Big A From A-far

- We're down in Florida for a long weekend at my parents' place near Sarasota. However, racing is a big global village these days, and one's location is really unimpotant as long as one has an internet connection and a betting account....preferably one with live video, as perhaps the geniuses in New York will one day allow NYRA and its OTB's to do. One would have to be a real degenerate to bet a race and then just wait until it's over to see the flash results on Brisnet's Super Tote. Right?

(Excuse me, the first race is coming up....)

Whew, well, that was fun! Well, c'mon, none of you used to bet at OTB and discover your fate on delayed tape via the stretch calls on WCBS? Or called the OTB result line at 976-1212? Or bet games and gotten the scores from Howie Rose for Sportsphone! Action is action, and there's a certain thrill no matter how one gets the result. Especially if he/she is a degenerate (sitting by the pool on a sunny Florida afternnon)!

Anyway, I bet a couple of exactas with the three horse on top; Targe, for trainer Michael Maker. Guess it would have paid to reverse those as well, eh? Maker is back on the New York circuit, with 25-30 horses at the Big A. You may recall that the trainer and his main man Ken Ramsey were active at Saratoga, and should they be as much so as they were in the claim box as they were up there, it could certainly serve to liven up the winter meet. The barn had eight winner from 25 starters at the Spa, and is coming off a phenomenal Churchill meet in which Maker won 31 out of 80 races for a Catalano-like 39% (and every single on one of those, except for one, was ridden by Julien Leparoux, not in NY at the preent time). Targe was 6-1, and I'll do much worse value-wise than getting that price on a stable like this. Looking forward to following this barn from here on out.

Another returnee on the scene is Scott Lake, back on the inner track with 25 horses, mostly for owner Mike Repole. Some people have their opinions on Lake and why he left in the first place, but he should too serve to liven up the winter claiming sport.

Lake is a guy whose intentions you gotta try and figure. On Friday, he took the first with Bombilla. Daughter of Silver Deupty won by four at 3-2, but she didn't look obvious to me. Lake claimed her out of a race at the Meadowlands for 25K, waited 31 days, and dropped her to 15K for this spot. Trying to pull one over? Or a case of damaged goods? Can't really conclude from the fact that she won that it wasn't the latter, considering that she beat a field of grass horses and milers in a two-turn dirt race. With the winner's share of $11,400 added to the $15,000 received via the claim box from trainer Dominic Galluscio, the whole exercise, yielding a profit of $1140, hardly seemed worth the bother!

Using Formulator, I see that, over the last five years, on only 16 occasions had Lake dropped a horse in claiming price by at least 50% fresh off the claim. Seven of those were winners. Bombilla didn't quite drop enough to add to that stat, but perhaps it's an indication that the barn is merely spotting these where it thinks it can win.

- Two Kasey K horses in action on Sunday - King Mobay goes in the first, a starters allowance for horses who have started for 10K or less in the last three years, for a purse of $30,000. You never know how these races are going to come up - this one is a bit tough I think. But I think King Mobay prefers two turns over the flat mile of his last. And Joaquin Memphis drops to a more appropriate level, running for 30K in the fifth. He won three races in four starts on the inner track last year. I hear it's supposed to get a bit chilly up there tomorrow; hope it's not too bad!