Yonkers Racino Is Rocking

- Well, it didn’t take long nor any advertising whatsoever for the racino at Yonkers to become the most profitable one in the state. I don’t even know how people other than you and me even know about it. The track had billed this as a “soft opening,” and has not generated much publicity at all other than their $9 million fine for being a serial polluter. Regardless, here are the figures:

Empire City at Yonkers Raceway, the $240 million casino that opened Oct. 11, netted $3.8 million in the week that ended Oct. 21, according to figures released by the New York Division of Lottery yesterday.

The still-under construction casino, operating with 1,870 machines - a third of its expected capacity - outpaced its nearest rival among state video-gaming facilities by 65 percent last week.

That rival, Saratoga Gaming & Raceway in Saratoga Springs, has 1,331 machines and netted $2.3 million, according to the Lottery. [Journal News]

When you consider that Yonkers will have 5,500 machines by year end, and an eventual total of 7,500, the money involved is just mind-boggling, man! They’re not planning any promotion until more machines arrive. And, let’s see….aren’t I forgetting something?

Oh yeah! Horse racing! November 3 is the latest projection of when the trotters will return to the track once lovingly referred to as Old Hilltop (if you’ve seen it, you know why). I suppose I’ll have to make an appearance to check it out, even if, as I noted previously, the track didn’t take this opportunity to make the track bigger, and thus make the racing more exciting and competitive. So maybe I won't even bother. Did I ever tell you that I watched Richard Nixon’s resignation speech there? A story for another time…

Yonkers will, of course, benefit from the fact that there’s no nearby competition – one would have to drive to Connecticut or Atlantic City for comparable action – as long as there’s no slots at Aqueduct. And that’s a year away at the very least.

The Ad Hoc Committee deciding on the fate of the NY franchise will take a little longer to decide – no announcement is expected before Election Day. And after Eliot Spitzer wins the election for governor on Nov 7, the committee’s decision may well become more irrelevant than it already may be. The Saratogian reports that Spitzer has already expressed dissatisfaction with the Requests for Proposals.

The committee is grading each firm's bid on a weighted scoring system, but Spitzer recently criticized how the request for proposals was written. Each firm's business plan - how they expect to conduct racing -- counts for 50 percent of their grade. Other criteria such as integrity (20 percent) count for less.

Spitzer said integrity should be a prerequisite, not a consideration. [The Saratogian]

I’m wondering if that’s a signal that, given its legal troubles (which were initiated and pursued by Spitzer as Attorney General) and despite the fact they’ve gotten a clean bill of health, NYRA should not expect Spitzer to award them the franchise. I can just see the Republican attack ads when Spitzer is up for re-election:

Eliot Spitzer brought indictments against a corrupt racing association which was guilty of "..blatant criminal conduct," in Spitzer's own words. Yet after he took office, he awarded the same association a 20-year exclusive contract. And that's no surprise. Spitzer was given free admission to horse races at Saratoga in 1999. Eliot Spitzer. Flip-flops on corruption. Sells out New Yorkers for a $2 dollar bet..

The fact is that no matter what this committee comes up with, the decision will likely be made in a closed room with three men – the Governor, Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver, and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. The same way that virtually every other major decision is made in this state.

Notes - Oct 24

- John Velazquez has been booked to ride Araafa in the Breeders Cup Mile, and that's apparently worth a point in the odds.

As a result, Stan James has shortened the Irish 2000 Guineas hero, trimming the three-year-old in to 5-1 from 6-1.

Neil Morrice, on-course and media representative, said: “Araafa’s ability to lie up with the pace and attain a handy position should stand him in good stead in the Mile and in John Velazquez his connections have snapped up the best man in the business.

“It would not surprise us to see across-the-board support for the colt when the news gets around.” [Irish Online]

- Breeders Cup officials expect overflow entries for seven of the eight races, with the exception of the Turf, which has suffered from several European defections. Rush Bay is said to be a last minute entry.

Parking Scarce at Big A

- It looks like parking will be a major issue at Aqueduct, and it ain't because of overflow crowds packing the racino. Or even because of simply decent crowds coming for the racing. There's just not going to be many parking spaces.

Parking will be at a premium as the 1,500-space lot on the clubhouse side of the track has been taken over by the Port Authority and fenced off. Fans now must park on the grandstand side. NYRA has gone as far as to terminate its popular flea market that operated three days a week in the grandstand parking lot. [Daily Racing Form]

I recall coming late one day last year and having a problem parking; and now, it sounds like they'll be far less space. I thought that my owners' parking sticker was invaluable at Saratoga; it could be my saving grace at the Big A. If there still is an owners' parking lot.

Hopefully, I'll still have a horse racing there when my owners' license comes up for renewal at the end of the year. Highland Cat is still down on the farm recuperating and we haven't heard any news; but Just Zip It continued to work her way towards a hoped-for November start with a half-mile breeze in 49.37 (11/28).

It's amazing that it's come to this. I can't tell you how expansive the parking lot there used to be. There was an auxiliary lot and we would moan when we were sent there on crowded days, which was any day on the weekend. It was far enough away that you had to take the shuttle bus. Now, they have had to ditch the popular Aqueduct Flea Market in an attempt to open up as many spots as possible, much to the chagrin of the Head Chef. It would just take one day of people being turned away from the parking lot to ensure that they never try to come to the track again. Until the slots come anyway.

- After briefly hedging after his sparkling win in the Jamaica at Belmont, Barclay Tagg confirmed that Showing Up will not run on Breeders Cup day. He'll instead be pointed to the Hollywood Derby (G1) on November 26. [Thoroughbred Times]

- A lot of workouts on Monday, and you can read about them all at Brisnet. Pegasus Wind worked a mile at Churchill for Wayne Lukas in preparation for the Juvenile. Lukas ran the colt in the Champagne after prepping at Keeneland for the Breeders Futurity, but he apparently did not care for Polytrack.

"I just didn't think he looked real good.....He looked good for the first part of the work, but then he seemed like his head got lower and lower, and he was struggling with it. He was blowing, and I know he's fit, so I said let's go to the Champagne. Then he caught a loose, sandy track in the Champagne that I don't think he cared for."

He ran very well in the Champagne, and may like the two turns of the Juvenile, as Lukas insists he will.

Go Deputy Going Forth

- Todd Pletcher told the Form that he entered 18 horses in the Breeders Cup, including Go Deputy, who comes off his tough nose beat in the Woodbine International on Sunday. As you may know, this is contrary to standard Pletcher procedures, as he's be racing in the Turf just 13 days after his last race. Pletcher said:

“It’s obviously going to be determined on how he trains, but there are not a whole lot of other opportunities with the exception of Japan or Hong Kong, and we decided not to do that, so basically it was either run here or get a rest." [Daily Racing Form]

It seems kinda radical nowadays, 13 days.

Go Deputy has come a long way in his sixth year of life. He was just an allowance horse until this year, and one with only nine lifetime races. He's 3-5-1 out of nine starts, and has a win and two close seconds in Grade 1's. Don't know yet what kind of fig he got for the race, but he hasn't been far below English Channel, who's considered to be Pletcher's top hope for the race and, indeed, one of the favorites. I think he could be an intriguing entry if he goes, and you figure that Pletcher won't run him unless he bounces back well from Woodbine. That was a winning effort he put in at Woodbine; he was unlucky to lose the head bob.

With Shirocco apparently out, David Junior and George Washington opting for the Classic, and Hurricane Run seemingly below his best form, you gotta think that the home team has a pretty decent shot this year. I like Cacique as of now, but I'm getting interested in Pletcher's horse, and not the one named English Channel.

News and Notes - Oct 23

- 14 Breeders Cup candidates drilled on Sunday for Todd Pletcher.

Pletcher's newest addition, Lawyer Ron, breezed his five furlongs in 1:01 1/5 for a possible start in the Breeders' Cup Classic – Powered by Dodge (gr. I). Flower Alley, a big disappointment this year, showed signs of life at Churchill Downs Sunday, breezing six furlongs in a bullet 1:13 2/5. [Bloodhorse]

Henny Hughes and Invasor had leisurely drills at Belmont for Kiaran McLaughlin.

- Aidan O'Brien tells the UK's Sporting Life: "[George Washington] will definitely run in the Classic and Mick (Kinane) will ride...It opens up the world if he was to win the race and he's in good form."

Thoroughbred Times reports that Paul Harley, the racing manager for Shirocco's owner, said that last year's Turf winner will probably remain in Europe and be retired, with stud plans to be announced later in the week.

Brisnet has a summary of Saturday's workouts here.

Beyer On Speed Closers

- Andy Beyer writes in the Form:

Keeneland's executives wanted to rid their track of its reputation for unfairness, which is one of the reasons they chose to install Polytrack. Based on the early results, they did not succeed. They merely replaced the old bias with a different bias.

That's a fair point, given the lack of wire-to-wire winners on the Polytrack there. I don't have the latest stats, but Bill Finley had written last week that only two horses won wire to wire......Forty one of the first 54 races run over Polytrack were won by horses who were fourth or worse in the first call.

Personally, if I had to be given the choice of one of the other, I'd take a closer's bias. The races are more exciting, and I just usually find myself drawn to betting on closers. Ideally of course, you want the tracks to be playing fair. But I recalled reading a column by Steve Klein in the Form just before the meeting in which track superintendent Mike Young made some interesting comments that are worth talking a look back at.

"I want to see a horse who should win on the lead win," explained Young. "I want to have a horse who comes from behind to have just as good of a shot. I want it to be as even as it can be."
.....
And what happens if the track turns out to favor closers?

"I guarantee that you won't hear as many people complaining about it as you would if it helped the speed," Young said.

Indeed, I hadn't read any complaints, at least until reading the column by Beyer. And I was surprised to read that, because back in February, he lamented a Polytrack world without biases. Though the practicality and safety of synthetic surfaces may make them irresistible, a sport filled with Polytrack sounds boringly homogenized. [Washington Post]

Now, even though we're seeing differences among the three Poly-tracks, he's complaining anyway. It seems as if the esteemed Mr. Beyer is just not ready to move into the synthetic era. He goes on to write in the recent Form column:

While horseplayers are examining the effect of synthetic surfaces, leaders of the racing industry should do the same. Speed has always been the most prized quality in the sport. Racing fans love Thoroughbreds that flaunt their speed. Breeders have invested billions of dollars in pedigrees designed to produce horses with speed. The people who have championed synthetic racing surfaces should take a careful look at Keeneland and decide if this bizarre, go-as-slow-as-you-can style of racing is what the sport really needs.

Actually, I think it's mostly breeders and the sheikhs they sell their horses to who are the ones obsessed with speed. Racing fans love Thoroughbreds who run hard and win regardless of their running style, and if anything, may fancy closers even more - Secretariat, Forego, and Deep Impact are three enormously popular examples who immediately come to mind.

Come to think of it, though we all want be dazzled a la Discreet Cat from time to time, I don't know if racing fans really give a whit about speed as opposed to competitive racing and healthy horses that can run longer and more often. And besides, we've all read how this emphasis on speed is destroying the game by making horses fragile, so a track surface that de-emphasizes its importance - and not necessarily to the exaggerated degree we're seeing thus far at Keeneland - should only be better for the breed down the road.

- There were actually three front-running winners over the Polytrack this weekend; two on Sunday, including Teuflesberg, dropping into maiden special company after four tries in graded stakes. His narrow loss to Scat Daddy in the Sanford at Saratoga was an agonizing beat for me on the second day of the meeting from which I never really recovered. I had a nice bet on the cold exacta, which was paying $52. Teuflesberg was badly beaten in his two tries since, and here, was not even the favorite. Ravel, a $950,000 Fusaichi Pegasus colt making his debut for Todd Pletcher, closed for second at 9-5. Pletcher is now just 3 for 29 at Keeneland.

Superfly ran 7th at 3-2 on Sunday in the 7th there, and man, what a money burner this one is. I thought that Andromeda's Hero was bad, but his little full brother takes the cake. He's one just once in 13 starts, and has losses at 3-5, 4-5, and 6-5 besides today's debacle.

NYRA Nears the Big A and Big B

- The Albany Times-Union reported on Saturday that NYRA could file for the Big B - Bankruptcy - as early as this Thursday. A NYRA official, William Nader, said he could not confirm that. He said he thinks NYRA's cash flow should allow it to continue operating through Nov. 1. The reports from last week that an agreement that would release the remaining $19 million of NYRA's loan have not come to fruition.

The report by James Odato goes on to tell of a letter from a NYRA lawyer to the Ad Hoc Committee that blames the Pataki Administration for holding up the loan, and thus bankrupting the association. It was said to "infuriate" administration officials, and it was actually shredded by the committee after after NYRA said it was mistakenly sent.

"The letter was sent in error by a staffer who was on deadline to send over some other information to the committee," Reif said. "We believed it was a mistake and therefore complied with their request to get rid of it."

Officials with the Committee on Open Government and the New York State Archives said state agencies, including public committees, are supposed to retain records involving their functions and transactions. Robert McDonnell, associate archivist, said that when a sender says the material was sent in error, "that's a gray area" as to whether it can be destroyed.

The news comes a couple of days after Empire Racing Associates released their latest attack press release. This one cites statements by past NYRA officials in which they conceded that ownership of the land reverts to the state if and when the franchise goes out of existence.

"No one can say for sure why NYRA would change its position now, particularly when they have previously clearly acknowledged the State's ultimate ownership," said Empire Racing spokesman Mark Grimm. "Our concern is that they're trying to manufacture a bogus legal claim to somehow gain leverage and derail an open and competitive State bidding process."

That's a fair point, and it makes for good copy; however, it bears little relevance to the process at hand. The Committee is well aware, I'm sure, that the overwhelming sentiment outside of NYRA is that the state owns the land. And besides, all's fair in love and business; indeed, there are those who feel that Friends of New York Racing, even as they solicited donations from various parties that themselves were possible franchise bidders, was nothing more than a vehicle with which to promote an agenda and pave the way for Empire.

- Bloodhorse has released the Report of Mares Bred for 2006, and Roman Ruler leads the way with no less than 197 romantic encounters. A winner of five out of ten lifetime starts, including Haskell, his only Grade 1 win, this son of Fusaichi Pegasus commands a fee of $30,000, live foal. So even if only 150 of his mares delivered live foals, a conservative estimate to be sure, his owners earned a total of $4.5 million in fees. And that's why we don't have many stars racing after the age of three. (And it's not like Roman Ruler even quite fit into that category.)

Interestingly, second on the list at 195 is El Corredor, who is a half-brother to Roman Ruler, and who stands for the same fee. The complete list can be found here.

- Another Triple Crown participant made a return to the races on Saturday; Sharp Humor, 19th in the Derby after battling Barbaro to a close decision in the Florida Derby, returned in a NY-bred stakes, part of the New York Showcase on the final weekend at a cold, breezy, and stinky Belmont Park. State-bred stakes dominated the card, and a foul odor prevailed in many areas of the backyard despite the wind, perhaps foreshadowing the coming bankruptcy proceedings and NYRA's general screwing-over by the state. Perhaps the association isn't paying their sewarage bills. The opening of my beloved Big A on Wednesday can't come soon enough. My final day at Belmont for 2006 lasted for all of two races; the Head Chef, who had come mostly for the New York vendors that were there for the day, was pleasantly shocked when I told her I was ready to leave. My recent lack of interest in wagering continues, though I plan to snap out of it by November 4.

Anyway, Sharp Humor, the 6-5 favorite, got hooked up early with Castle Village's Introspect, and did well, I thought, to battle on gamely for second to Tom Bush's sharp Gold and Roses (Gold Token). Sharp Humor's trainer Dale Romans, who has bounced back from a slow Saratoga meeting, said "You never want to lose, but I'm really happy with his effort." [Daily Racing Form]

I was long gone by the time Funny Cide was sent off as the 9-2 third choice, and never even remotely threatened against NY-breds in the Empire Classic.

Saturday Morning Notes - Oct 21

- Yet another winner for Biancone at Keeneland. Sadler's Trick, who made a successful switch to the turf at Saratoga, won Friday's 5th, an off-the-turfer. Here's another successful turf-to-Polytrack winner, and he's now two-for-two on Polytrack. By Favorite Trick, he's from the distaff family of English Channel, as detailed in this post.

Biancone's four race winning streak came to an end when his Pure Incentive ran 4th in the off-the-turf, Grade 3 Valley View Stakes. And here was another turf-to-Polytrack winner in Meribel, who was two-for-two on the grass at Saratoga for Christophe Clement. Her second race there was particularly impressive. She subsequently missed by a neck in a stakes at Laurel, and on Friday, she was sent off at 2-1 in her first race on Polytrack. She was dead last as usual, in a field of 13, and was widest of all on the turn - ten wide, according to the race chart!

- Off-the-turf races at Keeneland are apparently quite rare, and two days in a row, as happened on Thursday and Friday, is downright unprecedented. In fact, it had only happened four times since the turf course was installed in 1985, which seems pretty amazing. Those other dates were April 4, 1987, because of snow; Oct. 19, 1989 (wet); Oct. 12, 1990 (wet); and Oct. 27, 1995 (all races except for a stakes race, heavy rain). [DRF]

- The first slots machines have arrived at Gulfstream. Frank Stronach, never one to waste an opportunity to employ scantily-clad women, had a welcoming committee on hand to see to it that his new toys immediately felt right at home.



I guess he didn't have enough women for all of the machines, and had to dip into his pool of corporate suits. How uncomfortable do these guys look? I'm sure he'll have a similar contingent on hand to greet the horsemen when they arrive for the 2007 meet.

No Tin In Turf

- The Tin Man is out of the Turf. "He just isn't training back up to his best form and I'm not going to bring him there if he's not," so said Richard Mandella to Bloodhorse. And that's despite his working five furlongs in 59.2 the other day. He apparently has not bounced back from his narrow win in the Clement L. Hirsch. I thought at the time that it was somewhat disappointing that he had to work as hard as he did to win, and apparently it took its toll. He got a Beyer of 103, which was a bit below the 105 in the Million, lower still than the 108 in the race before that, so he was not on a good track as far as the numbers go.

In the latest Turf report in the Form, Marty McGee wrote that no more than 10 horses appear likely for the race, and that was including The Tin Man, and Shirocco as well. The latter's status has more recently been called into question.

Walter posed the question of who deserves to be the favorite amongst Shirocco, Hurricane Run (who seems to be pointing here), Cacique, and English Channel. It's hard to say without knowing the turf condition; if it comes up soft, then the defending champion Shirocco would deserve to be favorite. But my opinion is that Cacique is, right now, the best of the four, at least on firmer ground.

Sunday's International at Woodbine has attracted some horses that could have been a factor in the Turf, at least in exotics anyway, and the race is becoming a thorn and the side of the Breeders Cup race with its $1 million $2 million purse. This year, the race has attracted Go Deputy, who seems to really have come into his own in his last two, and his second to Cacique earns him some respect in my opinion. Pletcher has been stuck on 93 stakes winners, and God, it seems like an eternity now, and this seems to be a good spot for him.

But there are some compelling entries from Europe, inculding Kastoria, a five-year old mare from Ireland and the winner of three in a row, most recently the Grade 1 Irish St. Leger; and Blue Monday, beaten less than two lengths by David Junior albeit at a shorter distance. And then there's Collier Hill, last year's St. Leger winner who has been in good form of late.

Sweet Return

- Read in the Daily News that Sweetnorthernsaint returned to action with a win at Laurel on Thursday, running the seven furlongs in 1:23.70 under a hand ride from Ramon Dominguez. What the article doesn't say is that it was a public pari-mutuel workout, at odds of 1-20, against just two hopeless opponents.

But what a workout it was; in fact, the stretch run qualifies more as a gallop, he was going so easily. Yet, he got the final eighth in 11.97 seconds, while racing under no encouragement, according to the race chart. It was his first race since his second place finish in the Preakness. "Hopefully this didn't take anything out of him—I don't think it did," said trainer Michael Trombetta, and I can't imagine that it did.

- Tom Albertani issued his usual "we couldn't ask him to be doing any better right now about Bernardini, and what else do you expect? John Ward is skipping the Classicwith Strong Contender and will aim him for the Gulfstream handicaps next year. Wild Desert is said to be a possiblity for the Classic, but why?

- Came Home is off to just a middling start at stud here in his first year. He has no stakes winners thus far, and, according to Equiline, had just four winners as of Oct 16. In fact, his stud fee has been slashed from $40,000 to $25,000 for 2007.

But he had a first-time winner today at Keeneland with the cleverly named Promisei'llbehome, out of Maddie's Promise, a stakes winning mare by Dehere. He took the second at 10-1 for Jonathan Sheppard; and according to Forumlator, that's the trainer's first debut juvenile winner in at least five years, out of just 15 prior attempts. Promisei'llbehome descends from the female family of the great two-time sprint winner Housebuster - the champ's second dam, Dolphins Dream, is the third dam of Promisei'llbehome.

Playing to Win

- Been without internet access since yesterday evening, and I'll be back with the horsey stuff shortly, but just gotta mention the ballgame last night; wow, what a game. The starting pitching that was such a question mark for the Metsies came through - John Maine and Oliver Perez gave up 1 run in 11 1/3 innings. But the offense, particularly David Wright, let the team down. Still, did there seem like they could possibly lose after the catch by Endy Chavez? That was certainly amongst the greatest postseason catches ever, but I wonder if the loss will prevent it from becoming part of New York baseball lore, other than for the 57,000 people at the game, and Yankee fans, anyway.

The discussion on talk radio today is about Willie Randolph's decision to pinch-hit Cliff Floyd with first and second and nobody out, instead of using someone to sacrifice. That seemed like the sensible move, especially with hitters like Reyes and LoDuca due up. Whatsmore, Floyd is hobbled with an injury, and if he hit the ball on the ground, it could have been a double, or even triple play. I can't argue with any Met fan who is critical of the move.

Now, maybe this is because I was watching the game without an emotional stake, but personally, I absolutely loved the move. Adam Wainwright looked tight against the first two batters; he was up in the strike zone, and surrendered hits to Valentin and Chavez, two guys who didn't hit all postseason. With Floyd, a guy with a classic uppercut swing, it was unlikely that he would hit the ball on the ground if he was swinging for the fences.

And there's no doubt that's exactly what he was doing. I would guess that when Willie called him back to the dugout before he came to the plate, he told him to swing at pitches he thinks he can drive in the air, or don't swing at all. He was trying to win the game with a three-run homerun right then and there, and I loved it just for its audacity. At a moment when some managers get tight and go conservative or get away from the things that got his team to that spot, Willie just let it fly. It's like a former New York coach once said: You play to win the game!

Indeed, Floyd had his chance, getting two mean rips at fastballs that would have made him, and Wainwright, baseball legends had he connected. But he got his shot, and what more can you ask for? And they still had their chance after all, and were a single away from tying the game after loading the bases. Wainwright's final pitch curved into the strike zone against a frozen Carlos Beltran as sharply as the twists and turns that brought the Mets' season to a devastating conclusion.

Too Much Trakus

- Marty McGee reports in the Form that the Trakus technology allows Keeneland to post an actual statistical measure of how much ground a horse lost, or gained in a race.

The ontrack displays show the number of feet a winner traveled, while the distances that also-rans completed are displayed as a differential versus the winner. For example, in the first race Wednesday, the winner, Pure Classy, took 5,682.6 feet to run the 1 1/16-mile race, while the runner-up, Trio, took 5,710.1, or an extra 27.5 feet in running the same race - so the distance for Trio was displayed as a "plus 27." Conversely, several other also-rans traveled a lesser distance than Pure Classy, and so those were displayed as a "minus."

You can go to Keeneland's website and see the actual distances traveled by each horse here.

But aren't there some things that are better left to subjective interpretation? We've discussed here how it's cool that people can look at the same race and see different things. That's what creates the differences of opinion that make betting on the game so fascinating. Is it really in the sport's interest to boil everything down to a strictly quantatative analysis? What's next? A precise measurement, in feet, of how much ground a horse had to cover while being blocked in traffic? Breezefigs for each horse's gallop-out? A measurement, in milligrams, of the amount of each horse's pre-race kidney sweat? A numerical rating, based on body language, of the trainers' intentions?

These things are open to interpretation, and why not keep them that way? I've always thought that I have a good sense of how significantly wide a horse is in a race. I might mentally adjust the Beyer up or down, but I don't have any precise formula. It's a lot of guesswork, but so what? It's a game. If there's nothing to guess about, then it becomes a science. And I don't remember having much fun in biology class.

- You may say "Hey, isn't this the same guy who criticized people who are upset about Polytrack possibly taking speed bias out of the game?" The difference is that Trakus, which I must admit I've never really cared for from the start, doesn't keep horses healthy, and thus far (as I not only knock wood, but pound my fists on my wood floors) there have been no fatalities reported at Keeneland. According to Kentucky Horse Racing Authority statistics, fatal breakdowns had occurred at a rate of slightly more than three per meet since spring 2003. [DRF]

- Bandini is retired and will stand for $17,500 at Walmac.

- Patrick Biancone has eight winners out of 26 starters at the Keeneland meeting. He's won with his last three starters, and the one before that was Maurakalana, second in the the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth. His winners include Asi Siempre and the magnificent Gorella. And all of his winners, and the great majority of all his runners have been ridden by Julien Leparoux.

On Wednesday, they took the third with first-timer Belgravia. This Mr. Greeley two-year old sold for $2 million at the Calder sale in February, after working a furlong in 10.2; quick, but not a standout amongst the others on the day. He's out of Peaks Mill, a stakes-winning Stalwart mare, and this is the distaff family of Afleet Alex. His second dam, Dorothy Gaylord, is the third dam of the 2005 three-year old champ.

Nick Zito was second to the 6-5 favorite with Silver Express. After his uncanny and uncharacteristic spate of first-time two-year old winners at Saratoga, Zito has come down to earth and is winless with his last nine debut juveniles.

- I've really come to appreciate the Mets' Paul LoDuca as a hitter since starting to follow the local baseball season more closely late in the season (as in, after Saratoga). The guy is a pure hitter, and a clutch one at that. His two-out, two-run single in the 8th gave the Mets enough of a cushion to survive a pair given up in the ninth by Billy Wagner, who sucks. If the Mets don't win the World Series, I predict that it will be because of a failure by Wagner. And I don't give them better than a 50/50 chance.

But they're still alive in this most improbable of series. Each time it seemed obvious that one team or another would take command, the opposite happened. The Cards looked impotent after Game 1, but salvaged the crucial split on the road. The Mets were dead after Trachsel imploded in Game 3, but their bats exploded in Game 4. They seemed poised to take control with Glavine on the mound in Game 5, but the game turned around suddenly and shockingly. And who would have thought they'd survive a second round against Chris Carpenter to make it to the deciding game. Who cares if they don't really have a pitcher to start the seventh game? It says here that the game, and the series, will come down to the pitcher that tries to end it.

Tuesday Night Notes - Oct 17

- The decision to run Flower Alley in the Classic is one of the stranger ones of the year. Or maybe not. His lackluster efforts at Saratoga were more worthy of a shot at an overnight stakes. On Polytrack. Restricted to non-winners of a sweepstakes over a mile in 2006.

But on the other hand, with his breeding plans (and $25,000 fee) already set for next year, it's kinda like the same nothing-to-lose theory that is apparently behind Coolmore's decision to run George Washington in the same race. Flower Alley and Gorgeous George couldn't be at more opposite ends of the horse scale at this point, but their owners' motives are one and the same.

- $50,000 is the fee for Bluegrass Cat; not bad for a horse with one Grade 1 win. Of course, he's a winner of one Grade 1 who's also a son of Storm Cat, out of an AP Indy mare. There's a lot of Phipps in this pedigree, and I posted more about that here.

Some of the mares WinStar has already committed to Bluegrass Cat are grade I winner Nany's Sweep; Brushed Halory, a graded stakes winner whose Storm Cat colt sold for $2.2 million as an auction 2-year-old this year; and With a Princess, dam of grade II winners The Daddy and With a City. [Bloodhorse]

- Reader Stalusk comments, on George Washington:

If I was with Coolmore, I'm not sure I'd want my squillion dollar colt thrashed in his final racecourse appearance, particularly if it meant further emphasizing the total dominance of a Darley homebred.

And if he does happen to win in the Classic, does it really add thousands of dollars to his fee? Is there a huge demand for Danehill stallions in North America?

Good points. Hmm, Coomore apparently couldn't care less if their horses get thrashed on the dirt, since they just experienced just that with Dylan Thomas. But personally, I do agree that it's just unseemly to have your horse go out that way (though the owners of Flower Alley apparently don't care about that either.) And if he did win, yes, I would think that he could be effectively marketed here as a Grade/Group 1 winner on turf and dirt. Would he then also be Horse of the Year?

- Tim McCarver is not having a good night on FOX (and neither are the Mets right now). Chris Duncan just hit a solo homerun to give the Cards a 4-2 lead just after McCarver went out of his way to question the move, displaying his meager stats against left handed pitching. (At least he made fun of himself afterwards.) In the top of the fifth, McCarver speculated that Tony LaRussa might yank Jeff Weaver after he gave up a hit to Paul LoDuca. But LaRussa had allowed Weaver to bat with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning prior. I doubt he would have done so if he was at the point at which he would lift the pitcher after one single. Weaver ended up pitching through the sixth.

The momemtum in this series has gone back and forth, changing on a dime. After the Mets took a 2-0 lead, coming after the big Game 4 win and with Glavine rolling on the mound, you figured the Mets were on their way. Who would have thought that Glavine would quickly lose it after allowing the Pujols homer, especially with the extra day of rest. Mets in trouble here..

News and Notes - Oct 17

- On three separate occasions, I overheard people at Belmont on Saturday talking about how they were going to go to the new slots parlor at Yonkers. I dunno, maybe I'm just not much of a hardened gambler in that I've never had any desire whatsoever to go to any casino, anywhere. But there's little doubt that Yonkers is going to have an impact on the way people dispose of their betting dollars around here, especially once it's up to 5500 machines by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the Standardbred Owners' Association filed a complaint in state Supreme Court on Friday, claiming that the opening is illegal because there is no racing to accompany it. In a message from its president Joe Faraldo (via Albany Law Shcool Racing and Wagering page), he tells of a visit to the track he took last week.

It became clear to me that despite a closure in excess of sixteen months, too much work yet remained. For example, the paddock is not suitable for racing and is still a storage facility; there is no place for patrons to wager on races; there are no V monitors to view races for either the patrons or racing officials; there are no betting machines; no tote board, etc.
.....
We cannot allow racetrack owners to either ignore racing altogether, or to race a miserably small number of live race programs, as is the trend at some other New York harness ovals. In order to do that we need to race, and we intend to do all in our power to see that we are racing ASAP. Accordingly, we have now been forced to commence yet another unfortunate, but completely necessary legal proceeding, and have sought the assistance of the legislature and are making our case in the press.

The SOA stands on sound legal ground here, but the state has obviously given Yonkers a break by allowing them to race during this interim period. Only the law protects the racing in this situation, as there is obviously little business incentive for Yonkers to race.

And if management really cared about the racing there, they would have taken this opportunity to change the configuration of the track to a 5/8ths mile oval. Yonkers is a standing joke around here for its endless parade of wire-to-wire favorites. Not only is it a half-mile track, but it's one with a very short stretch. Several years ago, they tried to "stretch the stretch," moving the finish line down, and running races at a mile and a sixteenth to avoid having the race start too close to the turn. But they went back to running most races at a mile, and honestly, not having followed the racing there, I'm not really sure why. But I do know that harness racing is far more exciting on a bigger track where there is more racing room and a longer stretch; and Yonkers, as it's constructed now, will never be able to compete on a sporting basis with the mile track at the Meadowlands, no matter how big the purses may get.

- New York Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, having discussed the matter with Gov Pataki, says that NYRA will soon get their $19 million. "There's no reason on this earth for NYRA to go bankrupt." [Bloodhorse]

Gorgeous George Goes Classic

- George Washington, considered to be the top miler in Europe, is headed for the Breeders Cup Classic, despite the fact that, as articulated by the UK Independent's Chirs McGrath, he shares with Galileo, Oratorio and Hawk Wing the turf genes that condemned them to obliteration in the Classic. Aiden O'Brien was to have George have a training session on a dirt track, but that was cancelled.

Seems like a no-lose gamble for Coolmore, as explained by Greg Wood in the Guardian.

Defeat for George Washington in the Classic, meanwhile, is a 1-12 chance at the latest odds, but would do no damage at all to his stud value, since no-one expects him to win. Hot favourites who get turned over in the Mile, though, do tend to stick in the memory.

So a run in the Classic is a free bet which could be worth many millions of dollars, since victory, unlikely though it might be, would add thousands to the fee for every cover performed by George Washington during what promises to be a long and busy career at stud.

Those who have Gorella in a futures wager are happy about this development. But the defection of the probable Mile favorite could attract another imposing threat. The Form reports that Barclay Tagg is rethinking his decision to skip the Breeders Cup with Showing Up. Assistant Robin Smullen said: "He was very impressed with his kick. I think [Showing Up] impressed him more than he usually does."

Still, she indicated that Tagg thinks that the prudent thing to do would be skip the big day with Showing Up, and with Nobiz Like Showbiz as well. Someone commented on my post on Gorella how it's funny how different people see different things in a race. I wrote of Nobiz Like Showbiz (a horse whose bandwagon I'm admittedly not yet on) that, while I was duly impressed by his effort in the Champagne, I was more impressed by the race by Scat Daddy. I downplayed the bad start by Tagg's colt as an excuse for the loss. So when I saw that the main story in today's Form is about not the winner of the Champagne, but the second place finisher, I went back for another look.

I haven't seen the ESPN close-up of the start that Watchmaker refers to in his article, but I don't need to to know that he had a bad start; he was second to last, after all. Still, he wasn't out of contact, and again, this time watching the head-on shot, I see him move up on the inside rather comfortably and without traffic, and save a lot of ground on the turn compared to Scat Daddy. So, I'm going to stick to my original position.

And that position is not that Nobiz Like Showbiz isn't an extremely talented and promising colt (though with an annoying name) who ran a great race in a Grade 1 in just his second start. I'm just saying that I thought that Scat Daddy was the best horse in the race despite running a bit greenly in the stretch, and that he deserves more than just some credit for being good enough to capitalize on Nobiz Like Shobiz's trouble, which is how Watchmaker put it. And I believe that, should they meet in the Juvenile, Scat Daddy has just as much license to improve going two turns as Nobiz does.

- Steve Davidowitz, in the subscription-only DRF Plus, is one who has some extremely heady praise for Nobiz Like Showbiz.

Few hugely proportioned 2-year-olds are capable of demonstrating agility, much less high-class speed under the gun. In fact, Nobiz Like Shobiz's size and generous stride vaguely recalled two of the greatest horses of the 20th century: Seattle Slew and Forego.

Seattle Slew was a strongly built, very fast champion 2-year-old who developed into the 1977 Triple Crown winner. Forego also was a fast young horse, but did not reach his peak until he turned 4 in 1974.

Nobiz Like Shobiz has a long way to go to be favorably compared to either Seattle Slew or Forego, but it was remarkable that this hugely proportioned colt performed so well in the Champagne while obviously needing time to grow into his body.

Pletcher Thus Far Poor on Polytrack

- Todd Pletcher is a very un-Todd Pletcher-like 2 for 23 at the Keeneland meeting; 2 for 17 on the main track. Maybe he doesn't like the Polyturf. After all, you have trainers who may specialize in turf races and do not quite as well on dirt; so why not Polytrack as a new category on which trainers can specialize, or not? He was also just 1 for 12 at the last Turfway meeting. Hmmm, seems to be a pattern here. It's far too early to say for sure, but this is just a blog, so....perhaps the all great and powerful Pletcher has met his match?

As you might imagine, a fair amount of money has been burned on Pletcher's losers at Keeneland, including two, Circular Quay and Maizelle, who were defeated at 2-5. Five others went off at less than 3-1. The latest favorite to go down was Yes Yes Yes, who ran third at 8-5 in a Sunday allowance. The winner, Connections, was winning his second race on Polytrack in as many tries; he had won by almost ten against cheaper at Turfway last year. You wouldn't have known that if you were reading the Form, as that race was 15 races back; if you use BRIS, you would have seen his all weather track race record of 1-for-1 listed next to 'AW.'

Pletcher also has cooled off with his two-year old first time starters; he's just one for his last 17 with them. And once again, it's not hard to surmise that some of those losers were bet. One was 4-5, three were under 2-1, and four more 7-2 or less. You also may recall the first timers that won on the grass for Pletcher at Saratoga. The fact is that he's been enjoying far more success with first-time juveniles on the grass. He's just three for his last 31 with those making their debut on the dirt.

One of those was on Saturday, with Point of Reason, at odds of 7-2 at Keeneland. Point of Reason is another one of those two-year olds making their debut after selling for way above his sire's stud fee at a two-year old in training sale. While his sire, Forest Camp, stands for $25,000, this colt sold to WinStar for $825,000 after working an eighth in 10 2/5 seconds.

Gorella 70/30 For Mile

- I loved Gorella's win in the First Lady at Keeneland on Saturday. For one thing, you just gotta love a horse that comes from last and fires every time. And I think that she won this race more easily than it might appear over a very, very good filly in Karen's Caper, who has been brought along expertly by Bobby Frankel in 2006. Gorella moved into contention all on her own, and Julien Leparoux barely moved until the final stages when she engaged Karen's Caper. The margin was a nose (a "long nose," according to Kurt Becker), but Gorella was not going to be denied on this day. Plus, I think she has a lot left in the tank for the Mile; this was just a prep for her. They came home in 23.13 seconds; final eighth 11.43; are you kidding me? And I'm telling you, she did this with relative ease.

Patrick Biancone told the Courier-Journal that it's 70-30 that she'll run in the Mile, and her owner Martin Schwartz sounded psyched. "Bring on Aragorn. Come on, George. We'll show you Mount Vernon. We have some unfinished business from last year."

[EDIT: Biancone told the NY Daily News that she's: "80% for the BC Mile and 20% for the BC Filly and Mare Turf."]

Tagg Sale

- Barclay Tagg's decision to skip the Breeders Cup with Showing Up (Strategic Mission) is more typical of what we've come to expect of the trainer than his seemingly rash decision to run the colt in the Derby in his 4th lifetime start. But he obviously saw something very special, and Showing Up has certainly borne him out, albeit on the grass. So I think that it pays to pay attention to what Tagg decides about Nobiz About Showbiz regarding the Juvenile after that one's second to Scat Daddy in the Champagne. His immediate post-race comment was: "The Breeders' Cup probably won't be the prudent thing to do, but I wouldn't rule it out." [Bloodhorse] Somewhat similar to his comments immediately after Showing Up's win in the Lexington, when he said: "The smart thing to do might be to skip the Derby and wait for the Preakness, but if you win the Derby, the horse is about 20 times more valuable afterward.

Showing Up showed off for the sparse crowd of 6,222 in the Grade 2 Jamaica with a most impressive win, though what should we have expected after he knocked heads with older horses in the Man O'War. He went off at 2-5 and attracted $108,000 worth of bridgejump money. Cornelio Velasquez rode him patiently and confidentally, allowing the two horses in front of him sprint away on the turn through a third quarter of 23.25 seconds; that after a leisurely half mile of 49.72. Showing Up moved up for the lead approaching the stretch as Outperformance, an improving sort from the white-hot Richard Violette barn, ranged up outside with more momemtum and carrying nine fewer pounds. It was here that Showing Up demonstrated his ability as he dug in to repulse the challenge and, with Velasquez merely shaking up the reins, drew away for a 3 1/2 length win through a final three-eighths of 34.84 seconds, and a final eighth of 11.35.

Next is the Hollywood Derby, another race restricted to three-year olds, on Nov 26. If Tagg was a bit hasty running this horse in the Derby, here he's being quite prudent in finding suitable spots and putting off the big fight for another year, at which time Showing Up could be something very special. (And hopefully, there will be a next year for this colt).

Turning to Nobiz Like Showbiz, Tagg's juvenile sensation was bet down to 7-5 on the basis of his one heralded start here last month. But the race started out as poorly for him as did Game 3 for the Mets. He was pinched back coming out of the gate, an event not noted by Tom Durkin, and was second to last.

So he certainly earned a grade of excellent for his second-place finish. However, all the attention is going to Scat Daddy (Johannesburg), though more for his trainer Todd Pletcher, who made a mockery of the record books in setting the mark for most stakes wins in a year with 93.

Personally, I hope that between Pletcher's achievement and Nobiz Like Showbiz' excuse, Scat Daddy's effort gets overlooked going into the Juvenile. I'm not putting too much into Nobiz' excuse. He recovered quickly and had ample room to advance up the inside. Then he saved ground going into the turn, while Scat Daddy was wide throughout. Tagg's colt got to the lead impressively no doubt, but Scat Daddy just ran him down, fair and square, and I thought it was a fine effort in his 4th lifetime start, rallying through a final quarter of 24.75 and a final time of 1:36.97, more than three seconds faster than the Frizette. I think I'd have to say that it was the best performance in any of the two-year old preps I've seen. Of course, he'll have to answer the two-turns question in the Juvenile, as would Nobiz Like Showbiz should Tagg decide to run him.

- Just how hot is trainer Violette? Even Tagg noted after Showing Up's win that "">Violette is as hot as a firecracker." He had another winner on Saturday, which gives him 12 wins in 33 starts at the Belmont meeting. (Though I imagine he would have traded a few of those to have gotten High Finance a win at Keeneland.)

Cold Preps

- The fall meeting at Belmont used to be the Breeders Cup, though played out over six weeks instead of one day. Each weekend brought another big race, and each received the attention in the New York print media that it deserved. Now, every big stakes race run after Labor Day is just a prep, and most of the championships are determined on a single day.

Now that "super saturdays" chock full of graded stakes have become the norm, there are rarely any single races on a given day that command a majority of the spotlight anymore. Even Bernadini had to share attention with Henny Hughes, Lava Man, and all the other Grade 1 winners on Gold Cup day. There are so many big races nationwide that there is meaningful press coverage on only a few. And then on Breeders Cup day, the press usually concentrates their limited resources on one particular race, and the rest are noted in a brief paragraph each (if they're lucky); a season-defining race summed up in a few sentences. I'm just not convinced that the concept has helped the sport.

It certainly hasn't helped Belmont, and these days the Fall Championship Season is mostly just cold. And preps. Cold preps. I usually don't bet much this time of the year; it's my break time, and in the past, it's often run into Breeders Cup day. I watched many a race on those days without having any money at stake.

It was cold on Saturday as usual, and sunny spots are at a premium there as the sun sinks lower in the sky. I can only handle a couple of hours or so at a time there now. During the spring and summer, six hours can go by in a flash at Belmont or Saratoga; but today it seemed like a long time to the Champagne, even though I didn't even get there until after the 4th. And then I saw that the Form didn't have Keeneland in the regular edition sold there today, and the simulcast edition, usually available in abundance, was long sold out. That's the kind of thing that can make me wish I had just watched the races at home. We all love the national treasure that is the Daily Racing Form, but sometimes they can drive me nuts!

But I saw some good horses, and at least one great one, and it was all worthwhile. I'd write about them now, but I'm watching baseball, and so are you, so check back in a little while.

- Please feel free to email me with comments or questions.

Saturday Morning News and Notes - Oct 14

- Another graded stakes win for Todd Pletcher as his Master Command took the Grade 2 Meadowlands Breeders Cup - his record tying 92nd stakes win of the year. Er, that's for the trainer, not the horse.

What ever happened to the idea of the race being run at halftime of Monday Night Football? The air on that idea went out faster than the Titans' season. I suppose it was way too innovative for our game. As Steve Crist points out in the Form this week, the sport goes on spending its marketing dollars on the same failed attempts to attract novices by telling them that horses and jockeys are colorful and exciting and everyone should come on out to the old horse park.

The track tried to promote the race as the last prep for the Breeders Cup Classic, but, c'mon, really. With familiar second-stringers (at best) like Park Avenue Ball, Wild Desert, and Awesome Twist, the race was a ho-hum affair that is unlikely to produce any Classic starters despite a crackling final time of 1:46.21. This son of AP Indy is inbred 3x3 to Secretariat, and is a 3/4 brother to the current two-year old filly X Star. He has some tremendous turf influence in his pedigree - out of a half-sister to turf stars Al Mamoon, La Gueriere; second dam is a half to Arc winner Allez France - so I'm a bit surprised that he hasn't yet been tried on that surface.

- Speaking of the Classic, Kevin Modesti makes a complex mathematical case in the LA Daily News that seeks to debunk the idea that Lava Man should be discounted because he's faced weaker competition out west than has Bernardini.

- High Finance and Latent Heat floundered over the Polytrack in the Perryville at Keeneland on Friday, as Bob Baffert sprung a mild upset with 7-1 Midnight Lute (Real Quiet). Here's a late-developing three-year old who raced just once at two before a one year layoff. He's now two-for-three with a close second since returning. The colt underwent two surgeries for a "paralyzed flap" in his throat, and still, according to Baffert, has only 70% of his wind. When speculating where Midnight Lute might have gone if his breathing were 100 percent, the trainer said, "Oh man." [Lexington Herald-Reader]

It's the fifth stakes winner of the year for Real Quiet, who stands in Pennsylvania for $6,500. Midnight Lute is the sire's 4th graded winner of 2006, and he has two Grade 1 winners - Pussycat Doll and Wonder Lady Anne L amongst them.

- The Mets were failed by their strength last night, as the bullpen failed to hold a 6-4 lead going into the 7th. Willie Randolph has been depending more and more on Guillermo Mota, a journeyman reliever who was acquired late in the year with fantastic results. But he's been living a bit on the edge throughout these playoffs, and was burned for the first time last night when Scott Spiezio delivered a dramatic two-out, two-strike game-tying double in the 7th inning, wow. It was kinda funny listening to Joe Buck and company telling us how cold Albert Pujols is, even as he was gamely fighting off Mota by fouling off several pitches before singling to start the two-out rally. For some reason and despite his lofty stats, I've always thought that Mets' closer Billy Wagner sucks. He throws hard, but without much movement on his fastball, and man, did So Taguchi ever tee off on one for his game-winning and series-tying HR in the ninth last night.