You know what?

[jimbo66]

The track seems fair the last two days.  I have not seen the numbers from the service I use, but certainly nowhere near the disgusting Saturday card

Yes, the night cards are bad, but both borders cups were day cards and were also awful

I am skeptical of their ability to produce a fair track, but hopeful

As a gambler, I have no interest in the chaos theory stuff mentioned earlier in this thread. If I wanted random, I would play roulette or the lottery

Good luck

[Fairmount1]

Thanks for your opinion jimbo.  

Lots of information early on the Oaks card can be gained it seems for insight into later races even more than usual it seems for a big day--not only how the track is playing but also the performance of several horses in the first 6 races that could influence decisions on the later races....of course, the final times/beaten lengths/trip on those horses will be key to trying to making some more informed decisions later on that card.  I\'m hopeful for a fair track and that the times/results/information will make that discernable to me playing on track which I find difficult on the big days.      

On a completely other note, has anyone noticed that Crist doesn\'t write hardly anything anymore muchless blog.  Is he ok?  Or is not as passionate about the game anymore whicch seems highly unlikely?  Seems very odd.

[richiebee]

Fairmount1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> On a completely other note, has anyone noticed
> that Crist doesn\'t write hardly anything anymore
> muchless blog.  Is he ok?  Or is not as passionate
> about the game anymore whicch seems highly
> unlikely?  Seems very odd.

I hope that Mr Crist is OK, but hard not to notice his reduced presence at DRF.

Without getting overly dramatic, I think there is some old fashioned tragedy in
the fact that Crist continually campaigned to reduce takeout to benefit
horseplayers, but will be better remembered for getting caught up in the Charles
Hayward takeout scandal which cost Hayward his job.

Speaking of Derby coverage, excellent job by Wednesday\'s New York Times
which featured a two page Derby spread complete with beautiful pictures. The fact
that the Derby the Times covered was the KENYA Derby should in no way
dampen your enthusiasm for this don\'t miss piece of journalism.

Care to comment, Magic?

[jma11473]

Weather forecasts have been known to be wrong at times (ha, ha), but it certainly looks like at least some rain for Saturday, possibly quite a bit. I\'d handicap with that possibility in mind for all races.

[magicnight]

\"Speaking of Derby coverage, excellent job by Wednesday\'s New York Times
which featured a two page Derby spread complete with beautiful pictures. The fact
that the Derby the Times covered was the KENYA Derby should in no way
dampen your enthusiasm for this don\'t miss piece of journalism.

Care to comment, Magic?\"

Well, Chantilly and Epsom don\'t run their Derbies until June, and the NYT couldn\'t wait to get on the case.

I think it was a surprising and interesting feature, and what other general interest newspaper would ever run something like that?

[TGJB]

Bloomberg has piece on Covello today.

[magicnight]

Link to Bloomberg article on Cov.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-02/derby-s-falling-sky-shows-goldman-sachs-s-covello-spreading-risk.html

[TGJB]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/77916/blue-sky-for-falling-sky-co-owner-covello?&utm_source=DailyNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130502

Guy\'s a publicity hound.

[magicnight]

The NYT would probably let him write an op/ed if he would only quit Goldmine and renounce capitalism.

[chrifron]

What is there that\'s not to like about Jim Covello--he is a true gentleman on this board and as the Bloodhorse article states--the kind of owner that the game needs more of.

I think I can safely say that I speak for many in wishing Jim well--if he wins Saturday, I probably won\'t cash--but I will have a big smile on my face nonetheless.

[richiebee]

Ditto all you said about Jim.

There are also some less visible folks who keep the wheel turning. When I was with
what I called the \"Circus\" back in the early 1980s, going back and forth between
Monmouth Park and Hialeah, one of my very good friends was Pete Shelton, who had a
brief career as a race rider at the West Virginia tracks, then became a top notch
exercise rider, a combination of light weight and strength, a very good all around
horseman. One of the better horses he exercised and worked was Gold Beauty, a
small, wickedly fast filly trained by William Curtis who beat the boys in 2 NYRA
Graded stakes and went on to have a short but stellar career as a broodmare.

Pete is about my age, nearly 60. He has spent his entire life, going back to his
teenage years, in the saddle. Therefore it was very satisfying, and brought back a
lot of good memories of friendship, to see in Wednesday\'s New York Post a
picture of a very fit looking Itsmyluckyday galloping at Churchill, Pete Shelton
standing in the irons with a tight hold.

Buena suerte, Petey. Hope to see you in the winners circle Saturday. Would make
for a hell of a Drinko de Mayo celebration.