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Friday, March 05, 2010

Gulfstream Friday (Updated with Nyra)

In the 4th, Ancient Sunlight (4-1) is back after just three weeks, and that in itself seems significant. Trainer Bill Turner, who lit up the tote with Platinumplus ($53.20) last week, has found it difficult to keep this one on the track; just one of his first six races is not followed by a layoff line. The only exception though resulted in a narrow loss at Belmont last summer. Here, he returns to the grass and drops in class from his previous tries on the green. Two races back, in maiden special company, he lost by just 3 1/2 lengths to the impressive Dynamoor, who we mentioned the other day after his second straight subsequent win. Love the two workouts since the most recent race; looks ready to go with Prado aboard. Perfect Boom (3-1) should benefit from his inside post after a wide journey last time out; likely favorite for Tagg has settled for minor awards two tries this level.

In the 9th, Ermine Slippers (5-1) is another one who has raced infrequently; her latest layoff is three months. She always seems to give a good account of herself though, and should definitely like the return to turf after her last effort on the Cushion Track at Hollywood Park, for trainer Christophe Clement. Daughter of El Prado may also appreciate her reunion with jockey Joe Bravo, who rode her to her two best career efforts, which came after the addition of blinkers. Gets a nice post in a tough field with other main contenders drawn outside. Siren Seranade (3-1) has been beaten as the favorite in her last three, and switches to Castellano today.

- Quite an evening at the Guggenheim Museum last night. For it's 50th anniversary, it staged a three hour performance art piece featuring video artist Danny Perez, and Brooklyn's much-beloved indie art-rockers Animal Collective. Hard to exactly describe, you had to be there on the ramps which ascend up and around the building's massive circular tower; but video projections and light shows were accompanied by an original score composed by the band (which appeared and "performed" in costume, though the music was recorded). The tower was completely wired for sound, and the music literally seemed to swirl around the building. The sound board was visible to the public, and a computer screen showing the potential paths of the music looked like one of those maps of Los Angeles' highways from those old Johnny Carson routines. It all provided for an eerie and captivating effect. Time Out NY suggested that you BYOLSD; don't know if that was quite necessary, though a bong hit or two certainly wouldn't have hurt.

Of course, then I had to go and ruin it all by catching the second half of the Rangers losing to the Penguins while being outshot 24-1 over the third period and overtime!

This is the video for the song Brother Sport, from Animal Collective's 2009 release [Merriweather] Post Pavilion, which you've surely heard of if you checked out any top ten album lists from last year.



UPDATE




Helen Mirren as Nyra, an evil queen of the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, where the birds are actually brainwashed into becoming soldiers...that from the new film Legend of the Guardians. And, you know, it's animated, so that's not really Helen Mirren. More in the comments section.

16 Comments:

Anonymous said...

A little fun this Friday morning:

Warner Bros. unleashes Zack Snyder's 'The Legend Of The Guardians'

Helen Mirren is the voice of "Nyra", an evil queen in Zack Snyder's animated film 'The Legend Of The Guardians,' in theaters this September. ...

So NYRA is now an evil Queen. I bet there are many NYRA hecklers out there who will love this one.....

steve in nc said...

Funny, the mythical projection of NYRA I've always conceived would be behind the window as one waited on line for entrance to hell.

The line would move really slowly, cigar smoke would cloud the room (I do date myself), and rats would nibble your ankle. The guy behind you would alternately belch, curse, bump his belly and program into you, and then lecture you about how the jock on the horse he is about to bet would stiff him again.

When you got to the window, the guy would ignore you while he put in his own tickets, then blow smoke in your face with a "sorry bud, the 5th is closed."

You'd blink and find yourself in the back of the line again, barefoot on the freezing floor, someone's cigar butt providing the only flavor in your cold coffee.

Anonymous said...

If I were an evil queen I would want Helen Mirren to play me too......

So who will play Charlie Hayward?

Anonymous said...

Steve in nc

You should definitely go see "Alice in Wonderland" the new Tim Burton movie with Johnny Depp. I hear it is amazing. I am looking forward to seeing it myself.....

Anonymous said...

ALan

Well done for getting into the spirit of the NYRA as the "Evil Queen"

We all need to show a little humor now and again.............

Alan Mann said...

>>Well done for getting into the spirit of the NYRA as the "Evil Queen"

Thanks, but hat tip goes to the 8:20 Anon poster for pointing it out.

Anonymous said...

Info for the 2 stooges - Alan and Steve:

House liberals pressed President Barack Obama on healthcare reform Thursday and left the White House without making any commitments to vote for the final bill.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, told The Hill that liberals challenged Obama on the lack of a public health insurance option and other provisions in the Senate bill the president has endorsed.

Lee said Obama said he still "strongly supports" a public option, but "the votes aren't there."

But, she said, Obama said the current healthcare legislation is a "foundation," adding he "would work with us on the next effort."

"I am going to keep hop[ing] for a public option," Lee said. "And he said he's going to work with us."


Lee is one of Obama's big supporters. She also is a Communist - she loves Castro.

steve in nc said...

Anon, you can call me Curly. Shall we call you Joe McCarthy or Roy Cohn?

The Communist Party in the US was one of the few outspoken early supporters of civil rights. Does that make communism good, civil rights bad, or your ideological rantings irrelevant?

Right wingers of the 50s and 60s denounced MLK as a commie too. How do you feel about Dr. King, Senator McCarthy?

Anonymous said...

I think Johnny Depp should play Charlie Hayward..........

Anonymous said...

Mar 6, 2010 | 08:42 AM


Penn National close to acquiring Beulah Park
By Matt Hegarty

Beulah Park in Columbus, Ohio, and Penn National Gaming Inc. are in the final stages of negotiations in a deal that would transfer the track to Penn National and settle a lawsuit filed by Beulah against the company, according to multiple racing officials with knowledge of the discussions.

If the deal is completed, Penn National would acquire a racetrack in the same city in which it plans to build a $400 million casino by 2012. The deal would also allow Penn National to avoid thorny questions about its involvement in lobbying for and against expanded-gambling measures in Ohio by dismissing a lawsuit Beulah filed against the company in 2009. The lawsuit alleged that Penn National breached a contract with Beulah by opposing slot-machines at racetracks and supporting an effort to get a measure on the 2009 ballot asking voters to approve four casinos, two of which would be owned by Penn.

Officials with knowledge of the discussions emphasized that the deal had reached a critical stage on Thursday night but had not been completed.

Charles Ruma, the owner of Beulah Park, declined to comment on Friday. A spokesman for Penn National, Eric Schippers, said the company does not comment "on new business opportunities we may be pursuing."

Penn National is a publicly-owned company with racing and casino operations in 15 states, including racetrack-casinos in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Mexico.

Beulah is one of three Thoroughbred tracks in Ohio. All three have struggled for a decade, but hopes for the tracks were briefly rekindled in the summer of 2009 when Gov. Ted Strickland, as part of a budget maneuver, authorized 2,000 slot machines at each of the tracks and at four harness tracks. The plan was immediately challenged by several organizations in multiple lawsuits, and, within months, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the measure could not be implemented unless opponents were given an opportunity to collect signatures for a 2010 public referendum.

In the meantime, a coalition supported by Penn National collected enough signatures to get a separate measure on the November ballot authorizing four casinos in the state. The measure passed, giving Penn National the right to operate casinos in Columbus and Toledo. Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA franchise and the online mortgage lender Quicken Loans, received the right to open casinos in Cincinnati and Cleveland.

Beulah filed the lawsuit against Penn National on Sept. 15, prior to the casino measure passing. The lawsuit alleged that Beulah and Penn had reached an agreement in 2006 to lobby for slot machines at racetracks, but that Penn breached that contract in 2009 by lobbying against any measure supporting slots at racetracks at the same time it pushed for the ballot measure authorizing the standalone casinos.

Anonymous said...

Penn National runs a second rate racing program at best and now is settling what would appear to have been an embarrassing lawsuit in Ohio. I have never liked this company. I suspect their cries of being 'duped' in New York over Aqueduct wont hold up neither.

Anonymous said...

Has Penn National Gaming, Inc ever addressed their highly conditional offer of $300 million for Aqueduct which is at odds with their claim of making the highest offer:

Extract from Penn National Gaming, INC Submission August 13, 2010:

The Penn National offer is contingent on the resolution of the items noted on our prior communications, which include, but not limited to:

1) Retention of control of the access and parking in regards to any NYRA or non-gaming/mixed use development

2) Protection in the manner of the refundability of the fee on a pro-rata basis over the term of the right to operate Aqueduct VLT's if the state allows tribal gaming south of Yonkers Raceway or East of Walt Whitman Road/Route 110

3) A cap of $1M on pre-existing
and NYRA generated environmental liability

4) NYRA expenses to be paid from the $250 million fee

5) The Aqueduct ground lease not to exceed one-half of one percent of gaming revenue.

These contingencies are potentially VERY costly to the State and NY taxpayers. The facts speak for themselves. The State could never accept Penn National's $300 million offer with these onerous conditions attached.

I understand why people dont like or trust this company.

Anonymous said...

Johnny Depp is too handsome and young to play Charlie.

Karl Malden would have been a more appropriate choice were he still alive.

alan said...

Hands down, it's Charles Durning.

Anonymous said...

Definitely agree.

Charles Durning it is.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Alice In Wonderland a/k/a a "logical" response to Obama-Pelosi-Reid....

Steve In NC....you regurgitate the "party line" about civil rights, Joe McCarthy, and Roy Cohn...until you read the only true scholarship on the subject by M Stanton Evans entitled "Blacklisted By History", you are merely recycling all of the usual mis-statements, fabrications, and out and out lies of the left and CPUSA.

First, remember that it was Republican President Lincoln who freed the slaves at enormous cost to the Union. You need to also concede that it was the solid Democrat South and Democrat local, state and national leaders, including those in NC, who devised segregation in the post Civil War era and defended this immoral institution until the mid-1960's.

MLK, like most blacks of the time, was a Republican since it was Republicans who were the only national party promoting equal rights for all. It was only with Republican support that it was possible to enact the civil rights legislation passed under LBJ following JFK's assassination in 1963.

The greatest irony of all is that Joe McCarthy was not the originator of "McCarthyism" but rather was the first victim of McCarthyism, a pattern of smears and lies invented by Democrats, left wing radicals and CPUSA of the '30's, '40' and '50's. Per usual, the lying left used the very tactics they projected onto to their enemies. That is the Lenin-Stalin-Alinsky way.

The present Administration and it's allies know and use such disgraceful tactics well witness ObamaKare and a number of other initiatives. They also continue to "enslave" minorities by holding them hostage to failed Democrat policies. It is based on an underlying contempt for the American people and a smug, elitest assumption that such "leaders" know what is best for us average slobs. The rise of the Tea Party is the only rational response, it has been a long time coming. /S/greenmtnpunter