1) I agree with many here that the Preakness is not an attractive betting
proposition. That being said I would not be surprised to see AmPhar sent from
the rail, putting his two viable competitors in chase mode, and holding off
some outclassed closers while being geared down. Then on to Elmont, where a
date with destiny brought to you by F- Troop, er NYRA, awaits.
Will the Goo Goo Dolls perform a medley of their hit? The sad thing is that a
huge fireworks display at the end of the day\'s races would be much more
appealing than a performance by some aging, irrelevant rockers, but hundreds of
skittish thoroughbreds living on the Belmont backside have voted \"neigh\" to this.
2) Brief glance -- Friday\'s Black Eyed Susan card might be more appealing than
Saturday\'s Preakness card.
Race 11 -- Black Eyed Susan, wide open, Baffy\'s Luminance a 9/5 favorite, never
raced outside of Cali, arguably certainly NOT fastest in the race on the TGs;
Baffy less than overwhelming on the Oaks/Derby undercards. Lots of ways to go
here but I am thinking of starting by leaving Baffy off the horizontals
(yes Frank that makes her lock of the weekend).
Race 10 - the Allaire Dupont Distaff, features 3 of the top 4 finishers from
last year\'s Alabama and a mystery filly (see below).
Race 9 - the Jim McKay, an ungraded turf sprint, features Ben\'s Cat who is back
for more at age 9. Leaning towards Amelia\'s Wild Ride here, him having kept
company with J. Covello\'s Power Alert throughout the winter and spring. AWR is
saddled by Ramon Preciado, who sends out winners from his Bensalem base at a
35% clip.
3) A few years ago a Russian based runner shipped into the US from Pyatagorsk.
I was dismayed that there were no TG numbers for this runner and immediately
volunteered to do the ground for tracks in Russia. I seem to remember the
negotiations breaking down over the compensation package, which included a
Swedish built dacha, an Italian sports car, an unlimited supply of
Belgian beer, and a staff of young female administrative and household
assistants to help keep things running on an even keel.
Imagine my dismay at seeing Queen\'s Blade\'s graph (race 10) and not seeing any
TG numbers. This Korean bred (by Menifee) and raced 4YO filly started 15 times
in Korea, winning seven times with five second place finishes. She beat up on
15 horse fields in both the Korean Derby (run at Seoul) and the Korean Oaks
(run at Busan). I do not know what the current conversion rate from Korean
won to U.S. dollar is, but this filly shows earnings of nearly $972,000.
This will be QB\'s second start in the US, and while I am not expecting an
international upset of grand proportions, I must note that she will be
stretching out to a suitable distance and adding Lasix.
JB, the offer to do Russian ground still stands. Korea is a boozy 12 hour ferry
ride from Russia and I will volunteer to do Korean ground. I am backing off my
original demands slightly: I will live in the wife/mother-in -law dacha
outside of Moscow, will retain the aforementioned wife and mother in law as my
staff, and will settle for TG picking up the tab for shipping my 2002 Chevy
Impala over to Moscow.
As an added service, I can hawk TGs at the Moscow Hippodrome, even though I was
denied entry the last time I visited. I have always postulated that I was
barred because I was wearing a TG baseball cap, and that Len\'s Party
affiliations run deep.
