Bobby Frankel walks by Nick Zito\'s Shedrow at Churchill Downs two days before the Derby and sees Nick and Todd Pletcher talking softly in a private conversation:

Bobby: \"Howyadoin\"

Pletcher: \"Howyadoin\"

Zito: \"Howyadoin\"

Bobby: \"The heat is on boys, hows a wiseguy suppose to support his family these days?\"

Pletcher: \"Tellmeaboutit, just try finding a goddamn race worth more than 100,000 that aint a Grade III\"

Zito: ---Rolls his eyes and kicks at the backside dirt

Bobby: \"Todd, remember when i rigged that B.C. race for Ghostsprinter by having a talk with old man Ramsey and convincing him if he let me slip off we would be 1-2 at the end?\"

Pletcher: \"Fuhgedabout it Bobbi, that was genius, pure fucking genuis. But hows running 1 - 2 in a 75K race gonna pay for our dinners with the State Horseracing Board commissioners let alone pay our stable help and feed our families? My daughter wants the latest BMW 7 series, you know what I\'m saying?\"

Zito: --Shakes his head and kicks at the backside dirt.

Bobby: \"Fuhgedabout it, my girlfriend wants a new hummer and I told her ** *** **** ** **** ***** \"

Zito:-- Frowns and kicks the backside dirt

Bobby: \"Hear me out on this, what I\'m thinking is that you and I and Nicky here, we run 1 - 2 - 3....

Zito: -- Scratches his head and kicks the backside dirt

Bobby: \"....but....we run 1 - 2 - 3 in different races...SEE!\"

Pletcher: \"You sonofabitch, you may have hit on something there\"

Zito: -- Looks up expectantly with a quizzical look on his face.

Bobby: \"Exactly, we bogart every race in the country with a big purse that aint a grade III or higher, but we take our turns at em!\"

Zito: -- Smiles and straightens himself up

Pletcher: -- \"Well what about the fact that owners only shell out the big bucks and send the best horses to the guys that win the Grade I\'s like we use to? If we ain\'t winning them we aint gonna get the horses and the owners will send em to guys like Shug and Kimmel and Tagg and Lukas and we\'ll be left with cheap horses that can\'t even win ungraded stakes with our help\"

Bobby: \"Dammit, I hadn\'t thought of that. Goddamn law enforcment interferring with the working man trying to make an honest days pay\"

Pletcher: \"Exactly\"

Zito: -- Slumps his shoulders and kicks at the backside dirt.

jbelfior: Ctc--

You need some sleep.


Good Luck,
Joe B.