Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the winner

[derby1592]

Just like most of you, I love to try and beat the favorite. But I am not going to try and beat this one. If he stays sound, I just don\'t see anybody outrunning Empire Maker in the Derby. His Florida Derby was as impressive as any Derby prep I have ever seen. It brought back memories of great performances by horses such as Easy Goer, Sunday Silence and Spectacular Bid. I am not saying that Empire Maker is in that league yet but it is very hard to find a chink in his armor at this point. He is fast (probably ridiculously fast), bred to get the distance, has tactical speed and has the right connections.

We will have to see how Bobby Frankel\'s three year olds will hold together under the latest quantum improvement in his training methods but if Empire Maker stays sound, it looks like the sky is the limit and that racing just may have the superstar it yearns for and perhaps its first Triple Crown winner in 25 years...

Chris

[mbeychok]

Great minds think alike. I look forward to the Derby every year because it usually presents a great betting situation to bet against the favorite. Looking at the Florida Derby performance of Empire Maker and knowing that breeding comes into play on the first Sat. in May makes me believe, like Chris, that he is going to be tough to beat regardless of what prep/no prep he uses. It would be interesting to look at M\'doro\'s line from last year to see if his form held up prior to Derby. Aptitude was a late bloomer, (whom I bet on) while I bet heavily against M\'Doro last year. Can\'t remember what his line looked like but I think he had a string of low numbers heading into the Derby that I thought he couldn\'t reproduce. Now, though, with the new \"training method\" Frankel has obviously discovered, all bets are off concerning a reaction to the numbers. Chris, do you have M\'doro\'s line and Aptitude\'s line to look at? It would be interesting to compare.

Michael