Railbird 2004–2019

Archive for 2013

Boston, April 17

For the second day, I felt compelled to ride my bike through the city, pedaling along the Charles River from my home in Cambridge to the foot of Beacon Hill, then through the Back Bay and Kenmore Square. Boston is a beautiful town, especially in the spring. This is the season in which I arrived, in 1997, one of the thousands of young people who flood in every year for school or to start a career. I’ve left it twice to live in other cities, only to return. It’s home.

I felt terrified on Monday, which is what the person, or people, who set bombs at the Boston Marathon finish line wanted. I shook for hours, trying to make sense of the news, of how a gorgeous day out with family had turned into a nightmare. That was what it felt like — when I made it home alone, separated from my husband by the crowd — that I had been lost in a dark dream.

On Tuesday, I rode down familiar, still streets. There was no traffic, no noise. Police guarded barriers blocking off Boylston and sidestreets from the top of Copley Square to Massachusetts Avenue. Workers in the few Newbury shops and restaurants open looked out their doors forlorn. Clergy stood on the corners, ready to counsel anyone overwhelmed. Marathoners in their blue and gold jackets stopped to take pictures and to give reporters interviews. The mood was somber, and people were gentle with each other, every conversation opening with low voices and sympathy. Even the police, directing gawkers from the scene, spoke quietly and with words like Sir, Dear, Miss, please.

This morning, Boston felt like a city alive again. Boylston was still barricaded and investigators in hazmat suits were tossing bags of possible evidence from the roof of a building near Hereford, but children played on the Common and swan boats glided around the Public Garden pond. A hurdy-gurdy busker and his dachshund entertained tourists. A couple paused to kiss on Berkeley. A deliveryman shouted profanities at another driver. Life was going on.

Since Monday, I’ve been thinking about Patriots’ Day and what it means — what it will mean. The holiday commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord, the beginning of the Revolutionary War. It is the day of the Boston Marathon, a test of will and stamina for every runner who starts. It will be the sad anniversary of a city devastated. It is about courage.

Memorials have appeared at several of the closed-off intersections around Copley Square. The photos below were taken this morning.

Boylston and Berkeley

Newbury and Clarendon

Newbury and Exeter

Posted in Boston on April 17, 2013

Gone, Baby, Gone

Ray Paulick interviews a catchphrase:

Did [Go, Baby, Go] make a difference in handle or attendance?

Thatâ€™s a hard question, Ray. Iâ€™d like to think so as U.S. handle increased significantly from 1998 to 2004 when I was living large. There was definitely more racing on national TV and more coordinated national marketing and promotion. But it might have just been good timing. The game had a nice run of almost-Triple Crown winners from â€™98-â€™04 with Real Quiet, Charismatic, War Emblem, Funny Cide and Smarty Jones and the Seabiscuit book and movie definitely helped put us back in front of American public …

“Good timing” is an understatement: 1998-2004 was the rise of the Internet as we now know it. The industry’s various factions simultaneously managed to catch the moment, via ADWs, and squander it.

Posted in Industry on April 17, 2013 / Tagged America's Best Racing, Lost Opportunities, Marketing, NTRA, Taglines, Wagering

Boston, April 15

Caton Bredar:

So soon after the explosions, it won’t be easy to go back into the crowd, but it’ll be necessary as the best — maybe the only way — to forget, to triumph over the tragedy, to move on.

I have no words for what happened in my adopted hometown yesterday. The panic, uncertainty, and horror are still all too fresh, and how a day that was so joyous turned so dark is something I’m still struggling to understand. I’m grateful friends and family are okay; my thoughts are with everyone affected.

Posted in Boston on April 16, 2013

Points and Preps

Twenty days and counting: Prep season is over, even if there are still two races on the calendar that offer small Kentucky Derby points (also good for the Kentucky Oaks, which is why Pure Fun will start in the Lexington). Here’s the full Kentucky Derby point race schedule, with charts, replays, and winning Beyer Speed figures, and the official list of Kentucky Derby prospects in order of points as of April 14 from Churchill Downs (PDF). Noted — not one of the top 23 on that list started in the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Java’s War is #4 in points after winning the Blue Grass Stakes with a last to first move that seemed all the more impressive because he broke slowly from the gate (and not for the first time). “I wasn’t worried,” said trainer Ken McPeek after. “He’s not a horse that’s quick out of there.” If you like him for the Derby, you should be worried — it’s an unforgiving race. Jon White has his strikes (explained) — one of mine is that a horse can’t have a penchant for creating its own trouble. “[T]his colt can’t expect to spot 19 stronger Derby opponents a head start and still win,” observes Mike Watchmaker. “He’s not that good.”

Posted in Racing on April 15, 2013 / Tagged Derby Points, Derby Preps, Derby Prospects, Java's War, Kentucky Derby, Pure Fun

A Perfect 25

Why Black Caviar is the right horse for this moment:

In short, the vibe when you watch a Black Caviar race is one of assurance. The absolute certainty that Black Caviar is indisputably better than those around her.

This is no small thing. In this age of online commentary and social media, everything is up for debate. Everything can and will be refuted by someone, somewhere, and with venom.

You can’t troll Black Caviar.

She’s so freaky good, she converts even the skeptical: “[Black Caviar] takes us away from our daily grind … like some 21st century Pegasus.”

And now she’s 25-for-25, the winner of a record 15 Group 1 races in Australia after the T. J. Smith Stakes. “Her odds of $1.14 made her unbackable.” Did anyone care? “You’re beautiful,” they shouted when she entered the paddock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTWPSdWcIKk

More Black Caviar at Randwick on Saturday here, in this fantastic album posted to Facebook by photographer Bronwen Healy.

4/17/13 Update: Black Caviar has been retired.

– – – – –

On Friday, Horse of the Year Wise Dan (pictured here in the post parade) returned a winner in the Maker’s 46 Mile at Keeneland (the odds were in his favor). He looked eager on the backstretch, but waited for rider Jose Lezcano’s cue to go. “He wanted to go on, but I wanted to slow him down,” said Lezcano. “I waited as long as I could, but he’s a champion, you know.”