The ROTW, the Fred Hooper is named for a man who, according to the lore, won
the KY Derby with the first horse he ever owned.
Lots of bad news in DRF. Graded stakes races cancelled at Calder-- funds are
low, partially because of CDSN/ Twin Spires stinginess with their ITW signal.
Claiming activity way down at Pollywood. Stakes races not filling at AQ, where
the good news might be that the winter break is coming.
The NTRA is going to spend 800K to improve the well being of horse and rider.
They have conducted surveys, which I would love to see, that lead them to
believe that a lot of the folks who keep the wheel spinning-- gamblers large
and small-- are really concerned for the safety of horse and jockey.
I\'m going to be blunt here. Horseplayers from the sublime (the heavily financed
and computer aided whales) to the ridiculous (the alta kokker whiling away
his social security check in a squalid OTB parlor) will keep playing the game
no matter how unsavory the spills and the breakdowns are. Racing was fighting
for survival for years, well before the current national economic crisis. Now
is really not the time for political correctness. Now is the time for action.
Actually the time for action was about 10 years ago.
Unification,long term planning, managing the breed, reducing the number of
facilities and racing days to increase field size and the quality of fields,
taxation, takeout,capitalizing on internet opportunities,recognizing the
negative effect the sub-industry of pinhooking has had on the racing and
breeding industries...
In the old days, there was Phipps, there was Mellon, there was Vanderbilt,
there was Whitney. Wealth, power, vision, a love for the equine, an appreciation
of the improvement of the breed (though as Jimmy Breslin once cynically pointed
out, most of these blueblooded protectors of the breed were probably not above
taking the occasional poke at a waitress, showgirl or chambermaid).
2008-2009 will be remembered as the years that GM, Merrill Lynch and Lehman
Brothers, among others, bit the dust. Racing as we know it, under the
stewardship of the NTRA, the people who brought us \"Go Baby,Go\" is going to
come out of this just fine.
Wanna Bet?
Today at Calder,Race 8, La Prevoyante, I like the chances of Herboriste and
Palmilla, who faced each other nearly 2 months ago in the 12 furlong Dowager at
Keeneland. Arguably as fast as J\'Ray and Communique, who will probably be first
and second favored.
Race 10, WL McKnight, Summer Patriot has been away for 10 weeks or so, was
moving forward when Barclay put him on the shelf. SP made a powerful premature
move in the Turf Classic at Belmont (not that he was going to beat Grand
Couturier that day). Faces a pretty modest bunch in this Gr 2 where he is no
bargain as a 7/2 ML favorite, might be a suicide single in the all stakes P4.
QuoteLots of bad news in DRF. Graded stakes races cancelled at Calder-- funds are
low, partially because of CDSN/ Twin Spires stinginess with their ITW signal.
Claiming activity way down at Pollywood. Stakes races not filling at AQ, where
the good news might be that the winter break is coming.
I think alot more graded stakes across the country will bite the dust, with Breeders Cup funding pulled out at the last minute.