Probably have to add Roberto Duran to this list. The \"Hands of Stone\" was champion
lightweight/welterweight/middleweight if I am not mistaken. He split two fights
with Leonard, was beaten by both Hearns and Hagler.

Rich

If the purpose was to identify \"bet against\" opportunities at the BC, I would
think the focus would be on more likely usual New Age suspects C. Appleby, C.
Brown and Godolphin. And what to do with anything ridden by Jo-El Rosario who is
having a difficult year?

Totally unrelated, a previous post noted Steve Asmussen\'s cold streak. Looking at
Kee Sat PPs, Asmussen is 37 5-6-4. His son is 1/16. and I am assuming most if not
all of these mounts is for Father Steve.

The pre entries snuck up on me and I have some catching up to do.

Fairmount1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The last 4 BC\'s in California:  2016 Santa Anita,
> 2017 Del Mar, 2019 Santa Anita, 2021 Del Mar
>
> ______________________
>
> By my count and no warranties if I made a mistake
> but I think I have it accurate.
>
> Baffert\'s Record During That time in only BC races
> for the 2-day event.
>
> 25-3-6-4
>
Can I play along? Because you know I am a big BoBaffle fan.

QUERY: For the same set of races how many other trainers saddled 25 starters?
How many of these trainers with 25 starters had nine or more runners in the
exacta? I am curious but certainly not involved enough to research this myself.

I could not expect that BB\'s stellar \"regular season\" record at SA and Del Mar
would be duplicated when (a) large fields (b) of runners from the top levels of
racing are participating in the two day event.

Checking a DRF article on the BC Classic, a full field of 14 expected.

Article says that due to NBC\'s college football obligations (I smell Notre Dame)
the BC Classic will NOT be final BC race of the day. The Turf Sprint and Sprint
will FOLLOW the Classic.

The Turf Sprint and Sprint will apparently be shown on FanDuel TV f/k/a TVG but
not on NBC.

Back in Zach (he aint no Cadillac).

When Aaron Rodgers went down last night, I immediately thought of the AC/DC
classic \"Back in Black\". NYJ fans are back to Zach

The Rodgers injury confirms the longstanding tale that the Jets are a cursed
franchise. I could tie this to the rumors that the fix was in for Supe III,
that the Baltimore Colts tanked, that large sums were bet, that Broadway Joe
Namath drank so much during the days leading up to Supe III that even Fairmount
may have been impressed.

So fellow cursed J-E-T-S fans: Who had a longer tenure with the NYJ? Rodgers as
QB or Belechick as HC?

This does end a long debate I have had with NYJ fans: Number 8 in your program
is the best QB ever to take the field for the Jets. Namath was a folk hero,
tough as nails, a great leader but statistically does not belong in HOF.

Yeah I\'m still mad about the cold blustery day that my dad dragged me to Shea
to watch the NYJ. Great seats -- we were closer to the jets landing at
LaGuardia than we were to the Jets on the field. Namath threw five picks and
the Broncos made easy work of the home team.

Backing up Zach: The fun name that came up was Blake Bortles. He had thrown a
bunch of pick sixes and was asked at a press conference what he planned to do
about it; his answer was that he planned to work on his tackling technique.

jerry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What was/is most striking about her success lately
> has been the number of jump ups after horses were
> switched to her barn. Did you miss that part?

I will try again. FACT: Linda Rice has been a leading trainer--sometimes THE
leading trainer--at multiple NYRA meets.

Once again off the turf racing likely cost Chad the outright training title.
How many Chad horses were scratched in off the turf races? How many Linda Rice
MTOs won? The facts are out there.

More so than the other NYRA top trainers--Brown, Pletcher, Mott, Clement--Rice
is heavily involved in the claiming game. She could not have had the success
she has enjoyed without being able to move horses up.

Like PDub says, facts or statistics always welcome.

jerry Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's still a cold case.
>
> Racing has gotten weird. Linda Rice? Move ups?
> Winning off of one weeks rest? Tying for the
> trainers title? 26% win clip? That's not
> coincidence.

Ah yes Linda Rice one hit wonder/overnight sensation. Took out her license in
1987, over 2000 winners, has been leading trainer at all three NYRA venues
(including Saratoga 2009).I also think she was leading trainer last four meets
held at NYRA.

I think what you meant to say is that Linda benefitted from the record number
of off the turf races; if even half of those races stayed on grass Chad
likely wins outright.

On a much more local scale, Compliance was a son of Northern Dancer who was winless in 3 starts.

Compliance sired Fourstardave and Fourstars Allstar, both of whom proved rather durable.

Let me be the second to congratulate you!
 
All back on Gunite based on the weights?

Fairmount1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> And in a few text strings I\'ve told people that
> last night at Fairmount, two separate trainers
> told me that they see the future of the game as
> TJC/HISA/CDI (now Stronach today) eliminating as
> many small and mid tracks as possible.  

Add to your alphabet soup the letters \"ESG\". If publicly held CDI runs afoul of
activist shareholders with an ESG agenda CD racing could be \"Singapore Slung\"?

https://www.bloodhorse.com/stallion-register/stallions/166534/violence (sorry I seemed to have posted a \"dead\" link).

No secret that Tapit has been the dominant Belmont Stakes sire over the past few
years, having produced four Belmont winners since 2014.

Forte is by Violence. Violence\'s stallion page is linked above. Go to the Equibase
statistical summary on that page and check out Violence\'s average winning distance
numbers. Looking at the bottom of the page, one can compare Violence\'s numbers to
other Hill N Dale stallions such as Curlin, Ghostzapper, Good Magic, Midnight Lute
and Mucho Macho Man. One will notice that the average distance stats, both
starting and winning, seem to range from mid 6 to mid 7; Tapit\'s page not
surprisingly shows an index in the high 7s.

Has Forte already outrun his pedigree? Do you trust a son of Violence to get that
extra 1/8th mile in the Belmont?

Not pretending to be Tesio or Rasmussen, just saying.

I would have attached TG Violence sire stats but am restoring access to TG info in a
piecemeal fashion it seems.

I have great memories of Churchill Downs from long ago. Some of the best memories
are softball games we used to play in the CD infield before the turf course was
installed. AJ Foyt\'s annual backstretch barbecue on Derby Day. Being introduced to Nelson
Bunker Hunt and his daughters in the clubhouse on the day Genuine Risk won the
Derby.

The Churchill Downs of the present has a lovely record: everything they touch
either meets the wrecker\'s ball or turns into a sh--show.

More turf racing an interesting proposition but CD has had huge problems
maintaining the turf course at Fair Grounds and I will reoffer my free advice:
Just pick a local landscaper out of the Yellow Pages and let them try their
luck, they can not do any worse than the \"professionals\" CD has had to maintain
the grass course at FG.

Would a switch to SYNTHETIC kill racing? Not as quickly as PETA or politicians
can if drugs and equine deaths dominate the racing headlines.

Keen Ice by Curlin who is by Smart Strike. The Derby winner\'s dam is by Smart
Strike. I think the breeders have a technical name for an equine so closely bred
but it involves numbers and I find it confusing.

When Tapit\'s final count as a stallion is in, I would like to look closely at
Smart Strike\'s record as a stallion compared to Tapit\'s. Smart Strike was leading
sire in 2007 and 2008; in 2007 he produced BC winners English Channel and Curlin.

A great Derby ride and a great story, but Shoemaker on Ferdinand remains the best
Derby ride I\'ve seen.

Bellamy Road negative 5 TG (I think 120 Beyer) in the Wood.

Next weekend Wood, Blue Grass, Masters??