Notes - May 11

There have been no new disclosures about the Aqueduct bids or the bidders themselves; indeed, as has been pointed out, some of the best info and accurate speculation I've seen has come right here in the comments sections of this blog! This reader speculates that, just perhaps, a NYRA/MGM bid is part of the Peebles bid.....or maybe they make up Aqueduct Entertainment....and who knows who's part of the Steve Wynn offer. Indeed, could some of the old names from Excelsior be involved? Just speculation, but that's all fair and expected when the process is as opaque as this. I can't really see any justification for such secrecy, especially since the general public will ultimately be asked to pony up the money for the construction through a $250 million bond offering. Perhaps some of you legal types can offer an opinion as to whether this information would be subject to a freedom of information request?

- The weather has finally cleared, and Belmont recovered to some extent over the weekend from the abyss of Friday's card, when a grand total of 44 betting entries graced the nine races. There was actually a grass race on Sunday, as well as a decent crowd of 7385 on hand on Mother's Day. The weather looks decent throughout the week with just a couple of chances of passing showers on tap, so perhaps I'll actually make my Belmont debut this weekend.

A shout out to Richie Munk's Funky Munky Stable, whose Jack on the Rocks, on Saturday, won his second race for the stable (in addition to two seconds) since being claimed for 30K in January.

- Despicable.

...one of its biggest black eyes. Ever.

...a horror story.

Those are some samples from the press reaction to the now-aborted plot to exclude Rachel Alexandra from the Preakness. You'd think Mark Allen and Ahmed Zayat were plotting to have her relegated to a permanent stay on Ernie Paragallo's farm. Look, I do sincerely appreciate and even value the comments made disagreeing with my post; I think it's something about which reasonable people can certainly disagree, and I love the diversity of opinion; it's what makes the world go 'round. However, if you can't get at least get a laugh out of the rambling comments from the two abovementioned parties, then I respectfully submit that you're taking this all too seriously. And I also respectfully disagree with my buddy 30for60; the ratings for the Derby were actually pretty good, and I think it should carry over with the interest generated by the longshot Derby winner, filly or not. So I think the Preakness will be just fine either way. And, like a good Jane Austen novel, I think that delayed gratification would pay off in this case; let her first meet the boys later in the year when she's more mature, has more sufficient rest, the plot is presumably thicker, and at a time when the TV ratings are more in need of a boost.