They're Off at Del Mar

- I thought that Christina Olivares was on the outs at TVG when I saw her in apparent exile at Emerald Downs over the weekend rather than at Hollywood. But I guess she's served her penance, and she's back at Del Mar today sporting one of those big hats like Jan Rushton. It seems as if Polytrack's reputation has preceded itself; the third race, that five furlong juvenile sprint from which the $4.6 million Maimonides was scratched, went in fractions of 23.53 and 47.65, splits more suitable for a mile and a sixteenth race. But thus far, horses close to the pace (if not exactly wire to wire) seem to be doing pretty well.

Richard Mandella took the baby race in that fashion with his first timer Kanan Dume, at 9-1, in an exciting stretch duel, edging past the stubborn Dan the Man, who he stalked persistently down the backside and into the turn, and holding off even money Coast Guard, a bit slow at the start, by a long and steady neck. I didn't mention this colt in my preview of the race, mostly because Mandella doesn't win many of these - he was three for 36 over the last two years with two-year olds, four for 69 overall. In fact, he hadn't had a first-timer win since April, 2006, some 40 starts ago. But as we saw with Nick Zito at Saratoga last summer, those stats can change for a specific meeting, and it may be worth paying attention to Mandella in baby races to come.

Kanan Dune is by Malibu Moon, who has been in the news on a couple of occasions this past week. He's out of Trishyde, a graded stakes winner on the dirt in the U.S., and on the grass in France.

An exhilirating run between horses by Vauquelin to take the third division of the Oceanside in a finish that was marred by an apparent injury to favored Mayor Bozarth (good job by Todd Scrhmmppff on TVG in pointing that out immediately after the finish). Victor Espinoza waited patiently, and then darted to the inside and exploded to the lead from the rail. This was all seen close-up courtesy of a great isolated replay on TVG. I do get on their case when I think it's warranted, but they can do great work when they put their minds to it.

Notes - July 18

- First, a 4% takeout on Pick Four's at Ellis Park. Now, 10% takeout across the board at Laurel! Egads, what's going on here? Are tracks finally starting to get it? Laurel's meet is only ten days long, and while the promotion won't help lure horses from higher-purse tracks such as Saratoga or the Presque Isle Downs meeting which will commence shortly afterwards, it's a venture which, like Ellis Park's, deserves support from horseplayers. And, as Michael points out, the fact that it's a Magna track is a big thing, and a hopeful sign of more such reductions at their other tracks.

The only problem is that many of us horseplayers are funny in that we prefer to be able to watch the races on which we bet. For those of us with no access to HRTV or not signed up to the correct ADW, we can't see either Ellis or Laurel. (Ellis switched from TVG after its purchase from Churchill Downs.) And I wonder if the low takeout actually serves as a disincentive for a third party ADW to push the bet as opposed to their own tracks with a higher take?

- Tiago may be much improved, but don't expect to see him in the Travers. Michael Veitch of the Saratogian writes that [John] Shirreffs does not like the detention barn situation at New York Racing Association tracks. Indeed, he told the Form after the Belmont: "The detention barn is not in the horse's best interest."

Curlin is hopefully headed for the Travers, via the Haskell. He worked out on Tuesday at Saratoga, and turned in a bullet five-furlong work in 1:00 1/5, the fastest of 11 works at the distance. [Bloodhorse]

- ESPN is "stuck" with the CCA Oaks this weekend despite the defection of Rags to Riches. Still, it's an hour of national TV exposure, so the mythical Commissioner of Racing would certainly be on the phone trying to round up as full and competitive a field as possible. If he/she existed of course.

- Circular Quay is listed as the 5-2 favorite in the Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs despite it being his grass debut. As I've said before, opposing horses such as this can be the best bet in racing. This will certainly be a race worth looking into.

Win And You're In

- There was a starting gate outside the ESPN Zone restaurant yesterday. I'm not sure how much that would have cost under Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan. But for the Breeders Cup, it was an appropriate prop for the launch of their "Win and You're In" Breeders Cup Challenge series. Tim Hasselbeck, the former NFL quarterback, was there with his wife Elisabeth, who this clueless blogger later discovered is one of the hosts of ABC's The View. I was thinking she was just a prop there for effect. The photographers descended upon her as she posed in a sleek blue dress. "That dress makes her look pregnant," muttered a woman sitting next to me. (She is.)

Randy Moss was there to emcee the proceedings, which commenced with a short promotional video after an hour of mingling, a buffet lunch, and an open bar (that was serving up mostly water and soda I'm happy to say). And he had a panel of distinguished guests on hand to discuss the new series, including Charles Hayward, Kiaran McLaughlin, Bill Farish, and, of course, Breeders Cup President Greg Avioli. I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Avioli after the presentation, and he mentioned how, though the percentage of people aware of the Breeders Cup increased from 2% to 14% for last year's inaugural ESPN telecast, there's still a long way to go. He believes that putting the event into terms that sports fans are familiar with from professional and college team sports can help push that number much higher. "Everybody gets 'Win and You're In,'" he said. He spoke about Cinderella horses, who would not otherwise qualify for the Breeders Cup, upsetting a Challenge race, hopefully sparking the kind of interest that underdogs do and creating a following up through Breeders Cup time. Referring to the NCAA basketball tourney, he spoke of horses who will be 'on the bubble,' and the possibility of "ruffling feathers," thereby creating controversy and discussion, all of which would be helpful for a sport starving for wider attention.

ESPN producer Jack Graham spoke about the Challenge telecasts, which will entail 13 hours of coverage on ESPN and ABC (the Saratoga races next Saturday will happily be featured on the latter). Graham said the network will utilize the tight backstretch shot it utilized in the Belmont - he called it Gyro Cam - throughout the series (subject to logistical issues inherent at each individual track). In addition, there will be a crane-mounted camera in the infield to avoid the blockage by trees and toteboards that is common in North American race coverage; and a "homestretch cam" which will be mounted directly overlooking the final turn to focus in on the action at that most crucial point of the race. It's good to see that ESPN is actively exploring ideas to improve the quality of race coverage, which has lagged behind that in Europe.

Kiaran McLaughlin spoke briefly; his Flashy Bull is the likely favorite in the Whitney. Gary Contessa wasn't on the panel, but was there and, as the trainer of Papi Chullo, expected to face Flashy Bull in the race, was asked to say a few words. "If you win, you don't have to worry about points. You can plot your own course."

And that, I think, illustrates a possible pitfall of the concept. Say Papi Chullo noses out Flashy Bull in a thrilling stretch drive in the Whitney, thus qualifying for the Classic. That could portend the beginning of a contentious rivalry which could gather steam and attention, and culminate in the ultimate showdown in the Classic. (Such is the state of the older horse division...who woulda thunk we'd ever be talking about a Flashy Bull and Papi Chullo as Classic contenders a few months ago..) But, as Contessa said, he would then be free to plot his own course. So, in an age in which connections seem to look for reasons to not run their horses rather than the other way around, I'm concerned that horses who qualify for the BC early could then duck the future Challenge races in favor of softer spots (or a cash giveaway at a track like Presque Isle Downs). Or in favor of no spot at all. That could very well detract from the quality of the races, and quash potential rivalries in the making.

So I think that the Breeders Cup may find that it needs to provide an incentive for qualifiers to run back in subsequent Challenge races. A cash bonus is an obvious idea. But how about instead offering something that would give that horse a greater advantage for the Breeders Cup? For example, a horse who wins a second Challenge race could be guaranteed, say, a top five selection in the post position draw for the BC; and a horse who wins three could be given the top pick. That could be a very strong incentive to run again; as we've seen in the past, in a 14 horse field, some participants' fates can be largely determined in the post position draw. It would be comparable to a team that has already qualified for the playoffs playing for the highest seed possible, and the resulting home ice advantages (you know which sport I favor).

(And you want to create controversy and ruffle feathers? Imagine the connections of a horse going for the post position advantage complaining that rival jockeys conspired in the race to deny them....)

In a more perfect world where thoroughbreds run far more frequently, the "win and you're in" idea could be supplanted by a longer series of races in which horses could compete against each other for points to not only determine qualification, but for post position advantages as well. But while that's an idea that perhaps our harness friends could ponder, it's not practical on our side given the sporadic nature of campaigns these days. Like any new venture, it may be at least a couple of years before the Challenge's full implications, benefits, and problems are revealed. It will be a work in progress, and require quick thinking and the willingness to adapt. But any move toward establishing some kind of continuity to the racing season that the average sports fan can relate to is a positive step, so the Breeders Cup should be commended for coming up with the Challenge concept, and receive the full backing of horsemen and fans.

- I also spoke to Greg Avioli about how the Challenge will affect the World component of the Thoroughbred World Championships. Though there's been much talk of the importance of involving horses worldwide in the Breeders Cup, the Challenge is, for now, strictly a North American affair (with the exception of the Champions Mile run in Hong Kong on April 29, and won by Able One). He told me that there are plans to include more races overseas in the future. For this year, the idea is to lure as many European horses for the Challenge races as possible; and he said that he went to the UK to speak to Aiden O'Brien in the hope of doing just that.

- I guess that the torrential rains that pounded northern Queens this morning made it to the south shore of Long Island as well. Wednesday's card at Belmont has been canceled.

Purses Pretty at Presque Isle

- Thanks to the reader who sent this link about Presque Isle Downs, and wow! Talk about a boutique meeting. 25 nights, with a staggering average of $500,000 per night. The folks in Maryland must feel like that's twisting the knife. The purse structure is due mostly to $13 million in slots money that is required by law to be distributed. The racino has been operating, non-stop around the clock (the thought of which makes me a bit queasy) since March 1.

The purses as stated in the condition book will not reflect the additional prize money. Instead, in a new math that is only possible in the netherworld of having more money than you know what to do with, a total of 175% of the advertised purse will actually be paid out.

Thus, the lowest purse--$14,000 for $10,000 maiden claimers and $5,000 claimers that haven’t won in six months--is actually worth $24,500. A $40,000 maiden special weight event is worth $70,000. The highest overnight purse--$50,000 for an open allowance race--will be $87,500 under the supplement plan.

(For a $40,000 maiden race, the winner would get $30,000 and the second-place horse $18,000, for example.) [Bloodhorse]

Er, is there a turf course at Presque Isle Downs? How many other people will be curious to know about the racing there?

Presque Isle has received about 45 stall applications thus far, but that could change when the condition book is officially released. “I think you’ll find they’ll be coming in from all over the country.."

I think so! There's apparently no grass course, but there is a one mile track that will be the first to use Michael Dickinson's Tapeta surface. So it should be an interesting meet from several perspectives. With the meeting running from Sept.1-29, I'd guess that some horses are going to be making a detour on the way from Saratoga back downstate.

- J Paul Reddam is suing Kenneth Ramsey.

The case, which also names trainer Dale Romans as a defendant in an alleged conspiracy, focuses on the $600,000 sale by Ramsey to Reddam of then 3-year-old colt Big Picture on July 10, 2005.

The lawsuit claims Big Picture was lame and in considerable pain when he arrived at trainer Doug O'Neill's Southern California barn the day after the sale, a condition resulting from alleged undisclosed chronic shin problems.
.....
O'Neill said it was obvious Big Picture was in distress from the moment he arrived. "Within minutes, I called Paul and told him, 'Uh-oh, we've got a big problem.' [Bloodhorse]

There are accusations that the horse was doped up to mask his symptoms; it's a pretty nasty affair. Referring to Ramsey and Romans, Reddam told Bloodhorse: ""Their attitude seems to be that if you didn't do your diligence, that's your problem." Which is probably what the customer service representatives at Cash Call tell customers who call when they realize they're paying an annual rate of 99.25%!

Yearling Market Off to Slow Start [w/Update]

- A quiet opening day at the Fasig Tipton yearling sale, with a high price of just $350,000 for a colt by Lion Heart. Glenye Cain Oakford, covering the sale for the Form, writes that most buyers were walking out of the pavilion with receipts for horses they wanted, sometimes at what they felt was a discount.

Bloodstock agent Buzz Chace, who bought another Lion Heart colt for $300,000 on behalf of Lewis Lakin and Terry Finley, estimated afterward that the colt might have brought $600,000 in 2006.

"I think it's a good market to buy horses," Chace said. [DRF]

The average for the session, exclusively for first and second year sires, was down 18% from the opening session last year which included 15% of the hips by proven sires.

The session topper is out of Aim for the Moon, a winless Deputy Minister mare who is a half sister to Christy Love, who we mentioned the other day as being the dam of Lexington winner Distorted Reality, Atticus Kristy and Fiery Dancer, all stakes winner on grass. The colt's 4th dam is Tamerett, the dam of Secrettame, the dam of Gone West.

The second highest hip was also a son of Lion Heart, and also out of a Deputy Minister mare; he's the abovementioned "50% off" colt who sold to a new pinhooking venture which includes West Point Thoroughbreds. In all, 15 Lion Hearts sold, out of 21 cataloged (three outs) for an average of almost $150,000; a total of 11 brought six figure bids, four of those over $200,000.

Chapel Royal, the other leader in the number of hips, had 17 of 20 sell for an average of just under $70,000.

Some others worth mentioning:

Cuvee (stands for $10,000) sold 7 of 11 offered for an average of $125,000. His high sale was a filly out of a Manila mare who brought $230,000.

Domestic Dispute, who stands for $5,000 in Maryland, is advised to eat as much of that fresh crab cake as he can before he's shipped off to Kentucky. He sold six of seven, for an average of over $111,000, and a high sale of $240,000, a half brother to stakes winner Private Slip.

Friends Lake sold six of eight for an average of $105,000.

Medaglia D'Oro had six of ten sell (the four RNA's went for $90K and above), and each of them brought over $120,000; his average was over $150,000.

Posse is off to a hot start with his first crop, but that didn't seem to lift the prices paid for his progeny. Six of ten sold for an average of over $65,000.

Not a good day for Sky Mesa. Only three of eight sold for total of $215,000, most of that from his high sale of $120,000.

Strong Hope sold three of three offered (another was out), for $220K, $210K, and $80K.

And Smarty Jones had one in the ring; hip 184 sold for $150,000.

- The '1' horse in the first baby race of the Del Mar meet is a colt who sold for just a bit higher than the horses on Monday. Maimonides is the Vindication colt who brought $4.6 million from a determined Ahmed Zayat+ at Keeneland last September. You may not recall that because he was overshadowed by Meydan City, the $11.7 million Kingmambo purchased by the Sheikh (and named after his new Dubai plaything, the massive development which will include a new track).

Maimonides is out of the Silver Deputy mare Silvery Swan, which makes him a half brother to the current sires, standing together at Hill'n'Dale, El Corredor and Roman Ruler. And like those two, Maimonides is trained by Bob Baffert. He has the usual bullet workouts, and will probably be the favorite to win his debut, as did his aforementioned half-brothers. [UPDATE: As pointed out by Handride in the comments, Baffert told Jay Privman of the Form that Maimonides will be scratched.]

Good Man Dan would seem to be the main competition amongst those who have started. He's by Proud Citizen (who had two sell, at $110K and $160K on Monday), and ran a close second with blinkers on in his last to Leonides, subsequently second by a nose in the Hollywood Juvenile.

Trainer David Hofmans is not a big first-time guy. but Coast Guard has been working up a perfect storm, including a bullet (of 52) half mile over the Del Mar Polytrack. He's by Stormy Atlantic, 14% with first-time starters, out of a Royal Academy mare.

And we've been talking about two-year olds that sell for high multiples of their stud fee; but what does it mean when it's the other way around? Many Rivers is a son of the $500,000 sire Storm Cat, and he's a half-brother to Harlan's Holiday (three of five sold on Monday for 75K, 90K, and 150K). But he brought a mere $100,000 at Barrett's in March, after two one furlong works of "only" 10 4/5 seconds each. Little surprise that he ran a distant 8th (at 9-2) in his debut, and not expecting much improvement here.

Noon Cocktails and Other News

- The NTRA and the Breeders Cup are holding a major press event here tomorrow to hype the Breeders Cup Challenge, the 'win and you're in' series which commences a week from Saturday at Saratoga with four races - the Whitney (Classic), Go for Wand (Distaff), Diana (F&M Turf) and Vanderbilt (Sprint). And I'm happy to announce that the NTRA has reached out to the blogosphere and invited yours truly to attend! I'll get to mingle with all those real press types, so I'm a bit nervous. It will take place at the ESPN Zone, with the presentation starting at 1 PM, preceded by lunch at 12:30, and......cocktails? At noon? Hmmm, maybe there's something to this being a real press person after all! I'll of course be posting about the event afterwards...if I remember anything.

The Saratoga races are scheduled to be televised on ABC from 4 to 6 Eastern time, which means I should be able to catch most if not all of them live upon arriving at Del Mar that very afternoon.

- The New York Times has a front page story today on the casinos in the Katrina-ravaged cities of New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi. I found it rather depressing. The casinos there are doing booming business, but for all the wrong reasons.

The casinos in this region are generating more revenue — from significantly fewer players — in large part because of the extra money that many area residents have in their pockets and fewer alternatives on where to spend it, casino executives and others in the region say.

“There’s been this huge infusion of cash into the local economy,” said Bob Mahoney, the co-owner of Mary Mahoney’s Old French House restaurant in Biloxi. “Federal money has poured into the area. Insurance money has poured in. And wages have gone up considerably given the demand for workers.”
......
“It’s like a barroom,” said Ted Lewis, 48, a case manager at a New Orleans homeless shelter who started coming to Harrah’s only after the casino’s reopening in early 2006. “When times are bad, people come to release stress. They drink, they gamble.”

They do indeed. Boomtown New Orleans, for instance, a casino on the edge of the city that was not flooded, booked $83 million in profit last year, nearly triple its pre-Katrina best. Here in Biloxi, even with two fewer casinos operating through the first half of the year, gamblers lost $428.3 million in the first five months of the year, compared with $418.7 during the same period in 2005. [NY Times]

Those figures from Biloxi are despite the fact that the number of visitors to the casinos are actually down by 30%. And those who do visit the region are a bit of a captive audience it seems, with only 26 percent of the rooms offered by the city’s non-casino hotels back on the market.

Gamblers are playing longer, casino executives say, and they are wagering larger sums and spending more time at slot machines and table games. Despite the absence of crowds of tourists, the average visitor is contributing more to the coffers — 38 percent more in the Gulf Coast casinos, according to figures for the first three months of the year.

“I guess it’s sad,” said Sylvia Lumas, 69, playing at a slot machine at Harrah’s New Orleans. “But it’s entertainment. That’s what we’re looking for here. Everything has been so sad.”

- Casino giant Mohegan Sun has joined Capital Play to be its casino partner in its bid for the New York franchise. Despite the reports that NYRA will retain the racing portion of the franchise, Capital Play's Karl O'Farrell has not given up, and is still touting his plan to revitalize live racing by attracting young women to the track. "I always say, 'If you want to get a second date, don't take a girl to Aqueduct....We want to change that." [NY Post] You mean, that's why women never used to return my calls?!?

The addition of Mohegan Sun gives Capital Play a strong counterpart to Excelsior's Steve Wynn, whose presence has been perceived as giving Excelsior an edge when it comes to experience running casinos. However, the Albany Times-Union reports that Wynn has yet to submit fingerprints to the state as required for the background checks, according to a state report released this month. Hmmm...

- Southwind Lynx and driver Tim Tetrick, who appeared hopelessly boxed, buried in sixth on the inside around the turn, came up the rail and somehow got through to take Saturday night's Meadowlands Pace in a thrilling finish. You can watch the video here on You Tube.

But the winner hadn't even made it back to the winner's circle before TVG was gone. The network has made a big deal out of the Meadowlands races, even renaming its evening programming 'Drive Time.' But even the Pace, the second biggest race of the meeting behind the Hambletonian, couldn't stop them from immediately switching to Los Alamitos for the beginning of the Pick Four, the betting on which is a source of income for TVG. And that reveals a real conflict of interest inherent in a racing network which is also an ADW. I don't think you can call yourself a racing news network if you switch away from one of the biggest races of the year to cover a race that means absolutely nothing other than potential revenue. Even though they eventually switched back for interviews with the driver and trainer, the pair had both already, in the immediate flush of victory, told the track and simulcast audience (streamed live on the Meadowlands' website), that they thought they were "screwed" on the backstretch. (Funny how they both used the same word.) The subsequent interviews lacked the spontaneity and immediacy that makes it news instead of just an afterthought and an obligation. Bad job there by TVG.

Sunriver Helps Even Things Out for Todd

- I saw Pletcher on ESPN2 before the Delaware Handicap; he was talking about Indian Vale's ability to run at a steady clip of 12 second furlongs throughout her races. Thus he expressed confidence that she'd be able to handle a mile and a quarter in her first race longer than nine furlongs. And she did run at a steady clip stalking leader Peak Maria's Way - but only for about a mile. When you saw John Velazquez going to the whip before they even entered the stretch, you knew it wasn't going to be her day.

But at Belmont, Sunriver did for Pletcher exactly what Indian Vale could not. He ran at a virtually even pace for 11 furlongs, taking the Grade 2 Bowling Green. In front every step of the way with Gomez, Ashado's baby brother went along at a steady pace of 24.51, 23.60, 23.86, 23.80, 23.96, and a final furlong of 11.97 seconds.

Back to Delaware, Pletcher won the race anyway, with Unbridled Belle, for Team Valor. And here's another *REDBOARDING ALERT* She loves this track, check it out. She was two-for-two there last year, including a stakes win; and had run second in the Obeah to Peak Maria's Way last month in her first start since September. Looks like a horse for the course for sure.

Pletcher is the only guy in the business who can get beat in stakes races with a 3-5 shot (King of the Roxy), a 6-5 (Cotton Blossom), an even money shot (Safari Queen), and a 5-2 favorite (Host) and still end up having a great weekend. I mean, two Grade 2 wins (with Sunriver and Unbridled Belle) has to count as a great weekend for anyone, right?

- Asi Siempre was a nowhere 6th at 2-1 for Patrick Biancone. Time to get her back on the grass? Or time to get her back on....something else? Well? Having a trainer under such a cloud of suspicion running his horses anyway is always going to generate skepticism. Hopefully, the folks in Kentucky haven't lost the split sample of whatever it was that was found in the trainer's barn.

- King of the Roxy was a shocking underlay at 3-5. Hank Goldberg, on ESPN2, told everyone before the race how the Barbaro was merely a prep for sprint stakes, and how the connections had already come to the realization that the horse is better suited for one turn. But I guess nobody was listening to him. He ran pretty well, and the race should set him up well for the turnback in distance.

Nevermind (part 2)..

- Hmm, think that they can switch back to the San Diego Handicap now that Rags to Riches is out?

Notes - July 15

- Oh yeah, I didn't complete my thought in the last post about Pletcher's two low-odds losers at Delaware on Saturday. Cotton Blossom was the other besides Safari Queen, checking in 4th at 6-5 in the G2 Delaware Oaks. Man, *REDBOARDING ALERT* if I had done what reader Case requested and found the time to have analyzed this race, I would have been all over betting against her. She had that gaudy 102 figure from the Acorn, but her highest Beyer in her two turn races was 85.

I can't say I would have come up with the winner Moon Catcher, but she certainly came into the race with a pattern of improvement that we always like to see, especially with three-year old fillies as the season progresses along. Tim Ritchey trains this daughter of Malibu Moon. She was caught a bit wide on the first turn, and was then hounded by Bear Now the length of the backstretch. Cotton Blossom and Winning Point sat nice trips behind the leaders. Pletcher's filly was being asked for more on the turn and was done shortly thereafter. Winning Point came off the rail midstretch and barely missed in a great finish; check it out on the NTRA Video Archives page.

Moon Catcher is out of a Smarten mare, and her second dam is a half to Ancient Title, and there's a name whose mention transports me back to the earliest days of my involvement with the sport. He won stakes every year from two through eight, and won 24 out of 57 races.

Rose Blooms in Dick

- Pletcher went down with two well-bet horses in Delaware stakes on Saturday. Five scratches added up to two even money shots in the Dick; the Toddster's Safari Queen and Christophe Clement's Royal Highness, the latter going off as the slight favorite. Jeremy Rose seized the lead with Rosinka after stalking a lethargic pace - 26.26 and 52.39 to the half. From there, they steadily picked up the pace - 25.02, 24.75, then 22.77 to the eighth pole. At that point, the two favorites were chasing futilely in an all-out sprint. Safari Queen gave up the chase; Royal Highness surged on, but it didn't look like she was making much progress at the end, with Rosinka prevailing in a final eighth of 11.63. So an excellent tactical ride by Rose, and the first graded stakes win for this improving four-year old filly from the Graham Motion barn. "She's a monster right now," Rose said. "The pace worked for us, and she just wasn't going to let the other horse get by." [News Journal]

Rosinka is by Soviet Star, and she's a half-sister to the ill-fated King's Drama, a multiple graded stakes winner on the grass for Bobby Frankel.

Motion has a colt in today's Barbaro Stakes who shows a similar pattern of improvement. Longley comes into this Grade 3 having won three in a row, the last two by a combined 14 lengths, and the most recent in a modest stakes on this track, earning a 99 Beyer that is most competitive here. After yesterday, I'm a bit hesitant to single out horses who I don't like, but let's just say that King of the Roxy and Xchanger are liable to be overbet, as horses coming off the Triple Crown trail often are.

I'm not looking for an upset in the Delaware Handicap. Indian Vale is undefeated in fast track two-turn races in which she wasn't ridden by a retired jockey.

Nevermind..

- Nice job by...well, somebody in getting Rags to Riches' appearance in next Saturday's Coaching Club American Oaks onto ESPN, replacing the originally scheduled San Diego Handicap from Del Mar. An NTRA press release seems to imply that the decision was made by all of the parties involved.

“We wish to thank our broadcast partners at ESPN, the New York Racing Association, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, the Thoroughbred Owners of California and TVG for helping make live coverage of this event on ESPN a reality,” said Alex Waldrop, president and CEO of NTRA. [Bloodhorse.com]

And that's excellent - just the kind of cooperation amongst different tracks and organizations that we need to see. Of course the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club would realize that their stakes, though a nice race, will hardly be the top story of the day, and would magnanimously, with the good of the sport in mind, work with the NTRA and ESPN to get Rags to Riches the national exposure she warrants. After all, she has the kind of star power that has the potential to ultimately benefit Del Mar, and every other track in the country.

But, reading San Diego's North County Times, one gets the feeling that's not quite the way things shook out.

"Obviously, we're disappointed because the San Diego is such a good race," Del Mar president Joe Harper said Monday, "but we don't make those decisions. They've got the keys to the TV station.

"I started out in television, so I know these decisions are made for different reasons and not the quality of our product. I'm not going to get too upset. Just disappointed."

So much for that brief moment of euphoria.

Swaps Stuff (Live)

- Four minutes to go until the Swaps, enough time for TVG to switch to the Meadowlands for live coverage of the second. C'mon, give us a break. And that's nothing against the Meadowlands; in fact, I'll be checking out the Meadowlands Pace later on tonight. But they've been hyping the Swaps big time, G. Stevens is doing his thing, there's four minutes to post, and they switch to another race?

I have to say that as much as I want to bet against Tiago, I'm not getting warm and fuzzy about any of these. I like that grass horse in the 9th that I mentioned, so I'm going to use a couple or three horses, including the favorite, with Top Gone.

- OK, well, I'm always open-minded, so I ended up doubling up my double bet with Tiago. The race just seemed well within his reach once I really examined the past performances. A great ride by Mike Smith, who saved ground, and conserved his mount until his quick burst up the rail. Todd Schrmmppff pointed out that Tiago gave runner-up Albertus Maximus ten pounds, not at all insignificant, and the type of spread we don't seem to see horses concede these days.

Top Gone opened at 5-1. The double is paying forty bucks, so this would be a nice hit for your humble blogger...

Dollar Mountain is the favorite at 5-2 for R. Mandella. He has one race, but it was on the Cushion Track. I haven't followed Hollywood nearly as closely as I did Keeneland, but I have the impression that grass form doesn't translate to this surface as readily as it did in Keeneland. Am I wrong? Nothing in Dollar Mountain's pedigree that looks particularly scary..

The Head Chef has announced that dinner (BBQ'd steak and fish) is just about ready, so if you don't hear from me for awhile, it's not (necessarily) that I'm brooding over losing.

- Well, no brooding (and a great dinner), but no double either, as Top Gone checked in second at 8-1. He had a slight stumble coming out of the gate, but showed the affinity for the turf that his pedigree indicates, negotiating his way between and inside horses to get the place spot. He shouldn't be long in winning. Winner Polonius was also making his debut; he's by Broken Vow, out of a Red Ransom mare, and he's a half to two turf stakes winners.

Ugh!

- Anonymous wrote:

You trashed four horses. Three won for fun, the other lost by a nose. Please stick to current events.

Thanks for pointing that out. It's humbling enough picking losers, but singling out horses to lose and then have them win is even worse. Especially when, as in the ninth, the horse beats out my exacta with a 16-1 shot on top. (But I will point out that Oedipus O'Neal failed to last (by a head) after setting a snail's pace of 26 and 52 seconds.)

Might as well go for the four-bagger and say that I don't particularly care for Tiago in the Swaps...

Belmont Saturday

- Well, I did handicap the entire Saturday card at Belmont, and didn't come up with anything too inspirational. It seems as if the pre-Saratoga lull is in full effect. The increased purses instituted by NYRA may be keeping the field sizes from falling completely apart, but it seems clear that trainers are locking and loading for Saratoga just 17 10(!) days hence. It's also important to keep that in mind even for the horses who are running. For example, Bob Barbara has Mr Tough Enough, a first-time starter by a 16% first-out sire in Good and Tough, making his debut off some solid works. Barbara is having a slow meeting here, but wins his share at Saratoga. A look at Formulator shows that he's four for nine with second time starters upstate; so I'd think this is just a tightener here.

I'll tell you one horse I don't like, and that's Yankee Thunder, the 2-1 morning line favorite in the 9th for Frankel. I'm a big fan of the trainer, but it pays to take a very close look the horses that he sends off as favorites here. Frankel has had nine horses go off at 3-2 or less, and only two of them have won (3-5 shots). Yankee Thunder makes his first start since Saratoga, where he was beaten solidly in this class at 2-1 and 4-5. I think he looks no better than at least two others, and I hope he gets pounded at the tote here.

I had Logic Way in his last, a tough beat. I remember I was worried about him stretching out to a mile and a quarter; and now, despite closing well for a close second, I'm thinking he'll like cutting back to a mile. He got some freshening, and signaled his fitness with a bullet work a couple of weeks ago. In the Spotlight has really taken to the grass, and that was a pretty decent field of state-bred maidens he defeated in his last. Faces winners here, but looks good for at least a share if he continues to improve in his third grass start. So if Frankel's horse gets bet, I would play these two in the exacta, with emphasis on Logic Way.

I also don't much care for Frankel's entry in the Poker Stakes. Art Master burned money in his two North American grass starts; and though those were against better horses, including Ashkal Way, I'm not anxious to oppose the Toddster's Host with him, or anyone else in the faux Grade 3 stakes race.

I actually prefer Frankel's entry in the second. Coastal Flare (5-1) makes his grass debut, and breeding says yes. He's by the Cozzene sire Mizzen Mast, seven for 60 with first-timers on the turf according to the Form. And he's out of a rich female family; his dam, Proflare (Mr. Prospector), is the dam of no less than five turf stakes winners, including War Zone, who won the Poker, and True Flare, the dam of the aforementioned Art Master, as well as Latent Heat and Indian Flare.

It's getting late, so just a couple of other ideas (other than trying some other tracks). In the third, Street Sass comes off a win in a restricted state-bred stakes in which she mounted an unbelievable rally. She was totally out of the picture, except for a brief glimpse turning for home in which she still had to be five lengths behind the penultimate horse. She steps up to face open company, but there are no monsters in here, and the extra furlong will presumably help.

In the 4th, Tom Bush has the morning line favorite with Posted. But note that he doesn't do well with layoff horses. At all. As in 2 for 48 with horses over 60 days off. Note that Dutrow has a first-time starter in Bringhomeawinner, though this is a three-year old as opposed to the two juveniles he won with this week. Other than that, I don't yet have a suggestion with which to oppose the favorite.

And one more dubious favorite, I can't understand why Oedipus O'Neal is the 5-2 favorite in the 7th; I can't even guess, and imagine it's just a bad line. So I don't expect Ambassador to really be 5-1; but he'd be a real bargain at that price I think. Three in the Bag steps up off the claim by Anthony Dutrow; he's a high percentage guy in that category, but his horse beat a really crappy 35K field. I think Academy Royale looms as a live longshot for the minor share. He steps up to open company, but shows a steady progression of improving Beyers, and it looks as if the stretch out should help. That's it, gotta run, have a great day.

Track - and Horse - Missing in Action

- Due to a series of mishaps that I'd rather not go into, I didn't make it to Belmont today. It just had gotten too late to fight the traffic and try and make the late Pick Three. So I returned home in the hope - indeed, the expectation that TVG would have Colonial Downs on so I could watch Highland Cat. I guess I should have figured that wouldn't happen with the twilight cards going on from Belmont, Calder, and Arlington.

But no problem, I just planned to go back and once again watch the race at the Forest Hills OTB. I was pretty pumped walking over; I'd seen that he was the even money favorite, and he seemed the horse to beat. He was the consensus best bet in the Racing Form, albeit with a weak 13 points. I recall that it used to be a pretty big deal who was the consensus best bet of the day; I'm sure that I always knew who it was. Actually, maybe it still is a big deal, but with so many handicapping innovations in the last two decades, things that used to be important to me barely register nowadays.

I always considered the consensus selections in the Form to be a truer barometer of how the public was expected to bet the race than the program morning line. The way i remember it, those selections carried a lot of weight, at least with my crowd. So if a horse was 8-1 in the morning line but 3-1 on the board, I'd consult the Form. If the horse was one of the consensus picks, than I wouldn't necessarily consider him as being hot on the board. I rarely do that anymore. Besides the fact that I'm now way too smart (ha) to bother with public handicappers, I question how many people use the Form these days anyway. I wonder if there's a statistic for that. Seems to me that a lot of people use the Equibase program, two bucks as opposed to the escalating price of the Form print edition, while a few others use BRIS or sheets.

So where was I? Oh yeah, so I'm was pumped up, walked into OTB, and looked around for a TV with Colonial. There's Belmont...Arlington...Calder...Harrah's Louisiana Downs...Ellis....what tha f...... They must have 20 TV's there, and not one had Colonial. Whatsmore, I looked at the entries from the many tracks available for wagering. There was everything, even Tioga Downs, Mohawk, Australia (A), Australia (B) the California Freaking Fair @ Solano!!! It seems as if they weren't taking wagers from this one track. It was like I was in some kind of Bizarro spinoff world in which everyone is male, it smells of cigarette smoke even though nobody's been allowed to smoke in there for the last ten years, and Colonial Downs doesn't exist!

So I didn't see Highland Cat, our lovable but marginal gelding, run what looks on the chart to be a no excuse 5th at 6-5, earning purse money of $810. I guess he's just not much of a racehorse despite his smashing good looks. Where he goes from here I can't say; I'm not sure how low the claiming ladder at Colonial goes.

- I love the turf breeding on Top Gone, a two-year old first-time colt starting at six furlongs on the grass for trainer Gary Mandella in the 9th at Hollywood on Saturday. He's by Gone West, 14% with debut turf runners according to the Form, out of a Dayjur mare who is a half-sister to the European sprint champion Mozart; and he's a full brother to Top Cross, who won the grassy Lamplighter Stakes at Monmouth this year. His third dam is the great broodmare and graded grass winner Glowing Tribute (Glowing Honor, Hero's Honor, Wild Applause, Sea Hero), who, as I've mentioned several times, is one of my favorite horses of all time.

Top Gone is 8-1 morning line. The problem is that Gary Mandella doesn't win much with first-timer starters; he's 4 for 43 over the last two years, 1 for 15 with two-year olds, 0 for 10 on the grass. The four that did win paid, 10-1, 10-1, 24-1, and 35-1. So perhaps it will be a good sign if he does not get bet. He has a steady string of works going back to April, and definitely looks worth a ducat, as they used to say.

OK, gonna tackle Belmont Saturday now, and will try to get some picks up by tomorrow morning.

Friday Notes - July 13

- Light posting today; not much time, between the usual summer Friday rush to get work done and run out to Belmont for the sunset card and the 45 minutes or so that it took for me to read Valerie's comment. Only one more twilight card to go after today, and since I scored free box seats for the Yanks next Friday, this will likely be my last one of the year (except for the Aug 3 Friday card at Del Mar, which will be followed by the Violent Femmes!) I haven't even had a chance to handicap today's card after going out last night; I feel unprepared these days going there with "only" the Racing Form, but sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.

A short price on Thursday on Dutrow's first-timer Dazzling Derek; but the way he won made 7-5 seem like a bargain. He broke badly, and his decisive move to the lead was really eye-catching. Wolfson loomed as a threat at the top of the stretch, but Dazzling Derek dug in and widened his lead while running the 1/8th mile to the sixteenth pole in 11.83. Iron Curtain was dead on the board for Steve Klesaris and finished 7th.

- On the song When I Win the Lottery, from the album Key Lime Pie, which is truly one of the great overlooked albums (or overlooked great albums) of the 80's, David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven sings: "When I win the lottery, the righteous will shake their heads and say that God is great, but surely works in mysterious ways.." And for Jack and Lyn Ford, the lottery came quite unexpectedly when they discovered, three days afterwards, that they had not one, but two winning $2 tickets on the record Pick Six which paid $576,040. Mr. Ford knew he had at least five of six, and waited until getting to Los Alamitos last Thursday to get the result! "I was too nervous to look. Winning is great but a near miss can leave you with an excruciating feeling. I didn't want that feeling." [Bloodhorse] It's like those people at the track who you see go into the bathroom and put their hands over their ears during the race, and then come out to see if they won. The IRS, which works in far less mysterious ways, presumably collected their share without any further delay.

- Back to Del Mar, great news to hear that the Polytrack surface received rave reviews on its first day of serious use. “It's as good a track as I've ever been on,”[Gary] Stevens said. “I galloped two horses for (trainer) Wesley Ward and I loved the way they were getting over it......To me, it felt identical to Keeneland.” [SignOnSanDiego.com] Well, I suppose not everyone will be happy about that last comparison; we wouldn't want to see any of those "ugly" races in which four horses finish across the track in a thrilling finish after a slow pace, now would we? It seems as if the early returns are always good, and we've then at times seen troubles arise with usage and weather. But we're rooting for the synthetics in this corner given the excellent overall safety results thus far, and the hope that it will eventually lead to our top horses running more frequently. I was going to also say 'horses having longer careers,' but that seems to be more of an economic issue than one associated with safety.

And, Trakus will happily make its West Coast debut (hat tip to Railbird). Yes, I said happily. I still hate the chiclets, but the accurate, full field running order during the race is one of the better innovations I've seen of late; and the 'ground-lost' charts, which I originally and wrongly criticized, is a great tool for handicappers. I'd also like to see more use of the animation capabilities. Imagine if Churchill had Trakus (and I don't see why they and any other track doesn't at this point), we could see isolated, animated replays of the Derby runners, and actually be able to see what happened to them. As many times as I watch the replay with the wide angle necessary to capture a 20 horse field, I still don't really know what happened with many of the individual runners.

- Finally, I always appreciate it when the editor-in-chief of Bloodhorse takes the time to read and comment here, even if, yeah, he may have ventured just a bit into the shameless plug territory. Look, I certainly had no expectations that Terry Finley would answer my question. Talkin' Horses is what it is - it's not hard news, but rather a chance for participants to answer questions of their choosing, as Bloodhorse makes perfectly clear with its disclaimer that "guests may decline to answer questions." I wouldn't expect Finley to address that issue in that particular forum anymore than I would Steve Asmussen to discuss his suspensions if he had made an appearance.

I certainly defend the question as being entirely legitimate to pose; whether or not it was inappropriate, as Mr. Paulick suggests, I'm not quite sure. Finley was hyping his partnership here, and outfits such as West Point are asking their investors to invest a great deal of trust in addition to money. So I think that any matters of possible duplicity on the part of the president of that partnership is not entirely irrelevant in that context. But again, Bloodhorse clearly lays out the conditions of the chat, so I have no big dispute with Mr. Paulick on this issue. And as this commenter points out, Bloodhorse gives ample coverage to stories that are controversial and negative to the industry in their real news sections; and has also broken stories on the franchise situation with excellent reporting by the Buffalo News' Tom Precious.

But Valerie's criticism of some of Finley's responses are another matter, and certainly more than fair. Additionally, her point about the bio preceding the chat noting that he serves on various boards, including that of the NYTHA, is a valid one as well; and it practically invited an inquiry such as mine. So perhaps in the future, Bloodhorse should limit its introductions to the areas which the guest wishes to discuss.

That's it for now; see you after the races. Have a lucky Friday the 13th!

Rookie Sires

- The yearling auction season gets under way with the Fasig-Tipton July sale next week. There's a good preview of the sale in the July 7 print edition of Bloodhorse. The first two days of the sale, on July 16-17, are dedicated solely to first and second year sires, and naturally, they'll be a lot of attention paid to the former. Bill Graves, who, as the director of yearling sales is the man in charge of selecting the sales yearlings, tells Bloodhorse that it's confirmation that is king in July, whereas Saratoga is more of "boutique" sale in which pedigree is paid more mind. One bloodstock agent, Mike Akers of Dapple Bloodstock, says of the first-crop progeny: "If you've got several making that sale, they're in there for a reason....Having that many by a particular stallion means he's throwing a nice-type horse."

The two new sires at the top of the list in terms of number of progeny for sale are Lion Heart (21) and Chapel Royal (20).(A complete list of all the sires that are participating is here.)

Lion Heart stands for Coolmore at Ashford for $25,000 (down from $30,000 in 2005-6). Undefeated Grade 1 SW Juvenile Grade 1 Winner and Classic Placed at Three. That classic placing was his second place finish in the Derby, which ruined my exactas and triples, and for which I still haven't forgiven him. He won two Grade 1's, the Haskell and the Hollywood Futurity; and you can watch those and his two other stakes wins at Coolmore's site here. (Just click on the 'Video Footage' dropdown.) He's proven tremendously popular, with 158 mares bred in 2006. He's by the Storm Cat stallion Tale of the Cat, out of a Mr. Leader mare.

Chapel Royal, who was bred to 165 mares last year, also stands for Coolmore, he for $10,000. Brilliantly Fast Juvenile. The perfect outcross for NORTHERN DANCER, MR. PROSPECTOR & SEATTLE SLEW-line mares; that's the positive spin on 'you won't find any of North America's top stallion influences here.' By Montbrook, out of a mare by Cutlass, I can't imagine that anyone is anticipating any Derby winners by him. He won two graded sprint juvenile stakes - the Sanford and the Flash, in New York, in which he trounced two fields of nobodies by a combined ten lengths. That might show you the power of marketing, but he's obviously throwing some well-conformed horses. And again, you can watch his races on the Coolmore site.

Others with ten or more hips in the sale are Cuvee (14), Tapit (13), Toccet (13), Peace Rules (12), Even the Score (11), Medaglia d'Oro (10), and Omega Code (10). Two more that are said to be creating a buzz are Action This Day and Speightstown.

- Hmm, Terry Finley did not address my question. There's a surprise for you. As Jessica pointed out to me, his chat on Bloodhorse.com was nothing but free advertising for West Point Thoroughbreds. I hope he at least sent Ray Paulick a bouquet of flowers.

Question for Terry

- West Point Thoroughbred's Terry Finley is doing the Bloodhorse chat thang today, and I submitted the following question:

Terry - The recently released report by the New York Inspector General on the integrity of the bidders for the New York franchise states that it's not clear whether or not you had disclosed your financial stake in Empire at a time when, as a member of the NYTHA board, you participated in a key conference call regarding the organization's possible involvement with Empire. Would you care to comment on this please? Thanks.

He'll answer that, right? Empire had said last week that it would dispute some of the report's findings. Jeff Perlee said:

"We're in the process of putting together a list to correct the record."
......
"Much of the information on our company was provided by, and attributed to individuals who are associated with competing bidders....There were a number of factual errors in the Thacher submission which, left unaddressed, could paint an inaccurate picture for decision makers going forward." [Saratogian]

Empire has not released any further statement publicly as of this writing.

- An anonymous commenter wrote:

I was informed long ago by my trainer that standing in the paddock to view potential a claim was both illegal and unethical.

I put the question to Richie from Castle Village, and he wrote: "At the NYRA tracks, I'm not sure if it's a written or unwritten rule, but if we want to claim a horse, no one from CVF can be in the paddock before that horse's race." I was with a friend up at Saratoga this past summer who was running a horse in a claiming race, and I recall that they really just assumed that some of the people in the paddock were checking out the horse, which was not claimed. It's an interesting question I think; the West Virginia trainer who said that he indeed had a sufficient business interest to justify his presence in the paddock seems to have a point. But on the other hand, he's free to do his inspection from the outside, just like anyone else who might be considering a claim; and by barring him from the paddock, I suppose it levels the playing field. I guess that makes me undecided for now, and I'd be interested to hear more opinions.

Another anonymous commenter wrote that if there was ever a track that DOES NOT need the Poly Track its Calder Race Course. There was no further elaboration, but I would assume that he/she is referring to a good safety record at the track. Belmont is another track that is widely considered to be safe, and Charles Hayward did not mention that track when he discussed the possibility of Poly at Aqueduct and Saratoga sometime down the road. I was just referring to the vagaries of the weather in Florida during the spring and summer, and the fact that it seems a shame that so many of Calder's special programs seem to have been marred by rain. But I think that sloppy tracks bother me a lot more than they do most other people.

- Hunch bets for July 12:

Firetruck - 9th at Ellis
A Slick Chic 9th at Arlington
Man I'm Pretty - 1st at EvD
Redneck Lover - 1st at EvD
Binlookingforyou - 12th at Thistledown

Notes - July 12

- Richard Dutrow is having a solid Belmont meeting with a record of 91-24-23-12. He took Wednesday's baby race, a state-bred affair, with By the Light. This daughter of Malibu Moon was 7-2 in the morning line, but paid an inflated win mutuel of $15.00. One might associate first-time winners coming out of the Dutrow barn with support on the tote board; but interestingly, a look at Formulator shows that's not necessarily the case. He had ten two-year old debut winners over the last two years coming into Wednesday's race (out of 42 runners, or 24%); and amongst those were two winners at odds of 7-1, and others at 10-1 and 21-1. So if you fancy a two-year old coming from this barn, don't be afraid to back it even if it seems dull on the board.

On Thursday, he has the morning line favorite in the 4th, a state-bred two year old race for the boys. Dazzling Derek has a string of stellar works, including, as Walter pointed out to me, a June 29 gate drill in which he outworked By the Light. He's by the Storm Cat sire Yankee Gentleman, out of a mare by Far North, and not much else to say about his pedigree.

Also in this race, we have Wolfson, a debut runner from Mott who fits the juvenile sale pattern we've been checking out. By the $8500 first-year sire Wiseman's Ferry (two winners from his first five starters), Wolfson brought a winning bid of $270,000 at Ocala in February after drills of 10.3 and 21.2. However, note that Mott, who had his share of debut two-year old winners here last year, is o for six in the category at this meet, including even money Gullible Gal on Wednesday, and a couple others at 5-2 and 2-1. Now that we're thoroughly confused......check out Iron Curtain, who debuts for Steve Klesaris, 38% with first-time starters over the last year, three for seven with his two-year olds. He's by the excellent first-out sire Boundary (17%). But I'll stick with Wolfson, since we're following the sales horses that went for high multiples of their sires' fee (and he graded out pretty well in the Form's Breeze Figs as well).

- Trainers at Mountaineer are upset with the strict enforcement of a West Virginia regulation that bars from the paddock "all persons who have no immediate business with the horses contained in the paddock.” I can tell you with certainty that if there's a similar rule in New York, it's not observed to the letter. Or much at all. At Aqueduct, you could probably flash your University of West Virginia student ID from 1978 and walk right on in. Anyway, the trainers say that the rule is being used to prevent them from checking out horses that they might want to claim.

“I think I have a business interest in that horse if I’m going to pay $20,000 for it,” said [trainer Loren] Cox, who noted people normally don’t buy houses without an inspection. “I don’t think this rule was meant to keep out people who are claiming horses. I’ve raced at 36 tracks and never encountered this.” [Bloodhorse]

But, according to the article, the strict enforcement of the rule stemmed from trainers who complained that rivals seeking to check out their stock were becoming "intrusive." So we seem to have a conflict between the claimers and the claimees.

Saratoga Mayor is Keehn on Franchise Decision

- The New York State Senate will reconvene on Monday, but as of now, there are no announced plans for the Assembly to do so. In any event, don't expect to see anything happen regarding the racing franchise anytime soon, with issues considered to be more paramount still to be dealt with. Of course, very little will get done as long as Spitzer and Bruno are feuding so viciously. Perhaps with that, as well as the criticism of his demeanor and the resulting sympathy for Bruno in mind, Spitzer toned down his act - just a little - on Tuesday. “I’m encouraged that we will get there in a bipartisan spirit and in a bipartisan way.”

Bruno's spokesperson told the Times: “We are going to deal with priorities of this state, which is the upstate economy, which is needed capital investments, the senior rebates.” But the Senator's priorities are not the same as Spitzer's. It's the issue of campaign finance reform, which Bruno naturally opposes, which is really at the heart of the animosity, and, in my view, the driving force behind the brouhaha regarding Bruno's use of state transportation on trips that included fundraising.

Even yesterday, when Bruno accompanied NYC Mayor Bloomberg to Washington, I presume at taxpayers' expense, to lobby for the mayor's proposed regressive tax in the form of congestion pricing, one can question his motives. Yes, any revenue the city receives from the fees, and the federal aid it will receive only if the plan is approved by Monday, will at least indirectly relieve some strain on the state government; and that is in Bruno's and the taxpayers' interest. But with the Republicans fighting to hold on to their tenuous majority in the Senate, did Bruno really travel solely to fight for an issue that doesn't directly concern his upstate constituency? Or could it have been to score points with Bloomberg, a generous campaign contributor who recently announced his switch from the GOP to the independent line.

Mr. Bloomberg’s support for Republican candidates is critical; the mayor has been the biggest individual donor to Senate Republicans, according to state campaign finance records, giving $575,000 since October. He also gave the New York State Republican Committee $175,000 in the same period. (During that time, by contrast, he did not donate to any Democrats in the Legislature.)
.....
Asked about Mr. Bloomberg’s support for state Republicans.., Stu Loeser, a Bloomberg spokesman, said, “Mayor Bloomberg has always said he’ll support those who support New York City. Time after time over the last six years, the State Senate has been extraordinarily helpful to us.” [NYT]

Saratoga mayor Valerie Keehn has written a letter to Spitzer, begging him to make up his mind already about the franchise! (The letter is linked to as a Word document from the Albany Times Union's Capitol Confidential blog.)

All of the candidates have strengths and weaknesses that provide a rational basis for choosing one over another; but, in the final analysis, the time for evaluation is coming to an end and the time to make a decision is at hand.

She repeats some familiar pleas, such as those to guarantee Saratoga's exclusive dates, and to not install VLT's at the historic track. But she takes a stand on the idea of splitting the franchise (no), and on the closing of Aqueduct:

I strongly support the position of my colleagues on the Ad Hoc Committee, Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee Chairman Gary Pretlow and Assembly Member Audrey Pheffer, who oppose the idea of selling the Aqueduct property for commercial real estate development. Assembly Member Pheffer’s district includes the Aqueduct racetrack, and, knowing the central role that a racetrack can play in a local economy, I am especially supportive of her opposition to discontinuing thoroughbred racing at Aqueduct. More importantly, I am convinced that selling Aqueduct would irreparably damage New York’s ability to conduct world class thoroughbred racing in an annual cycle that begins at Aqueduct, proceeds to Belmont, comes to a summer crescendo in Saratoga, and then returns again to Belmont and Aqueduct.

Thank you, Ms. Mayor.