Sprinting On

- Contessa gets 15 days for a positive of Lidocaine. In June, he was suspended for seven days for Phenylbutazone.

Big Truck finished third at 3-10 in Saturday's Sleepy Hollow, and in a slow race with a 27 second final quarter too. I wonder if that means anything regarding Tale of Ekati, considering that Tagg once said that Big Truck might be his best juvenile?

And Woodbine is the latest group to withdraw from Empire Racing. 'Tis but a scratch!

On to the Sprint. Remember, I'm just thinking out loud here. This is annually my least favorite race to handicap; this year, I'd just assume pass to be honest. I have no idea what to do with the freakish 124 Beyer earned at Saratoga by Midnight Lute. It just comes out of nowhere in the context of his past performances; his prior high was a 106. Someone knew he was feeling good because he was way live on the board; 6-1 morning line, he went off as the 5-2 second choice. There had been three sprints earlier in the card, and then four straight turf races. Both subsequent dirt races produced figs I found interesting - Midnight Lute's, and Lawyer Ron's 119 in the Woodward, two points higher than his record-shattering Whitney despite a timing two seconds slower.

[Update: Midnight Lute worked five furlongs in 57.60 at Santa Anita.]

The way I see it, the presence of Commentator pretty much eliminates the other speeds - Bordanaro, Talent Search, and anyone else foolish enough to try (as well as Commentator himself, who hasn't won in open company since his Whitney in 2005). Amongst those in the second flight should be Midnight Lute, as well as Greg's Gold (Lake George). He's versatile, fast, and has been worse than second in just four of 20 starts. And forget the 99 Beyer in his last when he was badly boxed through much of the stretch; he showed his class getting second when able to extract himself. For those concerned about the relatively short turnaround since that race, he worked six furlongs in a bullet 1:10.80 at Santa Anita on Friday. Trainer David Hofmans described the work as "incredible." [DRF]

Idiot Proof (Benchmark) was able to sit a bit off the pace in the Ancient Title. Though he was the beneficiary of Greg Gold's misfortune, still he bounced back from a poor race on the Del Mar Poly that I'm now willing to excuse. That would seem to set him up to a return of the form he displayed at Monmouth, when he got a 113 while zig-zagging through the stretch. But Clifford Sise Jr questioned Flores' rating tactics at Del Mar, saying: "We may have found another dimension, but we'd still rather use what his best weapon is, which is speed." Sounds like he might be involved in that early pace.

Smokey Stover (Put It Back) has a benefit of a race over the track, and earned a nice fig in an easy effort. He then shipped back to Bay Meadows and has been working lights out on the dirt track there, as he did before that Monmouth win. He wired the field that day, but he's really a stalker at heart. He's never been out of the money in 13 starts, but this will be his first Grade 1.

In Summation (Put It Back) is another obvious contender, and he beat Greg's Gold by the scantest of noses in the Bing Crosby after forcing him wide around the turn. In Summation has that good dirt form at the bottom of his pp's where many bettors won't see it; remember he won his first five starts on dirt at two. But I rate him a bit below Greg's Gold. He breezed easily, according to Jay Privman, on Sunday in a minute flat.

I don't like La Traviata (Johannesburg) in this spot. As talented as she is, she's a three-year old filly making her 4th start against a field of seasoned and consistent veterans. I'm going to discuss Kelly's Landing over at the BC blog, but I doubt I'll be betting him either.

I guess I'd have to say I'm leaning slightly towards Greg's Gold at this point, but that's just today..

Filly and Mare Turf

- Some relatively easy throwouts here. Argentina doesn't seem to want to go over nine furlongs. Arravale is off form this year. Danzon is untried at the distance and just seems a cut below. Lahudood is perhaps not as simple as the above, and has been quite consistent other than a disappointment over that soft Arlington turf on Million day; but I attribute her Flower Bowl win to a patient, ground-saving ride by the improving Alan Garcia; more power to him if he can duplicate that next week. The Aga Khan's Timarwa comes off a Group 3 win, and will have to step up based on her Group 1 efforts earlier in the year. Simply Perfect has done all of her good running at a mile and shorter.

One of the big keys to figuring this one is Wait A While (Maria's Mon). With one smashing exception, her Ballston Spa at Saratoga, she just hasn't been the same filly as the one who won an Eclipse last year. She had little apparent excuse running third in the Flower Bowl, except for the notion that she didn't like the course. Garrett Gomez said: "Both times I rode her on this turf course, she ran sub-par.” [NYRA] That actually entails both Belmont grass courses. I fell for Wait A While in last year's BC, and it cost me a boatload of money. Whatsmore, Jay Privman reports in the Form that she appeared uncomfortable going five furlongs in 1:04.32 on a soft course which she doesn't like at Belmont Sunday morning. That doesn't sound like ideal preparation. I'm leaning towards standing against her. (And note the rain now in the forecast this week.)

Assuming, and even if, Panty Raid goes in the Distaff, her first preference (she actually may not run at all), that leaves Nashoba's Key as the top prospect amongst the U.S. runners. The undefeated four-year old daughter of Silver Hawk demonstrated her will to win in the Clement Hirsch, when she was cleverly boxed in by Espinoza on Balance until the stretch, and then flew home with fierce determination to win going away. A loose on the lead Citronnade was no problem in the Yellow Ribbon, as she rallied past that one in 23.42 seconds. The extra eighth of a mile would seem to be no problem at all. She looks really tough here.

Honey Ryder (Lasting Approval) also gets a pass for a poor effort on the bog at Arlington on Million day, and returns to her favorite distance. At a mile and three-eighths this year, she has close seconds in Grade 1's against the boys, and a win in the Sheepshead Bay.

Passage of Time (Dansili) appears to be the best of the Euros, but still seems a bit of a question mark after being discovered to have a throat abscess after being favored in the English Oaks. She does come off a close third in the G1 Prix Vermeille however, her only effort since then, and trainer Henry Cecil, who rarely ships over here, chose this spot over the Champion Stakes.

Juvenile

- As with the Juvie Fillies, I'm going to stand against the one turn prep winner from Belmont making its two-turn debut, in this case War Pass. Zito has been training the Champagne winner up at Saratoga, where he worked a half in 48 over the training track last week.

I'm still pretty hepped up on Tale of Ekati, for reasons previously stated here and here. He was officially credited with a closing eighth of 11.80 in winning the Futurity. In particular, keep in mind that he was left at the gate, had missed "significant" training time with bucked shins since his prior race, and just forget about the chart comment of a "driving" finish. He was practically being eased. Great pedigree too, which I wrote about here prior to his debut. He's already training at Monmouth having worked a mile there in 1:43 last week. He will, however, be making his two-turn debut, which hopefully will be reflected in his odds.

Undefeated Wicked Style makes his real dirt debut after overcoming the 12 post to wire the Breeders Futurity. That doesn't necessarily mean however that he's destined to get hooked with the speedy War Pass; his prior two wins were accomplished with stalking trips. Robbie Albarado said: "If I had a better post, I could have settled him behind horses." [ESPN.com] Again, post positions will be key, but there ain't tons of speed in this race, and this son of Juvenile winner Macho Uno could get a nice trip behind the presumptive favorite. He finished very strongly - final 2 1/2 furlongs in 30.56 - that's a rate of 24.45 for a quarter, which followed splits of 25.47 and 25.01. So he accelerated nicely to the finish.

Three runners come out of the Norfolk at Santa Anita. None of these have raced on anything but synthetics, so there's that looming question. But I'm going to give them a conditioning edge and hope for the best (for the horses I like, anyway). Even though Dixie Chatter (Dixie Union) won that race (and he worked a bullet, of 54, 59.20 at Santa Anita last week), I came away impressed with the second and third finishers. Salute the Sarge (Forest Wildcat) has three wins and two tough luck seconds in his five starts. This half-brother to Chelokee was three wide on the first turn, and swung wide turning for home too, conceding much ground to the winner, who rode the rail turning for home. His trainer Eric Guillot said: "He’s bred for a dirt track, and he’s a big, heavy horse, and everybody says big, heavy horses don’t like synthetic tracks." [Bloodhorse]

Shore Do was dead last on the backstretch, launched a wide rally around the turn, had to alter course late, and finished determinedly to get up for the show spot. He previously won at a mile on the grass. He looks like a live dark horse for trainer Chuck Peery, who already has him out at Monmouth, where he breezed five furlongs in 1:02 flat over the fast main track, galloping out six furlongs in 1:15. He's by the Broad Brush stallion Include, out of a Dynaformer mare, so there could be much in the way of stamina here.

Kodiak Kowboy could be overlooked as well. He was as professional as can be in winning the Bashford Manor and the Saratoga Special; and not much wrong with his second to Tale of Ekati in the Futurity, in which he conceded ground on the turn to the winner. He'll be trying two turns for the first time. By Posse, he's out of a mare by Coronado's Quest who's a half to the multiple graded winner West By West; and his second dam is a half to the Brooklyn Handicap winner Little Missouri.

Don't know what was wrong with Majestic Warrior in the Champagne, but he's another one who if he wins here, I'll lose.

Ready, Set, Go

- I'm leaving early Wednesday morning for Monmouth, intending to arrive well in time for a Media Luncheon at noon at the track, and more importantly (other than the free food), the ten race card, including a turf stakes for three-year olds. I have no idea what kind of setup I'm going to have there; I presume I'll have some spot in an auxiliary press area in front of some TVs. I'm thinking it would be fun to try some live blogging for Wed through Friday when a lot of you guys are stuck at work. On Saturday, the Head Chef is joining me, none of you will be reading blogs, and I'm planning to just play.

I'm supposed to post something every day this week for the BC blog, though I've no idea what exactly they're looking for. Then again, it's been basically a freebie in terms of subject matter all along, so I guess I'll just wing it. I'm going to go through the races here, starting now, just with some general impressions, which horses I'm interested in, and which I intend to stand against. My actual selections, after post positions are announced, I'll likely be posting over there. With my time limited, I'll start with Saturday's races, and get to Friday's if I have a chance.

Juvenile Fillies - I'm pretty much committed to taking a strong stand against Indian Blessing, expected to be favored, pending the post draw of course. A lot of analysis goes down the drain once the posts are drawn; and Baffert's filly would look a lot different from post 14, with a fair amount of speed inside, than she would from the inside. What scares me about her is the way she readily rated in second in the Frizette, looking very professional as she assumed the lead. But her very slow final quarter and her lack of two-turn experience makes her a highly vulnerable favorite in my view.

Proud Spell also stretches out to two turns, but will likely make for far better value. She's undefeated for trainer Larry Jones, and her Matron win was really very good. She was patiently ridden by Delaware-based, 19 year-old Gabriel Saez, and launched a five wide rally turning for home. This is a daughter of Proud Citizen out of a Langfuhr mare; her second dam is a half to the Black-Eyed Susan/SA Oaks winner Imaginary Lady.

Two fillies come out of the Alcibiades. Three actually; but if Irish Smoke rebounds from her last place finish to win, then I'll lose, plain and simple. A to the Croft (Menifee) was wide both turns making her two-turn debut in finishing second to the absent Country Star; she's never been worse than second in her four starts for Ken McPeek. She worked five furlongs in 59.80 in company with McPeek's Juvenile candidate Old Man Buck on Saturday. She didn't beat him though, and Tom Amoss, on The Works, was saying that given the horses running next week, you "better be able to beat your workmate!"

A neck behind in the Alcibiades was Grace Anatomy (Aldebaran), and that filly was extremely impressive. She broke dead last, made a big middle move to mid-pack, continued to work her way forward, going three wide around the leaders and establishing a clear lead in the stretch before tiring late to third. Grace Anatomy has a blend of stamina and speed in her pedigree; her second dam is Plenty of Grace, who won the Yellow Ribbon and the Diana for John Veitch, and is also the granddam of the speedy (and also absent) Diabolical.

Keep in mind of course that A to the Croft has run well on dirt, while Grace Anatomy ha raced exclusively on Polytrack. One can take that both ways, as the latter, and others like her, may have gained a lot of conditioning, especially having summered out at Del Mar.

The other Grade 1 prep for this race was the Oak Leaf at Santa Anita, won by Cry and Catch Me (Street Cry). Unlike her stablemate, this Baffert filly has already passed the two turn test, and held on very gamely after dueling early from the two-path. Izarra was a nose short of catching that one at the wire after she was four wide throughout the final turn. She also expended energy fighting her rider early, and she'd shown that tendency in her prior as well. By Distorted Humor out of Arlucea (Broad Brush), one of the four foals produced by Distaff winner Bayakoa before her passing, she looms a major factor especially if Espinoza can settle her early.

Clearly Foxy is unbeaten in two turf races, but has a dirt pedigree. She's by Classic winner Volponi out of a Pulpit mare who's a half to the sprinting stakes winner Wildcat Shoes and to this year's Peter Pan runner up Prom Shoes.

Backstreet Rhythm was second to Indian Blessing in the Frizette; Amoss did not care for her Saturday workout at all. She was being pushed very hard, and he felt that she should have done better than her 1:14.23 clocking.

I'm tossing Set Play and Tasha's Miracle on the basis of their disappointing two-turn debuts in the Oak Leaf. You just gotta take some unforgiving stands somewhere in races of this ilk.

Suspension Deal Storybook Ending for Biancone

- Patrick Biancone won the 7th at Keeneland on Friday with Storybook. His horses will run under the name of his assistant Francois Parisel starting on Sunday with Arosa in the Dowager Stakes. Under the terms of his suspension deal with the KHRA, the new Kentucky rules that prohibit him from transferring horses to an assistant or relative don't begin until Nov 1. So his Breeders' Cup horses will run under Parisel's name, and Biancone will be able to partake in any purse monies earned.

Not only that, but until Nov 1, he'll be free to be at his barn, on racetrack property and involved with his horses; that according to the Louisville Courier Journal. So his "suspension" is one in name only when it comes to the Breeders' Cup. That makes his statement that he does "not want to cast a cloud over racing's most important day" seem even more disingenuous than it did on its own. I don't see anything indicating that he'd be prohibited from standing in the winner's circle or being interviewed by Jeannine Edwards on ESPN.

Some of the trainer's owners came strongly to his defense. Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds told the Form:

"I'll be honest with you, I didn't appreciate a lot of people in this industry crucifying the guy before he had his day in court....I heard all the talk and innuendo. But he didn't have his shot at due process, and no matter what anyone says, this is still America." [DRF]

But Biancone has a record, and a pretty damning one at that. And since this is still America, I think we're all free to infer what seems obvious; if we're wrong, than we're wrong, but Biancone brought that speculation on all by himself by his past actions. He had his due process to the tune of over four months of earnings, including anything derived from the Breeders' Cup, after the discovery of the substance in his barn, and it seems to me that the KHRA bent over backwards to make the suspension as palatable as possible. After the first six months, during which he'll be permitted to attend sales other than the spring session at Keeneland, "any [financial] arrangement he makes with owners or his assistants, we have no control over," [John] Veitch said.

- Storybook won with an unbelievable last burst in the stretch after being second to last turning for home. She's a three-year old Darley bred that Biancone trains for Joseph Allen. Storybook is by Halling (Diesis), out of a Gone West mare, and was making her first start on turf after three on Polytrack. Her second dam is Danish, who won the G1 QEII Challenge at Keeneland in 1994.

Mushka

- New post up at Breederscup.com. For the first time, and perhaps the last, I actually picked up the phone and got some real quotes as opposed to just stealing them out of a newspaper.

Meanwhile, I looked up the extended weather forecast for Monmouth on Accuweather, and it's rather glorious. Much too early to get excited though.

And as reader Andrew pointed out, The Russian angle lives on at Belmont, where Mushka won the 4th. No secret though, and a flurry of rubles sent him off at even money.

Belmont Notes

- What's with this Russian thing at Belmont? The day after Leningrad-Stalingrad, Russian Sage won the 6th on Thursday!

The Sheikh was in action as Darley's four-year old filly Golden Velvet made a very nice U.S. debut for Kiaran McLaughlin with an extremely patient ride by Alan Garcia. He allowed his filly to drop back to fifth rounding the turn. She saved ground and effort doing so, but found herself behind a solid line of four horses at the top of the stretch. After waiting for just a moment, Garcia found a hole and they exploded through to draw off by six.

This is an extremely well-bred filly by Seeking the Gold, out of the graded stakes winner Caress. She's also the dam of Sky Mesa, off to a rather slow start with his first crop on the track this year. According to Equiline, he has four winners from 30 starters, no stakes winners. Sky Mesa himself won all three starts at two, but was o-for-three the next year, including his second to Peace Rules in the Haskell.

In Thursday's feature, True Cause just missed getting a stakes win for Godolphin in the Awad Stakes. But Norberto Arroyo, Jr. slowed the pace in the 1 3/8 mile marathon to a walk with Tricky Causeway, loping along in splits of 26.78, 53.04, and 1:18.66. Durkin noted that he should plenty left for the drive; still, for a moment it looked like he was going to get passed by either True Cause or favored Prince Rahy. A game finish in a final furlong of 11.75 took care of that, giving Jimmy Jerkens a stakes win in a very un-stakes like field. The black type will still be black however.

Tricky Causeway, by Giant's Causeway, is another extremely well-bred horse, especially for grass. Out of a Private Account mare, he's a half-brother to the grassy stakes winner Rey de Cafe; the dam is a half to the fine turf runner King Cugat, who won the Bowling Green for Mott in 2001. His third dam is Con Game, the dam of Seeking the Gold.

Franchise Feedback

- My last post about Bruno's franchise proposal drew some skeptical (and anonymous) comments. The first one read - Okay: The pot calling the kettle (black.)

The Spitzer plan took nine months and raised as many questions as it answered and still doesn't answer who runs vlt's at Aqueduct.

Another wrote:

Bruno knows and cares more about the past, present and future of racing than Spitzer and Silver will ever know in their lifetimes. He's also tired of Kentucky calling the shots in NY. My hats's off to Bruno and Larkin on this one!

And one more:

NYRA has a summer of good weather at saratoga and everybody's drooling to give this bankrupt and corrupt group 30 more years and hundreds of millions more in tax payer subsidies.

I appreciate hearing opposing views as always, and certainly understand peoples' frustrations with the present state of affairs, in particular the decaying infrastructure, both in the grandstands and backstretches. And while I don't believe that NYRA is corrupt, they're certainly bankrupt, though how much, or if they're at all really responsible is certainly a matter of debate in my view.

I've never been opposed to the idea of an alternative to NYRA, but I am opposed to the alternatives that have been presented. If Bruno had made his proposal 18 months ago, then perhaps it could have made a positive contribution in some way, especially of course with respect to OTB (especially not with respect to the creation of a new layer of politically-appointed bureaucracy). But at this late date, to make a proposal of such complexity that he has to know makes it politically and logistically impossible (not to mention completely dismissive of the land claim issue) is in my opinion plainly and simply obstructionist.

Silent Ride

- Admission to the Breeders' Cup will be limited to 45,000 according to Monmouth's GM Bob Kulina.

Kulina said about 2,500 tickets remain for Oct. 27...

"People can still get a good seat if they go to breederscup.com," Kulina said. "There are still $100 seats. For $200, you can still get on the finish line seats. You can get some great seats.

Kulina also said about 30,000 tickets have been sold for Oct. 26. [Asbury Park Press]

You may also find some tickets here.

- Breederscup.com's Ed Gray has a totally different take on the Dirt Mile than I espoused in my prior post.

Finally, the greatest milers in North America are no longer Breeders' Cup outcasts whose connections had [to] choose among the Sprint, (turf) Mile or Classic if they wanted to take part in the World Championships, knowing full well that they didn't have a chance of winning any one of the three. Had the Dirt Mile been run in 1991, In Excess would likely have become a Breeders' Cup champion, instead of settling for ninth over the Churchill Downs turf course due to trainer Bruce Jackson's opinion that his handicap star had less chance of prevailing victorious at 1-1/4 miles on dirt than a mile on turf. [Breeders Cup]

That's certainly a reasonable point of view. But I think that the Classic is called the Classic and is run for the biggest purse in America for a reason. Its mile and a quarter distance is one that only a relative few are able to negotiate at this level of competition. Thus, it attracts only the most special horses in training, and that's the way it should be. The Dirt Mile (and Seventy Yards) comes across to me, at least this year, as merely a consolation race for those who can't quite make the cut. Of course, if Discreet Cat puts on a spectacular show, I'll admit that I'm wrong (though I'll first probably ask why he couldn't have done it at a mile on the turf). But barring that occurrence, which I personally will be betting against, this just doesn't come across as a World Championship race to me.

- Johnny Murtaugh picks up the ride on Dylan Thomas who, according to the UK's Sportinglife.com, is an even money chance with Ladbrokes for the Breeders' Cup Turf.

The race-fixing trial of Dylan Thomas' regular rider Kieren Fallon continues, and the emphasis of late has been not on one of his rides on a horse, but rather, one in a car. The prosecution places Fallon in a car in May, 2004 with professional gambler Miles Rodgers, the alleged ringleader of the alleged scheme (it's all alleged, OK?), despite the fact that police surveillance apparently missed actually witnessing Fallon getting into it.

However, jockey Darryll Holland testified for the prosecution that Fallon was in the car, the only (alleged) known instance of the two men being together. A taxi that was due to take Holland and Fallon to the airport didn't arrive. "Then I looked round and Kieren said, 'we've got a lift'."

There was virtually no dialogue during the journey, Holland said.
.....
"Normally when you get into a car, you're introduced to the people in it. I thought it was a bit strange, but nobody spoke to me so I didn't speak to them." [Guardian]

Holland testified that upon arriving at the airport, Fallon stayed behind and spoke to two men briefly before joining him. When asked if he got the impression that Fallon knew the men, Holland replied:

"I couldn't say 100%.....But you're told from an early age not to get into a car with strangers, so I presume that he knew them."

Second Rate

- I don't like the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (and Seventy Yards); at least this year. (Next year, it will be the Cushion Track Mile.) If it were a one-turn mile race, that would be different. That's kind of a hybrid sprint/route that offers a test of speed and stamina, and still a rather unique distance that's only offered at a handful of tracks.

But with the past performances now out courtesy of DRF (and your five bucks), a look at the race shows a bunch of Classic-wannabees running at a run-of-the mill distance; a distinctly unspectacular group in my opinion. I mean, you might as well throw Magna Graduate and Sun King into the mix. It would make for a fine Grade 2, but a Breeders' Cup race?

Perhaps a better idea would be to run it annually in place of what is now the Cigar Mile at the Big A on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. There's no rule that the races all have to be run at the same place on the same day (see harness racing's Breeders' Crown). That would ensure that it's always run at a proper one-turn route, and a little annual mini-BC in New York towards the end of the year would add a lot of spice before the pre-Santa Anita/Gulfstream lull. Wacky idea? Maybe we need a little wackiness in the sport these days.

Having said that, with Discreet Cat expected to be the favorite, the race looks like a prime betting opportunity. The Cat just did not show much in his return, and I'll take a shot against him even with this group. There are at least some sharp runners with proven two-turn form such as Diamond Stripes, Lewis Michael, and Xchanger in the field.

- Pletcher still has not won with a two-year old first timer in New York since August 3; and not since June 15 with one on the dirt. But out-of-town, it's just like the old days, and he scored yesterday at Keeneland with 9-1 Monba (Maria's Mon - Hamba).

- Barclay Tagg is being a bit of a grump about Nobiz Like Shobiz, doncha think?

“I haven’t yet seen the past performances and who is going to run....I will talk with (owner Elizabeth Valando). He’s got to run against older horses and I am not too keen on that. Also, there are no accolades for 3-year-old turf horses. The 3-year-old dirt horses get the awards.” [Bloodhorse]

C'mon man, lighten up! Isn't a win in the Breeders' Cup worth a little something, even if it doesn't bring an Eclipse?

Российская география

- So reader Andrew left a comment earlier today about the "commie exacta" at Belmont and asked, "Sounds like a good hunch play for a leftie like yourself!!"

Well, first of all, Hey, I resemble that remark! Yes, my politics may lean a little to the left; I did once dabble in Marxist Philosophy, and I bet the Russians minus 5 1/2 goals against Team USA in the 1980 Olympics (but just a fun bet, and I swear I didn't root for them) (though I did when they played the Flyers [link for hockey fans only]). But I ain't no stinkin' Commie!

Anyway, he said it was in the sixth at Belmont. I hadn't seen the entries , and when I looked, I didn't see anything obvious. Justin P doesn't sound Russian. Western Call....no, I don't think so. Smart Thinker? That certainly couldn't describe Vladimir Putin. Oh, I forgot, he's not a Communist, anyway.

So, I figured it was a mistake, and didn't have time to pursue the matter further.

As it turned out, it was a mistake. It was in the fifth race that Leningrad and Stalingrad were entered, and wouldn't you know it - they ran 1-2 in that order, virtually all the way around the track, returning $134! Tom Durkin mixed the two up at the beginning, and had a chuckle. He called it the "Russian Geography Exacta," which would have earned him an F in geography class considering that neither city is currently known by those names, and haven't been for some time. You'd think he could have done better than that. But I guess he didn't figure that 16-1 Leningrad would be involved. Trained by Richard Dutrow, he's a three-year old son of Aptitude that one can actually make a red-board case for. He was way up the track on the Calder dirt at 2-1 in his last, but was returning to the grass, on which he ran a not-too-horrible 7th with a trouble line in his prior effort, his debut. Stalingrad was a deserving second choice, coming off a nose loss at Saratoga. Дерьмо!

And that wasn't the only special exacta on the day. In the the third at Keeneland, there was Self Made Man - Double Shotgun; the Erik Prince Exacta. And back at Belmont, there was Big Jerome - Sabre Baby - the "King Kong" Korab Exacta. (er....hockey fans only again....old...hockey fans...)

Pre-Entries

- The Form has the pre-entries up, with the excluded horses, in order of preference, for the races that were oversubscribed. Nothing there that is going to raise any hackles as far as I can see. Nor are there any real surprises either, except perhaps for Nobiz Like Shobiz having been pre-entered for the Mile despite Tagg's comments that he would aim for the Hollywood Derby instead. The major Euro entries that I picked up on from the UK press for my last Breeders' Cup post are indeed entered - Passage of Time and Simply Perfect in the F&M Turf, and George Washington in the Classic - so I'm relieved that I didn't end up looking stupid there.

Let's take a look at the horses who won "Win and You're In" races:

Lawyer Ron - Entered in Classic
Ginger Punch - Supplemented for the Distaff
Diabolical - Exported, skipping Sprint
My Typhoon - Qualified for the F&M Turf, but entered in the Mile
Jambalaya - Injured, Out of Turf
Shamdinan - Entered in Turf
Royal Highness - Injured, Out of F&M Turf
Student Council - Passing the Classic
Greg's Gold - Entered in Sprint
Crossing the Line - Passing the Mile
Curlin - Entered in Classic
Unbridled Belle - Entered in Distaff
English Channel - Entered in Turf
Fabulous Strike - Injured, out of Sprint
Tiago - Entered in Classic
Vacare - Passing the F&M Turf
Purim - Entered in Mile
Wicked Style - Entered in Juvenile
Off Duty - Passing the Sprint
War Pass - Entered in Juvenile
Out of Control - Passing the Mile
Tough Tiz's Sis - Supplemented to Distaff
Idiot Proof - Entered in Sprint
Panty Raid - Entered in Distaff (1) and F&M Turf (2)

Since the Classic only has nine entrants, and the Turf 12, the automatic qualifying aspect of the Challenge races had no effect on those fields. I'd say that the only horse that arguably actually won his way into the Breeders' Cup was Purim. The Mile has 18 pre-entries, and given his prior form this year, it's entirely possible that Host could have been selected over him by the committee had he not won (in which case, he likely wouldn't have been entered anyway). With the Sprint oversubscribed, Off Duty certainly would have bumped a horse that would have been considered more deserving had he been supplemented. None of the qualifiers for the F&M Turf are actually running in the race; had all three entered, then two that are in the field would have been bumped (though all three of them may have made the cut based on points or their form anyway).

The concept was obviously hurt by injuries and by non-nominated winners who declined to pay the hefty fees in order to get in. If they go to more automatic spots next year, there could be more of the controversy that they were hoping to generate today (though it will certainly raise more questions as to the worthiness of the new races themselves). It's a work in progress to be sure, but I still think they're on a right track.

- Jay Cronley lists his 31 reasons to love the Breeders' Cup, including:

Full cards featuring $5,000 claimers available at numerous tracks afterward for getting back to close to even, or to even itself. [ESPN.com]

Notes - Oct 16

- Tale of Ekati worked a mile around the oval at Monmouth in 1:43 flat.

"He did everything he was supposed to do," said Tagg. "He went off pretty slow and finished good. All in all, I got what I wanted out of him. I wanted to work him around two turns." [DRF]

- Joe Bruno is not invited.

- Ginger Punch has been supplemented to the Distaff.

- Though Bloodhorse.com reported that "Several ADW's" do not have contracts with Breeders' Cup to take bets on the event, Matt Hegarty in the Form writes:

Breeders' Cup Ltd. does not currently have a signed simulcasting contract with a single major account-wagering operator in the U.S., the Breeders' Cup and account-wagering companies acknowledged on Tuesday.
.....
The account-wagering companies that do not have a contract include Television Games Network, XpressBet, Youbet.com, Twinspires.com, and the AmericaTab family of operations. Twinspires.com and the AmericaTab companies are owned by Churchill Downs. Last year, $11.2 million was bet on the Breeders' Cup through TVG, Youbet, and AmericaTab. [DRF]

A California law caps the ADW's revenue from bets made from that state; a spokesperson for TrackNet told Hegarty that they would lose money on those wagers. The law has been in effect since 2002, but Monmouth's takeout is high enough so as to make it a concern this year.

One Man in a Corner

- Here's Spitzer's reaction to the Senate Republican's franchise plan:

The State Senate today released its plan for racing, six weeks after the recommendation was made. We have begun our review of their plan and we will be discussing it with the legislature and with the New York Racing Association (NYRA). The plan appears to raise as many questions as it answers, including which entities would actually operate racing and the VLT facility at Aqueduct. I continue to believe that the proposal to give the racing franchise to a newly reconstituted NYRA, while selecting an experienced gaming operator to run the VLT facility at Aqueduct, offers by far the best solution for stability and growth of the racing industry in New York State. [NY Times]

Rather diplomatic, I'd say. Sheldon Silver said that the plan had “no details” and “no clear vision” and “no substance.” He also said that the plan is "is an attempt to permanently install appointees of the former governor and Senator Bruno to determine the future of racing in New York." [DRF]

I wrote in the prior post that Bruno was "being a real idiot," and I shouldn't write stuff like that; it's rather unprofessional. But I was in a rush, and looking for a word to sum up how I felt. So now I'll try to be more mature.

I just think that the Senate Majority Leader is not making good decisions these days. And that's besides his being delusional when he said he believes the Democratic-controlled Assembly, Spitzer, and various racing industry stakeholders will all support the Senate plan. [Thoroughbred Times]

For one thing, as I've said before, I think he's making a big mistake in perpetuating the Choppergate inquiries. More relevantly, in this case, I think he may be painting himself into a corner. He's clearly the only one of the three men in a room that will be in favor of his plan, which includes slots at Belmont, a no-no for Silver. And we'll soon find out if I'm wrong, but I can't at all see his constituency in Saratoga backing him on this. The reaction there to NYRA's selection was pretty good as I recall. But Bruno's plan calls for the tracks to be offered for bid separately. That's the kind of radical plan that could have the blood pressure in Saratoga boiling! If that's the case, does Bruno really want to be the lone holdout in Dec 31, and be the one who's - perhaps - jeopardizing the continuance of racing on Jan 1?

Having said all that, Bruno's plan includes the concept of consolidating the OTB's. Under his plan, it would be under the state corporation that will be overseeing the unwieldy-sounding mess he proposes to create. But it's nice to see the concept out there. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime," Bruno said Oct. 16 of the plan to fix a broken model involving racetracks and OTBs. Did he really say that?

Best Brains!?

- New post up at Breederscup.com, in which I kill some time while we wait for the pre-entries with, among other things, some interesting changes of plans for some prominent European horses. And here's a plug for the Breeders' Cup site - there happens to be a lot of excellent information available if you look for it. I can't say it's the most user-friendly site in the world - it even lacks a search box - but there's a lot of material well-organized by division, bios of the horses, replays of preps, historical information, and, in particular, video of every Breeders Cup race ever run. I think that if you take the time to find everything, you'll be well-rewarded.

- Joe Bruno announced the Senate's new franchise proposal, and let's just say for now, since I'm busy at work, that it's beyond belief. A year and a half or so after this fiasco started and just over two months until the expiration of the franchise, Joltin' Joe wants to basically start over again with a new state corporation to handle the bids. "You've got the best brains in the whole world" seeking the franchise, Bruno said. "This concept utilizes those brains." Previously, Bruno had identified Magna as one of those brains, so I don't know exactly who he has in mind. The last time I looked, neither Keeneland nor Del Mar were interested. And he certainly can't be including himself. I'm not one for petty name calling, but I think Bruno is being a real idiot. I don't believe that his constituency in Saratoga will be pleased, so perhaps we'll see if he's more attuned to their interests or to his petty dispute with the Governor, which is starting to border on the infantile. More on this later on....

Last Stabs by Shinnecock, Empire

- The story of the Shinnecock tribe's proposal to build a massive full casino at the Big A that would dwarf the proposed 4,500 machine VLT parlor made for a good front-page headline at the NY Daily News on an otherwise slow Sunday. But it's highly unlikely to become a reality. Casinos other than racetrack VLT parlors are illegal in the state, unless built on land owned by a tribe that is recognized by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. Although the tribe has been recognized by a federal judge, the bureau has yet to follow suit, saying a decision might not be made until 2014.

The bureau has said it can't get to the Shinnecocks' case until 2009, and that a decision couldn't be made until five years after that. [Newsday]

Yeah, the wheels of government turn slowly alright, unless its funding a failed war. The tribe is awaiting a court's decision on their plan to build a casino on Eastern Long Island, but even a favorable decision would be subservient to their federal tribe status. However, according to the News' report, should the court rule that they have the right to build that casino, the tribe would try for a global settlement with the state and feds — giving it tribal recognition and making the land around the racetrack reservation property.

The proposal calls for over 10,000 slot machines as well as a full array of table games; and would have nothing to do with operating the racetrack. The Shinnecocks have no experience with running a casino, but they have a willing partner in Gateway Casino Resorts. That company is run by Marian Ilitch, the wife of Detroit Tigers' owner Mike Ilitch, who, of course and according to major league baseball rules, has nothing at all to do with his wife's business! Of course, you can find all you need to know about the Ilitch clan over at The Verifiable Truth. Gateway operates the MotorCity Casino in Detroit, a venture which is apparently having some problems of its own.

The Albany Times-Union's Capitol Confidential today reports that the State Investigations Committee received an eight page complaint alleging a giant conspiracy between Spitzer, Getnick and Getnick, NYRA and Excelsior to award the franchise to the latter two. The document also claims that a leak from the federal government was behind the Times-Union's story on the FBI investigation of Bruno that caused Jared Abbruzzese to have to leave Empire. If it sounds to you as if Empire may be behind this - the report itself points out that it "echoes the cries of collusion between NYRA and Excelsior and unfair treatment by the state already made by Empire Racing Associates CEO Jeff Perlee" - you're certainly not alone. An Empire spokesperson denies that it sent anything to the committee. Nontheless:

Several people in the racing industry who have reviewed or been briefed on the complaint, a copy of which was obtained by the Times Union, view it as "a Hail Mary pass" from a desperate Empire, calling it "ridiculous" and full of inaccuracies.
....
NYRA Chairman Steve Duncker called the memo a "pack of outright lies" that "appears to be the last desperate attempt of a dying entity." [Albany Times Union]

- I don't want the Red Sox to win the World Series. Not that I'm a huge Yankee fan, but I dunno, I just prefer it when Red Sox Nation flies their flag at its accustomed half mast. So I turned the TV off in disgust the other night when Rafael Perez, brought into the game prematurely by manager Eric Wedge, served up two breaking balls that you could have hung the Mona Lisa on to Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell, who both hit them out of sight for a 6-5 Sox lead. I pictured Boston on its way to a sweep at that point, so imagine my surprise when I turned the game back on and saw that it was tied.

One comment on the Fox broadcast team of Joe Buck/Tim McCarver - and this is perhaps my biggest pet peeve of all about baseball announcers. They repeatedly praised David Ortiz for his "hustle" down the line to beat out a possible double play before Manny's prodigious blast. The way I look at it, you hit a ground ball, you run your hardest to first. Period. Especially in a potential double play situation, especially in a playoff game! No extra credit for that is warranted, none whatsoever. Big Papi may not be 100%, but he makes a zillion dollars a year, so he can run hard to first, big deal.

Notes - Oct 15

- Tuned into TVG for the feature at Santa Anita, the ungraded Harold C. Ramser, Sr., and noticed that Missvinski was entered. This was the filly that came into the Garden City at Belmont off a half length loss to Darjina in the Pris D'Astarte (this the day before that filly beat the boys in the Prix du Moulin). I wrote in this post how she was the 4-1 second choice in the morning line, but was totally dead on the board....and, as it turned out, on the track as well.

So here she was at Santa Anita; this time, she was 6-1 in the morning line, but the 2-1 favorite on the board! However, though I'm always susceptible to piling on when the money shows like that, not this time. I thought that the running line for the Garden City looked not quite as awful than her effort really was. So I went for Jeff Mullins' 6-1 Silky Smooth over three others in the exactas, including the eventual winner Gotta Have Her. My horse finished second, and for a brief instant, I thought I had a chance to get my first win-by-DQ in some 25 years. Frank Lyons pointed out how the winner bore out and how Aaron Gryder had to take up on Silky Smooth; but I didn't even make it to an inquiry.

Meanwhile, Missvinsky was just awful in this race; she never made a move and checked in dead last.

Another winner at Keeneland for Pletcher, who took Sunday's 7th with Meal Penalty. It was the second win in as many tries for this two-year old son of Tale of the Cat. Nice ride by Bejarano, who saved ground on the turn, moved out a couple of paths, and had to wait a bit for room between horses before exploding through. Meal Penalty didn't change leads until the very end, which may have given him enough to hold off Unbridled Vicar by a long nose. He's out of an Unbridled's Song mare, and his second dam is a full sister to the two-time champion sprinter Housebuster.

The Toddster fell short, however, in the featured Bryan Station Stakes, when his even money favorite Distorted Humor came up nearly four lengths short of the pace-stalking Inca King ($22.60), who drew away smartly in the stretch. A three-year old son of Sir Cat Trained by Steve Asmussen, this colt had quit badly in his last two following his win at 8-1 in the G2 Jefferson Cup....but not on Sunday, shortening up to a mile.

Keeneland Quickie

- Pletcher is 4 for 12 at Keeneland, and has two winners in the last two racing days (coming into Sunday), including the nice return to the races by Ravel on Friday. He seems to like synthetics, and Pletcher spoke of the Strub series leading up to the Santa Anita Handicap.

Mott won two on Saturday to give him a meet-leading seven (out of 22 starters). I caught a little of TVG's coverage, with Gary Stevens, Simon Bray, and Todd Scrmmpppfff on hand, and Jill Byrne reporting from the paddock. After Mott won the 5th with 21-1 Platinee, the boys were singing the praises of the trainer, and jumping on board his remaining three runners on the day. None of those won, however, two of them favorites, and the last one running second to the Toddster's Rocket Legs in the finale. That's two in a row for this three-year old son of Dynaformer, and a successful Poly debut after racing exclusively on turf. Rocket Legs is out of a Pulpit mare who's a half-sister to the multiple graded winner Great Intentions, and hails from the distaff family of the possible Juvenile favorite War Pass (the second dam of War Pass is the third dam of Rocket Legs).

Notes - Oct 14

- Pretty impressive rally by Bit of Whimsy to win the Grade 1 QEII Challenge Cup at Keeneland for Barclay Tagg. Watching on replay after learning of the result, it seemed hard to believe that this filly was going to win; she was pretty far back, and not making much progress on the turn. If anything, it looked like she was losing ground, and being passed by a horse to her outside. But she took off in the stretch, made her way to the outside with Castellano and won by a comfortable two lengths at a nice price (6.90-to-one) too! In doing so, she showed that her second in the Garden City at 12-1 was no fluke.

Of course, with only two weeks until the Breeders' Cup, we shouldn't expect to see her there; especially so with Barclay Tagg, who seems in general a bit skittish with the event, at least when it comes to his three-year old turf colts.

Bit of Whimsy is a filly who may like the mile and three-eighths distance of the F&M Turf. She's by Distorted Humor, out of an El Prado half-sister to Royal Mountain Inn, who won the Red Smith Handicap (at a mile and a quarter that year), and the Man O'War at a mile and three eighths.

Steve's Double looked like he was hanging in the stretch of the Perryville, but Jamie Theriot persisted and they managed to hold off Frankel's even money favorite Les Grands Trois, who had trouble at the start. This three-year old gelded son of Stephen Got Even won on closing weekend in Saratoga, and was 6-1 morning line, but he paid a fat $26! This son of Northern Baby might want to stretch out a bit, at least based on his pedigree. His half brother, Northern Thinking (Northern Baby), won the John Murray Begg Memorial this past April, at about 3 miles, jumping over timber!

You Bet It's a Bad Day!

- New post up at Breederscup.com - it's my Breeders' Cup Top Ten. It also appears as if they are working on enabling a comments section over there, but it ain't operational just yet.

- Thursday was a pretty bad day for Youbet. First, there was a story that the ADW has received a search warrant from the Dept of Homeland Security involving its off-shore rebate shop IRG.

Youbet.com said in the SEC filing that it believes it is not a “target” of the investigation and that the company is “cooperating with the U.S. government in (its) investigation.” [Bloodhorse]

In addition, Thoroughbred Times reports that a consultant for the Breeders' Cup called it "unlikely" that an agreement will be reached to allow the company to accept wagers on the races from Monmouth. This is not, however, related to the company's ongoing dispute with TrackNet Media.

Breeders’ Cup negotiates individual deals with each advance-deposit wagering outlet on its signal. Kirchner expects the Breeders’ Cup to be available to TVG and all of TrackNet Media’s outlets, which include XpressBet, Twinspires.com, Brisbet.com, and AmericaTab. [Thoroughbred Times]

- The racino at Yonkers Raceway celebrated its first anniversary, and the numbers are 90,000 visitors a month and $338.4 million in annual net revenue.

To put some perspective on those totals, in 2004, the last year of pre-casino operations, the raceway welcomed just 115,763 visitors and took in just $99 million in bets on its harness races. [Journal News]

And, there are over 2,000 new machines to come. What was not reported was the daily take per machine, a number which has been lagging for many racinos in the state.

One possible negative, and the kind of thing that the gambling naysayers will jump all over, is a reported increase in one-month emergency rental assistance requests since the raceway opened.

[LATE UPDATE: Shakespeare retired with a tendon injury, ugh.]