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Thursday, December 11, 2008

Aqueduct Notes (sealed)

- Man, it is pouring and they're expecting two inches of rain overnight! So I certainly wouldn't be shocked if there's a cancellation, even though it's supposed to clear by post time.

Sloppy and sealed on Thursday of course. Horses who had last run at the Meadowlands ran 1-2-3 (3-1, 12-1, and 14-1 respectively) in the third. And in the fifth, two horses who had last raced at the Big M ran 1-2 (at identical odds of 3.45 to 1; I guess the bettors couldn't make up their mind). And those were the only five horses to that point on the card who had run there, so there's some domination for you. On Wednesday, two of the Contessa horses I mentioned, Tide Runner and West Coast Flyer, had last started there too. I

In my ongoing quest to present statistics in context, I'll also point out that three Meadowlands shippers ran poorly at low odds on Wednesday. But other such winners on the inner track include Bombilla, ($5.10), Big Emi ($12.00), and Bubba Gum ($5.20); and good seconds by Ballado Alert (7-1), Brockly Rob (4-1), and Judiths Wild Rush (7-1). It's not that big a sample, so I think it's fair to say that they're worth watching coming over from the Big M to the Big A.

Shannon H ($8.90) was the Meadowlands horse who won the abovementioned 5th, and she is trained by Scott Volk. Recall that I mentioned that trainer in this post, and I also mentioned the barn's Teddy Ballgame, who subsequently ran a game second on the grass. Volk has now been first or second in each of his last six races. No entries from the barn tomorrow or Saturday. Volk claimed this three-year old daughter of Hay Halo (Halo) for $7500 last out for owner James Riccio, who collected the winner's share of $11,400, and the $10,000 claiming tag for the filly, from trainer Randi Persaud; quick turnaournd for a decent little score there.

Steve Asmussen took the fifth.....perhaps I should rephrase.....La Concerto ($4) won the fifth for Asmussen. I'm sure the trainer himself is nowhere near Aqueduct, but he's having a helluva meet - four for seven on the inner track, and nine for 28 (32%).

Accredit ($5.50) won the Parlay Me Stakes for McLaughlin and Darley Stable. Look for this one in the early season handicap division at the Big A in 2009; he finished in the money in three stakes on the IT early this year. Four of his five wins have now come in the slop; the other on Polytrack. Accredit is by E Dubai, whose stud fee will hold steady at $15,000 next year. He's sixth on the third crop list, and has six stakes winners this year, including the G2 winner Buy the Barrell.

- I laughed out loud when I saw that the Jets were eight point favorites against the Bills on Sunday. It doesn't matter that Trent Edwards is out; Nick Zito could throw for 300 yards against the Jets. I'm telling you, the Jets have a history in these late season home games against the Bills - and it ain't a pretty one. I see the game coming down to a field goal. I don't bet on football so I'm not an expert, but I mean, there's got to be better propositions on the board than laying the points on this one!

8 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Alan, is there a new censorship policy at LATG? /S/greenmtnpunter

Alan Mann said...

>>Alan, is there a new censorship policy at LATG?

No, not at all. I turned on comment moderation on because of a couple of assholes, but I've only rejected one comment, due to its being profane and personal, since then. Why do you ask?

Anonymous said...

The Bills are in total disarray as they had a monster 163 total yards last week. While history may say we've played tough in New Jersey in Decembers past...don't count on the Bills putting forth much effort in this one. Warning: my football predictions are about as sound as my handicapping.

Anonymous said...

I finally noticed your message at the top of the comment page stating that reader comments to be approved by the blog owner prior to posting. I understand the need for editing out needless profanity and other language in poor taste, potentially libelous comments, etc, but editing does take away some of the free speech spontaneity of the site, a desirable quality which distinguishes LATG from other, less interesting blogs. Is there a way to spam out such offenders by e-mail address?

Alan Mann said...

Anon 1:44 - I agree with your sentiments. I work hard to maintain a high standard of quality here, and 99% of my reader/commenters do the same. Unfortunately, I'd recently been receiving a steady stream of the kind of stupid and childish personal attacks and name-calling that made me not want to do this anymore. I don't know of any Blogger tool to keep any particular email addresses out. Moderation seemed the only solution. I have no problem posting critical comments as long as they're reasonably respectful....even the guy who says that I know less about politics than handicapping....and, as I said before, I've only rejected a single comment since moderation began. At some point I'll turn it off and see what happens.

I'd also like to point out that this is the only blog that I know of, at least in the TBA and I'm sure elsewhere as well, which has a simple website counter that doesn't collect any information on the readers or commenters. Whereas on many if not most other blogs, the author can see a reader's IP address and location, the exact search words used to reach their site via Google or other search engines, and, in many cases, even what company or organization a reader/commenter is from, readers of this blog are truly anonymous in that respect. I think that that kind of respect for my readers' privacy warrants that I be treated with similar respect. Unfortunately, not everyone has complied with their end of the bargain, and so it was only as a last resort that I reluctantly started moderating comments. You can trust that I'm not censoring anything but the most extreme garbage....and hopefully I'll be able to dispense with at soon.

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Alan,

your blog has a lot to offer. Racing, NY & national politics, handicapping, sometimes just good B.S. If everyone would be respectful of you and other posters then the instant "conversational" part of blogging would be back.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone but me think this would be the perfect weekend to run the Breeders Cup?

No competition whatsoever from football on Saturday. They might even be able to get the whole card on network tv, and even possibly get a meaningful rating.

Of course it would have to be in a warm weather site, but the national exposure would be worth the compromise especially since Churchill does not really seem all that interested in hosting the thing anyway.

Anonymous said...

Alan, thanks for your long post in response to my anon post on LATG editorial policy. Yes, I agree fully, you have never wavered in posting highly critical comments regarding your handicapping and political views and it is this willingness to walk the walk and not just talk the talk that makes LATG a unique forum of free speech. Your privacy policy is also greatly appreciated as another key to the open exchange of ideas. Too bad most of your liberal friends don't exhibit such an enlightened attitutde! Always keep in mind that the vast majority of your readers support your dedication to the principle of a free speech, open forum, so never let the few bastards get you down. I forgot to sign in last time. /S/greenmtnpunter