The Most Frustrating Two Minutes in Sports

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY, May 23, 2012—The last time we visited with Michael Matz, trainer of then Triple Crown hopeful Union Rags, he was a bit frustrated but distracted, too, so it was hard to tell.

It was the Monday following Florida Derby, the horse vans were standing on the road alongside Barn 5 at Palm Meadows training center, where the horses were being loaded for their trip up I-95.

Some, like Union Rags, would be headed to Keeneland, to prepare for the Kentucky Derby, the remainder for some of the many graded stakes being offered up in Lexington that time of the year.

Others would be headed directly to Churchill Downs, and still others back home, Elkton, Maryland, site of the Fair Hills training center where the colt currently is being prepared for the Belmont Stakes, June 9.

Matz hoped that he would be shipping to Long Island with a chance to make history. Instead, it will be redemption he’ll be seeking for a talented, long-striding colt that might be as unlucky as his teacher is frustrated.

At least, that was the sense one had on one end of Tuesday’s NTRA National Teleconference. “It’s very disappointing,” the trainer said of Union Rags' seventh place Derby finish. “I thought he could win the Triple Crown.”

That’s Two!

BALTIMORE, MD,--May 19, 2012-



10:34 P.M., Sunday--Just got home from Baltimore this minute to find HRI up and running. Bandwidth issues beyond our control prevented the following from being posted early Preakness evening. Better late than never. Hope you agree. More as soon as I get a chance Monday. Sorry for any inconveniece.

6:52 P.M., Saturday--Most--if not all--of the pre-race Preakness storyline surrounded the strong favorites.

Can Bodemeister be the same horse in the Triple Crown’s second jewel as he was in Hot Springs and Louisville?

And whether he’s the same horse or not, can I’ll Have Another’s connections afford to let him get away soft?

The competition for the early Preakness lead was non-existent on paper. I’ll Have Another would have to use his tactical speed early to give himself the best, and perhaps only, chance to run his main rival down like he did two weeks ago.

But playing the role of stalker is different from playing the role of presser. A stalker, which is tough enough, stay somewhere off the leader’s flank in close attendance.

And when a stalker moves at the speed horse, it must be a decisive thrust. If not, the leader, all things being equal, will have something in reserve and repulse the challenge.

The presser’s role is different; it’s harder. It takes a rider with tremendous timing, strength, confidence and steel nerves not only to measure the energy of the horse beneath him but also that of his rival. Knowing when to pull the trigger is everything.

At the draw for post positions on Wednesday, Barry Irwin, CEO of Team Valor International and owner of Went The Day Well, said it all in front of a national television audience.

“The pressure is on I’ll Have Another to make it a horse race.” The inference was clear: The rest of us, including the Derby winner, have very little chance if he doesn’t. Even I’ll Have Another’s trainer, Doug O’Neill, admitted as much.

2004 all over again?

I paid a little more attention this time around. Heading into the Derby, my Paulick Derby Index picks included Thunder Moccasin. All right for Janurary, but when he was subsequently taken off the trail, I kept him on, because, well, I didn’t pay attention.

Good Ol’ Pete called me one day and said, “Hey! You gotta take Thunder Moccasin off your Top Ten list. He was taken off the trail months ago. Besides, he’s a sprinter!”

“Oh.”

Which brings us to the 137th Preakness Stakes. So I’m following the notes. Liking what I hear. Feel I’ve got a good handle. Good Ol’ Pete texts me, “Who’s your Preakness winnah?”

“Zetterholm.”

“Wow! Your pick is a horse that’s actually running in the race! Way to finally move on from Thunder Moccasin!”

“Thunder Moccasin’s not running? Who you got in the Preakness?”

“I’ll Have Another.”

“No, really … ”

When Twitter Soared

I’ve grown to love Twitter and social media as a form. It cannot be appreciated or beneficial, really, until it is first enjoyed. I started Twitter in 2009 to give some insight into my reporting for Six Weeks. Other stuff here and there. Lately, I’ve picked it up with more diligence talking about freelancing, writing, and horse racing.

This past Saturday (Worse. Derby. Result. Ever.) I was drinking mint juleps and playing an unruly amount of Wiffle Ball (Tommy and I won 18-8) instead of tweeting. If Wiffle Ball were made available to others, perhaps Twitter wouldn’t have been aflutter, but Twitter soared with over 264,000 tweets Saturday. This marks a 633 percent jump from Derby 137, when Animal Kingdom won with only 36,000 tweets.

According to Blue Fin Labs, the breakdown for Saturday’s tweeting had four distinct spikes and one marked dip.

Thoroughbred Racing Proving Bullet Proof?

BALTIMORE, MD., May 20, 2012—It’s the economy stupid, I thought when trying to make sense of what’s been happening in the business of Thoroughbred racing industry this year.

I couldn’t understand it when national handle figures kept rising each month this winter despite less than stellar racing in New York, even by winter standards, and a perceived decline of this year’s product at Tampa Bay Downs.

True, things were looking up at Santa Anita, where there was no horseplayer boycott this time, and at Gulfstream Park, which had a season reminiscent of racing’s glory days when champions routinely showed up in mid-week money-allowances.

Still, given the continued contraction of racing dates at tracks that were hemorrhaging money and those that hosted abbreviated race cards to accommodate a declining horse population, how could this be?

Then came the scandalous takeout story at the New York Racing Association; the sensational treatment the New York Times gave a “disreputable industry” and an on-going raceday medication controversy that has fair-minded practitioners lining up on opposing sides.

Despite all this, betting volume continued to rise this month when Churchill Downs posted double-digit gains on Derby weekend, a trend that continued in Baltimore on Saturday where Preakness business rose for a third consecutive year and a new attendance mark of 121,309 was set.

Three Belmont Trainers, Horses, Don’t Need No Stinking Lasix

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY, May 13, 2012—In the wake of Saturday’s Peter Pan Stakes, it’s like that comparisons will be made between the tactics of Right To Vote in the local prep for the Belmont and Bodemeister’s attempted heist of the Kentucky Derby.

Each set an excruciating, enervating pace, and each hung on tenaciously for a game second-place finish. But there was one stark difference however. Right To Vote, even though he had a Right To Lasix, didn’t race on furosemide in the Peter Pan.

Right To Vote’s owner, Bill Casner, is making a statement: Check that, Casner already has made his statements on the subject of raceday medication. What Casner is doing now is practicing what he believes.

Casner, his personal views notwithstanding, must also know that Lasix does not extend racing careers. In fact, the opposite is true. Otherwise explain why the number of starts a horse makes per year is half of what it was 30 years ago, when Lasix use became a raceday standard.

Interestingly, the Eoin Harty-trained Right To Vote was not the only runner on Saturday’s Belmont program to race Lasix free. Actually there were three others, as “Trackfacts” co-host Nick Kling pointed out on his Sunday morning cablecast.

Points vs Earnings for Derby Eligibility: Grading the Road Ahead

By Indulto

The $766.40 trifecta payout for $.50 on the 2012 Kentucky Derby suggests that very few fans found the first place finishers of the five final G1 Derby preps a solid foundation for constructing their tickets. The fact that three of them finished in the top three on Saturday is a triumph for points-based eligibility advocates. The Team Valor plan put in motion again this year was the exception as they finished fourth; coming from last place in points and 17th in earnings-based eligibility rankings.


I’d never play poker with Barry Irwin who played a pat hand – waiting for others to drop out, minimizing his colt’s exposure to the hazards of racing while optimizing the effort to accumulate earnings. His Graham Cracker-Jack still had the horse ready for 10 furlongs. I predict the Spiral Stakes will be over-subscribed next year with copy-cats. That another synthetic surface victor finished third probably cements that strategy.

The curse of not running as a 2yo is still alive and well. Some blame the presence of an entrant with an absence of distance races in its resume, but the impact of the supernatural is more likely found in the severe case of second-it suffered by his owner who sold a minority share of the horse in the nick of time.

Derby Day Provides a Tremendous Opportunity

By Cary Fotias

New York City, May 1, 2012--If value is your game, this year’s Kentucky Derby is right up your alley. No recent Derby has offered the betting opportunities that are sure to be present this Saturday.

The Derby field is often competitive but I have never seen one this deep. Some years the race is competitive but the horses aren’t that good.

This year, however, not only is the field super competitive but the horses are above average in talent. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a few develop into stars.

Union Rags has deservedly gotten a lot of press; Bodemeister was dominant in Arkansas; undefeated Gemologist gamely took the Wood; Creative Cause always runs his race; Take Charge Indy has Calvin.

That’s not all of it: Santa Anita Derby winner I’ll Have Another has proven his mettle; Alpha’s worked well and looks back in top shape and Daddy Nose Best impressed taking the Mine That Bird route for Asmussen.

Only two talented colts might have something to prove: Dullahan must show that he can run just as well on dirt and Hansen might have distance limitations. We’d be surprised if the favorite is under 5/1.

Equiform data might not always point out the winner but the methodology is sure to put you on horses that offer wagering value.