Winners and losers

There's a lot more losers in this game than there are winners. That wouldn't be the case if all races were match races, but I digress.

The majority of horses lose and the majority of bettors lose, but that only makes winning that much sweeter. A rundown of the winners and losers from this past weekend:

Winners: Horses who didn't race

• Both Lookin At Lucky and Zenyatta had more done for their reputations this weekend than any win could have done.
• Barring a second-half surge by Afleet Express that includes wins in both the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Breeders' Cup Classic, Lookin At Lucky has the three-year-old male division locked up.
• The only exception is if Paddy O'Prado tries the Breeders' Cup Classic instead of the Turf. He ran OK in the slop at Churchill, after all, but for now since Romans has said they're thinking Turf I'm only focused on the above scenario.
• I guess Rachel Alexandra could still dethrone Zenyatta from her two-time champion older female perch if she defeats that foe head to head in the Breeders' Cup, but it takes a very active imagination to envision the reigning Horse of the Year pulling that off after what we saw in the Personal Ensign

Losers: Those who think "stars" will help the industry

• More champions of 2009 returned to the races in 2010 than retired, so this looked like a banner year for the racing industry to showcase its stars after years of listening to many lament that people are turned off because so many of those so-called stars are "rushed to the breeding shed."
• The sporting public at large does not seem to have responded to the return of Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, undefeated two-time champion Zenyatta, dual champion Gio Ponti, and a host of others.
• Sure, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta have provided some small upticks in on-track business the few times they've run, and the thought of them running against each other in the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn generated a lot of buzz, but for the most part the racing season has been a flop from a "the game needs stars" standpoint.

Winner: Ron Troyer

• The Thoroughbred Times Inside Post Challenge began this past weekend, and the username Ron Troyer was the only contestant to select Afleet Express and Richard's Kid as the winners of their respective winners
• I did respectable in going 1/2 since the winner I had paid $11, which would keep me in the black even if I miss three consecutive selections. Trappe Shot, in retrospect, was a horrible selection given how he ran.

Loser: Nick Zito

• Certainly not a loser in the "finger and thumb in the shape of an 'L' on your forehead" sort of way, but as plenty of others have said since the Travers result went official, losing that race by that margin had to sting given how his Saratoga meeting had gone to that point.
• Anyone who does anything in this sport can certainly relate. From a handicapping perspective, I go on tears where it's like I can't lose—hitting profitable pick 4s for days on end for a week. Then there are the times—as Steve Asmussen said about some gamblers—I feel like I could stop Secretariat in the Belmont with a $2 win ticket.

Winner: Jim Dandy Stakes/Saratoga/New York racing

• The Monmouth Park elite meet generated a lot of buzz, and management there says business has exceeded its expectations, but NYRA's Travers weekend was an exclamation point on a month of racing that included the top race for older males to date, a championship-style race for three-year-old fillies, a well-matched Travers, and the return of the Horse of the Year.
• The Travers, in particular, seemed to have a lot more buzz than the Haskell despite lacking the division's leader. That the "cheaper" local prep had more to do with the Travers result than did the "elite meet" seven-figure purse says a lot about New York racing.

Loser: Haskell Stakes

• Somewhat related to calling my Trappe Shot tab "a horrible selection," I completely misjudged the quality of the Haskell as no starter from that race made so much as the slightest dent in the Travers.
• Since Lookin At Lucky won the Haskell so easily I'm not willing to consider the above an indictment on his quality

Winner: Gainesway

• Antony Beck's Lexington farm had a big year last year with three-year-olds sired by Birdstone and it's enjoying similar success this year with its Afleet Alex, sire of three Travers starters including the first and fourth-place finishers. Gainesway also stands Smoke Glacken, sire of Personal Ensign winner Persistently and Canada-based speedball Smokey Fire