Anybody have any insights into why their horses are running these dynamite races off layoffs?  I know they have great stock, but they are not missing with any of them.  It will be interesting to see what happens in their follow-up races.  Who gets the credit. is it Mettee or the main stable trainer?

After playing CM in the Belmont, I\'m very reluctant to use him.  He seems to be the type that gets good figs but folds under pressure.

I think Kensei has another move in him.

No knocks on SB, but he\'s a grinder, and I think there\'s too much quality in this field to fall apart for him if lays back and tries that one big run. A lot depends on where Kent\'s head is race day, lately his decisions have not been as good as when he was hot.

QR is a big ? at this distance and on this track and he\'ll be pressured most of the way.

IF WR was being pointed for this, and IF he goes back to his best style and sits back and makes one move, and IF Borel has HIS head straight, he might make an explosive move.  He\'s slower than the rest, but may be sitting on a move after being compromised by bad rides and strategies.

Just read Jim Squires new book \"The Headless Horseman\" and heartily recommend it.. There is also an interview with him on the Blood Horse site that is worth listening to. He certainly sounds like someone who would be an ally to JB in his battle to regulate the \"juicers\".

Just read he has a sore foot, too bad.  Throw him out.

Before seeing the pp\'s or TG, I really like Atomic Rain....visually impressive in his last race....much the best...they were pointing to this before the sale...and the new owners are running him, rather than putting him away for the Dubai season.  If somebody runs with RA early, AR could get the jump on SB. AR might be the 4th choice and should offer value on top and bottom. Opinions?

Relatively speaking how would you rate the following tracks: the major tracks in NY, ,Fla, Ky,Cal, and Arl, FG, Mth, OP, with the \"cleaner\" ones DRUG WISE at the top of the list and the \"dirtier\" ones toward the bottom? Is it even possible? Or is it an exercise in futility?

Hey Lost Cause, I agree.  I went for CM too and went \"oh,oh\" when Dunkirk got the lead.

I was sitting at the 1/8 pole and had the glasses on him.  The horse wasn\'t pulling, CB was riding him.  I was amazed at how close he was to this pace (for this distance).  Maybe he felt he couldn\'t be that far back of the bias.  I thought Dunkirk ran a great and unexpected type of race, and I was shocked to see CM open up so high and not really come down much at all, and compared to his Peter Pan he ran terrible.  Maybe the barn knew something in the last day or so and was downplaying him a bit so that he opened up so high.

I didn\'t play the pick6, but if you use pace figs in conjunction with TG (I won\'t name the product), her last race was not a \"clunker\". She was coming off a new pace top,against the best 3yo in training at the time; a move-up alert, especially the way the track was playing.  But I would agree it would be hard to pull the trigger on a horse like that in a pick 6, unless you\'re investing a ton of money. Lost Cause, you know what I\'m talking about.

Hope they let BD go.  I\'m alive and heavy on BD and MM, sprinkling with MTB, POTN,and TTP, saving with RA.

Anybody know when fillies are in season?  Would that be factor a factor racing against colts. Would it affect her (RA) performance; and vice-versa could the colts be distracted by her presence in the race?

I keep records and track key races.  Today being Mother\'s Day, and also a day I usually don\'t go to to the simulcast, I missed a big one. The 7th race at GP on March 11 produced 5 next out winners and 1 strong  runner-up.  EVENTUALY WILD became the 6th next out winner today and paid $144.60.  Oh well.

If you believe that improvement in pace figures (early for dirt, late for grass) is a portent of which way a horse\'s final number is going to go in his next race, MTB is logical.  As TG shows; his pattern was good.  I also use a pace service ( mea culpa),  unfortunately they don\'t do Sunland, but just looking at his raw times and variants in the DRF you can see that there was substantial improvement in pace in MTB\'s 2 races at Sunland.  And no, I didn\'t have him either, I missed it too.  I was keying on POTN.  One of my dearest and oldest friends called me from  a hospital bed and had me bet the 5 longest shots in the field to win for him, and that score, for him at least brightened what had been a dark day for me.

Made a trip to the Med to play the special Oaks-Woodford-Derby pick 3.  I also wanted to see if there was some value in playing the Oaks-Derby double with RA and my picks in the Derby; not once on the Churchill feed did they show what double prices would be...ridiculous. Anybody know where the will-pays are posted?

Spent some time today watching my tapes of the prep races...for what it\'s worth, without looking at any sheet figs, the most impressive visually to me are; FF, POTN, and HMB.  FF was under a snug hold while up on the pace and wasn\'t asked for anything until past the 1/8th pole and then just asked to run a little bit to finish up the last 16th, was never in a drive at any time.  Liked his mile workout, not so sure about his latest, unless Jones figures he\'s just so full of himself, he just has to take some of the edge off. POTN looks full of power in all his races...when he made the lead in the races where he had no competition he just lollygagged and goofed off, his true race was the Robert Lewis....even with QR out he should get a pace to run off of in the Derby. HMB not quite as impressive as the first 2, but he sure looks like the distance is right up his alley, and he makes a big move...if he hits some seams he could be very tough.  

Ones I don\'t like visually are; IWR and Dunkirk.  Not impressed at all with the Wood, IWR was 5 to 6 lengths off of very slow fractions until the stretch and should have finished the way he did, as the rest of the field was so weak... I thought the Gotham was a joke. no pressure on him and nobody else ran a lick.  Dunkirk had a nice burst in the FD, passing a bunch of weak horses but then couldn\'t go on with it with QR, he looked like a tired horse finishing up...I don\'t think he has enough foundation to run a 1 1/4 with good horses.

Agree? Disagree?