PROS

Not to be too heavy on Oregon-centric posts, but....

Remember the old Israel tourism commercials? "Come to Israel, come stay with friends..."

Well, I'm working on a new one for Oregon based on THIS.

Triple Crown Radio

Just in case you are stuck in traffic during one of the three Triple Crown races for 2006:

from AllAccess.com:
Westwood One To Broadcast Triple Crown Races
WESTWOOD ONE will carry coverage of thoroughbred racing's TRIPLE CROWN this year, starting with the 132nd KENTUCKY DERBY on MAY 6 and including the PREAKNESS on MAY 20 and BELMONT on JUNE 10. The coverage will include ten short-form vignettes throughout the week prior to each race, two hours of pre-race coverage the FRIDAY prior to each race, and 90 minutes of long-form coverage on race day.

Just biding my time

No posts over the last 8 days. Geeez. What a slacker. Got back from a few days of business in Seattle and now, back in Portland, I give you this tidbit of information: If you ever do make it to Portland, you MUST go HERE for lunch.

Yes, that is my pearl of wisdom for today.

THIS is only 31 days away and I have yet to make a peep about it. This will change soon, although don’t expect massive, in-depth coverage like you can find here, here, here, and here (and here).

In the meantime, keep yourself amused by doing whatever it is you find amusement in.

There.

Aren’t those some true words of wisdom?

I've been waiting for this...

"...According to statistics provided by ESPN, 1,854 of the 3 million brackets had George Mason making the Final Four.

Of those, 284 picked the Patriots to win the national title..."

"Good things Rube" (name the movie)

An exhausting, yet gratifying weekend of horse racing is now complete and I have finally caught my breath.

Major kudos to Katrina and the Dubai Racing Carnival for hosting some of the most thorough coverage from this weekends Dubai World Cup.

Another high note was the first ever Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance hosted chat room that took place all day Saturday. No need to go into too much detail as my talented colleagues did a splendid job of touting, chatting and summarizing the days events. Just click on any one of the links to the left and you will be entertained for hours!!

The only negative note from the weekend was this:
Horse Racing Fans Screwed Again!
The folks over at Equidaily encapsulate my entire thoughts and feelings from that afternoon---I MEAN TENNIS????? A non-major???? NOT the Finals? Oy.

Finally, if you read this post late last week by yours truly then you can appreciate what I've got for you below.

I am always amazed when I come across a responsive, personable, human media person who takes the time not only to answer your fan mail or stupid-ass query, but will even go out of their way to find out an ANSWER for you!! I worked at a major radio entertainment network a few years ago and we would get hundreds of inquires, comments and questions. I know how hard it can be to answer all of the feedback one can get when their work is broadcast all over the world. That's why when I received the following response from a letter I had sent to DRF's Dave Tuley, I was once again convinced that he is one of the classier, upper echelon in the media mayhem of our current world. (read the post linked above and you will understand what the response is all about):

Dave:
I'll just reply here and you can disseminate it as you see fit.
First a clarification: DRF, the company that signs my pay check sponsors the NHC and is certainly supportive of it, but pretty much leaves the running of it to the NTRA, so you're not hurting my feelings or ruffling the feathers of anyone at DRF by airing
complaints. Feedback is great, and the goal of everyone is to make this
thing as fair and equitable as possible. That being said...
What I'm told is that the NTRA and America Tab felt it was necessary to
do that to prevent fraud of people entering under multiple
names/addresses/etc. and circumventing the maximum entries per person rule and also
to protect against chargebacks if people claim they didn't enter (which
would already be added to NHC purse and wouldn't look right if it was
announced 200 people enter and then 20 chargeback to their credit cards
and people wonder where the extra $2,000 went).
I understand your reservations about doing it, but if you register at
YouBet or TVG, you'd have to supply your SS# to verify your identity. I
don't how this would change. If you want to lodge a formal complaint
with the NTRA, this is from the nhcqualify.com page:

If I have general questions about the National Handicapping
Championship program, who can I contact?

The NTRA administers the NHC program. McKay Smith, director of product
development for the NTRA, runs the day-to-day operations. He may be
contacted through the NTRA switchboard at 1-800-RACECUP or 859.223.5444,
or via e-mail at msmith@ntra.com.

Ok, it's not the Magna Carta, but would Tom Brokaw or even Steven Crist take the time to give that response? We at the TBA have attempted to contact many a media folk over the past year and I will tell you first hand that this type of response is extremely uncommon--yet highly valued and appreciated by yours truly.

Thanks, Dave!!

Why do things HAVE to be so difficult?

Receiving THIS in my yahoo inbox this morning sent me on an unexpected, early, yet short-lived euphoria trip; well before my usual peak time of around 2pm.

Perusing this seemingly inclusive, attractive offer to qualify for the National Handicapping Championship was what I though initially a fantastic idea. IF you want to read a professional journalist’s take on this, go HERE --registration required. My man (and one of my favorite columnists) Dave Tuley breaks it down in a far more succinct manner than my verbose mind ever could. Keep in mind, the guys who sign his pay checks are the ones in charge of the contest.

So I spent some time reading the rules and format of this tournament and all was well until I clicked on "purchase entry". Keep in mind, there aren’t that many folks who fit in to the demo that the NTRA is looking for to buck up $100 at a time for a chance to qualify for the NHC in Vegas next January. But here's my gripe and where I decide to NOT participate no matter how much it hurts.

If you click on "purchase entry" you will no doubt notice that the DRF (as sponsor) has asked that we enter our SOCIAL SECURITY # in order to register. Are you kidding me? There may be some semi-good reason that the DRF/NHC wants my SS#, but I am certainly not entering it online!! I don't even do that for my bank or my credit card company!! In fact, I am already registered on drf.com to purchase PP's and I am not asked there.

So I ask, WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE SS#? I think it's presumptuous and unacceptable to ask for someone's SS# online unless you are the government or a substantial financial institute (and the latter better have a good reason).

With all of the boneheads running IT security and hackers working 24/7 there is no way you are getting my SS#. Dave T...Tell me what's up man? I know you visit Avg Horseplayer sometimes, give me some kind of decent answer to this nonsense. Should you not be able to give me a solid, legitimate answer then please pass along my sentiment and discomfort with such a seemingly inappropriate, unnecessary personal information request.

Maybe I am just paranoid, but at this point I have no desire to enter my SS# on a website. At this point, I'll just keep my $300 and tout elsewhere.

If Only

If only the people involved with the NTRA were THIS creative.

I guess we can continue to hope. Someday, baby.