YOUR URGENT ATTENTION NEEDED!

- Voters in Maryland will vote on slots next November. Of course, any relief for the racing industry there is still aways away...and that's if it passes. Trainer Ben Feliciano told the Baltimore Sun:

"Oh my, oh my, I'm not far from getting ready to move out of Maryland. I don't know how much longer I can take it...I'm hopeful this means we can get them [slots] and can compete with the other tracks. ... I'll try to hang on until the vote."

As if to emphasize that point, Laurel Park yesterday announced the deletion of two stakes races from its schedule. "We had to," [racing secretary Georganne] Hale said..."This way we have only one stake each Saturday." [Washington Post]

- I haven't been receiving any alerts from my virtual stables from either the Racing Form or Equibase in months. I was told by someone at DRF that it has something to do with Yahoo blocking the emails. That seems pretty unbelievable considering all the crap that gets through. If they're filtering out innocuous emails with workout or race information, then what the hell is so hard about blocking emails containing "LOTTERY WINNER!" "YOUR EMAIL HAS WON!!" "KINDEST REGARDS!" "YOUR URGENT ATTENTION NEEDED!" "WOMEN LIKE IT BIG!" It reminds me of the days - and perhaps you still see this in some places - when you'd walk into a store where the XXX porno mags were in full view to any man, woman, or child who walks in, but you had to ask for the Racing Form stashed behind the counter. Made me feel as if I needed a brown paper wrapper in order to carry it out.

- No Country For Old Men is the excruciatingly suspenseful, sadistically violent, but gorgeously photographed and ultimately meditative new film by the Coen brothers. I can't issue a general recommendation for a movie with the level of violence that this one contains, but I can for the non-squeamish who, for some reason, have nothing to do amidst all the racing around the country this weekend. If you see it, you may wonder, as did I, why other directors feel the need to amplify tension with music. There's not a note of a soundtrack to be found here, and I dare you to find anything comparable to what is surely the most pulse-raising scene of motel-room suspense since Marion Crane took her fateful shower. [Village Voice] For the Coens, it's a welcome return to form. Though I can't say that Raising Arizona was their best film, I think it will always be my favorite for some reason; but this one is certainly up there with more comparable efforts such as Miller's Crossing and Fargo. So see it if you dare, and call it, friend-o.