The Top Ten "Thriller" List According to Sports Illustrated

Yesterday Sports Illustrated published its top ten thrill list.
In reverse order:

10. Man O War
9. Cigar
8. Funny Cide
7. Affirmed and Alydar
6. Silky Sullivan
5. Steve Cauthen
4. Raise A Native
3. Seabiscuit
2. Dr. Fager
1. Secretariat

According to the magazine:

These lists are not mere compilations of all-time bests in their respective sports but all-time bests at quickening the pulse and evoking a visceral response from those fortunate enough to have witnessed their artistry.

The first thing that comes to mind is that whoever compiled this list has the same pharmacist as Michael Jackson. Where to begin? Steve Cauthen (#5) is the only jockey on the list, I'd have to say that Cordero made my pulse race more times than Cauthen. Funny Cide(#8) are they kidding? Raise a Native (#4) I have to admit I never saw him run but I never saw Man O War (#10) run either but I am inclined to rate him above Raise A Native.

They are inviting comments on the lists and this one about why horse racing has a list and swimming doesn't should warm all our hearts.

It is disappointing and utterly absurd that horse racing has a thrill list and swimming does not. I cannot believe that SI chooses to put barnyard animals above a sport that just produced the greatest athletic performance of all time this past Olympics. Not only that but horse racing requires no athleticism on the part of the humans riding them. There are many exciting and great athletes not on this list and instead of considering them SI puts horses on there. While we are at it can we have a list for dog racing and dog shows, because clearly they are viewed as more athletic than gymnasts, swimmers, and cyclists. No wonder Rick Reilly left.

The Man From Maddoxtown

Yesterday’s post about the funeral of Man O War prompted Peter over at Kentuckydvds.com to share a few Man O War related-photographs he took on his last trip to Kentucky.

Including this one of Man O War's stall at Mt. Brilliant Farm (formerly Faraway Farm) and the grave of Man O War's groom, Will Harbut.

This article in Kentucky Humanities documents Harbut's life and the history of the Kentucky Freetowns which were established by slaves after the civil war. Maddoxtown where Harbut's descendants still live was one of these Freetowns.

Interestingly the Harbut family turned down an invitation to have Will Harbut buried alongside Man O War when he was moved to the the Kentucky Horse Park.

We all know that many racehorses do not have the dignity in retirement and death that Man O War has.

That's why Peter makes regular trips to the Kentucky stud farms to film the farms and their famous residents. His latest DVD features visits to Lane's End (Curlin, Smart Strike), Airdrie Stud (Stevie Wonderboy, Brother Derek) and many others.

The DVD also includes some great footage of Funny Cide, who is apparently smart enough to come in out of the rain and another New Mexico native, named Peppers Pride who now resides in the Blue Grass state.

All proceeds from the DVD benefit Old Friends and Our Mims Retirement Haven.

The Grand Send Off

When it comes to grand send offs, Michael Jackson's funeral today will be remembered for a long time and deservedly so.

When a racing great like Secretariat or Ruffian dies, a rare few actually witness the burial.

That was not the case when Man O War died in 1947. The "mostest hoss' that ever lived was given a funeral fit for a king.

The Daily Undertaker tells the story of Man O War's funeral.

This Is Philadelphia, Right?

After slots were approved here in PA, I was shocked and appalled at how Greenwood Racing, which runs Philadelphia Park, butchered the grandstand to accommodate the slots parlor.

Further proof that Greenwood has very little interest in the racing product could be found yesterday.

With the slots money pouring in and being named after the city that is the birthplace of the nation, you would think that Philadelphia Park would have an appropriately named stakes race as the feature on Independence Day instead of this.

The management, in its infinite wisdom, is running a stakes race tomorrow, when we are all back at work. They will be running the $200,000 Dr. James Penny Memorial which should attract quite a crowd of retired people, maybe 100 or more.

July 4, 1972

President Nixon vacations at the western White House at San Clemente and issues a statement about the bicentennial celebrations four years hence. Nixon assumes he will preside over them, should he win re-election in the fall of 1972.

He does, but Watergate gets in the way, he resigns in August 1974.

The Rolling Stones appear at RFK stadium in Washington D.C.to support their new album, Exile on Main Street released the previous May.

Meanwhile in New York, a colt named Secretariat makes his first start, finishing fourth after encountering traffic.

A Sport Without Sportsmanship

When Mike Tyson bit off Evander Holyfield’s ear I thought I had seen the nadir in sportsmanship, it made John McEnroe’s boorish outbursts on the court seem harmless by comparison. Yet both were harbingers of a decline in sportsmanship whose most common symptoms these days are the riots that are all too common after one championship game or another. The best you can say about racing is that a bunch of old guys watching TV monitors are not inclined to riot; the best you could hope for is a fire in a garbage can.

Now the current Rachel-Zenyatta standoff doesn’t rank up there with Tyson or McEnroe, but for racing it highlights the continuing decline of sportsmanship. Without sportsmanship could there have been a Man o War vs. Sir Barton, War Admiral vs. Seabsicuit or even a Foolish Pleasure vs. Ruffian?

Everyone would like to know who is the better mare. But the better question is why two otherwise highly competitive entrepreneurs (Moss and Jackson) have become whining excusologists, more interested in distracting us with the shortcomings of synthetic tracks and detention barns than trying to find out who is the better mare.

The quick, easy and obvious answer is that racing isn’t a sport; it’s an industry, an industry driven in the last 25 years by the Breeders Cup and its commercial breeding implications. These implications have warped the fabric of the game to the point where the “regular” season for many top horses is 4 or 5 starts prior to the Breeders Cup. This single minded focus has virtually destroyed any possibility for sportsmanship and spontaneity that might benefit the game in the short run, like the possibility of seeing a Rachel vs. Zenyatta match up this summer.

They can try to fix the game by fixing the surfaces, they can try to save the game by trying to fix the horses (if the commercial breeders would consider it) but if they don’t come up with a way to fix the corrosive effects of the Breeders Cup there won’t be a lot left to fix soon.

Hulu 101

I stumbled on a lot of TVG videos over on Hulu (Sports/gaming channel) for those of you who don't get TVG or HRTV, like me. It's pretty basic stuff but it's all new to me.

From Ruffian to Rachel

To put Rachel Alexandra's performance in perspective, take a moment and compare it to Ruffian's. Ruffian won it on the lead setting moderate fractions, Rachel from off a torrid pace but the end result was the same, awesome.

Rachel Alexandra

Ruffian

I think it was Jack Benny who said "modesty is my best quality" which of course was meant to be a joke. I laughed then and I laughed when I read this:

"How about that!" co-owner Jess Jackson exclaimed. "I am a modest guy. I was hoping for maybe 10 lengths. She is a special filly, she is a champion, she is a lady.

Can you buy modesty? Cause if you could, I would suggest that Jess get out his checkbook but at least he was right about Rachel!

Dead Men Still Sell Cars: The Resurrection of Roy Chapman

I have always thought that ads that use dead celebrities to sell products are creepy and manipulative, besides being distasteful.

These type of ads starting appearing in the 90s; one of the first ones featured Paula Abdul dancing with Gene Kelly selling diet Coke. There was John Wayne selling Coors and now Orville Redenbacher has been resurrected with this Orville-like zombie pitching popcorn.

Here in the Philadelphia area Roy Chapman, who died in 2006, was well known before Smarty Jones came along because of his nine car dealerships. When he died one of his employees described him this way.

"Chappy has been the cornerstone of this organization for the past 33 years, and his legacy will live on for generations to come."

I guess they really meant that. Over the years, the Chapman group has used the Smarty Jones connection to sell cars. John Servis even did an ad for the dealership.

But now in what is a new low for local advertising, the Chapman dealerships have resurrected Roy, embedding a decades old ad into a new one to hawk cars from beyond the grave.

Geez, everybody knows car sales are bad but do the commercials to get you in the showroom have to be in bad taste too?

A Glimpse Inside the World of Cynthia Phipps

The auction of the furnishings from Cynthia Phipps Long Island estate offers a rare glimpse inside the world of one of racing's most prominent families.

Phipps, the daughter of Ogden Phipps and sister to Dinny Phipps died from injuries sustained in a fire in her Manhattan apartment back in 2007.

She campaigned champion Christmas Past and Versailles Treaty among others.

Her Long Island mansion went on the market last spring for $13 million and sold three months later for $9 million. Items being offered at auction include furnishing from that house including art, furniture and some of the trophies Phipps inherited from her father, other family members and won on her own.

Some of the more notable items include a portrait of Oedipus(lot 67), the 1951 steeplechase triple crown winner campaigned by her mother and painted by noted artist Franklin B. Voss, racing's finest painter in the era before Richard Stone Reeves.

There is also a watercolor by noted English painter Alfred Munnings, he would be the namesake of Woody Stevens winner Munnings, I would guess.

The most significant trophies offered are the one Personal Ensign (lot 87) received for winning the Shuvee Handicap in 1988, Singh's 1975 Jersey Derby trophy, one of Gold Fever's and one of Versailles Treaty's.

A good number of her father's minor trophies are included in the sale but as you might guess none of Buckpasser's trophies are offered (just a couple of black and white photos). I would guess Dinny Phipps got all the important ones. One unattached trophy plaque won by Bold Ruler is included, (lot 100), maybe Dinny missed that one.

Days of Future Pools Passed

When Andy Warhol said "in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes" I doubt he knew how widespread that saying would become because it was so true. He was referring to how fleeting fame can be and nothing drives that point home better than to look back at some of the online horse betting in the future pools for the Kentucky Derby.

The most telling thing about the Derby futures pools was that not one of the classic winners was ever an individual betting interest in any pool and most individual interests never made it to the gate.

Nonetheless as the pools progressed, the certainly that the winner was one of the individual interests strengthened; all others went from 9-5 in pool 1 to 17-1 in pool 3. If you had all others you had Mine That Bird at somewhere between 9-5 and 17-1, not as good as the 50-1 but better than not cashing a ticket.

Pool 1: As expected the field was made the favorite at 9-5. Old Fashioned had yet to make his first start but closed as the pool's second choice at 7-1. Pioneerof the Nile, winner of the Robert Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita on February 14, was next at odds of 13-1. Only six of the 23 individual interests in pool 1 made it to the gate.

Pool 2: All others closed as the 9-2 favorite, Dunkirk bubbles to the top as the 7-1 second choice. Louisiana Derby winner Friesan Fire and Rebel Stakes runner-up Old Fashioned, both closed at odds of 8-1. Only nine of the 23 individual interests in pool 2 made it to the gate

Pool 3; I Want Revenge, who was 54-1 in pool 1 closes pool 3 as the favorite off his Wood Memorial win at 9-2. Quality Road is 6-1 and Friesan Fire the most consistent performer all spring is 8-1, while doubts about Pioneerof the Nile’s poly campaign push him up to 9-1. Only 11 individual interests in pool 3 actually made it to the gate.

But as Andy said, 50 days after the Derby, for almost all of the individual interests, your fifteen minutes are up.

Churchill Under The Stars

Some images of the first night time program at Churchill which attracted a crowd of 28,000. Photos courtesy of Churchill Downs.

Beating Up Dachshunds

The announcement that Rachel Alexandra is “healthy rested and ready to run” in the Mother Goose leaves me under whelmed.

First there is the strange idea of a Preakness winner making its next start in the Mother Goose. If that isn’t strange enough there is the idea that after the Kentucky Oaks and Preakness the idea of Rachel Alexandra returning to compete against her own sex seems redundant and unsportsmanlike all at the same time.

Sure she could bounce but the Mother Goose is more likely to resemble a greyhound racing against a bunch of dachshunds than a horse race.

Whether she wins or loses the Mother Goose, or the CCA Oaks, or the Alabama really isn’t going to change anything, championship wise.

The Preakness was as historic as it was a game changer. Going back to beating up dachshunds when historic possibilities exist is a waste of an extraordinary talent, one that doesn’t come along very often.

Meanwhile the situation with Zenyatta’s amounts to pretty much the same thing, beating up a group of dachshunds very similar to the ones she beat up last year in the same series of races.

The conditions this year like few in recent memory are right for the rebirth of the match race. Some may say that match races between fillies have tended to become historical footnotes and that may be partially true; 1972’s Convenience vs. Typecast has fared better over time than 1974’s Chris Evert vs. Miss Musket (which you can’t even find it on You Tube).

But this year presents an opportunity for the sport to finally exorcise the ghost of Ruffian and who better to do that than another great three year old filly, Rachel Alexandra.

It’s obvious that neither of these two has anything to prove against others of their own sex and everything to prove against each other. It something the sport needs and sportsmanship requires.

Inside the Mind of Edward Evans

With Quality Road now in the barn of Todd Pletcher I wonder what Edward Evans thinks Todd can do with the horse that Jerkens did not.

Four starts, three wins, including a Grade One and Two. What was Jerkens doing that was wrong?

Chris Baker, the farm manager for Evans said "Mr. Evans was appreciative of the job Jimmy did for us."

Really? It's a funny way to show appreciation if you ask me.

Meydan Video

This video was posted on YouTube a few weeks ago, it's only been viewed about 15 times, I guess I am one of the few interested in this.

Casting Against Type

I can’t say I am looking forward to the Disney-fication of the Secretariat story. Racing movies, with the exception of Seabiscuit are usually painful for real fans to watch, after being dumbed down so as to not tax the minds of a mass audience.

Seabiscuit avoided this trap and did a great job integrating the rivalry with War Admiral into the story.

The recent Ruffian TV movie was unwatchable in my opinion because Foolish Pleasure was not integrated into the story line very well.

It’s sad to say but the cartoon Racing Stripes was as interesting a movie as most of them. Why? Because the lead character (a zebra who thinks he is a race horse) played against type.

From what I can glean so far, the movie is as much about Penny Chenery as it is about Secretariat. It will tell the story of how she was yanked from a life of patrician housewifery to manage the Meadow Stable. This approach, if it’s true, is the first red flag. I have always felt that Secretariat’s story is more about Lucien Laurin, Ron Turcotte and Eddie Sweat than Penny Chenery. I hope that Sham, Frank Martin and Sigmund Sommer are not left out of the mix as they certainly added suspense and color to the original story.

The casting of Diane Lane as Chenery seems uninspired; I would have preferred someone edgier like Glenn Close who actually pursued the role, or Susan Sarandon.

Casting Lucien Laurin is going to be tough but again I think casting against type would be a good idea. Someone as unlikely as Leslie Jordan would be a great fit. Jordan is a perfect physical type and since he is primarily known from his roles in Will and Grace, Boston Public and Sordid Lives, Jordan would create an element of surprise most people would not expect.

And how about Chris Rock as Eddie Sweat, whose colorful wardrobes on race day were the source of some tension with prim and proper Chenery. Joe Talamo as Ron Turcotte would add a youthful energy to the film that it is going to need.

If it gets the usual treatment, it’s likely the Secretariat movie will wind up resembling something you might see on Lifetime. I hope not and let’s hope some details, like the Champagne disqualification and the improbable Wood and Whitney losses don’t wind up on the editing room floor either.

Da'Tara - The Sequel

You could have called it the Test of the Champion if Mine That Bird had won it, but not this year.

For the fourth fifth time in this decade the Test of the Champion produced a winner with questionable credentials to be called a champion. Will Summer Bird become another Classic flash in the pan like Commendable, Jazil, Sarava and Da'Tara? I would bet on it.

Whether a Triple Crown is on the line or not, the Belmont more and more resembles an episode of the Twilight Zone. The race has become a strange anachronism with even stranger results; Commendable, Jazil and now Summer Bird all had but a maiden win prior to their Classic win.

Like Jazil who made his distance tendencies very clear when he came from out of the clouds in both the Wood Memorial and Derby; Summer Bird made it pretty clear he would relish the extra distance, closing like a rocket in both the Arkansas Derby to be third and making a seven wide move in the Kentucky Derby to come from 16th to finish 6th. Hence the 11-1 odds on on a horse sporting only a maiden win. If only Jess Jackson had waited to send Rachel Alexandra in the Belmont; he might have been 50-1.

Enough Already Kent, We Know You Want a Job With the Network:

Is it me or did anyone else notice how much Kent Desormeaux plays to the camera during the post parades? During every post parade on ESPN you could count on Kent to look into the camera, smile and gesture to the millions watching. By the time the Belmont post parade came along, I was expecting him to either pull that spoon he swallowed sideways last year out of his ass or jump up on Summer’s Bird’s back and start singing New York New York.

If I didn’t know better I would swear Kent is jockeying for a network job. I hope he gets it, Gary and Jerry can put you to sleep.

Bring Back Triumph the Insult Comic Dog:

If you watched the network coverage last year the comic relief was provided by Triumph, whose potty mouthed humor and acerbic observations were the highlight of the broadcast. I guess Triumph was too funny, original and close to the truth for a racing broadcast. He was not back this year.

Instead we were subjected to Kenny Mayne and Chip Wooley’s version of Midnight Cowboy. In this version Ratso Rizzo, played by Kenny Mayne, dies a slow comedic death in a pick up truck on the Belmont backstretch instead of a bus on its way to Miami. The skit proved two things. Wooley can act (a little) and Kenny Mayne is getting as tired as Hank Goldberg and the rest of ABC’s formulaic programming.

Carol Cedeno Resurfaces

Carol Cedeno who made some waves back in 2007 at Philadelphia Park before moving on to better things at Aqueduct has reappeared in the entries here at Philadelphia.

The rumor mill was abuzz that she had a baby, I can't confirm or deny that but she is back; her mount in the 6th at Philadelphia Park today finished out of the money.

The Slumdogs of Nad al Sheba

Here's another one of those horror stories about Dubai, with a connection to racing, that never seems to make it into the racing press over here.

Back in April the BBC broadcast a documentary about 6000 foreign workers who live in fetid working conditions (photos) at a labor camp with a familiar name, Camp Nad al Sheba. Some of these workers are demolishing Nad al Sheba and were employed by Arabtec to build Meydan (prior to the contract cancellation).

The exposure has forced the construction company, Arabtec to pledge to close the camp and to build newer and cleaner facilities elsewhere.

Meanwhile 2000 Camp Nad al Sheba residents have been moved to better conditions at Camp Meydan, near Dubai's new racecourse.

Sheik Mohammad has yet to comment on the situation.

Old Blue Eyes Was Never Spotted at Berkshire Downs

When the horses come on the track for the Belmont Stakes, “New York New York” will be played and many in the crowd will be reminded of Frank Sinatra who popularized the song.

While most people associate Sinatra with Las Vegas where he owned a small piece of the Sands. It was his alleged mob connections that hounded Sinatra throughout his life and played a role in Sinatra's foray into track ownership.

In 1963, through a friend named Raymond Patriarca, the crime boss of Providence, R.I., Sinatra came to own an interest in Berkshire Downs, a small track on the fair circuit in western Massachusetts.

Although Sinatra claimed Berkshire Downs looked like a "good" investment, you have to wonder why Sinatra thought that, the track went backrupt two years after he bought in. On top of that, why would someone like Sinatra be interested in owning a small track on the Massachusetts fair circuit?

The answer to that question may be in this article that Bill Finley wrote in 2005 for ESPN. In it he explains that the fair circuit in Massachusetts was renowned for “crooked” racing. Based on Finley's observations it would seem that the Massachusetts fair circuit was a fertile ground for mob activities.

Even that didn't prepare me for what I'd see in an Aug. 20 race at Marshfield. There was a horse named Mr. Mallory who was coming in from the Meadowlands, where he had been running a year earlier in $5,000 claimers. Based on his class, he should have been 4-5. Instead, he was something like 12-1, an obvious sign that today was not supposed to be the day.

But Mr. Mallory had other ideas. He was so much better than his rivals that his jockey was having a terrible time restraining him. Finally, he stood straight up in the saddle and started pulling back with all his might on the reins. It was something right out of a Rodney Dangerfield movie. Somehow, the jockey managed to get the horse to finish third.

Mr. Mallory made one more start at Marshfield and, with more subtle stiffing by a new rider, finished fifth. Nine days later, he showed up in the entries at Suffolk Downs, where horses from the fairs were typically overlooked in the wagering because they were so badly outclassed. This, obviously, was the race his connections had been waiting for. Mr. Mallory galloped at 12-1, and I made the biggest score of my life to that point.

So in 1963 Sinatra invested $55,000 in Berkshire Downs and was named a director of the track. There is scant evidence that Sinatra actually visited the track and it was widely thought that Sinatra was a front for the real owners of the racetrack, Raymond Patriarca and Gaetano Lucchese.

The track went bankrupt in 1965 but Sinatra's interest in Berkshire Downs interested lawmakers and it all came back to haunt him years later.

In early June of 1972 a House Select Committee on Crime was prepared to subpoena Sinatra to question him about his mob ties with relation to Berkshire Downs. But Sinatra, flew to England instead, to conveniently attend the races (Epsom Derby?). This infuriated the committee and a second subpoena ordered U.S. marshals to stand by at all ports of entry to issue the subpoena to Sinatra as soon as he re-entered the United States.

Sinatra called in some favors, contacted then Vice President Spiro Agnew, a close friend and the second subpoena was cancelled.

Sinatra did eventually appear before the committee but his alleged mob ties never led to an indictment.

The Curse of West Coast Scout

Prior to the fall of 1971 I had never been to Belmont Park. I was raised in North Jersey and since my father’s favorite past time happened to be salt water fishing, we spend many days at a jetty in Asbury Park. But if the fish weren’t biting, we’d head over to Monmouth Park. In the summer of 1971, one of those days was the day that a colt named West Coast Scout won the Monmouth Invitational.

As my interest in the sport increased and being too young to drive, I convinced the old man that there was life outside Oceanport, NJ. In the fall of 1971 we ventured out to Belmont Park to see one of my father’s favorite horses Cougar II who was running in the Woodward.

To my father's delight Cougar II did win the Woodward, only to be disqualified and placed third for cutting off Tinajero in the stretch. The victory was then awarded to a colt named West Coast Scout .

For some strange reason we were always in the grandstand for West Coast Scout’s big wins and when he won both the 1972 and 1973 runnings of the Amory Haskell, we were there to be reminded of the episode with Cougar II in the Woodward.

Prior to 1971 Woodward I had only been to Monmouth Park, Saratoga and maybe Aqueduct a few times. Both Monmouth (rebuilt in 1946) and Aqueduct (rebuilt in 1959) were still in very good shape back then. Walking up to to Belmont Park I remember being impressed by the sheer size and newness of the place. Belmont had been rebuilt in 1968.

Monmouth Park will never match the grandeur of Belmont but it remains one of my favorite tracks and unbeknownst to me, it played an influential role in the latest reincarnation of Belmont Park.

This Sports Illustrated article from 1954 tells the story of Jockey Club member John Wesley Hanes and how he developed the business model that would later become the NYRA.

Hanes realized that the dilapidated condition of the New York’s tracks in the 1950s was driving business to the then new Monmouth Park. After a visit to Monmouth in 1953 Hanes realized New York needed a facilty like Monmouth in order to save New York racing from further decline.

It seems that Belmont Park resembles Monmouth Park more than many of us may realize.

The Casino That Broke the Camel's Back?

I noticed that they were breaking ground (video) for the new casino at Calder during my visit.

The cover of the program features this artist's rendering of what the 100,000 sq ft facility would look like when it is completed sometime next year.

Ten days in Ft Lauderdale did much to remind me that I was never more than a fifteen minute drive from a casino, If I forgot, there was a billboard along 95 or the Florida Turnpike to remind me.

There's one at Pompano Park, the Hollywood dog track, the Seminole Hard Rock and Gulfstream Park. Two more are due to come on line in Dade county next year at the Miami Jai Alai facility and Calder.

Considering the economy in south Florida is such a mess, it was a bit surprising to see CDI going ahead with construction. It seems the last thing the area needs is another casino, when I visited the one at the Hollywood dog track on a rainy afternoon, it was virtually empty.

The situation very much reminds me of what Starbucks discovered; there are limits to growth. The coffee chain recognized the problem that its own growth strategy had created, the sheer number of stores diluted the uniqueness of a visit to Starbucks. It became commonplace and when the specialness was gone, people started to wonder why they were spending top dollar for a cup of coffee.

From the looks of it, the racing and gaming industry in south Florida doesn't appear to have a strategy; another casino isn't going to do anything but dilute an already diluted market.

In racing, gaming and coffee, sometimes less is more.

The Ghost Town at Gulfstream

Judging it from my last visit in February progress appears slow at the Village at Gulfstream.

Granted it was a rainy day so not much exterior work could be done but I only saw a half a dozen other laborers working inside.
(The view from Federal Hwy.)

I believe this place is supposed to be ready just before the 2010 season. I am betting Meydan get finished before this thing.


Almost all the ground level windows are still missing.

Don't Rain on My Post Parade

A few images of a rainy day at Calder. For the first time today I noticed that you can go almost anywhere on the grounds without getting wet.

It seems whomever designed the track accounted for days just like today. All the major traffic paths are covered, basic good design that is fan friendly, unlike the new Gulfstream Park.

Clouds in my Coffee

If you have even been to Florida, especially south Florida, you know that when it rains, it rains. I am talking torrents, an inch in ten minutes kind of rain.

The rainy season is underway here and as I wind up a ten day visit I thought I’d drop by Gulfstream to see how the Magna bankruptcy has effected the progress at the Village at Gulfstream, while I am in the neighborhood I’ll visit Calder.

You may recall it was on a late day in May 38 years ago that Larry King claimed a miracle occurred in Miami Gardens. With just $42 in his tight pocket less Pierre Cardin jeans and a horse named Miss Forli (who may or may not have existed)lucky lightning struck and Larry went home with $8000. If lightning can strike twice, it’s mostly likely to happen on a rainy day in late May at Calder.

I am on the trail of horse racing miracle to see if with just $42 bucks I can hit it big at Calder. I have been looking for a sign, hoping for a miracle but so far Jesus has not appeared on my French toast (I’d be playing heavy if he did).

No, so far all I see are clouds in my coffee, that may just be enough.

Remembering Broad Brush

Ferdinand, Snow Chief, Bedside Promise and Broad Brush spent the winter beating each other in the preps for the Big Cap.

Broad Brush was one of the best horses ever bred in Maryland, ridden to many of his early victories by Vince Bracciale Jr (who remembers Vince?)

In his greatest victory, it was Angel Cordero Jr on Broad Brush getting the better of Bill Shoemaker (not an easy thing to do) on Ferdinand in one for the ages.

Revenge of the Chalk Eating Weasels

Enjoy your pound of flesh Rachel-Alexandra-kool-aid-drinking-chalk-eating-weasels. I am bloodied, slightly humbled but verbose as ever.

Congratulations to all you happy kool aid drinkers and after the period of gloating is over, I want to read some posts about how unfair that five pound allowance is to the colts.

Rachel's victory has altered the championship scenarios in a way we wouldn't have contemplated 10 days ago.

Obviously she has sown up the three year old championship. And now the future is ripe with possibilities, the most intriguing being a date with destiny in the Belmont.

If a filly wins two thirds of the Triple Crown is she Horse of the Year?

Could Rachel make the Breeders Cup Classic irrelevant this year?

Will she point for the Travers? There now seems scant reason to point for the Alabama.

And what about the other 600 pound gorilla in the room, Zenyatta?

Will they spend the season avoiding each other?

Will they square off in the Breeders Cup Classic or the Breeders Cup Distaff (I refuse to call it that other name).

Another strange outcome of a filly being so dominant is that even if Mine That Bird doesn't win another race, he has a strong case for three year old champion based just on what he has done so far. Another colt would have to beat Rachel once or maybe twice to take it away from him I would guess.

Fool Me Once . . .

We were all fooled in the Derby by Mine That Bird, graded earnings as stale as a taco shell, burro-ike Beyers earned off the beaten track Derby trail that runs from Toronto through New Mexico.

It didn't seem to matter, on a track that resembled a plate of refried beans Mine That Bird ran like he had just eaten a Jalapeno but it was the handicappers who got heartburn.

In the end he reminded us why they run the race.

As evidenced by Steve Haskins and others.

No horse has been training better on a day-in and day-out basis than Mine That Bird, who has held his flesh very well and is generating a great deal of energy in his works . . . In short he couldn’t be doing any better. If he is as good as he showed in the Derby, then there is no reason based on his training and overall appearance why he can’t come back and do it again.

It appears the Derby has taken nothing out of him, in fact, this is a horse who is acting like a light bulb just went on; he knows what he has to do.

I don't intend to get fooled twice.