Eibar Coa at Belmont (~ RAYMOND)

Storm Caller just threw Eibar Coa coming out of the gate in the Yankee Victor at Belmont. Storm Caller didn’t go down and didn’t look to be injured. I couldn’t tell if Coa got up but he’s off his mounts for the rest of the day.

Hopefully he’s ok… more as it unfolds.

Update: Looks like he got away with just a few bruised ribs. I just saw this buried in an unrelated story at DRF (with about 4 or 5 other unrelated items as well, why do they do that?).

Jockey Eibar Coa sustained a bruised rib on his left side when he was unseated at the start of Friday’s $76,900 Yankee Victor Stakes.

Coa was scheduled to ride at Colonial Downs on Saturday and Woodbine on Sunday.

Coa, 37, was aboard Canadian shipper Storm Caller, who stumbled badly at the start of the race, tossing Coa. The horse then appeared to kick Coa once, possibly twice. Coa was transported by ambulance to North Shore University Hospital where X-rays did not reveal any fractures.

Get well soon!

Posted by dana on Jun 20 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, Raymond Haddad, Get Well Soon, Injury, Belmont, Eibar Coa, Racing

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Curlin all alone at the finish line in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (~ RAYMOND)

Dear NTRA,

I was chatting with a few friends this morning and there’s something we’d like to share. We thought that it would be of particular interest to you as one of your mission statements is to “Leverage television assets and yearlong promotional programs with ESPN to promote big event days and create stars”

This Saturday Churchill has a fantastic card headlined by Curlin, our reining horse of the year, in the Stephen Foster. Not only is Curlin undefeated in 4 starts, has won 9 out 12 starts, and never been out of the money. Most importantly he’s the horse racing equivalent of a big foot sighting as a horse with a successful 3yo campaign returning for a 4yo campaign. I’m sure you know all this.

What I’m writing to tell you is that this was a GREAT and TIMELY opportunity to build on the skyrocketing viewership of the Belmont just last weekend by marketing and televising this card on ESPN or ESPN2. Few got what they wanted out of the Belmont, which leaves a wide gaping whole of yearning for a kick ass horse race to be filled. The Stephen Foster provides just such an opportunity.

And think of the excellent story that Curlin makes on the heals of Big Brown. He was last year’s Big Brown, going into the Derby undefeated with only 3 starts. While his path didn’t take the same trajectory as Big Brown’s, look at him now, poised to potentially sweep in to the international scene and prove that America can produce great horses that can race and win in drug free circumstances abroad. It’s a story of redemption all the way around, and one that could let casual fans know that Big Brown is still a good horse with a shot to come back later in the year for his shot at redemption.

How many people thought Curlin’s spirit could have been broken after his gut wrenching performance in last year’s Belmont at the end of a grueling Triple Crown season where he had NO 2yo foundation? Then to have him return in the Haskell to turn in a mediocre performance, leading us all to believe that perhaps we only got a brief glimpse of what could have been.

But then came the Jockey Club Gold Cup… where he ran down the Lawyer Ron, who was looking like the horse of the year, in a thrilling stretch battle that sent the memo, “don’t count me out yet, I’m just getting my game back”!

This performance led to his current string of impressive, indomitable wins in the BC Classic, Jaguar Trophy Handicap and Dubai World Cup. HE’s our horse, and we should be marketing him as such.

Certainly there are other great story lines to be had as well. As some of my friends pointed out, like building a Curlin/Einstein rivalry as it seems likely they will meet again in the Arlington Millions as Curlin will need a grass prep for the Arc. This could also play out as an Asmussen/Pitts rivalry.

The bottom line is that this was a very timely missed opportunity to help us build that new era.

Your friend,
Dana Byerly

P.S., another friend wants you to know about another opportunity before it’s too late.

Posted by dana on Jun 12 2008    
Filed Under: Dubai World Cup, Churchill Downs, Mainstream Media, Turf, 2008, 4yo, Big Brown, Raymond Haddad, Industry, NTRA, TV, Belmont, Let Horses Race, Fans, Curlin, Triple Crown, Marketing, International Racing, Belmont Stakes, Racing

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The long sandy stretch at Belmont (~ RAYMOND)

In honor of the continued Triple Crown traffic surge, I thought I would direct you to some actual content (as I take my customary Monday night Law & Order rerun pass on posting).

Filed under “kick ‘em while their down” or “you’re probably glad someone else said it”, a compilation of interesting points and “I told you so”s, an excellent witty retort, a scatological international point of view and a pithy poke.

Filed under “who couldn’t look at photos for hours”, a rather big gallery of the day, GbG regulars Raymond, Charles, Jason, Bud and Sarah.

And closer to home, the most commented on post yet and did anyone get my Tale of ETAKI joke? I know, not so funny… I mean it wasn’t even really a joke.

And in other classy news, let the finger pointing begin!

Posted by dana on Jun 09 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, Internet, Industry, Raymond Haddad, Tale of Ekati, Sportsmanship, Sarah K. Andrew, Triple Crown, Belmont Stakes, International Racing, Charles Pravata, Racing

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Kent Desormeaux, prudent, a quitter or irrelevant in that Big Brown didn’t show up? (~ RAYMOND)

There’s plenty of discussion going on about Kent D’s ride yesterday in the Belmont, primarily here but also here (mixed in with other discussion) and perhaps elsewhere too.

I’m vacillating between prudent and unsportsmanlike, but what you do you think?

Our last poll was one of the more uninspiring polls of late with only 19 voting! 6 of you thought that the Governments involvement in racing is the only thing that could make it worse, 5 of you thought it was about time and 4 of you didn’t expect much or thought it was the coming of the 4th horseman, so to speak.

As always, thanks!

Posted by dana on Jun 08 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, Raymond Haddad, Sportsmanship, Kent Desormeaux, Belmont, Racing

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Post Time for the Belmont (~ RAYMOND)

Quickly, here are my picks for the card… I posted my win selections over at the TBA homepage along with the other TBA picks. I put a straight pick 6 ticket on those selections as well. No doubt Swifty and I will be playing some pick 4s and 6s together.

I’m going with Thor’s Echo returning to form and Benny the Bull regressing a bit. I also like Suave Jazz and a little bit of Council Member!

I think Bayou’s Lassie will have the pace her way and takes them wire to wire, or Lady of Venice and/or Bit of Whimsy come on. I love Criminologist but don’t think it’s enough distance for her.

Now that Dance Gal Dance is out, I think Indian Blessing will probably go wire to wire, but I still like Zaftig and Game Face.

What a field! I love both Shakis and Stream of Gold in here. Out of Control is a logical choice too, particularly since he stumbled in the stretch last out. Proudinsky looks dangerous as well as he does well off a freshening as does Better Talk Now winning on his return from an abysmal effort aboard last year. I think the pace is not going to be to Dancing Forever’s liking and I loved Pays to Dream’s last out but the turf was really soft as was the pace. I’ll probably play a little Stalingrad and Strike a Deal across the board too.

Obviously I’m bummed about Casino Drive but I am looking forward to seeing what looks to be a Triple Crown. I’ll be wheeling BB over several in supers, most likely most if not all of Tale of Ekati, Denis of Cork, Macho Again, Anak Nakal, Guadalcanal and Icabad Crane.

Good luck to everyone, enjoy your day and let’s get everyone home safe!!

Posted by dana on Jun 07 2008    
Filed Under: Indian Blessing, Benny the Bull, TBA, Raymond Haddad, Casino Drive, Anak Nakal, Denis of Cork, Tale of Ekati, Criminologist, 3yo, Thor's Echo, Belmont, Retirement Watch, Triple Crown, Handicapping, Turf, Belmont Stakes, Racing

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Edgar Prado at Belmont (~ RAYMOND)

Prado gets the mount on Casino Drive… now if they’d just put Channing Hill on Tomcito.

Posted by dana on May 28 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, Channing Hill, Raymond Haddad, Casino Drive, Tomcito, :), Edgar Prado, Belmont, Triple Crown, Belmont Stakes, International Racing, 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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Kent D, who’s job it IS to talk about Big Brown (~ RAYMOND)

Thus spoke Tada Nobutaka in a video interview held recently at Belmont.

I love the way he talks about Casino Drive. He characterizes the challenger as “a happy horse”, “relaxed”, with a “nice mind”, who is “very cute”… he goes on “we love him”. Awwwww! And in fact, Casino Drive does look cute in the video, no news there!

In reference to his antics in the paddock prior to the Peter Pan, Nobutaka said that he didn’t want to kick anyone, he was just ready to run. And run he did!

There’s also a clip of Dutrow of talking about Big Brown, he says something to the effect of “we don’t have to do anything special to get him ready for this race, it’s just in him”. Now there’s something I believe coming out of his mouth!

Posted by dana on May 22 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, Sportsmanship, Raymond Haddad, Big Brown, Casino Drive, 3yo, Kent Desormeaux, Belmont, Belmont Stakes, International Racing, Media, Racing

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Carol Cedeño at Belmont (~ RAYMOND)

Jock night started off like any other night… I was over at flickr, looking photos from my contacts, commenting on some photos from the Preakness and looking at some amazing jockey portraits going on over at Raymond’s.

Then I was over at fellow TBA-er Superfecta’s, reading about how there’s still more work to be done before any grand proclamations should be made. The topic of Casino Drive came up, natch, and more specifically the topic of his jock.
At first it seemed like he would get Japanese superstar Yutaka Take, but then another report indicated that they’d actually prefer an American jock.

Nobutaka Tada, the representative for Yamamoto, said he was leaning toward an American-based rider.

“A mile and a half, you need to understand the pace,” Tada said. “American jockeys have an advantage here.”

This made me start to think about who’d I’d like to see on Casino Drive, or on any of them, for that matter. Kent D, who had the mount last out, is clearly spoken for and Denis of Cork is switching from Borel to Albarado.

Denis of Cork, owned by William Warren, worked five furlongs in 1:01 on Monday at Churchill Downs. In the Belmont, he will be ridden by Robby Albarado, replacing Calvin Borel, who rode Denis of Cork to a third-place finish in the Derby.

“I have no issue with Calvin - he has two wins on him and a third in the Kentucky Derby,” said David Carroll, who trains Denis of Cork. “Mr. Warren felt like Robby Albarado’s success at Belmont Park and winning nine Grade 1s there is the way he wanted to go. He wants to give [Denis of Cork] every opportunity and was very adamant that if Robby was available, then that was the way he wanted to go.”

Here’s a run down of the last rider for each of the other known contenders:

Macho Again - Leparoux
Tale of Ekati - Coa / Prado
Anak Nakal - Bejarano
Tomcito - Cornelio
Behindathebar - David Flores
Ready’s Echo - Johnny V
Spark Candle - Chavez

Also from the article:

Top riders yet to commit to a Belmont mount include Garrett Gomez, Edgar Prado, and John Velazquez.

So I guess Ready’s Echo is not spoken for and maybe Coa is on Tale of Ekati.

In no particular order my fav riders are Albarado, Prado, Bejarano, Cornelio, Castellano, Coa, Alan Garcia, Channing Hill and Carol Cedeño. It’s tough to pick one, I can’t get Castellano’s ride on Pays to Dream in the Dixie out of my head but I also loved Prado’s ride on Tale of Ekati in the Wood, which is closer to Casino Drive’s running style.

Damn, is it too early to make a new poll? Who would you like see on Casino Drive?

Update: for the current jock assignments, check DRF.

Posted by dana on May 19 2008    
Filed Under: Robby Albarado, Alan Garcia, JJ Castellano, Carol Cedeno, TBA, Raymond Haddad, 2008, Channing Hill, John Velazquez, Edgar Prado, Rafael Bejarano, Triple Crown, Belmont, Calvin Borel, Cornelio Velazquez, Kent Desormeaux, International Racing, Belmont Stakes, Racing

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Mike Luzzi had his 3000 career win Saturday at Belmont (~ RAYMOND)

On his 3000th win!

Luzzi has his own, albeit small, wikipedia entry and I uncovered this interesting piece on jockeys injuries which features Luzzi.

Posted by dana on May 18 2008    
Filed Under: Raymond Haddad, 2008, Jocks, Belmont, Racing

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