A quick rundown on some Preakness weekend moments of note.- Part 1

[Fairmount1]

Complete Post Attached.

Have you read the article on Gosger\'s namesake by Paulick Report.  Today, I was wondering who is the “real” Gosger (I am too young to know it turns out) and why was the horse named Gosger and luckily someone did all the leg work.  The line about what Satchel Paige said to him was really a cool moment in the New York Mets\' (Met\'s?) life.  Worth reading the article by cutting and pasting the address below.    

https://paulickreport.com/news/triple-crown/gosger-hopes-namesake-hits-home-run-in-preakness

Despite Gosger not winning, this year\'s Derby and Preakness will always be connected to Uncle Bill as I\'ve documented.  What a terrific race on all fronts including the disputed issues of what exactly happened in the Stretch Run.  At that moment, I believed there was no way Gosger could lose.  Once again, Journalism really didn\'t make up much ground in the Turn but his Stretch run is devestating and once extricated from the trouble, he streamrolled home.  Sand Man was ahead of him at one point . . . and look where they both finished . . . Wow!  If Gosger holds, I have a Huge weekend.  It still turned out just fine as I only used the top 2 in my Preakness wagers for the win spot.  I had checked the exactas a few minutes prior to the race and went and played an extra one for 20 bucks 9-2 and was stunned with the payout of 2-9 which I had 50 bucks worth.  A text string with several TG guys noted immediately afterward the late major hit on the Exacta well before Boscar\'s post, the radio show this morning, etc.  FrankD, jimbo, Belmont3, trackjohn all were on it immediately.

Not being able to call Uncle Bill this morning to congratulate the horse\'s terrific run was a gut punch.  So, FrankD has to do for now.  Actually from now on.  I think we both see it this way

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[Fairmount1]

Thanks for posting this to the TG team.  Much appreciated.

[toppled]

Don\'t forget Baeza. Sovereignty & Journalism should be close in odds, but 3rd choice will almost certainly be Baeza & none of them will be 4/5.  Now I may be wrong since I never saw Journalism more than 3/5 at Pimlico & he went off at even money, but the lesson I learned was don\'t count on a Triple Crown race to have an odds on favorite. In the Belmont even more so, since another horse in the same race just beat him head to head.

[Fairmount1]

Toppled,

I didn\'t forget Baeza (maybe I was being coy)!

His gallop out in his last two have him ahead of Journalism.  He lost the SA Derby by 3/4 and galloped out past him.  Then lost to Journalism for 2nd by a neck in the Derby and galloped out past him and Sovereignty.  

But I see him as 5-2 or 3-1.  As for Triple Crown races and win odds, the Preakness has been a strange place resulting in depressed odds on longshots in the win pool and with no real explanation ever satisfying me.  But these two (Derby and Preakness winners) have strong credentials that should put them in that EVEN Money (Journalism) and Under 2-1 (Sovereignty) neighborhood respectively.  One excuse for Journalism in the Derby in that head-to-head you mention is the Mud.  Sovereignty does have the 5 weeks of rest so maybe they are closer in price than I anticipate but I give the anticipated nod for favoritism to Journalism after that Stretch run, some big back Beyers which heavily influence the win pool on TC races, and the Preakness Stretch Run.  

Of note, he made up 5 1/4 Lengths I think I read from 1/8 pole.  The largest margin ever made up prior to that since charts were created for Preakness was 4 Lengths by Carry Back.  The charts were first created in 1909 I think I read.  

I am hoping the showdown along with Baeza and others does happen.  Should make for a heck of a Belmont card that day.    

It has been nice reading some serious posts in these parts lately.  Hope it continues.

[johnnym]

Rodriguez if he goes could be sneaky as he might be the only speed.
Has only one workout since the scratch from the derby in a very un Baffert time.

Good Luck
John

[jbelfior]

I\'m thinking Rodriquez more likely to point to the Haskell.


Good Luck,
Joe B.

[Socalman3]

Really like that piece by the Paulick Report.  They do great work.

Steve Cohen should arrange for the Mets to give the guy his 1969 World Series ring.  He deserves it.  Too bad it wasn\'t last year\'s Preakness -- Ed Kranepool would have still been around to vouch for Gosger giving him his World Series share.

Guy played on both the \'69 Mets and the \'73 Mets. Plus three teams that no longer exist -- including one that only existed one year -- Seattle Pilots.

[shanahan]

ah, yes....the Seatle Pilots.  I must re-read Ball Four...funniest book I ever read, was in 4th grade.  Steve Barber would\'ve been the \"big horse\", Jim Bouton (author) would have been Sandman - good one day, who knows the next - but Barney Schultz can only be Baffert (Justify is 6/6, Lou Brock is 20 / 20...)  great memories of reading that.
Minor league affiliate was the Hawaiian Islanders and as Bouton\'s roommate (can\'t remember name) famously asked \"if we get called back up to the majors, can we decline?\"

[BB]

Shanny, you mean (Pilot\'s manager) Joe Schultz, yes? The guy who had two go-to combo-curses (sh**-fu** & fu**-sh**)?

Was Bouton\'s roommate that space-cadet outfielder named Steve Hovely? The one who shaved his head because he wanted to treat all of his hairs equally? Yeah, landmark book for baseball fans of a certain vintage.

[johnnym]

https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/rispoli-defends-his-preakness-ride/

[Roman]

https://paulickreport.com/news/triple-crown/quit-riding-him-like-a-rented-mule-steve-asmussen-slams-umberto-rispolis-preakness-ride

The Ass man says Rispoli rode him like a rented donkey.

[HP]

The Ball Four story had a good ending, I worked with Michael for awhile.

\"On June 21, 1998, (Father\'s Day) Bouton\'s oldest son Michael wrote an open letter to the Yankees, which was published in The New York Times, in which Michael described the agony of his father following the August 1997 death of Michael\'s sister Laurie at age 31, with Michael wishing that the Yankees would invite Bouton to their Old Timers Game on July 25 (he noted Yogi Berra\'s decision to not participate in the game as long as George Steinbrenner was owner, but he cited it as just as petty for Berra to spite Steinbrenner as it is for Steinbrenner to spite Bouton). Not long after, the Yankees elected to invite him to the Old Timers Game. On July 25, 1998, Bouton, sporting his familiar number 56, received a standing ovation when he took the mound at Yankee Stadium.

HP

[TGJB]

What I remember about the book is Doug Rader frantic that the game is being called for rain because “my greenies are just kicking in”.

Triviaâ€" without looking it up, what film was Bouton in?

[Rich Curtis]

Putting this board on the honor system is like putting Jim Bouton in a confessional.

[t_fin]

A cameo with one of my favorite actors in a film by one of my favorite directors in one of my favorite movies of all time!