Several of the details related to Breeders’ Cup’s Championship Friday program have received criticism from various corners of the Turf world over the past two years.
Some feel there are too many races; others have lamented a return to Santa Anita Park and its synthetic main track surface for a second consecutive year; and others did not like moving the Distaff to Friday and renaming it the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1).
Those criticisms will be discussed in the aftermath of this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships, but as far as November 6 at Santa Anita went, the horse racing excitement that permeated the Arcadia, California, facility could not have been any better and is rivaled only by Kentucky Oaks (G1) day on the Friday before the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1).
Attendance totaled 37,651 on a picturesque day at the track, a 20.45% increase versus last year and 35.42% more than the inaugural Friday card in 2007 at Monmouth.
Hopefully the trend will continue on Championship Saturday, but without a doubt, Friday’s card was a live racing event I will remember for a very long time.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
#BC09 has arrived
Well, depending on when you're reading this, maybe it hasn't arrived yet, but I've arrived, so it's as good as here.
Three of Friday's six Breeders' Cup races are likely to determine championships: The Juvenile Fillies, the Filly & Mare Sprint, and the Filly & Mare Turf. It's possible that the F&M Turf winner could lose the Eclipse Award to either Goldikova or Dar Re Mi if either of them defeat males on Saturday in the Mile or Turf, respectively.
The Ladies' Classic is interesting as the ultimate consolation prize, as both three-year-old Careless Jewel and older female Music Note would be a cinch for Eclipse Awards in their respective decisions with a win in most years, but we've been pretty spoiled with Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta other than the fact that they never faced each other, but Careless Jewel on the lead and Music Note chasing will be fun just the same.
From a wagering standpoint, I will center most of my day around Forever Together in the Filly & Mare Turf and Sara Louise in the Filly & Mare Sprint. Forever Together is my most likely winner on the day and Sara Louise is my best bet. That is, even though Forever Together is more likely to win the race, Sara Louise is the better bet because her odds will be higher relative to her chance of winning.
I really can't separate Careless Jewel and Music Note. Both just seem better than the rest, and I don't want either to beat me if I'm right about Forever Together. Mushka is my longshot play underneath.
The Juvenile Fillies is very evenly matched, so I have no trouble going against the favorites in here. Connie and Michael will just have to beat me at a short price. I'll use Blind Luck defensively, but I'll have more money on pice horses like Devil May Care, She Be Wild, and Biofuel.
The Juvenile Fillies Turf also could go in a lot of different directions, but Rose Catherine is a must play at 6-to-1 let alone her morning line of 8-to-1. I love her turf debut, and two turns is always a challenge, but she has the look of one who is for real. La Nez is getting overlooked, but at 20-to-1 I'll definitely be using one of the classier horses in the race.
I'm a Jukebox Jury fan, so I take notice that both Father Time and Mastery have finished ahead of him. Cloudy's Knight wins this on his best, but I worry about three races in seven weeks after more than a year layoff. Man of Iron winning would be a great story for the pedigree buffs.
Three of Friday's six Breeders' Cup races are likely to determine championships: The Juvenile Fillies, the Filly & Mare Sprint, and the Filly & Mare Turf. It's possible that the F&M Turf winner could lose the Eclipse Award to either Goldikova or Dar Re Mi if either of them defeat males on Saturday in the Mile or Turf, respectively.
The Ladies' Classic is interesting as the ultimate consolation prize, as both three-year-old Careless Jewel and older female Music Note would be a cinch for Eclipse Awards in their respective decisions with a win in most years, but we've been pretty spoiled with Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta other than the fact that they never faced each other, but Careless Jewel on the lead and Music Note chasing will be fun just the same.
From a wagering standpoint, I will center most of my day around Forever Together in the Filly & Mare Turf and Sara Louise in the Filly & Mare Sprint. Forever Together is my most likely winner on the day and Sara Louise is my best bet. That is, even though Forever Together is more likely to win the race, Sara Louise is the better bet because her odds will be higher relative to her chance of winning.
I really can't separate Careless Jewel and Music Note. Both just seem better than the rest, and I don't want either to beat me if I'm right about Forever Together. Mushka is my longshot play underneath.
The Juvenile Fillies is very evenly matched, so I have no trouble going against the favorites in here. Connie and Michael will just have to beat me at a short price. I'll use Blind Luck defensively, but I'll have more money on pice horses like Devil May Care, She Be Wild, and Biofuel.
The Juvenile Fillies Turf also could go in a lot of different directions, but Rose Catherine is a must play at 6-to-1 let alone her morning line of 8-to-1. I love her turf debut, and two turns is always a challenge, but she has the look of one who is for real. La Nez is getting overlooked, but at 20-to-1 I'll definitely be using one of the classier horses in the race.
I'm a Jukebox Jury fan, so I take notice that both Father Time and Mastery have finished ahead of him. Cloudy's Knight wins this on his best, but I worry about three races in seven weeks after more than a year layoff. Man of Iron winning would be a great story for the pedigree buffs.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Our songs are sing-along songs
A hallmark of any Big Event that I am a part of is a music mix, known to children of the 80s and fans of High Fidelity as the mix tape.
I don't remember making my first mix tape, but I do remember being amazed at the dual cassette deck technology. I also was one of many teenage boys who thought all it took to seduce a woman was a mix tape.
My college roommate kickstarted my personal tradition of having a soundtrack to accompany major and not-so-major events in my life. Jason was great at creating a mix CD to match every road trip, party, finals week, and break up we went through. I can't hear "The Freshman" or "Secret Garden" without thinking of freshman year, "One Week" without thinking of Heath, or "Work It" without thinking of partying in Columbus with Steve-O.
I have extended the tradition to my horse racing travels with "Mr. Brightside" being ubiquitous to the 2005 Preakness Stakes.
This year's mix, which hopefully will provide some entertainment while sitting in L.A. traffic, is mostly a collection of current pop and songs about California. As Rob teaches us at the end of High Fidelity, a good mix tape isn't about what you like, but what about all who will hear it like. My typical formula is to start with a couple current pop songs I know my audience likes and then branch out from there to similar styles. This mix starts upbeat to match our excitement of getting in the car and being in L.A. for Breeders' Cup then turns dark about the time we hit our first traffic jam and brightens up again as we cruise into Arcadia.
1. "Run This Town" by Jay-Z featuring Rhianna and Kanye West... This seemed like a good way to start. Any Big Event in racing worth its salt has a social aspect to it, and "Run This Town" makes me thinking of cruising in a limo with friends heading to some trendy party behind a velvet rope. In real life, I'm more likely to wash a limo than ride in one, would be flying solo, and would look more like Homer Simpson outside a meeting of the sacred No Homers than a jetsetter, but anyone can be Paris Hilton while listening to this song.
Favorite lyric: "I'm addicted to the thrill, it's a dangerous love affair; can't be scared when it goes down; got a problem, tell me now." I love the message of being in something 100% especially since I have $4,000 of mostly other people's money to bet in my Breeders' Cup wagering syndicate. Also, Rhianna actually having the narrative of the song is brilliant songwriting.
2. "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black-Eyed Peas... Yeah, I know this is a cliche pick, but I think this is a great pop song despite protests from both Frank and Jim Rome, and I know most of the people who will be in my car like it.
Favorite lyric: "Fill up my cup." The reason the racing parties are so popular is because they have an open bar.
3. "California Girls" by the Magnetic Fields... I'm really anxious to hear the reaction from my group when it hears this song. It blew me away when I first heard it (thanks to some recommendations on Twitter, and I knew instantly that this would be on the #BC09 mix.
Favorite lyric: "They ain't broke so they put on airs." It's maddening how many people in this world cry poor and have all the newest gadgets, etc.
4. "I Hate L.A." by Bowling For Soup... It's not the best cut on their new disc, Sorry for Partyin', but it is a catchy tune, gives props to Ohio, and mentions In N Out Burger.
Favorite lyric: "Snooty fucks, pollution fills the air (I want to smoke outside!)." New Yorkers have a reputation for thinking they're better than everyone, but the attitude is worse in L.A.
5. "Cheated Hearts" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs... This is a transition song. I thought the beat and voice keeps it close enough to pop that it makes sense to follow the opening quartet, but it's definitely a bridge to the darker part of the disc.
Favorite lyric: "Sometimes I think that I'm bigger than the sound." We're all a part of something bigger and to think otherwise is a tragic flaw worthy of many Shakespearean dramas.
6. "Isabella County" by Great Lakes Myth Society... This is one of my favorite drinking songs in the sense that it's easy to imagine a band playing this on a wooden plank in a dank bar while the locals sing along. Plus, former Thoroughbred Times intern Joe Nevills is from this area.
Favorite lyric: "In a town where the drinkers are plowed like the roads in a heap around their breakfast in yesterday's clothes." One of the best lyrics about a hangover ever put to music.
7. "California" by Lunavelis... Another sort of regional choice in that A) it mentions California and B) Lunavelis (aka Chris Feran) is from Cleveland, so the localities of two of my favorite Turf writers (Nevills and myself, HA!) are represented here. This song is kind of sad, but I like the yearning theme since in racing we're all chasing a dream
Favorite lyric: "You'd rather drive; I'd rather die." As a fan of Jim Steinman from way back in the day, I'm all about the melodrama in music, and this lyric is way over the top.
8. "Life is a Movie or Maybe" by Okkervil River... Another bridge song here as we move away from the dark and back into the light. I love the yearning in Will Sheff's voice here, and the lyrics deliver on the theme of optimism reigning supreme even among adversity.
Favorite lyric: "It's just a life story, so there's no climax." We're all guilty sometimes of letting life pass us by because we think we're waiting for something bigger, but life is the big thing. We're living it every second.
9. "Here's Lookin' At You Kid" by Gaslight Anthem... In hindsight, I probably could have swapped eight for nine or moved this more toward the end since this song sort of has a looking back on life vibe a la Tom Waits's "Martha." This song speaks to me as a journalist because of it's biographical nature.
Favorite lyric: "I used to wait in diners a million nights without her, praying that she won't cancel again tonight, and the waiter served my coffee with a consolation sigh." The vivid imagery delivered here is haunting.
10. "No Hueblo Ingles" by Bowling For Soup... This is just a fun song, and with all the stuff going on this week, I'm sure I'd rather just ignore a problem than confront it.
Favorite lyric: "A guy walks up says, 'Doma esta peppe;' he no hueblo ingles." I think a major tenet of any successful pop act is not to take yourself too seriously, and Bowling For Soup always has fun.
11. "Balloon Flight" by Grammar Club... I used to think this song was about condoms, but now I'm not so sure. Regardless, it was a must include post balloon boy.
Favorite lyric: "I'll make depression and sadness disappear like it's a magic trick." Someone needs to sing that lyric to the guy alone in the diner stood up for the millionth time.
12. "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers... Isn't there a law about putting the Red Chili Peppers on any compilation of music involving California? Well, there should be. We want chilly willy!
Favorite lyric: "Looking down the barrel of a hot little .45—just another way to survive." I like the sort of morality play this song presents.
13. "Constructive Summer" by The Hold Steady... This was a selfish pick because no one I know likes Craig Finn's voice, but Stay Positive is one of my favorite albums of all time and this song while not always my favorite on that album is the one that most reminds me of racing for whatever reason. I'd love to shoot a video of this with scenes from the Derby. Plus, I built a deck this summer.
Favorite lyric: "Let this by my annual reminder that we can all be something bigger." Despite the message I take from "Life is a Movie or Maybe," I still think we are capable of something better. You just can't sit around waiting for it.
14. "Dogs Days" by Florence and the Machine... The absolute breakout artist of 2009 for me, and the lyric "the horses are coming so you better run" is enough to merit inclusion here.
Favorite lyric: "Happiness hit her like a bullet in the back." I love epiphany lyrics in music, and this is a great simile for that sort of "ah ha!" moment.
15. "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs... This song always reminded me of traveling, so I typically include it if I can make it work with the other tracks on the compilation and since Florence Welch and Karen O have two of my absolute favorite female voices in music right now, I thought it was a good one-two, though I'm wondering if I should have put "Cheated Hearts" here and "Maps" earlier.
Favorite lyric: "They don't love you like I love you." It's such a simple statement, and I love the urgency with which the fact is presented.
16. "Slow Suicide" by JamisonParker... I had this song on a Derby mix, and I found that it matched driving to one of the parties perfectly, so I thought it merited inclusion here since I planned the Turf writers dinner and will look forward to cutting loose the following night. Also, the intros to this and "Maps" are similar.
Favorite lyric: "
17. "Heart Tits" by Grammar Club... This song reminds me of a couple I know, so I stuck it on here because I imagine it could apply to a lot of guys trying to rep the LA lifestyle
Favorite lyric: "And your bra must have been my size." I'll stop short of calling this a "deep" song because it's not by any means, but I do enjoy the brutal honesty with which Grammar Club describes how stupid it is for guys to base entire relationships on breasts and even though they do.
18. "Ohio (Come Back to Texas" by Bowling for Soup... This song always reminds me of the Breeders' Cup because of the quasi hard sell Sam Houston Race Park tried to put on BC Ltd. to have the BC return to Texas (it was at Lone Star in 2004). Why SHRP did not use this song in its pitch or get Weird Al to write a parody of it is beyond me.
Favorite lyric: Not a lyric per se, but I like the "breakdown" of who wants you back. This song needs to be coupled with Lyle Lovett's "That's Right (You're Not From Texas)".
19. "I Hate California" by Jonathan Coulton... Again, this wasn't so much about putting my favorite Coulton cut on here so much as it was how do you not put this on the disc given the other songs on here? It's fairly pedestrian but fits the theme.
Favorite lyric: Meh
I don't remember making my first mix tape, but I do remember being amazed at the dual cassette deck technology. I also was one of many teenage boys who thought all it took to seduce a woman was a mix tape.
My college roommate kickstarted my personal tradition of having a soundtrack to accompany major and not-so-major events in my life. Jason was great at creating a mix CD to match every road trip, party, finals week, and break up we went through. I can't hear "The Freshman" or "Secret Garden" without thinking of freshman year, "One Week" without thinking of Heath, or "Work It" without thinking of partying in Columbus with Steve-O.
I have extended the tradition to my horse racing travels with "Mr. Brightside" being ubiquitous to the 2005 Preakness Stakes.
This year's mix, which hopefully will provide some entertainment while sitting in L.A. traffic, is mostly a collection of current pop and songs about California. As Rob teaches us at the end of High Fidelity, a good mix tape isn't about what you like, but what about all who will hear it like. My typical formula is to start with a couple current pop songs I know my audience likes and then branch out from there to similar styles. This mix starts upbeat to match our excitement of getting in the car and being in L.A. for Breeders' Cup then turns dark about the time we hit our first traffic jam and brightens up again as we cruise into Arcadia.
1. "Run This Town" by Jay-Z featuring Rhianna and Kanye West... This seemed like a good way to start. Any Big Event in racing worth its salt has a social aspect to it, and "Run This Town" makes me thinking of cruising in a limo with friends heading to some trendy party behind a velvet rope. In real life, I'm more likely to wash a limo than ride in one, would be flying solo, and would look more like Homer Simpson outside a meeting of the sacred No Homers than a jetsetter, but anyone can be Paris Hilton while listening to this song.
Favorite lyric: "I'm addicted to the thrill, it's a dangerous love affair; can't be scared when it goes down; got a problem, tell me now." I love the message of being in something 100% especially since I have $4,000 of mostly other people's money to bet in my Breeders' Cup wagering syndicate. Also, Rhianna actually having the narrative of the song is brilliant songwriting.
2. "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black-Eyed Peas... Yeah, I know this is a cliche pick, but I think this is a great pop song despite protests from both Frank and Jim Rome, and I know most of the people who will be in my car like it.
Favorite lyric: "Fill up my cup." The reason the racing parties are so popular is because they have an open bar.
3. "California Girls" by the Magnetic Fields... I'm really anxious to hear the reaction from my group when it hears this song. It blew me away when I first heard it (thanks to some recommendations on Twitter, and I knew instantly that this would be on the #BC09 mix.
Favorite lyric: "They ain't broke so they put on airs." It's maddening how many people in this world cry poor and have all the newest gadgets, etc.
4. "I Hate L.A." by Bowling For Soup... It's not the best cut on their new disc, Sorry for Partyin', but it is a catchy tune, gives props to Ohio, and mentions In N Out Burger.
Favorite lyric: "Snooty fucks, pollution fills the air (I want to smoke outside!)." New Yorkers have a reputation for thinking they're better than everyone, but the attitude is worse in L.A.
5. "Cheated Hearts" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs... This is a transition song. I thought the beat and voice keeps it close enough to pop that it makes sense to follow the opening quartet, but it's definitely a bridge to the darker part of the disc.
Favorite lyric: "Sometimes I think that I'm bigger than the sound." We're all a part of something bigger and to think otherwise is a tragic flaw worthy of many Shakespearean dramas.
6. "Isabella County" by Great Lakes Myth Society... This is one of my favorite drinking songs in the sense that it's easy to imagine a band playing this on a wooden plank in a dank bar while the locals sing along. Plus, former Thoroughbred Times intern Joe Nevills is from this area.
Favorite lyric: "In a town where the drinkers are plowed like the roads in a heap around their breakfast in yesterday's clothes." One of the best lyrics about a hangover ever put to music.
7. "California" by Lunavelis... Another sort of regional choice in that A) it mentions California and B) Lunavelis (aka Chris Feran) is from Cleveland, so the localities of two of my favorite Turf writers (Nevills and myself, HA!) are represented here. This song is kind of sad, but I like the yearning theme since in racing we're all chasing a dream
Favorite lyric: "You'd rather drive; I'd rather die." As a fan of Jim Steinman from way back in the day, I'm all about the melodrama in music, and this lyric is way over the top.
8. "Life is a Movie or Maybe" by Okkervil River... Another bridge song here as we move away from the dark and back into the light. I love the yearning in Will Sheff's voice here, and the lyrics deliver on the theme of optimism reigning supreme even among adversity.
Favorite lyric: "It's just a life story, so there's no climax." We're all guilty sometimes of letting life pass us by because we think we're waiting for something bigger, but life is the big thing. We're living it every second.
9. "Here's Lookin' At You Kid" by Gaslight Anthem... In hindsight, I probably could have swapped eight for nine or moved this more toward the end since this song sort of has a looking back on life vibe a la Tom Waits's "Martha." This song speaks to me as a journalist because of it's biographical nature.
Favorite lyric: "I used to wait in diners a million nights without her, praying that she won't cancel again tonight, and the waiter served my coffee with a consolation sigh." The vivid imagery delivered here is haunting.
10. "No Hueblo Ingles" by Bowling For Soup... This is just a fun song, and with all the stuff going on this week, I'm sure I'd rather just ignore a problem than confront it.
Favorite lyric: "A guy walks up says, 'Doma esta peppe;' he no hueblo ingles." I think a major tenet of any successful pop act is not to take yourself too seriously, and Bowling For Soup always has fun.
11. "Balloon Flight" by Grammar Club... I used to think this song was about condoms, but now I'm not so sure. Regardless, it was a must include post balloon boy.
Favorite lyric: "I'll make depression and sadness disappear like it's a magic trick." Someone needs to sing that lyric to the guy alone in the diner stood up for the millionth time.
12. "Dani California" by Red Hot Chili Peppers... Isn't there a law about putting the Red Chili Peppers on any compilation of music involving California? Well, there should be. We want chilly willy!
Favorite lyric: "Looking down the barrel of a hot little .45—just another way to survive." I like the sort of morality play this song presents.
13. "Constructive Summer" by The Hold Steady... This was a selfish pick because no one I know likes Craig Finn's voice, but Stay Positive is one of my favorite albums of all time and this song while not always my favorite on that album is the one that most reminds me of racing for whatever reason. I'd love to shoot a video of this with scenes from the Derby. Plus, I built a deck this summer.
Favorite lyric: "Let this by my annual reminder that we can all be something bigger." Despite the message I take from "Life is a Movie or Maybe," I still think we are capable of something better. You just can't sit around waiting for it.
14. "Dogs Days" by Florence and the Machine... The absolute breakout artist of 2009 for me, and the lyric "the horses are coming so you better run" is enough to merit inclusion here.
Favorite lyric: "Happiness hit her like a bullet in the back." I love epiphany lyrics in music, and this is a great simile for that sort of "ah ha!" moment.
15. "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs... This song always reminded me of traveling, so I typically include it if I can make it work with the other tracks on the compilation and since Florence Welch and Karen O have two of my absolute favorite female voices in music right now, I thought it was a good one-two, though I'm wondering if I should have put "Cheated Hearts" here and "Maps" earlier.
Favorite lyric: "They don't love you like I love you." It's such a simple statement, and I love the urgency with which the fact is presented.
16. "Slow Suicide" by JamisonParker... I had this song on a Derby mix, and I found that it matched driving to one of the parties perfectly, so I thought it merited inclusion here since I planned the Turf writers dinner and will look forward to cutting loose the following night. Also, the intros to this and "Maps" are similar.
Favorite lyric: "
17. "Heart Tits" by Grammar Club... This song reminds me of a couple I know, so I stuck it on here because I imagine it could apply to a lot of guys trying to rep the LA lifestyle
Favorite lyric: "And your bra must have been my size." I'll stop short of calling this a "deep" song because it's not by any means, but I do enjoy the brutal honesty with which Grammar Club describes how stupid it is for guys to base entire relationships on breasts and even though they do.
18. "Ohio (Come Back to Texas" by Bowling for Soup... This song always reminds me of the Breeders' Cup because of the quasi hard sell Sam Houston Race Park tried to put on BC Ltd. to have the BC return to Texas (it was at Lone Star in 2004). Why SHRP did not use this song in its pitch or get Weird Al to write a parody of it is beyond me.
Favorite lyric: Not a lyric per se, but I like the "breakdown" of who wants you back. This song needs to be coupled with Lyle Lovett's "That's Right (You're Not From Texas)".
19. "I Hate California" by Jonathan Coulton... Again, this wasn't so much about putting my favorite Coulton cut on here so much as it was how do you not put this on the disc given the other songs on here? It's fairly pedestrian but fits the theme.
Favorite lyric: Meh
Sunday, November 1, 2009
New blood
One of the most frequent conversations I have regarding how to improve the game is how to market the sport to new fans.
Indeed, a post on this very blog less than three weeks ago addressed some of those issues as well as some groups making an effort to grow interest in the sport.
On Sunday I will do my part to Find a Thoroughbred Enthusiast when I bring my sister-in-law and her two kids to Churchill Downs for their first-ever live racing experience.
The kids have gone with me to Keeneland before for Breakfast with the Works, but this will be their first "day at the races."
I don't think my sister-in-law will be visiting the $50 window tomorrow or ever, but there's more to creating a Thoroughbred enthusiast than getting him or her to push money through the windows. I'd love to own a broodmare (or several) one day, and making it a family affair would be a lot of fun, so getting her excited about the races could still lead to involvement in the sport down the road.
As for the kids, it was actually their idea to go to Churchill, so that's a positive development. I'm really looking forward to seeing the track through their youthful innocence.
Looking back on my first memories of the races—going to Thistledown and Northfield Park with my grandpa in the mid 1980s—I remember experiencing the plants with wide eyes. The cavernous grandstand, the starting gate, the shouting, the TVs, the bells. I wanted to know what it all meant and how it all worked.
People from Upstate New York seem to take great pride in their home track being Saratoga Race Course. I hope my niece and nephew speak with similar pride about trips to Churchill with Uncle Eddie.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Failing as a report, the Satans Quick Chick anecdote
Marty McGee has a fun article on Daily Racing Form regarding the serendipitous nature of Thoroughbred racing and how that played out on Saturday at Keeneland Race Course where Satans Quick Chick won the Raven Run Stakes despite his owner attempting to scratch her earlier on the card.
What took me aback by the story is how it contradicted what trainer Eric Reed said immediately after the race.
"I just want to thank Jerry for letting me run her here," Reed said. "We knew it'd be a tough spot and Jerry hates big fields, but she loves training on this track, and I'm glad he let me run her."
Based on Marty's story, I question the choice of words, "I'm glad he let me run her" since it sounds to me that steward and retired Racing Hall of Fame trainer John Veitch didn't let anyone do anything so much as he made Reed saddle Jamgotchian's filly.
I don't blame Reed's line here since it makes him sound like a horse whisperer totally in tune to how his filly is going to run despite her long odds. However, now we know the reality was that Jamgotchian had every intention to scratch regardless of any lobbying Reed may have done on behalf of how well the filly had been training.
Had I been on my "A" game on Saturday after the race I may have sniffed out this story myself. A simple follow-up question like, "How close did Mr. Jamgotchian come to scratching" could have gotten me the story.
It's too easy sometimes as a reporter to think I have the info and quote I need to complete the story and fill the space. This is a good lesson to learn a week out from heading West to cover the Breeders' Cup World Championships: Don't let the reporting fit the story, let the story fit the reporting.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
#BC09 storylines: Ladies' days
With the successes of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta this year, the "year of the girl" storyline is already pretty played out (and double that for the cliches surrounding those successes such as the aforementioned "year of the girl," "girl power," etc.), but such talk should reach a fevered pitch Breeders' Cup week and could break out into an all out din by the time the dust (aka attic insulation aka polygoo aka plastics residue) settles on this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships.
There are six Breeders' Cup races open to three-year-olds and up of both sexes: The Marathon on Friday and the Turf Sprint, Sprint, Mile, Turf, and Classic on Saturday. Of those races, only the Marathon does not have a top female contender. It is thus conceivable that five of the six races "for males" will be won by a female racehorse. Ironically, the one race "for males" that will not be won by the fairer sex is the one race Breeders' Cup moved to Championship Friday, or "Ladies' day."
Plus, from a selfish standpoint, writing about female domination would be a far more interesting storyline than last year's "The European horses are the greatest in the world, but really it's the synthetic surface's fault that they beat us even though the Classic 1-2 finishers were both bred in Kentucky."
There are six Breeders' Cup races open to three-year-olds and up of both sexes: The Marathon on Friday and the Turf Sprint, Sprint, Mile, Turf, and Classic on Saturday. Of those races, only the Marathon does not have a top female contender. It is thus conceivable that five of the six races "for males" will be won by a female racehorse. Ironically, the one race "for males" that will not be won by the fairer sex is the one race Breeders' Cup moved to Championship Friday, or "Ladies' day."
- Fleeting Spirit and Diamondrella are both considering the Turf Sprint. If either starts, then she would likely be my pick to win the race, and either could be favored.
- Fleeting Spirit is also considering the Sprint against males (such as Zensational, Fatal Bullet, and Gayego). If her connections elect to go that route, then she would be the least likely winner of all the females taking on males, but the weight break would help, and she wouldn't be impossible.
- Goldikova and Diamondrella are both considering the Mile with Goldikova a likely overwhelming favorite to defend her title in that race.
- Dar Re Mi would likely be favored in the Filly & Mare Turf, but her connections are also considering the Turf against last year's winner Conduit, frontrunner Presious Passion, and others. Conduit is likely to go favored, but she would take money and have a big chance.
- Like Dar Re Mi, Zenyatta could go in the female counterpart to the Classic in the Ladies' Classic the previous day, but the Classic is a possibility. Also like Dar Re Mi, Zenyatta would be a heavy favorite against her own sex but would still take a lot of money in the open race with a big shot at winning.
Plus, from a selfish standpoint, writing about female domination would be a far more interesting storyline than last year's "The European horses are the greatest in the world, but really it's the synthetic surface's fault that they beat us even though the Classic 1-2 finishers were both bred in Kentucky."
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Zenyatta top storyline so far for #BC09
While the absences of Rachel Alexandra and Sea The Stars--almost certainly the Horses of the Year in the United States and Europe, respectively, this year--has somewhat muted the buzz leading up to this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships, there are still plenty of story lines to get excited about with less than three weeks to go before the big event.
1. Zenyatta
The undefeated champion mare has a chance to win her 14th consecutive race on one of the sport's grandest stages. Whether she goes for that win (unprecedented in the sense that most of the wins came against open [to her sex] graded stakes company) in the Ladies' Classic on Friday or the Classic on Saturday.
Trainer John Shirreffs said October 11 that he would not make a decision as to which race for a few weeks, so I expect the cacophony from my fellow scribes saying how unsportsmanlike he is to begin at any moment.
Anywho, while some are already sick of the Zenyatta debate, discussions such as these are why I love racing. Heck, most of the time the horses don't get a chance to settle the score on the track anyway (e.g., RA-Zen), so discussion is all we have.
Zenyatta running in the Classic is a no-lose situation in terms of her reputation. Simply starting in the Classic will clinch Zenyatta her second Eclipse Award as champion older female, as voters would not penalize her for running in the tougher spot. If she wins, then she would get Horse of the Year consideration and go down as one of the absolute best ever. If she loses, then she gave it a try and still has the championship to fall back on and maybe a couple more races before breeding.
Running in the Ladies' Classic would not only put the undefeated streak on the line but also the championship, since Music Note would win the Eclipse with a head-to-head victory over Zenyatta. A Ladies' Classic loss would also raise many questions about her competition throughout the year before the Breeders' Cup. A loss in the Ladies' Classic would be a huge blow to her reputation. She's still a future Racing Hall of Fame member and a worthy champion, but a second in the Ladies' Classic (especially to Music Note) decreases her cache far more than would a fifth in the Classic.
Other considerations:
1. Zenyatta
The undefeated champion mare has a chance to win her 14th consecutive race on one of the sport's grandest stages. Whether she goes for that win (unprecedented in the sense that most of the wins came against open [to her sex] graded stakes company) in the Ladies' Classic on Friday or the Classic on Saturday.
Trainer John Shirreffs said October 11 that he would not make a decision as to which race for a few weeks, so I expect the cacophony from my fellow scribes saying how unsportsmanlike he is to begin at any moment.
Anywho, while some are already sick of the Zenyatta debate, discussions such as these are why I love racing. Heck, most of the time the horses don't get a chance to settle the score on the track anyway (e.g., RA-Zen), so discussion is all we have.
Zenyatta running in the Classic is a no-lose situation in terms of her reputation. Simply starting in the Classic will clinch Zenyatta her second Eclipse Award as champion older female, as voters would not penalize her for running in the tougher spot. If she wins, then she would get Horse of the Year consideration and go down as one of the absolute best ever. If she loses, then she gave it a try and still has the championship to fall back on and maybe a couple more races before breeding.
Running in the Ladies' Classic would not only put the undefeated streak on the line but also the championship, since Music Note would win the Eclipse with a head-to-head victory over Zenyatta. A Ladies' Classic loss would also raise many questions about her competition throughout the year before the Breeders' Cup. A loss in the Ladies' Classic would be a huge blow to her reputation. She's still a future Racing Hall of Fame member and a worthy champion, but a second in the Ladies' Classic (especially to Music Note) decreases her cache far more than would a fifth in the Classic.
Other considerations:
- A win in the Classic would put Zenyatta ahead of Azeri as the all-time leading earner among North America-based females. A win in the Ladies' Classic would put her within striking range of that mark with another big one before retiring.
- No female has won the Classic, and only Bayakoa has won the Distaff twice.
- Zenyatta would certainly be favored in the Ladies' Classic, but she would be near the wagering choice in the Classic as well. It's tough to know how the public would bet it with Rip Van Winkle, Summer Bird, and Gio Ponti likely to take money, but Zenyatta will almost certainly a shorter than any of the previous females to attempt North America's richest race
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