Notes - April 9

- I had no winners on top at Keeneland on Saturday, so I had to satisfy myself with the small triumphs, like not selecting any of Pletcher's horses that were favored in each of the races 7 through 9 to win. I know the idea is to mention as many eventual winners and in-the-money finishers as possible, but I can't help but sometimes use one of the slots to specify I horse that I don't like, as I did with Tiganello in race 7, a race in which my selections ran 2-3. But I disliked Out of Gwedda enough in the Jefferson to not mention him at all in the 8th (and, in fact, had the 10-1 winner Carnacks Choice as my #2 selection), and, though Mistical Plan was another disappointing Doug O'Neill runner for the day, at least I didn't like 3-5 Octave on top in the Ashland.

The Ashland was the 'up' part of an 'up and down' 20 minutes or so for trainer Jimmy Jerkens. His Christmas Kid, getting an excellent, ground saving trip from the six post by Rene Douglas (not sure which horse the chartcaller was watching), skimmed the rail and opened up a sizeable lead in the stretch. And she needed every bit of that lead to hold off Octave, who took the overland route, four wide turning for home.

"I rode her with so much patience," Douglas said. "I was a little concerned about being on the rail since it had been slow all day, but she fired really good. Everything went perfectly." [Louisville Courier-Journal]

Pletcher's filly closed resolutely for second in a final sixteenth of 6.09 seconds; she always gives you a reason to bet her next time.

Christmas Kid was winning her third stakes, and second graded one of the year, having previously won the Davona Dale on the dirt at GP, and the Tropical Park Oaks on the grass at Calder; she is one of three 2007 stakes winners for her sire Lemon Drop Kid. Nice price at 9-1, and she's likely headed to the Oaks.

Trainer Jerkens wasn't nearly as fortunate shortly thereafter when Corinthian spotted the field five lengths at the start of the Excelsior BC at the Big A.

“It’s just unbelievable,” said Javier Castellano, who rode Corinthian. “He was so good today in the paddock and in the gate. Everything was beautiful. As soon as the gate opened-boom! He just broke in the air. I don’t even know how I stayed on.” [Bloodhorse]

The faux pas practically gift wrapped the win for Pletcher's Magna Graduate (Honor Grades), who couldn't have gotten an easier trip under John Velazquez.

Not long afterwards, Pletcher scored another big win in the handicap division, this time with Lawyer Ron in the G2 Oaklawn Handicap. Edgar Prado got the infamously headstrong son of Langfuhr to rate, until he could restrain him no longer, allowing him to take charge with a three wide move going into the final turn. “The key was getting him to relax early....Once he did that, the rest was easy.”

Lawyer Ron became the first horse to sweep the Oaklawn Handicap and Arkansas Derby in more than 20 years with his 4-length victory under Edgar Prado.
.....
The last horse to notch the Arkansas Derby / Oaklawn Handicap daily double was Temperence Hill in 1980-1981. [Arkansas Democrat Gazette]

Lawyer Ron is four-for-four at Oaklawn. He cruised home under a hand ride, getting the final three eighths in an effortless 36.93 seconds; final eighth in 12.16. He'd shown the ability to finish up strongly in the past; the problem was getting him to conserve enough energy in the early stages to do so.

Belmont Notes - July 2

- Wesley Ward is now three for four at Belmont with Osceola Prince taking the second on Wednesday.

OSCEOLA PRINCE, away from the starting gate in good order, took the lead soon afterwards, continued on the front facing only token pressure, extended his margin when put to hand encouragement, then maintained a safe advantage to the wire under milder hand urging, while being flashed the whip intermittently.

Extended his margin when put to hand encouragement? Milder hand urging? Being flashed the whip intermittently? Hmmm....is there something strange going on here?

Like Ward's recent winner Austin Laviva Baby, this horse shipped in from out of town while dropping in claiming price.

Godolphin's Rallying Cry was awful at 6-5 in the third; nice price on Tsali ($15.20), just the kind of improving sort that I like to bet. Guess I missed this one. This Zito-trainee is a four year old son of Maria's Mon, out of a Kingmambo half sister to the G1 winner Dream Supreme.

Belle's Home ($30.60) won the 4th, first of two nice price winners for Castellano. It was the first win, in 13 starts, on the NY circuit this year for trainer George Weaver. This barn had a productive meeting at Saratoga last year, with seven winners, many of them at generous odds (a median payout of $13). He's one to keep an eye on as the summer progresses.

Nothing doing for my pick Footloose Man in the 7th. I originally called the winner, Miracle Hill ($21, with Castellano), dead on the board; but upon further review, it was just a bad morning line to make him 3-1.

Stakes winner for Contessa, with his hard hitting Runway Rosie recovering from a poor performance at Pimlico, and running away with the Proud Delta. She got a perfect trip under jockey Rajiv Maragh. The daughter of Include tracked two longshot leaders, took over easily turning for home, and

...entered the furlong grounds with a sizeable advantage.

Huh?

And how about trainer Bruce Brown, scoring with first timer North Ocean Drive on the grass in the 9th; that's his 8th winner (as many as Pletcher, a winner with Sophie's Salad in the opener), from just 27 starters, which rounds to 30%.

Brown is pressing ahead enthusiastically with the plans to send Rap Tale to Colonial Downs, for a VA-bred stakes on July 12; the Brookmeade Stakes will be run at a mile. I have the past performances for the nominees (pdf) A couple of familiar names in Christmas Kid and Mini Sermon; other than that, not much in here. Even those two are flawed - Christmas Kid's last two were really bad; Mini Sermon has never been on the grass - and take them out, and it seems like she should have a chance for a share at least. Not sure exactly what these particular speed figures are, but she fits right in according to them. The trainer says she's doing fantastic, and every time I speak to Bob, Prado's post-race comments on how well she took to the grass become more and more effusive. "She loved it," is what I got today. The trouble line notes the early bump, but nothing about the severe traffic she encountered in the stretch. Bob and several other Kasey K partners are going down to the race. I have a wedding. Looks like I'll have to get the call via the phone once again.

- Reynaldothewizard ($8) took the 9th at Churchill; nice pick by DiscreetCat; unfortunately, we certainly didn't get 8-1. It's the second winner for first-year sire Speightstown, about whose foals I've been reading great things for the last year. Dutrow has one on Thursday in the 4th; Shrewd sold for $435,000 last year, and debuts off just three works for a 30% first-out barn. He's out of Bluffing Girl, a stakes winning daughter of Pine Bluff.

Wednesday Night Notes - Sept 20

- Christophe Clement sent out first-timer March to Victory to do just that in the second at Belmont, a two-year old maiden turf race. According to Formulator, that's his 4th such winner out of his last nine starters over the past 12 months. March to Victory paid $9.50, and that's the longest win price of the four. It's always impressive to see a first-timer be able to rate and make his way through traffic like this son of Dixieland Band did. It reminded me a little of the way Clement's most impressive Admiral Bird won his debut at Saratoga...though not nearly as powerfully. Pletcher's entry of debut runners went off as the 3-2 favorite, and ran a respectable 3-4.

Jimmy Jerkins took the sixth, a baby turf race for fillies, with Christmas Kid, winning in her second start. She's a daughter of Lemon Drop Kid out of Christmas Gift, a stakes winning half-sister to Bright Candles, the dam of Grand Slam. Her third dam is Sugar Plum Time, a popular Calumet-bred stakes winner here in New York in the 70's.

- Last week, a commenter asked my opinion of NYRA's new website. It seems like the changes are mostly cosmetic. The content is similar, but everything is easier to access than before from the left-hand column. But as the reader pointed out, the matrix board for exactas and doubles (and yes, QQ, the quinellas too) are backwards. Whereas the rest of the industry has the winner numbers listed on the left, NYRA has the winners spread across the top. And in general, I don't particularly like the look of the tote board they're using.

- Please feel free to email me with questions, comments, suggestions, or whatever (please be nice).

Christmas Eve Eve News and Notes

- Remember when Calder used to race on Christmas Day? I believe it was the only track that would do so. Forget about that now. However, three tracks will be racing on Xmas Eve – Calder, Fair Grounds at La Downs, and Philly Park.

Santa Anita springs into full action on the day after Christmas, and a couple of prime contenders for the G1 Malibu have worked out this week. Greeley’s Galaxy went seven furlongs in 1:27 on Monday prepping for his first effort since the Preakness.

"He had a minor bleeding problem," [Warren] Stute said, "and we fired his ankles before we turned him out at San Luis Rey Downs. Mr. Hughes has had him scoped every time he's worked since he's come back and no blood has shown, so that's a good sign. Generally when you turn a horse out he gets over it. He's been back with us now for about three months." [Bloodhorse]

And Wilko breezed a half in :49 1/5 on Thursday. "He did it real easy," trainer Craig Dollase said. "We're all set." And I'm all set to check out the pp's in search of a horse with some sharp recent form with which to bet against these guys and make some cash.

- It seems as if the Aqueduct racino is not the only one behind schedule in New York. It’s been six months now since Yonkers Raceway shut down for casino construction, and horsemen are dubious of the scheduled April 1 reopening date.

As opposed to Aqueduct, at least construction is actually going on there. But horsemen like Standardbred Owners Association head Joe Faraldo think that racing could be happening there now too.

"We want to put up a 'chicken coop' (a temporary structure that would house the judges, timer and announcer) in the winner's circle and race on Monday and Tuesday afternoons," Faraldo. "There is nothing that's not good about the chicken coop. A guy sketched one out on a napkin for Hazel Park (in Detroit) and built it in one week for $48,000. And we (the SOA) have told Yonkers we will pick up the cost."
…..
"They told us from the beginning that under no circumstances would they be closed longer than 4-5 months….I think they took advantage of the opportunity to not race during the winter. Usually, the word of Yonkers Raceway was pretty good, but this time I think it was intentionally misleading." [NY Daily News]

You would think that if track management, which claimes that "It is not a safe place to race," really wanted to race, they could. After all, it’s not like they have to accommodate a live crowd. Only a few hundred people at most were showing up at the track anyway, so they could very well conduct racing for the OTB audience only. In fact, they could throw down some cones and race around the parking lot if they really wanted to.

- If anyone out there owns a 14-year old pacer which you would like to send to Monticello Raceway to run for a $4000 purse, please contact Eric Warner in the race office by calling (845) 794-4100, ext. 557. [US Trotting Association] The track is having problems filling the Au Revior pace for 14 year olds, conducted on the last day of racing of the year at the upstate NY harness track, and just before those horses reach their mandatory retirement age on Jan 1. In fact, the track will even accept trotters. If you ask nicely, perhaps you can enter your 14 year old kid.

- Giacomo is still working slowly for his 4 year-old debut; this morning he breezed six furlongs in 1.16:80.

Gulfstream Saturday

- Race 4 is a maiden special for three-year olds. Fearless Vision is listed as the 9-5 favorite after battling it out with Vitruvius, the half brother, by E Dubai, to Corinthian and Desert Hero making his debut for Jimmy Jerkens, and falling short by a head as the 8-5 favorite. (Castle Village partners might be interested to know that Fearless Vision is a half-brother to Seaside Salute.) That's two seconds in two starts for the son of Vision and Verse. His trainer Patrick Reynolds has been falling just a bit short too with a record of 18-2-4-4 at the meeting, but note that he had a winner on Friday.

Michael Matz has also been struggling to find the winner's circle at the meeting, but Chelokee won for him last weekend, and he had a winner on Friday as well, so maybe he's ready to get going. Diamond Fever ran second in Tiz Wonderful's debut at Saratoga, and then faltered in the slop around two turns at Delaware at 2-5, yikes! This is the first race since that debacle for this son of Seeking the Gold, out of the graded winner Radiant Ring.

Winning Aptitude is a first timer with a steady string of works from Frank Brothers, nine for 37 with debut runners over the last two years. He's by Aptitude, the third year sire whose Great Hunter topped this week's LATG top ten. Aptitude headed the second year sire list in 2006 despite the fact that he's had only three stakes winners in those crops. Winning Aptitude is out of a stakes winning Gulch mare who's a half-sister to the $225,000 sire Distorted Humor, who has a Derby candidate of his own in Any Given Saturday.

- In Race 5, watch out for Steve Klesaris, who finally broke out with the claimer Stay Safe on Thursday; it was the trainer's first winner in 18 runners at the meeting, most of those at short prices. He's a consistently high percentage guy who's won at a 32% rate over the last year, so expect his record to improve. King's Coronation returns from a layoff, and seems to be spotted confidently yet realistically in a tough 62.5K claiming event. Two of his main opponents may be horses trained by Patrick Reynolds and Michael Matz, the two other trainers we're looking to break out.

- Race 6 is another maiden special, this one loaded with first-timers. Dutrow has Holy Rock (Awesome Again), a house horse starting from the rail. The trainer has debuted two of these Stronach specials this meeting; one won at 9-1, and the other ran second at 5-1. Maybe Frankie was too busy playing the slots to get down. Zito starts Helsinki (Distorted Humor), and the trainer with the reputation of not popping them first out is 10 for 57 with those over the last year, a more than respectable 18%; he's one for 12 at this meeting. Minister's Appeal is 7-2 morning line for Mott in his first start since a third at Woodbine in November. It was a slow Beyer, and a weak field in terms of the performances of those who've run back.

Hold Your Ground is the Pletcher entry; Joe Bravo gets the mount with Johnny V at Fair Grounds. Bravo rides for the barn at Monmouth, though I think Chris DeCarlo is his main guy there. He's 11 for 48 for Pletcher, a winning percentage of 23%. This colt is by Hennessy out of a Private Account mare, and his 5th dam is Flower Bed, the dam of Flower Bowl, the dam of Graustark and His Majesty, my favorite full brothers of all time (though don't think for a minute that I go back far enough to have actually seen either of them racing). Berry Bound is an extremely interestingly-bred entry from Michael Gorham. Besides being by the 18% first-out sire Boundary, this colt is very closely inbred to Danzig, 2x3. That recalled this old post in which I linked to an article about how breeders in Australia were wary of crossing their Danzig broodmares to Fusaichi Pegasus, lest they create a 3x3 inbreeding. Danzig's notorious unsoundness makes some queasy about that combination, but apparently not the breeder of this horse. Berry Bound is working extremely well for Michael Gorham, 15% with first-timers over the last two years.

- Race 7 is the G2 Forward Gal for sophomore fillies at seven furlongs, and I'll just get right to the point and say that I love Alan Goldberg's filly You Asked (Yes It's True). If she's really 5-1, that would be quite the value play in my opinion. Though she's never been bet particularly hard, I don't think that will be the case considering that she has the field-high Beyer of 91, earned in her second to West Point's impressive Dream Rush in the Old Hat. Check out her last two races on Cal Racing if you can. Man, this filly comes flying late. She was out of the picture in the Old Hat until they were halfway around the turn, and was far, far behind third place finisher Dreaming of Anna, who she collared easily. She won her prior with a similar rush home. As you may know, I'm a sucker for closers like this.

But I'm a bit concerned that there won't be enough speed to set up her late charge. Silver Knockers, Nick Zito's undefeated 5-2 morning line favorite, should probably go for the lead if she breaks well, which she'll have to from the rail. Zito said of the post: "It makes you think about maybe scratching, but the owner wants to run, and I want to run, and there's really nothing else for her right now." [DRF] Hopefully there will be pressure from Changeisgonnacome and, maybe, Forever Together, unbeaten in her own right for Jonathan Sheppard, 0 for 18 at this meeting.

If the pace isn't hot enough, then Boca Grande could be the one in her first start since taking the Demoiselle for Shug McGaughey last fall over Get Ready Bertie, who has returned sharp this year. In her prior, her graduation day, she crushed Darley Stable's Folk, who subsequently came back to win by 10 in November, and hasn't been seen since. [EDIT: Actually, yes, she has...I meant, er, not around these parts...] Boca Grande is a Phipps-bred by AP Indy, out of Country Hideaway (Seeking the Gold), a half to Pleasant Home and the dam of the late Pine Island.

- Hall of Fame trainer Leroy Jolley, 0 for 39 last year, has gotten some stock to work with here from owners Bridle Path Stable and Tommy Roberts; and he has two winners from 12 starters. In Race 8, he starts The Niagara Queen (Langfuhr). She's been away since October, but has won off the layoff before. Her turf effort two back at Woodbine against a solid field of Canadian-breds produced a Beyer good enough to win this race - actually the highest in the field - and she attracts Cornelio Velasquez, who rode one of Jolley's prior winners here.

- The Bonnie Miss at nine furlongs for three-year old fillies is an odd Grade 2 stakes that I'm not going to touch. Morning line favorite Christmas Kid, trained by Jimmy Jerkens has won on turf and, most recently in the one mile Davona Dale, on dirt, but hasn't run around two turns on the latter. I wrote a bit about her pedigree here. Second choice Lost Etiquette just broke her maiden, at this distance, in her second start for Patrick Reynolds. High Again (4-1) ran second in the Davona Dale but has never been around two turns. Fee Fi Fo Fum makes her second start for Jerkens; she graduated on turf in her first. Good luck if you're planning to tackle this one!

And best of luck on the day.

News and Notes and Chilling - Dec 19

- A "major announcement" is forthcoming from Curlin's connections; that according to Marcus Hersh in the Daily Racing Form.

The breeding season is nearly upon Kentucky, and Curlin is nowhere near a stallion barn. Instead he is in steady training at Fair Grounds with Steve Asmussen, who, for lack of any other directive, continues to train Curlin with an eye toward an early-season 2008 campaign.

"Right now, I think he's the best horse in the country, and we're going forward from there," Asmussen said Tuesday morning. "I definitely have ideas in my head." [DRF]

Zanjero, who Asmussen said is pointing to the Oaklawn Handicap, as well as a host of other second and third string three-year olds of 2007, Daaher chief amongst those, are no doubt hoping that Curlin finds a nice home at a Kentucky farm. Without the presumptive Horse of the Year, and with Midnight Lute's distance prospects uncertain, the outlook for next year's handicap division would be cloudy at best. A lot is riding on the pending decision. 2008 could be a showcase for a potential superstar, or another nondescript year for the older horse division. I'm sure the Mythical Commissioner of Racing would be working furiously behind the scenes to encourage Curlin's return.

- You may notice that the Stallion Register page for Pavarotti has been corrected. I'd noted in a prior post that it erroneously claimed that the horse had run Triple Digit Beyers of 105, 107 & 108. Fellow TBA blogger Jose Guerra of Warstone Farm fired off a letter to Bloodhorse, and not only received a response from them, but from Walmac Farm, who stands the sire at Hartley/De Renzo (Walmac South) in Florida, as well. They apologized to Jose for the mistake, and the page was corrected to read Triple Digit BRIS Figures of 107 & 106; so he not only lost the Beyers, but one of the figures as well.

That evening I received an email from George Hills of Walmac's Bloodstock Sales department. Considering what I considered to be the relatively light-hearted nature of the post and the fact that I'd written "I imagine it's some kind of innocent typo," I was taken aback by its tone.

At the end of the day, a simple error was made by someone at the Bloodhorse and hopefully the issue has been resolved however, I do regret that you felt compelled to write a blog as negative as the one you did however, it is obviously your prerogative to do so.

Hmm, touchy, touchy, eh? I mean, I can do 'negative' too, but I really didn't intend that post to be in that vein, and I don't think it reads that way. Was just having a little fun, and I of course couldn't pass up the chance to blast Giuliani.

Anyway, be sure to check out Jose's excellent series on the "Best and Worst Stallions of 2008" over at his Warstone Farm blog.

- A couple of names in the news today that we haven't seen much of lately. Governor Spitzer has hired William Mulrow to head his political operation, and to help expand the governor’s relationships with business and labor groups. You may recall that Mulrow, who vied unsuccessfully to succeed Alan Hevesi as State Comptroller, is a principal in Excelsior Racing. That group has once again receded to the sidelines after briefly emerging for the Senate's latest franchise hearing a couple of months ago.

An administration official said Mr. Mulrow would not assume his duties as political adviser until the franchise competition was settled. [NY Sun]

In the seemingly unlikely event that Excelsior gets a piece of the action, he would be required to divest his financial stake in the group.[NYT] The motivation behind the hiring is two-fold. The Sun has reported that Ms. Spitzer is urging her husband to make a clean break from the top advisors involved in Troopergate; the governor is said to be mulling other major changes to his political team. [NY Sun]

In addition, Spitzer is looking ahead to next year's elections with an eye to helping the Democrats assume control of the Senate; the GOP has a two-seat edge, with a special election pending to replace Republican Senator Jim Wright, who will be retiring at the end of the year.

Spitzer aides believe that [Mulrow's] seniority, sizable Rolodex and range of experience would help the campaign bridge the different camps within the Democratic Party in New York.
....
Mr. Spitzer and Mr. Bruno have been openly feuding since the summer, and a strong effort by the governor to win Mr. Wright’s seat for Democrats is unlikely to help. Indeed, Mr. Bruno is already angry with the governor merely for attending fund-raisers earlier this month for two likely Democratic challengers to members of his caucus.

“How do you govern if you’re at war with somebody?” Mr. Bruno said at a holiday lunch with reporters on Tuesday. The fund-raisers Mr. Spitzer attended, he said, were “a continuous declaration of war heading into the session,” which starts in January. [NYT]

There's been this understanding in the "old Albany" that governors accept the political alignment of the two legislative bodies and don't intervene in local elections. Spitzer already broke that rule last year, and, if it's at all possible for relations between he and Bruno to get worse, this is the way to do so. I'm sure it doesn't put the Senate Majority Leader in an accommodating mood, with respect to the franchise or anything else.

A news item that was overlooked last week was the nomination of Glenn Suddaby to a federal judgeship by the Bush Administration. Suddaby is the federal prosecutor who has been investigating the business dealings of Bruno. The investigation would presumably carry on under his replacement; but it's been going on for so long now, one wonders if anything will come of it.

- And finally, a couple of Xmases ago, I recommended SOMA FM's Xmas in Frisko internet radio stream (available on I-Tunes and at their website) for some truly twisted holiday tunes. That program is still available, and is still not for the easily offended. However, this year, I guess I'm a bit mellower because I'm preferring their Christmas Lounge: Chilled holiday grooves and classic winter lounge tracks. (Kid and Parent safe!) So check it out, and chill out for the holidays. (And that means you too, George Hills!)

Wanna Bet?

Yeah I know, been awhile since the last post. But hey, it's a slow time in the racing calendar. And besides, it's the holidays, and we're all supposed to be depressed, right? I mean, that's what everyone tells me, especially for some reason my yoga instructors. Guess that must be their selling point this time of year. Anyway, guess I'm overdue for a post, so here goes.

The purses go up at the Big A on December 28, when NYRA comes back from its Christmas holiday break that begins after racing concludes this Sunday. Will the purses merely attract more bad horses, as this reader postulated? Or will quantity also mean quality? I spoke to someone with intimate knowledge of the NYRA circuit who said he has absolutely no idea what to expect...and if he doesn't, I don't know that anyone does.

It does seem likely that horsemen are holding back at this point, awaiting the more generous prize money. The racing here usually holds up fairly well in December, but that's surely not the case this year. I was there on Saturday, and the card was just dismal. The Xmas break can't come soon enough, and we can only hope for some light on the other side.

Resorts World of course will not be taking a break; their casino is open every day of the year. It should be quite the holly jolly scene there around 2AM on Christmas morning. In fact, the second and third floors of the casino is slated to open on Friday, adding another 2,514 VLT's to the gambling menu there; as well as two 250-seat restaurants. The third floor is billed as the largest event and catering space in the borough.

The new additions are opening four months ahead of schedule, Resorts World said.

“We have been truly humbled by the response of New Yorkers and tourists alike and we thank them for their ongoing support and patronage,” said Resorts World New York President Michael Speller. “Due to the hard work of our 1,500-person staff, we’re confident that we will be able to continue providing the highest level of service to our customers as we unveil the second stage of our facility.” [TimesLedger.com]

Of course, it's highly unlikely that a doubling of the machines is going to mean a doubling of the patrons. Haven't seen any promotional efforts tied to the expansion...seems almost like a soft opening. And the Special Events tab of the website still reads Visit often for upcoming promotions at Resorts World Casino NYC. In any event, we should start to get an idea of how the win per machine figures are going to compare to NYRA's budgeted figure of $380. Considering that the figure dropped off to $478 for the week ending 12/10, that doesn't seem like such a lock now with all those machines set to come on line. Perhaps some people are discovering that VLT's are simply not all that much fun!

While NYRA may, or may not, be sweating this out, Genting itself has bigger fish to fry at the moment as the battle heats up in Florida over its bid to build a huge full-fledged casino and entertainment/convention center in downtown Miami. The company has hired a former congressman as a lobbyist, and he wrote an opinion piece in the Miami Herald this past weekend. That drew at least one heated response. As you might expect, Genting is using Aqueduct to herald their record of creating local jobs. It's always interesting to read views from afar, and this is what the casino opponent had to say about the 1,500 jobs created here:

Yet Diaz-Balart doesn't explain [that] the Queens racino is located in a depressed neighborhood, miles away from Manhattan, or that Genting agreed to pay the Empire State a $380 million upfront fee and a 66 percent tax rate to build a gambling facility that is significant smaller than the company's proposed Miami resort. [Miami New Times]

Though I find the casino itself to be quite depressing, I would hardly classify the working class neighborhood as 'depressed.' Besides, I don't understand the relevance of that argument anyway with employment scarce just about everywhere. And Queens can seem a lot further away from Manhattan than it really is when you're far away, But hey, that's their fight down there, and we'll just watch and see how it turns out.

- The New York Times continues its campaign against fighting in the National Hockey League with a barrage of articles on head injuries even after the three-part-series on the late Derek Boogard which even prompted the paper of record to break out a separate sports section last Tuesday. Funny how, as with horse racing, the Times is so eager to proselytize about the problems of a sport about which it's provided little positive coverage over the last few years. But just as Joe Drape's articles on illicit medication in racing has contributed to the sport's self-inspection, the Boogard articles are no doubt already having an effect.

It used to be you'd read that a player was out with a concussion, he'd be out for a few games perhaps, and then be back. So it's surely interesting to note the way the injury has become so magnified, not only in terms of the coverage of them but, more curiously, the seriousness, the amount of time missed, and the incidences of recurrence. Is it because players are bigger and stronger and thus more capable of causing profound damage? Or more due to a greater awareness of the issue of head injuries resulting in a far more cautious approach by player and team alike? In horse racing, we often blame an increase in physical problems on a deterioration of the breed. But since we're a superior race, it would surely be simply facetious of me to suggest that the human race is suffering from bad breeding as well, right?

And on that note, we turn, strictly by sheer coincidence of course, to the race for the Republican presidential nomination! Surely you've heard by now of the $10,000 bet proposed by Mitt Romney in last Saturday's debate in reaction to the continuing badgering he's taking, in this case specifically from Rick Perry, over his past support for health insurance mandates in Massachusetts. This was, to me, the most cringeworthy moment of the GOP debate season, and by a large margin, and including Perry's brain freeze over the three departments he wants to eliminate. It was a total breakdown of poise under pressure, borne of sheer frustration in reaction to criticism that he seems to be simply unable to handle, and which will surely become more relentless should he become the nominee. "Oh yeah, you wanna bet?" is the basest of schoolyard argument responses when a kid has run out of credible arguments to make.

To make matters worse for the beleaguered ex-governor, trailing badly in the polls to Newt Gingrich in several crucial early primary states, a series of embarrassing videos have emerged. One shows him badgering John Kerry for five agonizing minutes in 2004 for being a flip-flopper. Jon Huntsman rolled out an ad containing several clips in which he unequivocally expresses his support for mandates, not only for his state, but for the nation. And in another video that has surfaced from 2002, he says "my views are progressive."

I posted on Twitter recently that "$10,000 says that Romney is toast." Someone replied that he'd take me up on that. Unlike Romney, who I'm sure was totally serious, I wasn't. About the bet, anyway.