Scrutiny (or how to embrace minutia)
One of my favorite moments of “First Saturday of May” is when Kentucky Derby week finally arrives, and the camera shows trainer Michael Matz going through his daily routine.
Then we pan out and see an onslaught of press watching Matz’s and Barbaro’s every move. My wife gasped at the sight of the media crush, and I heard similar whispers from throughout the theater.
Heck, I knew it was coming, and it even surprised me. When you go from quiet mornings at Fair Hill to Derby week, you’re not in Kansas anymore as the saying goes.
Scoops are hard to come by, of course. It’s unlikely that you’re going to talk to anyone alone. More than anything, the race is to be the first to post something since being the only news outlet with a story is tough to come by.
It’s important to keep this dynamic in mind when trolling the backside for news. A co-worker of mine had his spidey sense tingling on Sunday morning when Recapturetheglory did not go to the track despite having worked two days previous. His suspicians increased when trainer Louis Roussel was not around the barn in the morning.
So far it’s turned out to be nothing, but Smooth Air was supposedly fine on Friday after not going to the track for training, and then on Saturday we learned he had a fever.
Truth is, I understand that the media can’t always be the first to know about certain things. If I were an owner, I know I’d want to hear bad news from my trainer—not read about it on Thoroughbred Times or Daily Racing Form.
