... Derby where not only do I not cash, but none of my horizontal runners are
even a factor.
Good job by NBC, 5 hours of undercard coverage, showing all races, Laffit and
Jerry with a level presentation without many mindless distractions
Agreed. Didn\'t have IHA, but somehow don\'t mind that much. This was a tough race to hit, and one of the 10 or 12 logical contenders won. Still one of the best days of the year in my book.
Agree with your kudos to NBC--I thought the entire telecast was well done and informative. I truly enjoy the insight that Jerry Bailey brings to the table, and I also believe that Laffit III is a rising star. I have always enjoyed him on HRTV, and am glad that NBC used him in their broadcasts this year.
However--in the midst of all these human interest stories (Baffert\'s heart attack, Phyllis Wyeth) no one brought up Dennis O\'Neil and his brave battle with cancer. What a great win for the O\'Neil family and a ringing endorsement for California Racing--which has been on the wane recently and certainly can use a boost.
There were so many great human interest stories this year that you almost could not go wrong with most outcomes--this one certainly is nice for Racing in so many ways--Reddam, the O\'Neil\'s, Lava Man and the young jockey are all good narratives for the game at a time when there have been so many negative stories (NYRA, Penn National, Michael Gill, pain killers, etc.)
I have loved Horse Racing since I was a young kid in the 1960\'s--the Derby is such a great and wonderful event every year, and the prep races and buildup to it never get old. You have to hope that a day like today creates new fans for a sport that badly needs as much love as possible.
If you think a Derby win will create new fans for the support, I have to disagree. The current winner was made to order for the NY Times narrative on the downfall of horse racing. Bode hanging on would have been a nice temporary boost.
Coming soon: Part III by Joe Drape--Druggie O\' Needle; Suspensions, Breakdowns and Slaughter
Part IV: by Jacob Schiller; Derby Champ Discarded at Los Alimitos
I\'ve heard the nickname but know little else about this guy. Does he have a lot of drug positives or is this based on suspicion?
Here is some light reading
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/horse/columns/story?columnist=plonk_jeremy&id=5464169
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/61997/chrb-files-complaint-against-doug-oneill
http://www.horsesense.ws/SeattleSlew/2010/08/2010-status-of-the-thoroughbred-horseracing-industry/no-song-of-burna-dette-from-doug-oneill-he-and-the-milkshake-king-darryl-delahoussaye-are-at-it-again/
If it weren\'t for the sympathetic owner/subprime lender, racing would be in for some tough times.
MonmouthGuy - thanks for posting this. I guess I always knew about his nickname but never took the time to read over the articles about precisely what he was doing. The milkshakes are bad enough (in fact horrible...stopping the horse from feeling fatigue to the point where he will injure himself) but that claiming move Burna Dette, to throw her away for 2 dimes, when they were already out 25K, that\'s sickening.
Wanna bet we don\'t hear a thing about any of this in the next 2 weeks while the so called \"racing media\" are venerating O\'Neill for being such a great horseman with IHA.
I\'m going to call into the Byk show tomorrow and bring this stuff up.