Brad & John Hennegan working the crowd at the Preakness (wendyu)

We’ve all been a little distracted, what with the Triple Crown going on AND a Triple Crown on the line with what looks to be the most well positioned horse to get the job done in a quite awhile.

But remember how much you liked the film The First Saturday in May? Or, remember how much you wanted to see the film The First Saturday in May if it wasn’t playing near you? Great, then go buy yourself a copy or two of the DVD! Get a hat, some shirts or a poster!

You won’t be sorry, this blogger wasn’t:

My DVD copy of The First Saturday in May arrived yesterday and I couldn’t wait to watch it and after viewing it last night for the first time, I came away very impressed. The behind the scenes stuff was terrific and I’m glad I made the investment. The personalities on the backstretch (grooms, cousins, sons, daughters, etc.) ended up being the most entertaining piece of the movie. Good stuff, get your copy while you can….

And look at the Hennegan Brothers at the Preakness… out there, working the table. They need your support! Hell, they weren’t allowed to walk around and sell their wares. Only beer and girls selling Frank’s Energy Drink were allowed to walk around and actively hawk the crowd, as Wendyu reports.

I mean we all would have liked to have seen the Hennegan’s in bikinis, and lord knows they’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done… but if our own venues won’t even support our own attempts to support the our sport, it’s up to us to do it!

So, don’t forget… order your DVD(s) today!

Posted by dana on May 20 2008    
Filed Under: First Saturday in May, 2008, Industry, Hennegan Brothers, You Can Help, Pimlico, Marketing, Racing

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Racecar Rhapsody and the rest of the pack head down the stretch in the Preakness (wendyu)

Big Brown blah, blah, blah… here’s how the rest of them came out of the race.

The good news is everyone came away in good order, although there was no mention of Yankee Bravo and Tres Borrachos.

Update: Here’s what some of the jocks had to say about their trips.

Posted by dana on May 18 2008    
Filed Under: 2008, 3yo, Pimlico, Preakness, Racing

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In a word, wow. Not that he had the toughest of competition today but I think someone may have slipped a little Winstrol laced Kool-Aid in my “what am I going to do with an hour to post” beer.

And did anyone call Macho Again? I took a quick look around and didn’t see anyone call that one! It looked really good for Racecar Rhapsody but he couldn’t hold off the hard charging Icabad Crane and Macho Again. Too bad too, my strategy involved a series of tri boxes of Big Brown, Racecar Rhapsody and the field. I also had a much more limited series of exactas, that did not include Macho Again.

Back to Big Brown, I was impressed with how well he rated and how effortlessly he took over to ultimately crush the field. That’s one more thing to check of my “prove it to me” list… can he intentionally rate? Check.

The Belmont should provide an opportunity for him to prove the one last thing that I’d like to see (and just in time too!)… how will he handle some real competition? His only competition so far has been his post position in the Derby. Casino Drive should be the first real competition of the equine variety to cross his path. Bring it on!

In other news, besides missing the Preakness trifecta by 3/4, I missed the Dupont Distaff exacta by nose thus concluding a full day cashing no tickets.

Here’s a note of interest in the Bloodhorse article about Big Brown’s retirement plan:

When the colt will be retired is completely controlled by his owners, IEAH Stables and Paul Pompa Jr.

Do you think there’s a clause in the deal that nullifies it if he’s injured? Do you think the money has changed hands or does it change hands when he’s retired? In other words, who assumes the risk? Maybe they both do if there was some payment now with the balance payable upon retirement. If Three Chimneys assumes the risk it will be interesting to see just how sporting IEAH will be about it… clearly they could certainly count on continued purse money!

Well, congrats to Big Brown and Macho Again and West Point Thoroughbreds… now there’s a partnership group I actually like!

Posted by dana on May 17 2008    
Filed Under: West Point Thoroughbreds, 3yo, Drugs, Greed, Prove it to Me, Wrap Up, Pimlico, Preakness, That's Why They Call it Gambling, Breeding, Gambling, Retirement Watch, Triple Crown, Racing

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Remember how shocked you were when War Pass was a non-factor in the Tampa Bay Derby? It could happen again tomorrow, or anytime for that matter. No horse is unbeatable.

This field reminds me of what it was like in high school when I was on the basketball team and we played Mansfield Malabar. They had a forward named Francine “The Machine” Lewis. She was all state, super tall and looked like she was at least 27.

Whenever we played that team we had to just suck it up, show up, play our best and hope for the best. To make it worse, because she was so good the gym would be packed. We never caught a break against Francine The Machine (she was actually a fantastic team player and her teammates where quite good as well), but you never know, one of these guys could catch a break tomorrow. At the very least one of the these guys could make my day wheeled under Big Brown!

Racecar Rhapsody is wholly unimpressive on paper. Although, if you look closely you’ll notice that he’s never far off the leader and has hit the board 3 out of 6 tries. He’s also versatile when it comes to surface with no real giant variation in his performance on dirt and synthetics. That’s all fine and dandy but watch his last race… actually, watch his last 2 races. He’s got a good turn of foot, a great closing kick and will knock a horse out of the way if need be. I really liked him going in to the Lexington and I really like him here. He likes a fast pace and I think he’ll get it.

It’s tough for me to pick between Riley Tucker and Giant Moon, both like a fast pace and both have been knocking on the door. Giant Moon has been training nicely and seemed a touch more game the Riley Tucker last out so I’ll tentatively go with Giant Moon.

I also have to give a little bit of a shout out to Hey Byrn, I really like how he’s been training. He’s kept the same time at 5f but is now breezing it + his whopper mile endurance work time has improved as well. His last race had a really doddering pace but he’s been able to hang with a faster pace, at least at mile, so I may give him a look too.

I will definitely be factoring Big Brown into my wagering, unlike in the Derby. I might even do something crazy like trifecta wheel him to the field (and no doubt if I did that, he would lose).

Assuming either that Big Brown wins or is a non-factor…

Good luck and please let everyone get home safe!

I’ll try to post my picks for the rest of the card before I go to “The Office” tomorrow.

Posted by dana on May 16 2008    
Filed Under: 3yo, 2008, Picks, Pimlico, Preakness, Triple Crown, Handicapping, Racing

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She’s All Eltish blew my trifecta but I was still jumping up and down like a crazy person over Channing Hill’s killer ride on Sweet Vendetta.

Now y’all know why New Yorkers talk about Channing Hill so much! I also thought he did a great job in front of the camera in his interview with Jerry Baily.

And David Cassidy… who knew?

Posted by dana on May 16 2008    
Filed Under: Channing Hill, 2008, Celebrities, 3yo, TV, Wooo!, Pimlico, Racing

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