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Thursday, July 13, 2006

News and Notes - July 13

- It was obvious after the Woodward that Nick Zito would have to get Commentator to be able to relax, lest he attract more killer rabbit attacks as he did that day. According to jockey Elbar Coa, Zito has accomplished what he needed to.

"I've run against (Commentator) before, and I really thought he was going to be very aggressive…..It really surprised me that he broke fast, but he relaxed for me. I was able to do anything I wanted to him…..This year, he's more professional, which is going to help him. I believe (Zito) can really do whatever he wants with this horse." [Albany Times Union]
But we’ll have to wait a while to see him run again; Zito said that he’ll pass the Whitney and be pointed to either the Woodward or the Forego, both to be run on Sept 2.

- Here’s a report, via Albany Law School Racing and Wagering Page, that, in 2004, the NTRA contributed $10,000 to the campaign of Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va, the co-sponsor of the bill passed by the House that outlaws most forms of online gambling, but with horse racing, covered separately by the Interstate Horseracing Act, excluded. In an editorial, the website The Online Wire takes aim at what it calls the hypocrisy of the exemption.
"This [online gambling] is a scourge on our society. It causes innumerable problems." Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., co-sponsor of HR 4411 said. "The Scourge" is where the cookie crumbles. Bob Goodlatte strangely forgets to mention that an individual can lose his shirt wagering on horses or placing bets on sports. The "moral" issue allegedly supporting the approval of the ban on online gambling fails to explain why horse wagering is not immoral, albeit being an "illegal" form of gambling, at least according to the DoJ.
Well, perhaps they have a point; if, that is, you don’t think that the whole idea of outlawing online gambling is ridiculous to start with. Whatsmore, Bloodhorse quoted Nevada Rep. Shelley Berkley as saying: “If we do not adopt this amendment [stripping out the exemption], the entire debate is a farce. The most special, special interest is the (NTRA)."

All I can say is: GO BABY GO!! Well-targeted campaign contributions! Being labeled a special interest by a member of Congress! The NTRA is playing the game, just the way everyone else does. Who says they're not doing anything right!?

- Here’s another ‘little guy’ story, and there seems to be a fair amount of little guys these days. Artistic Fella was purchased at sale for the grand sum of $13,000; now, riding an eight-race winning streak, he’s the 7-5 favorite in the Meadowlands Pace on Saturday night. (With six weeks in Saratoga just around the bend, my chances of getting the Head Chef to agree to go there may be termed as ‘slim.') Artistic Fella, by Pacific Fella (who is by Cam Fella, one of my all-time favorites) has already won over $400,000, and can go over the million mark with a win in this million dollar pace. He also has a good chance to shatter the stakes mark of 1:48.3 set by Rocknroll Hanover last year; he missed that mark by a fifth of a second in his elimination heat win last weekend.

- Saturday’s Summit of Speed at Calder is a fine event, and one that I’ll pass in its entirely, at least from a betting standpoint. I find sprint stakes such as these to be largely indecipherable, and feel that my efforts would be as fruitless as trying to bring peace to the Middle East. There are two Grade 1s on the day, the first ever at Calder, and each will feature a marquee name and big favorite. Lost in the Fog heads the Smile Stakes, and Dubai Escapade heads the Princess Rooney for fillies and mares.

Lost in the Fog will carry 125 pounds, and hasn’t scared anyone away. Twelve are entered to face him, including Kelly’s Landing, the runner-up in the Aristides, the last race for both colts. Greg Gilchrist was asked if the sprint champ was as good as last year, and he replied: "In my estimation, he's fine and just as good. He hasn't forgotten how to run." [Sun-Sentinal]

Dubai Escapade will face only six opponents, including last year’s Rooney winner Leave me Alone, and is listed at 4-5.

4 Comments:

Anonymous said...

...the reason on-line gambling is considered a "scourge on society" is because the governmental body issuing the statememnt isn't making any money from it...strange how you'll never hear the state lottery described in the same manner...or the horse tracks, or the Indian casinos, or whatever...to me, they ought to just legalize gambling outright and regulate it, like they do here in Nevada...i mean, it's not like there's no gambling going on in the other states....seems like a modern-day form of Prohibition, except that it's lasted WAY longer than that ever did...

...as for the Summit of Speed, it's something i look forward to every year (love me some Too Much Bling, btw)...what's neat about it is that you get several big name sprinters comnpeting over the same surface and same distance on the same day...it provides some good reference material, and pretty much lets you know where several of the top sprinters stand in terms of talent...of course, someb horses don't handle certain surfaces as well as they do others, and few of these horses have ever run at Calder before, but aside from that it's pretty cut-and-dried...one horse i was really loking forward to betting was My Miss Storm Cat in the Princes Rooney, but evidently she's been backed out for whatever reason...maybe Baffert didn't want to run here against Leave Me Alone, or perhaps more likely she's suffered another injury...in any case, i think she was a threat to outrun Lost in the Fog, Too Much Bling, and everyone else on the card...would've been a bit of a price too, i'd expect...oh well...Go TMB...

Anonymous said...

Since your staying away from the Calder card, maybe you could adress the big weekend at Delaware Park, especially the Del'Cap? It is a rare race for fillies and mares at 10 furlongs and I believe a NY bred trained by Pletcher is the favorite.

Anonymous said...

...Bordonaro just worked 6 furlongs in 1:10 flat @ Santa Anita...WOW...

...Latent Heat has been entered in the Long Branch @ Monmouth this weekend...

...speaking of Bordonaro and the gang, any chance Frankel turns Latent Heat back in distance and takes a shot at the BC Sprint?...incidentally, when Frankel landed the Sprint with Squirtle Squirt a few years back, he ran him in four consecutive 7-furlong races prior to the Breeders Cup...really served him well in the Sprint, as Squirtle had a little more oomph in deep stretch than did Xtra Heat or Caller One...if you see Latent Heat dropped back to 7 furlongs later this year (King's Bishop?), i think that'd be a pretty good indication of where he's headed...

...as for Commentator, way to narrow it down Zito...the Woodward or the Forego???...Zito's never been the most forthcoming guy anyway, but good grief... 8^P

Alan Mann said...

Also, that's some campaign for Commentator. A state-bred race, the Woodward (or Forego) two months later, and then what...straight to the Breeders Cup?

Tim, thanks for stopping by! Food and drink tips are also welcome. I have a woman though, so not in the market for any, neither stiff, cheap, nor otherwise.