Friday Night Notes - June 17

- The best thing to report about today’s racing at Belmont was that it was a nice day and a lively crowd noticeably larger than the usual weekday crew. The racing was not really worthy though, and most of the scheduled turf races were taken off, including the 6th race. The change resulted in possibly the worst race I’ve ever seen in New York. It was clear that Lunar Rular would absolutely have to fall down to lose , and she didn’t look so hot herself. She was 3-5; she should have been 1-35, winning by 21 lengths. Another off-the-turfer in the 9th resulted in an 18 length winning margin. There were some good favorites to bet against though, and I used the aforementioned Lunar Ruler as one of two singles in a pick 3 that paid $106.50, so it was another pretty good day. It was a great day for Elbar Coa, who had four winners, and was in the money 7 out of 7. And it was just a great day, with a lively crowd noticeably larger than a normal weekday crowd; it seemed more crowded than the announced 5,114. They have live music during and after the races on Fridays, and actually manage to create a bit of a festive atmosphere.

- As we say goodbye to the Derby winner Giacomo for the rest of the year, Roman Ruler is being pointed by Baffert to a 6 furlong stake at Monmouth on July 4. Roman Ruler has been training brilliantly at Santa Anita, and most recently drilled a half in :46 flat on June 12. Prior to that, he worked six furlongs in 1:11 2/5. [Bloodhorse] Scrappy T. will remain in the dirt division as his audition on the turf was a failure. ``He just didn't take to it....Ramon said he didn't have the same spurt that he had on the dirt.” [Bloodhorse] As for Giacomo, his return as a 4 yo was said to be not ruled out, and owner Jerry Moss has a breeding deal with Frank Stronach. [Daily Racing Form]