Jun

23

The Good The Bad and The Ugly Volume 3

by Barry Roos
June 23, 2009 | 1 Comment
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Good:
Rachel Alexandra - The owners will donate a portion of earnings to the Susan G. Komen “Race for the Cure” for breast cancer. Anything we can do to eradicate this horrible disease is a good thing. If you live nearby, get out to Belmont and wear your pink bracelet proudly.

Bad:
Suffolk Downs was forced to cancel the Mass Cap. After becoming a win and your in race for the BC, and getting a grade 3, the owners decided they just can’t pull it off. How much money can they lose? Looks like expanded gambling will come up in the fall, should the track not get a break and some cash from added gambling, this very well could be the end of Suffolk. What a shame. This ownership has done everything it can do to make Suffolk work, yet at some point, they have to pull a Roberto Duran and cry, “No Mas”.

Ugly:
Amazing, Kentucky can’t get VLT’s. Politics defeated this one handily, as the senate killed the slots bill. The horse capital of the world, and even KY can’t get out of its own way. KEEP was formed to lobby and get things done within the Commonwealth. They need to take a hard look at the group and consider the money they spend administering the organization. Perhaps that money would have been better spent on a couple more good lobbyists in with the Republicans who couldn’t wait to crush the seemingly promising bill.

May

26

Our horses both win yet I am sad

by Barry Roos
May 26, 2009 | 1 Comment
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It is a weird industry this horse racing. Sometimes even when you should be happy you can’t be.

The partnership I manage, G-Biscuit Stables LLC ran 2 horses, one in Boston, and one and one in Chicago. They both won. Both ran their hearts out and were game in victory.

Should be a banner day. We continue to be profitable after 6 years, when most partnerships do nothing but bleed cash.

But, sadly the second horse was to be ridden by Rene Douglas. Though the horse won, my thoughts returned to Rene Douglas, who was hurt Saturday at Arlington and may be paralyzed for life from the waist down.

Much has been mentioned about how sad it is when horses break down and die. It is, it is down right tragic. I mourn each one. But at the end of the day they are animals without the higher thought process we are both blessed with and yet cursed with. The toll of human tragedy is far worse, so sad. This will effect the jockey, his family, and even the other rider involved. I remember when Mike Venezia died in New York, how it destroyed Robbie Davis who couldn’t avoid his fallen friend.

Hopefully a miracle will happen for Rene Douglas, and he will walk again. Can the promise of stem cells come to fruition? Let us hope so.  Jockeys catch a lot of heat, get too much credit for wins, too much blame for losses. But one thing is for certain, they are brave for just doing what they do each day. Every mount risks their life and limb.

May

23

Hypocrisy Strikes Again

by Barry Roos
May 23, 2009 | 2 Comments
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Once again the geniuses in the Massachusetts Senate voted down slots at the racetracks. This same body however voted to join the Powerball cartel.

In a word hypocrites.

Unreal - Here in Massachusetts, slots are bad, but apparently the lottery is ok.

Here is a comment by one of our genius legislators about slots:

“This has become the most predatory and the most exploitive industry since the tobacco industry,” said Sen. Susan Tucker, D-Andover. “They are interested in the person on that bus who will stay and dump their entire Social Security check down that slot machine.”

So they vote to increase the lottery, which hello is the most exploiting of all gambling.  But no Susan they don’t spend their social security check on the lottery.  Can you imagine how idiotic these people sound?

Why? Simple, you can buy lottery tickets everywhere. Slots, you have to get to the venue.

Read Boston Globe Story

They are digging the grave for Suffolk Downs who have done nothing but try to improve the business, reaching out and being a good corporate citizen.

Nice job legislators, keep killing business in Massachusetts. Hey you can raise taxes as you always do, you must be so proud of our moniker, Taxachusetts.

May

19

Et tu Mike Smith?

by Barry Roos
May 19, 2009 | 3 Comments
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In the immortal words of John Wayne, it is “re-god damn-diculous“.

First Mine that Bird shocks the world and wins the Derby.

So what happened…….Calvin Borel takes off to ride Rachel Alexandra. Ok, great Filly, I can understand it, but I didn’t like it. You win the Derby, you stick with the horse. My opinion. Tough spot for Calvin, he won the Preakness so all worked out for him.

Preakness: Mine That Bird runs his heart out, and although he had a less than stellar trip got close to Rachel Alexandra. In the process he grabbed the respect of the racing world, no one would ever again say his Derby race was a fluke.

So what happened…….Mike Smith takes off to honor a commitment in California.  If he told the owner and trainer he was riding in the Belmont, NO ONE would have stood in his way. Riders take off mounts, ignoring their first calls, and now all of a sudden he is honoring a commitment.

Here is what I hope happens, I hope the filly passes on the Belmont and Mine that Bird parks under Calvin. The little horse deserves it, he has run his heart out.  Mike Smith may not appreciate the gravity of the Belmont, but racing certainly does.

May

17

If the jocks were reversed would the result have been?

by Barry Roos
May 17, 2009 | 5 Comments
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Rachel is brilliant, no doubt. If you don’t love this filly, you don’t love racing. She ran a big race holding off the Derby winner. But here’s a question, if Calvin was on Mine That Bird, does he win, with Rachel a close second?

I believe so.

Mike Smith never had any intention of trying to emulate the rail run of the Derby and even early on was thinking of coming wide.  I think when they hit the quarter pole he could have found a shorter way home had he not already began his wide run. Pimlico is a small track and horses typically fan out around the turn. The little horse may have been able to save a length or so, enough to win. I think the reason, Bo-Rail has won so many in that fashion is patience. Mike Smith saw the rail wasn’t open early on and wasn’t going to sit chilly, the overland route was his only shot in his eyes. Maybe he was right, we will never know. We do know the trip MTB had was tough and he ran farther than the winner.

Racing is all about split second decisions, and hindsight is always 20/20.

This was a great race, and was won by a wonderful animal. Still, Hal Wiggins was robbed of his Classic opportunity, and he should have received the Woodlawn Vase, not Steve Asmussen. But Asmussen was gracias as hell, and showed a lot of class.He knows he got a great gift, and good for him.

As for the Belmont, can this wonderful filly handle 12 furlongs? Can MTB continue to run his heart out?

It will be interesting, but brings me back to my initial premise, if Calvin stayed aboard, would we be awaiting the most improbable Triple Crown Winner, ever?

We will never know.

May

11

Bush league

by Barry Roos
May 11, 2009 | 4 Comments
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So the underbelly of racing is displayed again.

Shocking. Never a surprise.

Backroom deals between Ahmed Zayat and Mine That Bird’s owner have fortunately  been canceled. Marylou Whitney still seems to have the sense not to get involved and will scratch her Non Winners of 2 lifetime eligible entrant should it exclude the filly.

Good for her.

I don’t want to see fillies in the Triple Crown, I think it is dangerous. To me you only run a filly against colts when you really need to, and only when there are no other races on the horizon. I think later on in their development it isn’t the same danger, but as 3 year olds in May? Too early.

If god forbid this filly snaps her leg, it is over. The sport on life support will have signed a do not resuscitate order.

BUT, to enter bad horses just to keep her out? Bush league.

May

8

Things that shouldn’t happen do

by Barry Roos
May 8, 2009 | 4 Comments
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Imagine this, you are a trainer and get the horse of your lifetime in Rachel Alexandra. You do the RIGHT thing and run her in the Kentucky Oaks. She wins off on her own. She is the best 3 year old filly in the country.

* BAM * she is sold and taken away from you.

Listen, I am the first to sell a horse at a great profit, that IS the game. But to take her away from the guy before she even loses? I don’t like it. YES it is their right, but NO I don’t agree. leave her with the guy who got her this far. Asmussen is fine,but lets face it, he isn’t going to do anything between now and the Preakness which will make any difference. Well, he may make a mistake as he doesn’t know the horse.

Imagine this, you take a horse no one gave a shot to and win the Derby, and oh so easily.

* BAM * your rider takes off.

I am a fan of Calvin Borel, but he should have stuck with the Derby winner. A Triple Crown Winner is the biggest thing in the sport. Right now only one horse in the bloody universe can win that, Mine That Bird. Sure, he may not have a real shot, but until he gets beat in Baltimore, he is it. Sucks for Borel, he shouldn’t have been put in the position. The filly should have won the Filly Triple Crown, a great achievement.

A Derby winning trainer should never need a rider for the Preakness. An Oaks winning trainer should never lose his horse.

Both happened, both are ridiculous.

CLOSING THOUGHTS:
I hope there are too many and the filly doesn’t draw in. Then this bullsh|t will pass. Otherwise I say, Go Bird! Just the potential of a Triple Crown winner is so valuable to racing. And we need all the help we can get.

May

7

Separated at Birth, Calvin Borel and….

by Barry Roos
May 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment
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When you watch Calvin Borel, it hits you he looks exactly like someone.

Newman? No
Redford? No
Who then?

Those of you old enough, or who like to watch old sitcoms, know what I am talking about when I say, Ernest T Bass of the Andy Griffith show. Calvin is a dead ringer for this guy.

separated-at-birth






I would like Calvin to start using the phrase, “It’s Me It’s Me it’s Calvin B”.

May

3

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

by Barry Roos
May 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment
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On display at Churchill downs yesterday were Arab Sheikhs, Billionaires, Captains of industry, and wealthy Athletes, all trying to use their considerable coin to achieve the dream of winning the Derby.  

Sorry rich and famous, this was not your day.

This was the day for a little known trainer to take his truck and trailer, load up long shot Mine That Bird, drive 1500 miles (with a broken ankle) and kick the living bejesus out of the glitterati of our sport. 

Wow.

Calvin Borel used the “Street Sense” maneuver and blew through a small hole along the rail. He galloped, plain and simple. 

“I just took him back, rode a Street Sense race,” Borel said. “I knew at the three-eighths, if I got through, Katie bar the door.” 

You can’t handicap a horse like this, as this is a dream. But we can look back and see if we missed anything. Well for one thing, he was 2 year old Champion in Canada. Bought and sent to California for the Breeders’ Cup, it didn’t quite pan out. So now he goes to Sunland where he runs 2nd in a stake and then 4th in the Sunland Derby.  Nope, I couldn’t come up with him even after. 

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

Closing Thoughts: Races like yesterday’s Derby make you feel that anything is possible. It isn’t always the wealthiest, nor the best on paper that gets the blanket of roses. Today, many more of us are dreaming a bit higher.

May

2

Derby 09

by Barry Roos
May 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment
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The First Saturday in May, the best sporting event in the world.  You can make a spectacular event like the Breeders’ Cup. You can throw a boatload of money in the desert of Dubai. But there is nothing that comes close to the Derby. The history, the glamor and sheer pageantry are alone in sports. It is the single race everyone wants to win. It is the one race above all others which people run in just to say they did.

Here are some observations and then my token comments:

  1. Safety above all is the main concern. I hope the weather holds off and there is a good racetrack. 20 horse fields are a scary proposition and the odds of serious injuries go up. A clean race where no one gets hurt is key, the world is watching.
  2. No question, the best story would be General Quarters. This would be a human interest story writer’s dream. A Disney movie waiting to be filmed. Wesley Ward should have a good stiff drink, as the big horse got away.
  3. The big question mark is still how will the synthetic to dirt horses run? What a race it will be if Pioneerof The Nile loves the real stuff. It really is the single thing you can’t predict, an really makes it interesting. Pioneerof The Nile worked ok at Churchill, in fact a 101 is typically a good move. But if you see his workout pattern on the synthetics, he worked particularly quick. This was average at best.
  4. You have to hand it to Winstar Farm. Having 3 in the race is amazing. All seem to have an actual shot and none are in there for the sake of running.  I am rooting for Winstar, and my friend Doug Cauthen.
  5. I think there should be some minimum criteria to keep out the horses who seem to have no shot.  Reducing the traffic flow, reduces chances of catastrophe. How about, a horse must be either a stakes winner, or graded stakes placed to be eligible? That would keep out the Nowhere To Hide types, but not the good lightly raced colts like Dunkirk.

Here are my top 10 picks, though I consider myself a horseman, not a handicapper by any stretch of the imagination.

  1. I Want Revenge  - I hate to go with a favorite but I Want Revenge was so impressive in the Wood. The guts he showed was remarkable.
  2. Dunkirk - lightly raced, could have his best day
  3. Papa Clem - Like his running style, like that he likes traditional dirt
  4. Musket Man - thus far the Tampa route to the Derby has been a good one
  5. Hold Me Back - if he handles the surface, look out
  6. Desert Party -Will be in the hunt
  7. General Quarters - In a perfect world, he wins and gives hope to all the horseman who still dream the dream
  8. Friesan Fire - be there for a while, then flames out sending the cowboy to retirement
  9. Advice - Woke up and ran big last out. If he likes the dirt could be a factor
  10. Chocolate Candy - rounds out the top 10

Safe journey to all!

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