Mark Twain once said \"I didn\'t have time to write you a short letter, so I
wrote you a long one\".
At about 6:30 PM, we may or may not have the first Triple Crown winner in 30
years. If we do, he will be met in the winners circle by Wall Street
swindlers,Hooters Girls, and a trainer who seems only vaguely familiar with the
rules of racing. And maybe a big brown UPS truck will come lumbering down the
stretch to deliver the trophy.
As Dutrow might say, \"Ya gotta love this 21st Century, Babe.\"
6th race/ True North: Epic battle between Drugtrow and Drug O\'Needle.
7th race: Just A Game: Criminologist fastest, has won 3 GR IIIs in last six
months. Bit of Whimsy working well for Barclay since her Keeneland race. Vacare
6/8 lifetime and the outside on the Widener is usually OK.
8th race: Acorn: Wide open with four of the five entered legit contenders.
9th race: Woodford Cephis Stephens: taking a stand against the 2 faves here,
will try to beat them with unproven commodities Groomedforvictory and Fatal
Bullet.
10th Race: Manhattan: Like the Just A Game, should be a wide open race. Dancing
Forever beaten a neck at equal weight by Einstein, who would have been favored
here. Proudinsky\'s 2 US races at 10 furlongs were not good, but they were 2
years ago.
11th race: Belmont Stakes: Will try to beat a colt who on his best day is
probably 5- 10 lengths better than his competition. A lot of us are hoping this
is not his best day. I have been on record as liking the Preakness skippers
and of those 3 I prefer TOE and Anak Nakal based on their familiarity with the
surface at Belmont.
Big headline in the Times today \"A Big Brown win bad for racing\" discussing all the same points- trainer with a string of violations who is unconcerned about routine steroid use, an owner with a history of bad business deals, and most of all a group of owners who are using living creatures like commodities for their hedge fund.
I\'m still an optimist however- I think all this attention could shine a light on an industry that badly needs reform, and people can choose to get involved to make things better. A ban on steroids use with the exception of medical treatment would be a start.