New York is sucking right now (ardenstreet)

At least not at the moment. Let’s review.

As Val’s comment indicated, one of Curlin’s imprisoned owners has an expired racing license and according to the newly launched Paulick Report, it’s looking like the New York State Racing and Wagering Board won’t be renewing Shirley Cunningham’s license in the “best interest of racing”. This means Curlin will not be racing in New York.

As mentioned yesterday, the new OTB bill boosts the take out on NYRA tracks by 1% starting in the fall. Here are some unsavory particulars…

For example, a New York bettor who makes a win bet on a race at Churchill Downs through NYRA’s account-wagering operation will be paid off as if the takeout is 17 percent, instead of 16 percent, the takeout charged by Churchill. NYRA would keep the difference.

So glad I never opened a NYRA account… thank you NYRA for never answering my email, which convinced me to never open a NYRA account!

Rest assured NYRA Rewards customers, “NYRA plans to increase rebates to customers of its NYRA Rewards Program”. However, that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to watch race replays on NYRA’s site (hat tip to Power Cap). Currently displaying on NYRA’s race replay page:

For regulatory purposes, NYRA is not permitted at this time to provide a link to our race replays. NYRA understands and regrets this inconvenience for our fans who have come to rely upon these services.

Please be assured NYRA is doing everything within its power to work with the New York State Racing and Wagering Board to restore this link to our web site as soon as possible.

And there you have it. While I couldn’t wager on Churchill using Twinspires this weekend (things are strange all over), at least I can watch NYRA replays there! And will the 1% be added to my payouts via Twinspires on NYRA tracks since I’m a New York resident (and presuming I ever cash a ticket again)?

If you’re interested in learning more about the thievery known as take-out (look up breakage while you’re there too), check out Track Thieves and specifically his chart of the takeout rates at various tracks on various pools.

Have a nice day!

Posted by dana on Jun 18 2008    
Filed Under: Internet, 2008, Twinspires, Industry, Greed, :(, Gambling, Curlin, OTB, NYRA, Racing

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In Summation (inside) beats Greg’s Gold in the Bing Crosby at Del Mar (Charles Pravata)

It’s late, I’m tired… I’ll be pithy.

Outrageous! (for Ed).

An elaboration. Question, what about auctions? Cali’s doin’ it.

Not so bad.

Hopefully Thursday is firm.

Should be Fabulous!

Don’t wear an ascot unless you’ve been there.

And whatever you do, don’t hold back!

Posted by dana on Jun 17 2008    
Filed Under: Mainstream Media, Greed, Charles Pravata, TBA, Auction, Industry, 2008, Geldings, Drugs, Fabulous Strike, International Racing, Gambling, Breeding, OTB, TV, Turf, NYRA, NTRA, Racing

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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!

Posted by dana on Jun 08 2008    
Filed Under: TBA, Mushka, Wrap Up, Nick Zito, Drugs, Sarah K. Andrew, Sportsmanship, Superfecta, Tale of Ekati, Anak Nakal, Big Brown, Indian Blessing, 2008, First Saturday in May, Hennegan Brothers, Belmont, Triple Crown, Fans, Gambling, That's Why They Call it Gambling, Handicapping, Belmont Stakes, 3yo, Pick 4, NYRA, Kent Desormeaux, Tom Durkin, Racing

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Casino Drive hiding in plain sight, just like the official Belmont Stakes site! (Sarah K. Andrew)

So, I’m catching up on my reading and I’m looking at this article from Sunday’s Daily News by Jerry Bossert. I, like Steve Davidowitz (see the comments), think it’s dead on.

As I’m reading the comments, I learn something that I didn’t know about the internet…

Commenter dlydbbl1 says:
Absolutely right on. NYRA is clueless. I went to the Derby a few years ago and the whole week is one big promotion/party

Commenter Ribot says:
This writer has no idea what he is talking about or is too old to use the internet. NYRA has had the Belmont Stakes website up for over a month. The site has videos, information on the days race and activities and a history of the Belmont stakes. Here is a link to it. You would think a newspaper writer who works on a computer all day would know how to use the internet or is this just a slander piece by a bad handicapper? http://www.nyra.com/BelmontStakes2008.html

What? NYRA has a Belmont Stakes website and it’s been up for a month? Apparently I’m too old and don’t know how to use the internet!

So, I click on over to NYRA to investigate. I notice the blue header graphic touting the Belmont Stakes on the top of the page but don’t think anything of it because they always have a graphic there. Not seeing anything that stands out as a link to the “site”, I click the graphic (not that there’s any indication that I should) and behold, I’m am transported to the Official Belmont Stakes site… a gigantic slow loading static graphic file with an audio file that auto plays in the background with no volume control or way to pause or turn it off.

The audio itself sounds like what I imagine a NYRA commercial for the Belmont Stakes would sound like, do they have one of those running? The audio definitely had a much higher production value than the “site” (I use the apostrophes because it’s a page buried within the NYRA site, kentuckyderby.com is a site).

Let’s review the pluses and minuses:

Pluses:
- Links to a list of all the prior Belmont winners
- Links to a VERY comprehensive archive of Belmont race replays

Minuses:
- It’s not exactly well promoted or easy to find
- It’s a giant graphic that doesn’t really add any value with the links on the bottom
- The two informational links point to pdfs instead of pages
- The audio is without controls
- Does that slick audio go with a commercial? Let’s see it!

How about some more content, Durkin’s favorite Belmont’s, stream the press conferences, clocker’s reports, pictures from morning work outs, videos of morning work outs, a list of contenders!

Well, at least they’re trying… I would suggest registering belmontstakes.com and hiring some internet professionals to create a site next year, not that anyone from NYRA makes their way over here, as GbG is not a venue of “significant coverage.”

Posted by dana on Jun 03 2008    
Filed Under: Technology, Sarah K. Andrew, Internet, 2008, Industry, Steve Davidowitz, NYRA, Belmont, Triple Crown, Belmont Stakes, Marketing, Racing

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NYRA Customer Service at Belmont (~ RAYMOND)

As I was watching the video of Dr. Ian McKinlay repair a quarter crack over at fellow TBA-er Fran’s fab Hoofcare Journal, I was struck by something he said about Belmont.

He talks about how it’s apparent to him that the track is really hard at Belmont right now and how he never used to see wall separations, but in this year alone they are 30% of the injuries he sees! Sprinkle in Paul Moran’s recent post about hard tracks and that the person at NYRA who is responsible for the maintenance of the track goes by the nickname of “fast track” and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

John “Fast Track” Passero first popped up on my radar last summer when Bloodhorse ran an article about how the New York Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association voiced it’s displeasure with the overly fast surfaces.

Trainer Tom Bush was quoted as saying:

“Horses are running way too fast; we’ve got track records being broken,” Bush said. “The track is hard because there isn’t enough preparation after repetitive sealing. Horses are suffering from more foot issues–shedding frogs and bruises–and it is because they are being concussed. After all, the message on John Passero’s cell phone is, ‘John Fast Track Passero.’”

What was “Fast Track’s” response?

“I was a bit surprised by all this,” Passero said. “I don’t know what is driving this train. If horses are having problems, it’s not because of the track. I will stand by the tracks. The NYRA tracks speak for themselves.

So, over tea this morning (which is actually having the desired “happy caffeine feeling” effect, unlike yesterday) I put this letter together to send NYRA. I sent it to nyra@nyrainc.com, the only email address I have (as it’s listed on their site)… if anyone has a better address, please post it here!

I encourage you to copy this letter and send it, or write your own (it’s not like mine is stellar, I just wanted to send something)… but PLEASE, voice your displeasure over their ridiculous practice! Over sealing tracks to make them artificially fast is a complete scourge that must be stopped, let NYRA know that!

To Whom it May Concern:

The recent report of the reemergence of Big Brown’s hoof problems combined with the following quote from Dr. Ian McKinlay are disconcerting at best.

“The tracks at Belmont have definitely firmed up, I can tell that from they type of injuries I’m getting now. When I started in 85 at Belmont, very rarely would I see a wall separation, which starts in the sole. You get an abscess in the sole and it travels up the wall and eventually comes out at the hairline, it’ll take the whole quarter out… I never saw them. As of the the last 4-5 years I’ve been getting more and more of them. This year being 2008, I’m probably running at 30% of the injuries are these wall separations.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx5gU1K7KtQ
(quote is from the video and starts at 5:58)

As a fan of the sport and NYRA track regular I’m asking that you please stop your practice of over sealing all NYRA tracks. The fact that the director of racing surfaces, John Passero, refers to himself as “fast track” sums up the attitude that must be examined and addressed in this new era of concern for safety of the horses and scrutiny by the media.

Last year when the horseman brought the issue of the over sealed track to the attention of NYRA, Passero was quoted in Bloodhorse as saying:

“If horses are having problems, it’s not because of the track. I will stand by the tracks. The NYRA tracks speak for themselves.”

http://www.bloodhorse.com/NOW/News/TopNews/40544.aspx

Please, for the safety of the horses, reexamine and change your track maintenance practices, enough is enough!

Posted by dana on May 26 2008    
Filed Under: You Can Help, TBA, Industry, Raymond Haddad, :(, Injury, Belmont, Grrrr, NYRA, Racing

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Swifty just called me, his opener was “Guess where I am?” I was half expecting him to have gotten himself invited to some Japanese after party after Casino Drive’s impressive romp. “On a bus”. Not nearly as glamorous.

The Long Island Railroad runs trains to Belmont during race days. Normally they’re pretty good about leaving enough time for folks to make the last train after the last race. In fact, one usually ends up sitting on the train for a good half an hour before it leaves.

Today’s card had 10 races, not the normal 9… apparently no one bothered to tell the LIRR because the last train left before the end of the 10th race!

Swifty described the scene as approximately 200 angry people standing around. He managed to hop on some bus that was behind a horse transport truck. Here’s hoping he has as much luck getting home as he did at the windows!

Posted by dana on May 10 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, :(, NYRA, Belmont

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Rajiv Marah and El Amir in the winner’s circle at Aqueduct (~ RAYMOND)

You may have noticed a new photographer in the regular rotation here at GbG. In addition to the excellent imagery of Sarah K. Andrew, Charles Pravata, Jessie Holmes, and Jay (a.k.a., Easy Goer), please welcome Raymond Haddad to the mix!

I first noticed his work from last year’s Breeders’ Cup and struck up a friendly Flickr conversation with him, mainly because I was commenting on all his work! He’s very prolific with one of the most frequently updated photostreams of all of the folks I follow on flickr. His work ranges from portraiture to classic scene and street work. Definitely check out his non-racing work as well!

Around the last week of Aqueduct I started to notice racing shots in his photostream. It seems he has been bitten by the racing bug and has been shooting regularly at Belmont since it’s opening!

In addition to shooting the races, he’s been shooting the jockeys and various NYRA employees. He’s doing a great job of showing the overall vibe of a track and telling the story of Belmont in a very direct, journalistic way that also has a personally inquisitive touch often lacking in photojournalism.

He’s also not shying away from the harsh realities of racing. Included in his recent work are two heart wrenching shots of the recent breakdown and euthanasia of Megalodon yesterday at Belmont.

I’m happy to see someone get so excited about racing, particularly during it’s darkest hour. Welcome to the mix Raymond, we’re glad you’re here!

Posted by dana on May 10 2008    
Filed Under: Aqueduct, 2008, Raymond Haddad, Inspirational, NYRA, Fans, Belmont, Racing

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Derby 2008 was the Worst Derby Ever.

As I said over at John’s post about Sour Grape Kool-Aid, I’m not quite ready to deal with Big Brown the horse vs. Big Brown the implication. My friend Joan sent me this before the Derby:

Here’s all I have to say about this year’s Derby: if Big Brown wins, which he won’t unless all of the stars in the sky are out of alignment and the racing gods are out to pasture, I’ll be sick to my stomach. Because if he does, the “me too!” school of copy cat management will ensure we see more lightly raced horses next year and a new decline in the Derby fields going forward.

Mix in a trainer with a “checkered past” full of violations, an owners group that wants to go public and a whole lotta crass bragging and they make Curlin’s connections look like sissy suburban kids trying to look tough.

Big Brown ran a thrilling race, one I’ve watched less than my customary race replay watching habi-trail due to general upset-ness and the need to process what the F just happened. Not that anyone is going to show up in the Preakness, but I still want to a few more things, for example, how would he do in speed duel? Can he really rate as nicely as he did yesterday when he doesn’t have to?

Usually, I would have gone to the The Office with Swifty, but as fate would have it he had a function to attend out of town. I went to my beloved Belmont with Jessica & Teresa… I had a great time with them but let me say that I won’t be going back to Belmont, or any track, to try and play a card at another track unless I can get a table with my own TV.

One bright note was that as we entered we ran into Alan from Bug Boys on his way out. It was nice to have an impromptu mini-TBA meet-up and we agreed that we would plan to meet up at Belmont some time soon.

I played the card here and there with no success. My biggest issue was that I couldn’t find a good place to settle in and get to work. I really need to have a home base in these situations. When I’m going to the track to play the card it’s easy, I pick a spot in the stands, put my crap there and I get down to business. For the Preakness I’ll definitely be back at The Office with Swifty, and hopefully Jessica and Teresa too.

Another “feature” of the day was that the snazzy new GIANT flat screen TVs (which are really nice) didn’t have the sound up so we had to watch in silence as the Derby unfolded. Jessica liked Gayego, Teresa liked Cool Coal Man and we all know I liked Pyro. As they turned into the stretch it was clear none of them were in the mix. At first I thought Big Brown was Court Vision, which was exicting but then I saw the saddle cloth. It really looked like Eight Belles could have caught Big Brown for a second, but it was not meant to be.

The simulcast signal didn’t have the breakdown so we had no idea it had happened. We were very busy expressing our outrage and dismay for the many disgusting implications a Dutrow/IEAH win with a lightly raced colt with bad feet had for our beloved sport which is already teetering on doing itself in without this.

Oddly, there also was not a lot a celebratory trash talk going on that one would expect in simulcast outlet. From what I can tell most of the folks on our floor were rooting for Pyro. A few minutes later Swifty sent me a txt saying “who broke down?”. I called him immediately and he said there was a horse “laying on the track”.

It took a few minutes to figure out what was going on but when he told me my heart sunk. I think the worst part was having to walk back over to Teresa and Jessica and tell them.

With the exception of Pyro, I felt pretty good about my read on the situation. Denis of Cork ran a great race with Bo-rail giving him almost exactly the same ride he gave Street Sense last year. Tale of Ekati did well and Anak Nakal improved.

Here’s what I did:

Pyro to win
Pyro exacta boxed with Tale of Ekati, Court Vision, Z Fortune, Eight Belles and Denis of Cork
Exacta box of Tale of Ekati, Court Vision, Z Fortune, Eight Belles and Denis of Cork
Tale of Ekati, Court Vision, Z Fortune, Eight Belles and Denis of Cork to win
Pyro over Anak Nakal, Visionaire, Gayego, Big Truck and Smooth Air
Pyro boxed with Colonel John

One surprise was Recapturetheglory. Although I guess it wasn’t a surprise since the splits were slower than I anticipated and my notes about him were that he needed slower splits to do well. His owner/trainer said that “he left most of his race in the paddock” as he acted up a bit and didn’t respond well to the crowd. I would have loved to have seen what he could have done had he brought most of his race with him!

Speaking of which, I’m still bummed about Pyro. It looked like he had the room and but no gas in the tank. Blinkers Off over at Railbird, easily my favorite Derby reporting, noted Friday that there was a rumor floating around the backstretch a little birdie told him that Pyro has “chips”, as in bone chips. If they come out with this news in the next few days I will be even more grossed out than I already am, if that’s possible, with the cash out mentality that’s ruining racing and horses.

Here’s my take on the Eight Belles tragedy… let’s not fool ourselves, it could have just as easily happened in the Oaks. Good bye Derby 2008 and good riddance!

Posted by dana on May 04 2008    
Filed Under: Churchill Downs, TBA, Wrap Up, Court Vision, 2008, Industry, Hype, Farewell, Pyro, Derby Trail, Belmont, Handicapping, Kentucky Derby, NYRA, Simulcasting, Racing

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Tale of Ekati winning the Wood as my phone flies over the balcony at Aqueduct (Sarah K. Andrew)

Let’s start by examining my proclivity for procrastination. The upsides are clear, I tend to do things I normally wouldn’t like wash dishes, dust bust numerous hairballs from the Home Zoo and post plenty of “interesting content“.

This pathological behavior does, however, have a downside… one of them being that I didn’t end up with enough time to publish a post about why Tale of Ekati was my pick of the day yesterday before I had to run out to catch the A train to the Big A. But we’ll get to that (yes, I’m now going to meta-procrastinate).

Here’s a post I’ve been meaning to write for awhile, “Facebook, it’s not just for the rotten kids”. Of the many social networking sites, Facebook is the only one that “has delivered” for me for anything other than time wasting (don’t get me wrong, it’s great for that!) and proving that you’re a bigger hipster than everyone else.

I met the Hennegan Brothers on Facebook, taken part in many great discussions with people inside the industry, and now hung out with a fun bunch of Fans of Thoroughbred Racing in New York.

Group creator, the fabulous Ernie Munick (giving the thumbs up next Pablo Fragoso), organized the day billed as “Day of Degeneracy” to get people in the group to come out to the track and actually hang out (instead of just post on the group’s wall).

He also arranged for us to have our picture taken in the winner’s circle! I always wondered how to go about getting “Happy Birthday Adam “Swifty” Wiener” in the NYRA program, and now I know… you just call and give them $300! Get a group of 10 folks together and can’t afford not to do it.

Here we are, in all our glory (I’m on the far right… ironic, no?):

Note the title of the picture “Thoroughbred Racing in New York “Facebook”. It also said this in the program! This is what I meant by pioneering an analog/digital mashup… this is no doubt the first time a NYRA program has the word Facebook in it… I love it when worlds collide!

Several of the TBA folks were included in this group, Jessica at Railbird, Teresa at Brooklyn Backstretch and Alan at Left at Gate (who’s not pictured… he was very busy live blogging the whole day).

John stopped by for a few moments in between meeting, greeting and kissing babies to get folks to the premiere in 2 weeks. And of course, Swifty was there (behind Ernie in the Classy & Classic sunglasses)… we wouldn’t miss a chance to be in the winner’s circle, or perhaps more appropriately, the Wiener’s Circle (Swifty = Adam Wiener).

Did I mention it was nice out? Notice us there, no coats. We ended up sitting outside all day in a box right in front of the finish line. We were on the third floor and there was a little balcony right in front of us that was gated. The gate was rail height (about 3 feet?) so at one point Jessica started to climb over it to get a better view of the paddock below. A helpful NYRA employee came over and unlocked it for us, no doubt guessing that it would just be easier than telling us to stop climbing over it all day.

The races were great and the place was packed. When I go to a track, I like to play the card… maybe not every race, but I find it distracting to have to pop over to the TV to watch a race elsewhere and then have my final decision making time eaten into. Surprise, I also procrastinate when it comes to wagering! With this in mind I decided to take pass on playing the bazillion great stakes races not at Aqueduct.

Prior to the Wood I was doing ok, compared to how I’ve been doing on the year I was doing great, but by normal standards I was doing just OK. I had the exacta in the 6th which brought me back to within $4 of being even. I didn’t do anything interesting in the 7th or 8th, although Jessica & Swifty had Temporary Saint in the Excelsior, but the Wood was different story.

I’m always refining my handicapping style, looking for more efficient or productive ways to analyze the data. Some things I’ve started to do recently have really been helpful. I take several passes at all of the horses, in one of those passes I note the predominant running style and type of pace the horse needs to perform well. While looking at this aspect of the Wood, I noted that Tale of Ekati needed a faster pace than he got in Louisiana Derby to do his best.

In another pass I examine the workouts. Is there any pattern, how did they work prior to their last races, have they been training for endurance, speed, etc. My note on Maryfield prior to the BC was “if she fires a bullet work before the race, seriously consider her”… and she did.

Combine Tale of Ekati’s comment line with his recent two works. “Brushed break, no factor” and two handled 4F gate works at 47.2 and 47.4 geared towards increasing his speed out of the gate. I then went to watch the replay of the Louisiana Derby… bingo. He broke very tentatively, got headed and then checked out of the race. Combine all of this with impending speed duel on the front end ensuring a brisk pace and it looked really promising for Take of Ekati.

I also thought the race would set up well for Court Vision, Bill Mott didn’t put Inner Light in to help Take of Ekati! This was one of those rare times when a flash of handicapping insight occurs with my ability to wager correctly. Here’s what I did:

Tale of Ekati to Win
Exacta box of Tale of Ekati & Court Vision
Trifecta box of Tale of Ekati, Court Vision & War Pass
Anak Nakal across the board (I thought he would improve under this pace scenario, and he did, but not enough).

Fast forward to the race… Tale of Ekati broke like a dream (he’s a good student and Barclay Tagg is a good teacher!) and Inner Light was pushing War Pass into fast fractions. Things were all going according to plan. As they came into the stretch War Pass still had a decent lead but Tale of Ekati starts to come on, and come on strong.

As they come to the wire it looks like Tale of Ekati is going to get up in time… we’re all on the balcony jumping up and down, screaming like nuts when I notice something fly out of my inside jacket pocket.

Just as Tale of Ekati is making my day, my attention is turned to the box seats below to see my phone land right behind some unsuspecting guy and what appeared to be his father! It took me a few seconds to realize that Tale of Ekati did indeed win AND that I hit the tri!

I’m also happy to report that not only does my phone still work, it didn’t even have a scratch… and perhaps the best part is it didn’t injure anyone!

As if this all wasn’t great enough, I also managed to get over my fear of betting horses to win. I liked Curlin to win the Classic, Swifty and I spent almost 2 hours the night before discussing the favorites in the classic to compare and contrast each of them. Curlin it was, and at 9/2 did I bet him to win? No. This time, just like Tale of Ekati, I learned from last mistake and corrected it under favorable conditions.

It was a perfect day on many levels… and I was lucky enough to share it with some great folks! Of course it was nice to have a bunch of witnesses to a rare flash of handicapping insight, but the best part by far was that, contrary to what seems to be going on, racing felt very much alive.

Posted by dana on Apr 06 2008    
Filed Under: Wrap Up, TBA, Maryfield, War Pass, Sarah K. Andrew, Aqueduct, Court Vision, Tale of Ekati, Running Style, 2008, Internet, Trifecta, Exacta, Handicapping, Derby Trail, Curlin, Fans, Barclay Tagg, NYRA, Workouts, First Saturday in May, Hennegan Brothers, Come Back, Racing

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Storm Boot Gold & Gary Contessa in the paddock at Belmont before the 2006 Evan Shipman

I decided last night to take a pass on handicapping any races this weekend. It’s been a long month or so and it’s not like I’m on a winning streak.

After the Breeders’ Cup I had decided that, for the most part, that winter racing at Aqueduct would be my break from New York racing. I follow it closely in the spring, summer and fall but winter would be my time to (sporadically) follow Derby preps and have some downtime.

With spring kind of in the air, I took a peak at the Aqueduct card and noticed Storm Boot Gold was running in the Instant Friendship. My first trip to the track, and real introduction to horse racing, was July 22nd, 2006 at my beloved Belmont and Storm Boot Gold was the morning line favorite in the Evan Shipman.

Swifty and I had been talking about going to the Belmont for a while. He had gone to the track with his grandpa as a kid and had recently been back to accompany a friend of a friend who traveled from out of town for a Seabiscuit giveaway at Belmont. (Yes, I can trace my path to being a fan back to a NYRA giveaway… I guess they do work!).

When we arrived at Belmont I was immediately taken by the 70’s vibe of the “decor”, which was comprised of mostly signage indicating the bar or betting slips.

I also loved the layout, we quickly established the routine of going to the paddock, to the parade to the windows to the seats… all with relative ease and efficiency. My record keeping wasn’t so hot so I can’t tell who was the first horse I ever bet on. I only actually wrote down of a couple of my bets but I know I wagered on every race (I was there, right?).

From what I have written down, in the 3rd I did a $1 tri box on 1-7-10 and 7-2-10 came in. In the Oaks I put $10 on Pine Island to win, Swifty had the winner, Wonder Lady Anne L.

While I didn’t write it down, I know I put money on Storm Boot Gold to win the Evan Shipman, Swifty did too. Spite the Devil ended up winning and Storm Boot Gold came in last. I’m rooting for him today, as I do every time I notice that he’s running.

When we first arrived at Belmont, we approached a big simulcast results board crowded with older gentleman wearing large glasses. While making the ‘Welcome to Fantasy Island’ hand gesture Swifty said, “Welcome to your future”… and he was right! I’m really looking forward to getting back out to Belmont… it’s classy and a classic!

I didn’t come away a winner on the day but definitely felt an Instant Friendship, if you will. It wasn’t until a couple of months later when I went back in the Fall and tripled my money that I fell in love, but that’s a story for another time. Until then, here’s the full photo set from the day.

Posted by dana on Mar 15 2008    
Filed Under: NYRA, :), Belmont, Fans, Gambling, Racing

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