Belmont Sunday

In the 5th, Duke of Homberg (10-1) goes back on the grass second off the layoff for trainer Tom Albertrani (0 for his last 15 at Belmont), and this is an extremely similar scenario to the one in which he won the Hallandale Beach Stakes at Gulfstream in February (defeating a field of three-year olds which included some pretty nice horses in Lime Rickey, Tamborim, and stakes winner Beacon Hill Road). Then, as now, he'd had a layoff of 2 1/2 months, and was making his second start around a month after his return. In this case, you can throw out his last, which was run on a sloppy main track. This son of Dynaformer showed some sharp speed down at Gulfstream; he faded to 6th in the subsequent Palm Beach after the rider rocketed him out to a large lead with a second quarter of 22 3/5 in the nine furlong race. Back today with Garcia, who rated him kindly in the Hallandale Beach, he's got the rail and not a whole lot of speed outside of him.

Ballast (5-1) takes a drop in class for David Jacobson, who as we know is not afraid to drop them in order to get the purse. Class of the field with eight wins and nearly $500,000 in career earnings has good tactical speed and figures to get a trip behind the leader. Expansion (3-1) was awesome last time, recovering from being checked quite sharply and rallying for second. Thing is though, that he always runs well, but has come up just short four times at short odds since moving to this level. Sette E Mezzo (5-2) moves up in class for Mott; note that three horses from his last race have come back to win....but all switching to the dirt. I don't know what that means. Good luck and have a great Sunday.

Belmont Notes

Three graded stakes at Belmont on the 4th of July, but it was the 4th race which provided the best finish of the day. Too Amenable, who I picked here, made a wide and decisive move turning for home, blindswitching Globemaster in the process. That one encountered further traffic in the stretch, and I thought I was home free. But Ramon was relentless as usual, and after he was able to swing his horse out for room at around the sixteenth pole, he closed with a rush to get up by a nose. Globemaster ($11.80) was well-bet in his first try on turf after running up the track at 16-1 on dirt; that despite an anemic Tomlinson figure of 172. He's by Forbidden Apple, a son of Pleasant Colony last reported to be standing at Bridlewood Farm in Florida. However, a peek at that farm's website fails to find him amongst the listed stallions, so I fear that he is no longer amongst us.

Better luck in the Dwyer - I thought that was a great win price on Kensei ($15.40), even though he went off at his morning line odds. It was a great price on anyone you liked other than Warrior's Reward, bet down to an absurd 4-5. Kensei is by Mr. Greeley, who stands for $75,000....it was only his second stakes winner of the year.

Dry Martini came from nowhere to win the Suburban going away. Nice job by Prado saving ground into the stretch, and patiently waiting for a clear path home. 6-1 in the morning line, the six-year old gelded son of Slew Gin Fizz paid $23.60, not bad for a horse winning his 4th graded stakes race.

One race I noticed from Churchill - in the 6th, Cowgirl Mally, 5-1 morning line for trainer Eddie Kenneally, got punched from the start, pounded to 8-5 by post time, and won by a handy length after a bold four wide move on the turn. You gotta love this game. This is a two-year old daughter of the solid first-out sire Gone West (15%), looking particularly handsome on his Stallion Register page I must say; out of a Seattle Slew mare who's a full sister to the graded winner General Meeting. This is also the female family of the fleet Carson City.

The crowd of 7,667 wagered almost $1,378,300 into the mutuel pool. With the benefit of one extra race, that's some $20,000 more than was bet on Rachel Alexandra day the Saturday before, when the crowd was announced as being 13,352.

We split after the Dwyer....hey, it's a holiday; we had burgers to grill, and fireworks on the west side to not really be able to see. Seemed as if the NYC police did everything they could to block access to the streets with the good views. So, as it turned out, it probably wouldn't have mattered if we had stayed for the Suburban. However, the idea of earlier post times on holidays is something we tossed around after Memorial Day. 5:50 PM seems rather late for the feature race on a day in which a lot of people have holiday-related plans in the evening.

Here We Go Belmont

The unstable weather seems to have moved on, just like the unstable soon-to-be former governor of Alaska. However, that last rain at Belmont yesterday must have (also) been a bitch, as this morning's turf update shows that the course is yielding, and the second race has been taken off.

Trainer Christophe Clement has won 15 of 57 races at the meeting (26%) after taking the 8th on Friday with his three-year old filly Giant Moon, apparently none the worse for wear after taking a beating in the Acorn. In the 4th today (Saturday), he sends Too Amenable (3-1) to the post for his second career start. This three-year old son of the thus-far disappointing Pleasantly Perfect dawdled through a half mile or so of his debut before making a wide run on the turn, with a fast finish to miss by just 2 3/4 lengths. Second place finisher Separatist came back to win (via DQ). Too Amenable is a half-brother to the stakes-placed turf runner Blitzen Too. Compliance Officer (2-1) would seem to be a classic case of lone speed; however, he had an easy lead in his last, at seven furlongs, and the extra distance can't help here.

In the 7th, Urban Flight (9-2) goes for trainer Richard Violette, and with jockey Cornelio Velasquez, for whom he's performed quite admirably since they hooked up two races back. He dropped back after some early trouble in his last before making an impressive run for second while widest of all on the turn; gamely holding off Stormy Success at the end, and three lengths behind Extra Zip, who came back his next by six lengths with a 92 Beyer. Minnie Punt (3-1) won a state-bred stakes straight out of the lowly NY-bred maiden claiming ranks, and stretches out to a mile and a sixteenth here; Johnny V returns for trainer Mike Miceli.

The extra distance would seem to be the main question for Kensei (6-1) in the Dwyer. This improving colt was in an uncomfortable spot between horses and wide around the turn in the seven furlong Woody Stephens, and finished well once he found running room in the stretch; just missed the bob for second to the impressive Everyday Heroes (as Munnings ran away) in a final furlong of 12.22. Little reason for me to think that this son of Mr. Greeley out of a Belong to Me mare couldn't go on in this one-turn route. (Hails from the direct distaff family of Wait A While, whose third dam is the second dam of Kensei). Just Ben (2-1) freaked on a good track in entry-level allowance company; that 109 Beyer will attract a lot of money. You might attribute the effort to his 480 Tomlinson (though he failed on a good track at Churchill against an excellent field which included Warrior's Reward, the 9-5 ML favorite here). Standing against. Warrior's Reward went down at 4-5 in the Northern Dancer after freaking himself in that aforementioned Churchill race; two for two around one turn, but no value here, and Borel might be tired after spending an hour signing autographs.

- Free music on Friday night from Brooklyn-based Here We Go Magic (and New Zealand's Bachelorette) at the South Street Seaport on an absolutely gorgeous New York City evening. Great show....and besides, any band with a chick playing a slamming bass guitar is OK in my book!



















Here We Go Magic

3rd of July Notes

Pletcher took the second on Thursday with Newport ($7.90), running for a 65K tag in a high-priced maiden claiming affair. First time Ramon probably didn't hurt either. This is a three-year old daughter of More Than Ready who James Scatuorchio paid $350,000 for in 2007. I've noticed that the Toddster seems to win his share in the maiden claiming ranks, not a level that we might normally associate him with, and a look at Formulator confirms that. Pletcher is a solid 25% in the category over the last two years; four winners in his last seven such starters overall, at all tracks (mostly out of town).

Scotchontherocks ($13.60) won the third for Scott Lake while running for a 60K tag, and has to be in the running for claim of the year. Lake took this three-year old gelded son of Trust N Luck for 16K at Gulfstream in February. This was his 4th win in 7 starts since, plus two seconds, and he's now grossed some $80,000 for owner Donald L. Brown, Jr.....nice going there!!

Trainer Timothy Ritvo lost his first 27 races at this meeting....but has now won two of his last three (plus a third with 86-1 Todo K in the aforementioned second race) in July with the win by Dance Gal Dance ($3.80) in the Wandering Cloud Stakes. These things have a way of evening out.

- Via Bennett Liebman's Racing and Gaming Today page on the Albany Law School site, one winning bidder in NYRA's recent auction of land plots surrounding Aqueduct is suing the association, claiming that it is now demanding more money.

Sita claimed after he bought three Ozone Park lots for $233,200, the auctioneer contacted him June 13 and 15, telling him NYRA wanted more money for the properties and that it had a higher offer from a third party despite his having the highest bid at the auction.

Sita’s suit seeks enforcement of the contract he signed at the auction so he can receive title to the properties on Eckford and Huron avenues. [YourNabe.com]

- There were some folks who were annoyed at all the pot being smoked at a Ziggy Marley concert at Del Mar last year.

“I was appalled that marijuana smoking was being done so overtly with no attempt to hide it,” said a Carmel Valley resident who said he attended 16 concerts at the state fairgrounds this summer.

“I was offered a couple of doobies myself,” said another parent.

Yet another parent complained that vendors at the fair were selling purses, T-shirts and jewelry containing images of marijuana leaves. [Zimbio.com]

In response, new rules were established for reggae concerts at the San Diego County Fair, which is held on the grounds, establishing a minimum age of 21, banning all smoking, and authorizing pat-down searches at the door!! And then, they ended up canceling all of the reggae shows altogether.

However, that is hardly the case for the upcoming Del Mar race meeting, where no less than four reggae shows have been scheduled for the Friday concert series. In fact, I seem to recall a quote from a Del Mar official from last summer in which he joked about the scene - and scent. Probably doesn't hurt at the concession stands, that's for sure. And one of the shows - The Wailers - is scheduled for July 31, which is the Friday that I will be in town with the Head Chef and two teenage girls in tow. Perhaps we'll endeavor to leave the kids back at the beach that evening.....though they may have the same thing in mind for us. Ya mon!

Odds and Ends

- Mark Allen took Calvin Borel off Mine That Bird.

"I'm not going to bad-mouth Calvin or Jerry because they've done me a lot of good," said Allen. "Heck, they won the Derby for me. But I'm not going to let them hang us out the way they did before the Preakness, waiting until the last minute to tell us we needed another rider." [DRF]

He sounds a bit miffed, and I don't blame him. Borel would consider dissing the Kentucky Derby winner, a horse which propelled him to his current 15 minutes of fame, for Warrior's Reward?? Seriously??

- Racing and all the other sports should take a lesson from the National Hockey League, who have apparently given a salary cap exemption to the Montreal Canadians!! Right? Always a good idea to prop up your top franchises.

- Redboarding alert here....but looking at Wednesday's results at Belmont, it seems like at least some of the winners paid some pretty fair prices. Miss Catalyst took the second for the Toddster (just his sixth winner from 43 starters, a tad under 14%). Three-year old daughter of Mr. Greeley had burned money of late, and I'm sure those who lost on her at 4-5 and 6-5 in her last two were just thrilled to see her pay $13 here.

In the third, Pinckney Hill was pounded to 3-5 in the Don Jack Stakes (T) off his 2 for 2 record, high Beyers, and impressive allowance win after a slow start. Fair enough, but that meant fair prices for some other nice horses in this overnight stakes. Sal the Barber ($15, with Dominguez) was coming off a close third in the Lamplighter at Monmouth in only his third career start. There obviously was room for improvement, and improve he did with a four length win and a Beyer of 97 (!) for trainer Christophe Clement. Sal the Barber (Alphabet Soup) is a three-year half-brother to the turf stakes winner Joyful Chaos; he's inbred 4x5 to Ribot.

In the 7th, Bobs Pinup Girl ($10) was moving sharply up in class after winning her first turf race, which came after a 1 for 13 career record on dirt. He was 12-1 that day, and won easily while jumping up to a 75 Beyer. Still, the bettors on Wednesday were obviously a bit skeptical of her 3-1 morning line. This daughter of Tiger Ridge, claimed by Sydney Dutrow for 20K in December, improved to an 80 Beyer here. And in the 8th, Hurricane Heat was 5-2 morning line off a huge win with a 90 Beyer first off the claim for Gary Gullo; but was let off at 4-1 as the bettors went for El Tamberito, even money for Ramon and Anthony Dutrow, instead. Not nearly as dominant this time, but that's two-for-two and gross earnings of $42,000 since being claimed for 14K. Gullo continues to have a solid meet - now eight for 27, just under 30%; four winners and a neck loss with his last nine starters.

- Senate Republican leaders in Albany will, once again, show up for a public negotiating session, daring Democrats to try to reach agreement on a power sharing deal. Don't count on it; the Democrats didn't show up on Wednesday, and if they do on Thursday, they'll be greeted with the same tired assertion that June 8 happened and "needs to be recognized."

In a couple of interesting analyses, Danny Hakim of the Times asserts that the Republicans are in a "panic," in the face of a growing trend in the state towards the Democrats, as they try to undo the worst of what life in the minority party means in Albany. (In other words, to not be treated the way they themselves treated the Democrats during their 40 years as the majority.) But Tom Robbins writes in the Village Voice that it's a fear of the Democrats' progressive agenda which, though in fits and starts, was starting to move along, that is behind the GOP's desperation. Listen to the ridiculous lengths to which Senator Skelos will go to rationalize his position.

Of course, the Democrats are no better, insisting as they are that they had a quorom to pass over 100 bills on Tuesday when Republican Senator Frank Padavan took a short cut through the Senate chamber to get a Coke. Or maybe it was a V8. Or a cup of coffee? Some Democrats think he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Padavan had to know what he was doing," said [Sen. Diane] Savino. "They teach this to us on the first day -- as soon as the journal clerk sees you, you are marked present. Those are rookie mistakes." [Times Union]

And Democrats question why Padavan didn't simply notify the chamber that he was not present, as the rules permit him to do.

In any event, Padavan insists he was just passing through, and Governor Paterson says he won't sign the bills. He's keeping the Senate in town for the holiday weekend for their own, very special brand of fireworks.

Mythical Jackpot in Queens

You may have noticed the link to the mythical Aqueduct racino in a prior post. It's not a goof, but rather the vision of developer R. Donahue Peebles (presumably representing his own bid with MGM Mirage rather than the one with Delaware North).

Oh, so this is what it's gonna look like, eh?

Wow, pretty swanky. (Maybe photographed at Yonkers?)

OOO, look, is that a......horse race?

Oh man, talk about hitting the jackpot.

I know it's going to be classy because it has a porte-cochere, and I had to look that up to see what it is. It looks like the slots would occupy the second floor of the plant, "thoughtfully configured based on denominations," with "an intuitive flow," and "ample parking opportunities."

Hmmm, parking opportunities sounds like he's going to sell PSL's for the prime spots; or perhaps for a personal valet.

This is all no joke to the breeders and owners in the state however....nor to those of us who maintain a fondness for the Big A. It's time man, I've written ad nauseum how much I dig the place, but at this point it's starting to lose its charm. We've been staring at the same faded decor for a lot of years, and it's getting really tired. A complete renovation of the plan is long overdue, and I have to admit that I get excited looking at cheesy pictures like these, just considering the possibilities. Yeah, bring in the damn slots, and get the joint a-jumpin'....and that means night racing. If the thoroughbred horsemen aren't into that, then bring in the harness guys, they can use the inner track as a mile oval and even race on the turf.

Of course, there likely won't be a decision on the winning bidder until the Senate stalemate is settled, and score one here for Governor David Paterson. The embattled governor has taken all kinds of abuse of late, but he's the one laughing now after a State Supreme Court judge ruled that he does, indeed, have the authority to call the Senate into extraordinary session even if the Assembly isn't around. The judge ordered a joint session this morning, though the Republicans immediately appealed and put that on hold. Regardless, the triumph led the governor to boast: “With today’s Supreme Court decision, we confirm that at least two branches of government are working in Albany."

Yeah, take that. It was very brave indeed of Democrat and Republican senators alike to attack a governor with an approval rating of around 8. He was labeled as 'incompetent' for forcing them into special sessions that they claimed, wrongly at this point, were illegal; and vilified for threatening to withhold their pay. But the Democrats' only proposed solution was to pack up and go home. Instead, they're at least in town and have been negotiating power-sharing with the Republicans, though those talks seem to be going nowhere fast. The sticking point is no doubt the issue of leadership, with the Republicans holding fast to the 32-30 vote that empowered the so-called coalition (30 Republicans plus two shady Democrats), even though the count now stands at 31-31. Would Senator Skelos still insist that the vote is the vote if five Republicans switched sides tomorrow?

- The parent company of Monticello Raceway has $65 million in debt due at the end of July, and it doesn't have the money. The largest creditor is Plainfield Asset Management, which co-owns Jeff Gural's Vernon and Tioga Downs, and is said to want to own the property. It's kinda hard to see why.

Its daily take per slot is the lowest of New York's eight racinos — the second-lowest of all 42 casinos and racinos in the Northeast, according to the most recent Gaming Industry Observer's East Coast Slot Report. Attendance continues to plummet, down 11 percent from last year. [Record Online]

Whatsmore, they'd soon, at least in theory, have competition from Cappelli's racetrack and racino at the Concord and its 75% retention rate. Could be that what Plainfield is really interested in is a piece of that action.

- I guess I'm much too old to talk about a rock concert in terms of life-changing experience. But everything's relative, and for me to see Dinosaur Jr last week, a band which I've revered for two decades and which is now in prime form two albums into their reunion, in an intimate (but not too crowded) space with an absolutely pitch-perfect sound system (hardly a given; in fact, I'd say a relative rarity in my concert-going career), is the equivalent of a Bruce fan seeing their Boss while sitting in the 10th row at Radio City Music Hall. The downside is that, with the summer concert season still young, I'm not likely to see a better show. Except perhaps Dinosaur Jr., when they play a free show at Central Park in August. Don't expect to see me at Saratoga that day.

Sunday Night Notes

Saturday's late Pick Four returned $764, with a pool of almost $485K easily exceeding the $350K guarantee, to those bettors who benefited from what seemed like a routine call on the DQ which made Separatist the winner. Seems like a good payoff to me, considering that, the way I saw it, the 8th was the only race which required going deep at all. Not redboarding - I mentioned Piazza di Spagna yesterday, and I did end up singling him. I used the two horses I mentioned in the 10th, of which the winner was one. And I of course took advantage of the free marker in the Mother Goose. I'm not that stupid. I was fully prepared to rescind my holy request that she somehow lose.

But it never got to that point because the half dozen horses I used in the 8th did not include Big Jerome ($40.20); and if the general silence which greeted the result was any indication, I was not nearly alone. My closest runner was Parc des Princes, third by a neck and a nose at 6.80 to 1. Never considered the winner; not that his past races at this level had been bad. And he had some nice back figs too. But he certainly wasn't inspiring, especially from the 13 post. Perhaps he paid off for some of you?

Rachel Alexandra got a Beyer of 111 for her 19 1/2 length win (with Durkin nailing it again) in stakes record time. There was some discussion about how fast the track was in the comments section here. Souped-up tracks on big race days is one of those things that nearly everybody says it's a bad thing, yet it happens every time, or so it seems. It's hard to understand - not like there's a public hankering out there for track records. And as one reader pointed out, besides being dangerous, it's boring.

With the other two horses setting a brisk pace just ahead, it was far more like a time trial in harness racing than your typical Grade 1 stakes race. Between that and the fast surface, it's little wonder she broke the stakes record. However, I imagine that the track has been fast for other Mother Goose cards; and the list of winners includes some of the legends of the sport. So it has to be considered an impressive accomplishment in any event.

Back to normal on Sunday with around 6,700 on hand. In the Grade 2 First Flight, Porte Bonheur had the classic pocket trip on the rail down the backstretch behind dueling leaders Carolyn's Cat and Sunday's Geisha. Ramon Dominguez had to swing her out to the four path for a running lane in the stretch, and it looked for all the world to me that she wasn't going to make it; even after she changed leads around midstretch. But the meet's leading rider - by a wide margin and not because he has all that many more mounts than the runners-up - kept driving on this four-year old daughter of the deceased Hennessy through a seventh furlong which she may want no part of. He managed to get her up by a nose through a fairly plodding final eighth of 13:07, earning a moderate Beyer of 87. Ramon certainly fits this filly, with three wins and a second in his four rides on her....but I'd look for her to stick to six in the future.

The barn of trainer Rodrigo Ubillo has been live all year. He'll need a new jockey or two these days; and Eibar Coa came through in the 10th with Vivi's Book. Ubillo has two winners, two seconds and a third with his last five runners here at Belmont.

No Paddock Show for Rachel Fans

NYRA got its extra 5-6,000 fans out to see Rachel Alexandra.....at least according to NYRA, which announced Saturday's crowd as being 13,352. That figure certainly did not manifest itself in the backyard in terms of any significant extra crowding or lines. But hey, this is one count not worth getting beat up or shot over.

I guess maybe they were all hiding until the Mother Goose, as the paddock was pretty much filled, if hardly packed, before the race. And here is where I have a major bone to pick. All week, NYRA pleaded with us to please come see Rachel Alexandra, could she be the one, pink bracelets, free admission for women, blah blah blah. But, with the purported big crowd waiting on the grandstand side to see her and her celebrity jockey parade triumphantly around the walking ring, she was walked once around by her handlers, and then, after Borel got aboard on the clubhouse side, headed straight into the track, skipping the ceremonial loop around. A smattering of boos resulted, and I can hardly blame them; that was really weak. And an excellent way to shatter any good will amongst any new fans that might have been on hand.

Belmont Saturday (Mostly Inessential)

When I first went through the 8th, I put a big circle around So It Goes. He obviously relishes these shorter distances (though I think he may prefer 1 1/16), and it's third off the layoff for Donk, just three for 36 for the meet, but two seconds on Friday, including Strike the Bell, who couldn't quite last, at 8-1, in the overnight stakes. But after watching the replay of his last race, I'm a little less enthusiastic. He never looked a winner, lagging far behind while saving ground on the turn before finding a handy seam and finishing well. Nothing wrong with the effort, just looked less inspiring than on paper.

We were at the Francis Bacon exhibit at the Met last week, and I noted a quote from the artist to the effect that nine-tenths of everything is inessential. And I've often wondered on this blog how much of all the incredible handicapping resources currently easily available online is really essential to the job. It's not that it's a bad idea to watch a replay of a race, or look up detailed trainer stats in Formulator. But this being such an inexact science - indeed, one with a high degree of randomness - that any bit of mind-changing information could, perhaps, be just as likely to lead one astray as not. Since the paper Racing Form has always served us well - and even more so now than 20 years ago to be sure - maybe it's the case that once you formulate a strong opinion based on what's in the Form, you're better off not probing any further? I mean, it's going to either reinforce your opinion, or talk you off the horse, and does anyone know how that turns out in the long run?

I digress, sorry. OK, I'm not completely off So It Goes, but now I'm going deeper. North Country (12-1) comes off a layoff first time for David Duggan; he has the best grass Beyers in the field. He's one of those state-breds looking for a level after running out of his restricted conditions; but he raced well at this level on a 'good' turf at Aqueduct last November. Duggan sports an 0 for 12 in the 180+ category; but has two good seconds in stakes races with returnees Porte Bonheur and Stud Muffin; capable barn attracts Ramon here. Parc des Princes (10-1) led in the stretch before fading to 4th in his return to Belmont. He's reunited with Castellano, who rode him in two good front-running, though non-winning, efforts here last year. I'd actually prefer to see him ridden the way he was by Flores at Santa Anita two back; in any event, seems an overlay at those odds. Big Top (6-1) is my preference amongst the five that met on May 20; three wide around the turn in his turf debut, could be closer second time on the surface and a better trip.

OK, it's after noon, so no on is gonna read this one time anyway....so just quickly, in the 7th, Piazza di Spagna (4-1) goes second off the layoff for Sciacca. This barn is just 1 for 43 at the meeting. But the horse usually makes a run, as he did finishing second in his return. The winner, Straight Story, then ran second by a head in the G2 Colonial Turf Cup. So, do you play the trainer angle and throw him out? Or the key race angle and single him? I dunno, you tell me.

In the 10th, Separatist is the 2-1 morning line choice for the red-hot Tagg, five for his last 11, with two seconds. But this horse is been beat in his last three at 9-5, 2-5, and 4-5, so beware. Saratoga Steve (5-1) returns to seven furlongs on the grass; seems the distance is definitely for him based on his rally for a close third. However, this is another whose race wasn't as impressive to me visually, and his trainer is 0 for 24 here. Do you go with the fundamentals in the Form, or with the trainer stats and replay? Why are you asking me? I'm off to the track, have a great day.

Turf Luck

(With apologies to the Quinella Queen.)

NYRA couldn't leave the Mother Goose out of the Pick Six (it's on MSG at 5PM), but, in order to make the wager as difficult as possible, it scheduled the other Five for the grass. However, after the deluge this evening which wiped out Friday's 9th race, there's the matter of whether some or all of them will be washed off the grass. The courses were already labeled 'yielding.' and the possibility of more showers exists. Could be another tough break for NYRA.

The problem with this scheduling is that if the worst ensues and they all have to be taken off, then, after the first four races (all on the dirt), you're left with a card consisting entirely of off-the-turfers and a five horse race with a 1-5 favorite. That would be a deal breaker for me as far as going to Belmont on Saturday. I've been psyched to go, and not to get a fucking pink bracelet. I'm ready to gamble. Haven't been to the track much at all of late. Been a nice, and necessary break. Now, I need at least a couple of tuneups before my next big horseplaying event - a return trip to Del Mar late next month; and with the Head Chef happily and otherwise occupied, here's my chance. We'll get the scoop early tomorrow from NYRA's Turf Update on the status of the races, but it'd be nice to know the night before. Not that I'm complaining or anything.

In any event, I give NYRA credit for putting together, at least on paper and at this point (with the weather having cleared, a horseplayer is always optimistic), a card chock full of full fields that look highly competitive, at least on first glance and based on the morning lines. That's what NYRA should be promoting!!! At least in a more perfect world, perhaps sometime in the not-too-far off future, when, flush with cash from the Aqueduct Casino, it can offer first class racing along with first class facilities; and convenient transportation from Manhattan with a revived Long Island Railroad service, with roving musicians and Serling handicapping over the loudspeaker system. "We have great horse racing, big fields, tons of action, slots if you prefer, either way, come, drink, laugh, meet hot guys and chicks, woo-hoo!!!" Rachel's Sandbox? C'mon.

This is the crux of my disagreement with those like my buddy Handride who think that the industry shouldn't market the gambling. I think it's the only shot. Based at least on my interactions with family, friends and co-workers, nobody cares about Rachel Alexandra, at least in the world beyond thoroughbred websites and blogs. And even if they do manage to attract a few thousand extra people, so what? When's the next time you think she's gonna run here? You think she'll really race at four? Will NYRA endeavor to market the real action to any new fans who might stop by, so that they might come back if and, in any event inevitably and in relative short order, when she doesn't?

Except in the rarest of occasions, I don't believe you can't market the game on specific horses anymore because they don't race enough and don't stick around nearly long enough. I wrote in that comment on Handride's blog that people won't watch sports in which they don't have a rooting interest; but as I was watching the US Open last week, I realized I was wrong about that. The players become familiar, the top ones more so, and the stars have ample opportunity to shine. Even as an extremely casual golf fan, I can turn on almost any tournament and have a certain amount of familiarity and context. That wouldn't be the case if the best golfers retired to a life of limitless faceless sex after their second competitive season.

Harumf. In the second, Burley's Gold is 5-2 morning line favorite for IEAH and Dutrow in his first race since his debut last July at Calder. You can see on his pp line that he beat the multiple GSW Big Drama, and he lost by a head to Miles And Miles, who won his next time out, and has since thrice run third (ha1 say that one ten times fast!). In addition, 4th place finisher Stately Character went on to win the Foolish Pleasure Stakes, and earned a 94 Beyer running 4th in the Florida Derby. Sweetlandofliberty (5th) is a two-time winner who ran a respectable 4th in the G3 Palm Beach. Livingston Street (7th) has won four times including a minor stakes at Calder last month.

So I think we can expect that this horse is going to get pounded at the windows as if he'd run last week month. We'll see if the Zito entry (2-1) is really the favorite. In any event, a couple of other ones seem interesting to me. Winged Hero (7-2) was third, at 21-1, in his debut, finishing behind Cabaret Cowboy, subsequently an impressive winner moving up to face winners; and Ricoriatoa, second in his next to the impressive Convocation. This son of Fusaichi Pegasus goes from the barn of the always-live Frank Alexander, with a winner (also with Cornelio) and a close second (with a 5-1 shot) in his last three starts.

Cat in the Sky (6-1) goes first time for Michael Trombetta. Most of you are probably aware that he's been a very good first-out guy over the years. But I believe in seeing what one has done for us lately, which is why I prefer to set my Formulator defaults to recent history. Checking this barn's stats.....oh. He's 11 for his last 30 (37&), and seven for his last 12! So, I guess he still pops them from time to time. This gelding is a three-year old son of Sky Mesa, a half-brother to stakes winning Cat Tour, and out of an Unreal Zeal half-sister to the venerable Tour of the Cat.

Hunch Bets for Friday, June 26

Startsomethingnew 9th at Woodbine
Frisk 6th at Lone Star
Guns Drawn 4th at Calder
Taxability 1st at Penn National
Eluding 8th at Presque Isle
Not So Timeless 6th at Canterbury
Unsung Song 8th at Calder

Whatever

We spent far too much time last year debating whether Jess Jackson would or would not / should or should not run his Horse of the Year candidate in the Breeders' Cup, so I'm not playing that game again, homey. Rachel Alexandra is his horse, run her, don't run her, I couldn't care less. But, of course, just a few comments before we move on from this permanently.

A friend made what I think is an excellent point: By so derisively shunning the Santa Anita racing surface ("plastic"), and framing his decision (at least as of today) in terms of Curlin's failure over it in the Classic, Jackson is protecting the value of his stallion by blaming his loss on the surface. Perhaps he feels that holding his filly out of the race could go a long way towards enhancing that perception.

Secondly, just maybe, a part of Breeders' Cup officials could actually feel relieved if she really doesn't run. If she were to go in the Classic, it would make a mockery of Filly Friday. If she were to run in the Distaff, they'd face pressure to move the race to Saturday, lest it be run on a late Friday afternoon/evening on ESPN2.

And finally, God I hope she gets beat on Saturday.

(I can just see the tweet now: Left at the Gate blog says he hopes that Jess Jackson chokes on plastic and that Rachel Alexandra is struck down by God.)

- Reader Mister Ed, seeing that I'm distracted by events upstate, sent along this link to Jerry Bossert's column in the Daily News.

All six OTBs regions in the state - Capital, Catskill, Nassau, NYC, Suffolk and Western, were supposed to answer a questionnaire given to them seven weeks ago by the Task Force [on the Future of OTB], and while the other five did comply, NYCOTB came up empty again.

"The task force members were rather disappointed that they did not receive any comment whatsoever from NYCOTB," New York State Racing and Wagering Board spokesman Joe Mahoney said. "They were the only OTB that didn't provide a comment."

Nice to see that they're taking the process seriously! Bossert quipped that NYCOTB's lobbyist Dan Wray used the "dog ate my homework" excuse, which would imply that they actually did their homework. So that might be giving them too much credit.

- And OH BABY, I scored a ticket on Craig's List for tonight's sold-out Dinosaur Jr show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, which has quickly become my favorite music space in the city. Their new album, Farm, is now out on Jagjaguwar Records, and it's as astoundingly good as advertised. (You can help support cool labels by buying direct.) This and the new Sonic Youth album (on Matador!) are two of the best releases of the year thus far. Nothing revolutionary, just two great bands - both veterans from the 80's - doing the things that make them great. So score one for the...er...dinosaurs!!

However, in terms of longevity, neither of these bands have anything on Ian Hunter. I saw the former frontman of Mott the Hoople in a free concert down by the Hudson River last night...and this guy recently turned 70!! Oh man, are you kidding me?!? I remember unwrapping the first Mott the Hoople album like it was yesterday...

Six Lobbyists Are Better Than One

- The Lottery Division's decision to install electronic table games at the state's racinos comes in spite of the fact that the bill authorizing them, which had easily passed the Senate (ah, the good old days - dysfunctional sounds pretty good around now, don't it? at least it has the function part), was not taken up in the Assembly before it adjourned (for now). “We don’t think we need the legislation,” said New York Lottery Deputy Director Bill Murray.

"Electronic table games are considered predominantly games of chance," [Lottery spokesperson Jennifer] Givner said. That's why games such as 21, roulette and craps are among the games we're considering." Such games, she said, are "not predetermined" when it comes to winning. [Buffalo News]

Not everyone agrees.

[Senator Frank] Padavan (R) said a law is necessary for table games and said he will be writing a letter to the Lottery. Padavan was a party in a suit against the Pataki administration over casino games, which are not allowed under the state Constitution except at Indian casinos. The outcome of the case was a ruling that said VLTs are permitted “but not the other games,” Padavan said.

“They’re in violation of the decision,” he charged. [Capitol Confidential]

Whatever your take, you might wonder just how it is that, with the Senate in chaos, and amidst the interminable delays in the racino at Aqueduct, not one, but two racino-related matters have popped up in the last two days. Perhaps the explanation is evident. In this post regarding the presence of the bill approving Louis Cappelli's latest plan at the Concord on Governor Paterson's proclamation for the aborted special session, I noted the developer's expensive taste in lobbyists. I then received an email from a reader which included a complete list of the lobbyists utilized by the various Cappelli enterprises, and it wasn't limited to Patricia Lynch. It's an extensive list, which includes other prominent names such as Brian Meara and Crane, Vacco & Sanders. A quick check on the Project Sunlight site showed that the Cappelli companies had spent over $100,000 on lobbying in Jan-Feb alone. There's probably more, but, as worthy as that website is, I find it harder to navigate than the state's lobbying regulations themselves.

Now, the fact that the announcement about the electronic table games came the day after the Concord bill showed up may not be a coincidence at all. Looking back to last November, when the bill authorizing them was first introduced and endorsed by Governor Paterson, the two articles that I linked to in my post on the subject each singled out Cappelli's venture as benefiting from the move, and they both quoted the same person. Take a guess.

"We think this legislation would be good for all racinos, including the Concord," said Darren Dopp, spokesman for Patricia Lynch Associates Inc., which lobbies on Cappelli's behalf. "The bottom line is that it brings hundreds of millions of dollars to the state and doesn't cost the state a dime."

Well, there's a surprise for you. You might wonder why, if Ms. Lynch is so influential, the bill wasn't considered by the Assembly. But remember that Mr. Silver's chamber is one in which she is likely keeping an extremely low profile. Here we are with the Senate unable to even properly consider routine revenue measures considered essential by localities throughout the state, but this matter is being rammed through despite failing to pass. Amazing.

- The bill that wasn't would have expanded gaming hours in the state.

The expanded hours alone would have generated an additional $36-million statewide per year, Murray said. [Thoroughbred Times]

- A spokesperson for the State Racing and Wagering Board cited the prospect of a full-blown casino just over the Massachusetts border as an incentive for the expanded gaming.

"We just can’t ignore that," New York State Racing and Wagering Board spokesman Joseph Mahoney said. "They’ve opened an office. They’re serious about this. They’re building a consensus of support in that area." [Saratogian]

- The Senate Democrats threatened to take their great big gavel and go home, after the Republicans stayed away from Wednesday's session....pouting after they lost their latest bid in court. However, after Governor Paterson threatened to call the State Police and halt their pay, neither of which it was clear he has the power to do, there's a report this morning that both parties have actually agreed to meet in a full, and presumably, single session. Exactly who will wield the coveted gavel is not clear. Maybe Louis Cappelli?

Silly Senate

A big racino deal is actually on Governor Paterson's list of bills to be considered during Wednesday's extraordinary (to say the least, if Tuesday's was any indication) session of the New York State Senate. However, unfortunately for NYRA and its customers, it involves not Aqueduct, but Louis Cappelli's pared-down Concord hotel/racino/harness track deal. As with the original $1 billion plan, Cappelli would keep 75% of gaming revenues (the TU post is incorrect). Who the hell is this guy's lobbyist anyway??

Oh.

Yeah.

Considering the events at Tuesday's special session, I think we've all run out of words to describe what's gone on in the Senate. Words like bizarre and surreal are no longer descriptive enough. And more judgmental descriptions such as disgraceful or farcical actually seems too weighty; I don't think it deserves anything more than silly.

The two sides, like feuding junior high schoolers refusing to acknowledge each other, began holding separate legislative sessions at the same time. Side by side, the parties, each asserting it rightfully controls the Senate, talked and sometimes shouted over one another, gaveling through votes that are certain to be disputed. There were two Senate presidents, two gavels, two sets of bills being voted on.
....
Democrats scored a tactical victory by seizing the official Senate gavel, which is large and made of black walnut, its whack echoing through the chamber with authority.

Senator George H. Winner Jr., who was presiding over the Republican session, was left to peck the table in front of him with a small gavel used by Republicans for their private conferences. “It’s better than the eyeglass case I was using before,” Mr. Winner said. [NY Times]

James T Madore has a running account on Newsday.com. 99 bills passed, 85 in the GOP "session," all by a vote of 62-0, even though nobody actually voted. No one objected either, and since there was a quorum present, both sides claimed their session was the official one. Still, the validity of the votes is very much in question.

However, you can bet that the defiant acquiescence resulting in unanimous votes won't be the case on Wednesday, since #1 on Paterson's list is the question of gay marriage. Add that volatile issue to this mix, and who knows what the hell will happen, especially with Senator Ruben Diaz, a virulently anti-gay marriage Democrat who has flirted with the GOP before, threatening something big.

Sources say while Diaz may be flirting with Republicans, he is not likely to leave the Democratic conference because it would not only hurt his political career, but it could potentially damage his son's, who is the newly minted Borough president in the Bronx.

But if Diaz is anything, it’s unpredictable and angry, saying now is not the time to vote on gay marriage when more time sensitive legislation needs to be passed. [Capital News 9]

Paterson may be just rolling the dice, potentially throwing gasoline on a fire, but he seems to have little to lose at this point. And it should be fun if nothing else.

Fuhgetaboutit

According to James Odato of the Albany Times Union, you can forget about that nonsense about slots at Nassau OTB. Of course, even if it was a good idea, it wouldn't stand much of a chance given the situation in the Senate, which has now officially degenerated into farce.....and that's before today's 3 PM special session.

- Sailor's Cap was determined, via a necropsy performed at New Bolton, to have perished from cardiac arrest caused by colitis-x.

The cause of colitis-X is unknown, although multiple causes have been proposed, including peracute salmonellosis, clostridial enterocolitis, and endotoxemia." [Bloodhorse]

If the matter of necropsies on dead horses was so crucially important that it pre-empted any coverage whatsoever of the Belmont Stakes in the New York Times on the Friday before the race, shouldn't Joe Drape take note of this report and explain to us just how that little bit of information will help keep horses safe going forward?

Random Rants

- I believe that crowds like the 28,000 at Churchill on Friday night and the 32,000 at Arlington Park for Father's Day are better indicators of the game surviving and, occasionally, even thriving, than any recent year-over-year increases in the TV ratings for the Triple Crown. Those races, particularly the Derby of course, are social events in themselves which will always attract casual viewers....and especially so now that the races are run at least an hour later than they used to be.

But crowds like the two this past weekend, as well as the throngs that routinely pack tracks like Saratoga, Oaklawn, and Del Mar, better demonstrate to me that a day at the races can still pack them in; and can do so without the help of big races or bobbleheads (though they may certainly help). And it can do so without any particular ingenuity. Didn't take a sage to give night racing at Churchill a try, and Father's Day is a natural. If you give people a nice, inviting facility, efficient service with a smile, make it attractive to families, and throw in some competitive horse racing, they will come.

NYRA is trying to market this Rachel Alexandra appearance, but they're not gonna get 32,000 or 28,000 or even half that. For whatever reason, NYRA has not been able to make the case for a day at the track. Maybe improved facilities if and when there are ever slots here would help. But I believe there needs to be a fundamental change of approach. Rachel Alexandra against three nameless fillies isn't going to do it, and it shouldn't have to. Belmont should be a place where people want to come regardless of whether there are any big races or not. And free admission for women on Saturday seems a little silly to be honest, if not rather sexist. I didn't get in for free when Curlin was here.

- One of the ideas of Win And Yer In was to frame things in terms the general public can understand; I remember BC President Greg Avioli comparing it to the automatic bids dispensed for the NCAA basketball tournament. "What we've done is given context in these 24 top races and connected them to the world championships in a relevant way." But now, the Breeders' Cup Challenge has morphed into an unwieldy 62 race mess, including 12 overseas. So you can forget about that context; and that goes for me, forget about the casual fans.

Despite the overall increase in the number of races, from 57 last year, the number of races in this country have decreased....and Saratoga took the brunt of the cuts, with six of its stakes dropped.

Jim Gluckson, a Breeders' Cup spokesman, said the organization had difficulty arranging television coverage during the bulk of the Saratoga meet in August, "so the decision was made to concentrate on the fall races closer to the championship." [Daily Racing Form]

That says to me that ESPN may be even chintzier with its air time than last year, when it televised races in August, and then disappeared for six weeks, during the heart of the prep season. What can they have planned for us this year?

- You'd think that Governor Paterson is too busy trying to get the Senate to convene to actually be considering idiotic ideas like this. But if any OTB, no less Nassau OTB, which NYRA accuses of illegally streaming its signal, were ever to get slots before Aqueduct or Belmont, then Charlie Hayward should lead NYRA up the Thruway to Albany in a fleet of track rollers, armed with buckets of manure and Richard Dutrow, and stage a coup of his own. He could install Bennett Liebman as governor, Johnny V as Senate Majority Leader, and Tom Durkin as the Speaker of the House. We'd have slots around here in no time.

Questionable At Best

It was with a good deal of skepticism that Tom Precious reported in Bloodhorse that a decision on the Aqueduct racino will be announced by August 1; calling it a questionable timetable given the Senate stalemate. Assemblyman Gary Pretlow spoke about a potential "indefinite delay." The article says that the facility would be open by October, 2011; but I'm wondering if that's a typo given the 12-14 months usually given as a lead time.

August 1 seems even more unrealistic given that the state also requested another massive new batch of information from the six bidding entities.

[The state] wants to know how many of the 4,500 authorized VLT machines will be running when the casino opens and the start-up dates for other facilities, such as hotel or entertainment space. It also wants bidders to supply financial projections on an annualized basis up until 2023 for a whole range of items – from food and beverage sales to how much money will go to NYRA for operating and capital expenses as part of its 7% take from the casino.

Sounds like a lot of work to do - both compiling and examining - in a very short period of time. Meanwhile, Governor Paterson announced that he will convene an Extraordinary Session of the Senate on Tuesday, with the chief judge of the State Court of Appeals presiding if necessary, to tackle an array of non-controversial and mostly fiscal bills that localities need to have passed.

- With two short-field stakes with big favorites on Sunday, NYRA could only leave one of them out of the Pick Six sequence. It was the wrong one for many players I'm sure, with Cocoa Beach running last of four at 15 cents to the dollar! Another disaster for the Sheikh, who saw his three horse entry run out of the Phipps last week. You might have thought that some of those bettors, especially the bridgejumpers (in the place pool), might have noticed how Music Note ran in her first start since the Breeders' Cup. The Phipps' homebred With Flying Colors ($13.20) is a half-sister, by AP Indy, to champion Storm Flag Flying.

Out at Hollywood Park, where the weather was dry and the turf firm, Joe Talamo tried to steal the Cinema Handicap on the front-running maiden Arcodoro, a son of the hot stallion Medaglia D'Oro. Trainer Eric Guillot was telling everyone who would listen that Elusive Bluff, entered to make his first start since winning the Pilgrim at the Big A last fall, couldn't win; but he ended up scratching him instead, leaving him with 17-1 Arcodoro, making his fifth career start. Talamo was able to give the pacesetter a bit of a breather with a third quarter of 24.48, which almost made the difference. But it was the late-running Oil Man who came wide and came home in 34.83 to get the Grade 3 win for John Sadler. This is a three-year old son of Pyrus (Mr. Prospector), who won the Fort Marcy here at Belmont in 2002, out of the Irish-bred Batshoof (Sadlers Wells). Oil Man is inbred 4x5 to the broodmare Special (Forli) through her son Nureyev and daughter Fairy Bridge; and he has an extra cross of Forli as well, so some interesting breeding there.

Oil Man is from the distaff family of Flying Continental, the 1990 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner, and what better way to start a Monday morning than with a trip down memory lane.

Plenty of Rain, But No Relief in Sight

Got an email from Chris Wittstruck to say that he was misquoted in an article this past week in Long Island Business News (entitled Lack of lottery terminals has horse breeders running for the hills)

He said it should take about 14 months for a new terminal operator to be identified at Aqueduct, but by that time, NYRA could be out of money.

“The concept of identification of a VLT operator in the foreseeable future is slim and none and slim is out to lunch,” Wittstruck said.

What he really said was that it would take 14 months to construct a racino once that operator is identified. Though at this point, with the State Senate deadlock set to enter its third week, six (or seven) bids, and the accompanying integrity checks, to be reviewed (and how much, if any, work do you think has been done on that to this point), and with the mere identity of one of the three men charged with making the decision in dispute, the statement as written may not be so absurd.

In March, NYRA was reported to be "calm" about the latest delay, that of the collapse of the Delaware North deal approved by the governor last fall, and that it won't affect its ability to conduct live racing for at least the next 18 months.

"I think we'll be fine through the third quarter of next year," Charles Hayward, NYRA's president and chief executive officer, said in a phone interview on Wednesday. [DRF]

But if you do the math of 14 months, the construction process would need to begin next month in order for the facility to be complete by the end of September, 2010. So, even in the seemingly remote chance of immediate action, it would seem that NYRA could at some point once again find itself on the verge.

The current Belmont meeting can't possibly be a good one for NYRA. No Triple Crown possibility for Belmont day cost it probably around 30,000 fans at a minimum $10 a pop plus parking, concessions, and lost on-track handle. And the incessant rain has caused, according to Cristblog, more than 60 grass races [to be] washed onto the main track in just over eight weeks....and that before four more on Saturday and, surely based on the steady rainfall today, whatever is scheduled for Sunday too. I wonder how long it would take for a synthetic track to pay for itself through the bigger fields it would create on rainy days? Probably not long this spring!

Look over to the NYRA ad to the right, and yes, there's Rachel Alexandra. No, I'm not a fan, but yes, I'll accept money to help promote her appearance. But if the results of NYRA's efforts to generate crowds for Curlin last year are any indication, it might be wise to save its money and put it to better use. Maybe a filly who held off the Derby winner to win the Preakness will be a slightly better draw than a defending Horse of the Year. But I still think it's a tough sell; as with Curlin, something's missing. As in, meaningful competition.

With no resolution in sight, and the sides headed back to court, an exasperated, and mostly impotent, Governor Paterson is reported to be planning a special session on Wednesday to tackle a lengthy list of essential matters. No, that does not include slots at Aqueduct. Though if it's up to one Senator, the issue of gay marriage will be added.

Of course, given Paterson's pathetic standing in the polls, how he's going to get the Democrats (or, the Republicans should the court ruling go against them) into the chamber (short of summoning the State Police) remains to be seen.

Nearly two weeks after it happened, the so-called coup pulled off by the GOP continues to seem surreal to me. I read a diarist at Daily Kos complain about the use of the word to describe what happened, contending that it should be reserved for more violent and profound occurrences. But to me, the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box was unexpectedly and summarily overturned. So I think that 'coup' is perfectly applicable here. But as time goes on and the implications become clear, the notion that the Senate could flip due to what was nothing more than a parliamentary 'gotcha' becomes increasingly infuriating. In a way, I think it would seem more legitimate if Senator Pedro Espada had come in with guns a-blazing, there to kick some ass.

The Daily News has an exclusive tour of Espada's co-op in the Bronx today, as he tries to demonstrate that he actually lives in the district he represents, as required by law, and not in toney Mamaroneck, where he's been caught red-handed. Apparently, some of his supposed neighbors in the borough are not convinced.

"I've never seen him in the building before....To my knowledge, this could be the first time he slept in the building." [NYDN]

The matter of his residency is just one of the investigations into his affairs currently underway. And each day, as he proclaims himself to be the president of the Senate, he continues to brazenly flout the laws requiring disclosure of his campaign contributions. Unbelievable. Can you imagine what Senator Skelos would have said if the Democrats had placed him in the position of power that the Republicans have??

This guy is a piece of work, man. I love the way he refers to himself in the third person; always suspicious of those guys. Given his claims that he has two votes in the Senate - one as a Senator, and the other as the President Pro-Tem (assuming the role of the non-existent Lieutenant Governor), one extremely witty commenter on the Capitol Confidential wondered if Espada could kick his own ass? Somebody should!

Notes

I read in the print edition of Bloodhorse that Birdstone has "picked up about an extra 40 mares this year;" and that was just after the Derby. I found it interesting that Marylou Whitney kept the suddenly popular stallion's fee at $10,000; that as opposed to Medaglia D'Oro, the sire of Rachel Alexandra, whose fee was reportedly raised from $40,000 to $60,000 mid-year (and that was before he was sold to Darley). Birdstone's fee has been the same since he entered stud in.....2005 ('First Year at Stud' is just one of the helpful facts that one can easily find in the Thoroughbred Times' Stallion Directory, but not in the more widely-used Stallion Register). Birdstone will service 110 mares this year in total according to the Bloodhorse piece, by David Schmitz....so I'd say that his business was relatively modest by today's standards before his impressive Triple Crown Double.

- Yuck, another rainy day here in New York, and thus, another day of miserable slop, no turf, and scratches galore at Poly-less Belmont. Contessa won the first with Apple ($10.40). Since I noted that he'd won just three of his first 76 races at Belmont and postulated that he'd likely be far closer to his 11% winning percentage over the last two years at that track by the time the meet was over, he's won nine out of 43, raising his meet percentage to 9%.

Still A Trifle At The Track

The role of Twitter in facilitating communication in Iran has been widely reported. As Matthew Shaer notes on the Christian Science Monitor's Horizons Blog: "These are heady days for Twitter, a social network once derided as trifling, banal, inconsequential."

You can count me amongst those who still think of Twitter just that way (while acknowledging its increasing prominence and occasional usefulness). I've felt that way ever since I first heard of it (which I'm pretty sure was from Jessica Chapel, who has been tweeting about racing as long as anyone @raceday360). Nonetheless, even though a backlash of sorts has arisen to claim that the service's importance in Iran is overrated, there seems little doubt that Twitter has served to mobilize and energize the protesters; enough so that the State Department saw fit to directly request that a maintenance shutdown be delayed.

But while acknowledging its profound role (and not only in Iran), I loved the quote in the The New York Times by Harvard professor Jonathan Zittrain, who, noting the ease with which tweets spread worldwide, said “The qualities that make Twitter seem inane and half-baked are what make it so powerful.”

OK, I won't go so far as to echo the inane part - I think that trifling, banal, inconsequential is more in line with how I feel about it, and more respectful towards those of you who dig it. It's just not my thing; I have no real need nor desire to experience the world, racing or otherwise, in real time. I don't think I've ever seen any racing-related tweets that couldn't wait (if not be done without altogether).

I also don't understand the idea, which I've seen suggested, that people could tweet from the paddock if they see something worthwhile. And now there's a Twitter group devoted to reporting bridgejumping pools. Now, us horseplayers are usually more than happy to freely share ideas and general strategies. But let's face it, as the minutes count down to post time, we're all involved in a cutthroat competition with each other for the money on the table. So, if I'm playing some obscure harness track and see the show money pouring in on a two-year old trotter with a penchant for going off-stride, why would I want to spread the word? As one poster on the bridgejumping forum wrote: If Barack Obama can twitter a stadium full of voters during an election campaign, this group can easily twitter a minus pool into just another bad show bet. I mean, I might call a couple of friends on an old-fashioned cellphone, but that's about it. And as much as I truly do love you guys, if I'm standing at the paddock and a 10-1 shot personally gives me the hi sign, I'm sure as fuck not going out of my way to clue the rest of the world in. No offense!