ESPN's coverage was much better than NBC's. The minute NBC came on they pissed me off by not spending two minutes covering Flashy Bull's win in the Schaefer Handicap. Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds always has a horse running on big days with national TV coverage but rarely does he win, so Flashy Bull's win was a nice surprise and nice free advertising. Then in the winner's circle after the Preakness, the first question for Albarado wasn't even about Curlin; they chose to dwell on the negative and focus on his jump/fall off Einstein in the Dixie two races earlier. Just the kind of negativity we need after a great edition of the Preakness. A pretty poor first question for a guy who just won his first classic, I thought it was unnecessary and insensitive. It was nice to see Jess Jackson and Satish Sanan (two type A personalities) struggling for face time and getting their hands on the Woodlawn trophy. I wonder how long before these guys are suing each other for something or another.
Randy Moss said one or two things that were flat out wrong. I forget the first but the second was about Circular Quay's demeanor around the barn. In fact he was describing King of the Roxy as the Todd had described him earlier in the day. Jerry Bailey was not on air, he was at his son's graduation and to tell you the truth I did not miss him. Emmy nomination or not I don't think he adds that much value to the commentary. Gary Stevens is very stiff on camera for a guy who thought he had a movie career. I don't wonder why the roles aren't coming anymore. But the lowest point of the afternoon was Andy Beyer's interview on ESPN. They did not have a proper seat for him so it looked like they sat him on the floor for the interview. Andy spent the ten minutes justifying his fixation on Hard Spun (wrong again Andy) but all you saw was the top of that bald head of his where the hair is as scarce as Hank Goldberg's winners; the glare off his skull almost blinded me. Andy have mercy on the television audience and get a rug!
Contrary to the informed opinions of some, this is not an ordinary crop of three-year olds. Street Sense, Curlin and Hard Spun have made this a memorable Triple Crown series so far and I hope Carl Nafzger reconsiders the Belmont. As it stands now the Belmont clearly sets up for the fresh horse; I like Sightseeking or Iamawildandcrazyguy. I think Beyer is right; while Curlin is extraordinary, sooner or later he will hit the wall.