Samuel Clemens and the Hooters Girls

[richiebee]

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.

[girly]

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.