Orb

[miff]

Bee,

Re Phipps/Janney,disingenuous phonies,called out by TAP after using lasix on the \"moved up\" ORB while railing against Lasix for many months.Blowhard Phipps would tell anyone who would listen that the cheats,indirect shot at TAP,are using illegal stuff which is why the slow one paced Phipps slugs were no factor for years.

Data Link,Point Of Entry,Orb put Phipps back in game of late.Gov Andrew had his elitist rear end banished from NYRA Board where his influence was over bearing on NY racing and the elistist Jockey Club.

Mike

[magicnight]

Ease up on the sugar coating, Mike. Don\'t want people thinking you have gone soft.

And you meant Andrew, not poppa, yes?

Bob

[miff]

Magic,


Just a NY guy calling a spade a spade.Gov.Andrew picked up the original fight of dad Mario who failed to break up the Upstate Republican wasp elitists who controlled NY racing for many years.NY Racing Game very much in neutral now Bob,poor upside, poker etc stole racing\'s gambling lunch, so to speak, while the elitists Lords Of Racing were asleep at the wheel.

New head of NYRA racing to bring governance, okie dokie.Presently nothing of note on the players side happening, no take out review, no transparency issues et al. Several committees appointed on horse safety,surface review, some stuff on medication rules.That should really spike attendance and handle!!

Gov.Andrew has a firm death grip on NY racing/gambling with all of his hand picked people in power on a day to day basis. Not very good for racing Bob, a Gov. who would not even come to acknowledge the great NY tradition of the Travers where many of us \"regular\" people are.

Two very wealthy friends on mine are knee deep in NY racing(app $120 million invested) are very concerned that Gov. Andrew could throw racing under the bus without hesitation for political reasons,as early as tomorrow.

Mike

[miff]

Orb fans, please bet \"extra\" on Saturday.

DRF:Mike Welch

INDIANTOWN, Fla. – One visit to Payson Park and it's easy to see why Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey has used the training center located approximately 90 miles north of Gulfstream Park as his major base of operations in south Florida for the past 30 years.

One horse who has enjoyed the wide-open spaces and crisp, clean air at Payson Park as much as any this winter has been Orb. Already virtually assured of a spot in this year's Kentucky Derby field as a result of the 50 points he earned for his victory in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, Orb will go off among the favorites along with Itsmyluckyday and Shanghai Bobby in Saturday's $1 million Florida Derby.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

With co-owner Dinny Phipps in attendance, Orb had his final tune-up for the Florida Derby on Monday morning at Payson, breezing four furlongs under regular exercise rider Jenn Patterson in 48.89 seconds in company with stablemate Overwhelming. The pair went along as a team through a 24.68-second opening quarter-mile, with Orb asserting his superiority through the final furlong, finishing willingly without the need of any encouragement before galloping out a strong five-eighths in 1:01.29. He barely took a deep breath upon returning to the barn several minutes later, looking fresh, cool, and like he could go right back out and do it all over again.

"I was tickled to death with the work," said McGaughey. "He was just galloping, I thought he galloped out really, really well. I think we're in good shape."

[FLORIDA DERBY: Get PPs, watch Saturday\'s full card live]

McGaughey said being at Payson has been a big plus for Orb, who he says has grown and gotten even stronger since his victory in the Fountain of Youth.

"I think it's really helped him since he shipped down for the winter," said McGaughey. "I could see the difference the first time we worked him here. And the conditions are so good. It was already 77 degrees and humid when I left home early this morning, and now it's at least 10 degrees cooler with no humidity at all."

Although Orb is among the favorites for both the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby, neither McGaughey nor his owner are looking beyond the Florida Derby just yet.

"I'm one who doesn't get Derby fever," said Phipps, who owns Orb in partnership with Stuart Janney III. "I won't have any thoughts about that until we see what happens on Saturday. We'll know after Saturday how good he is. We're not going to go to the Derby unless we think he belongs. I don't want to run in the Derby just to be an also-ran."

[magicnight]

Mike, while we often differ on issues, I always appreciate the way you call a spade a spade. And here we generally agree. This is a Hobson\'s choice. The people who brought New York racing to its sorry state, versus the elected official who will take it god knows where. Both options stink, and I don\'t see any \"third way\". If I had significant sums tied up in NY racing, I would not be sleeping great. - Bob