JC / Railbird - Thoroughbred racing news and notes

I met Marc Subia today and he told me the story of his amazing autograph jacket. "It's my most prized possession." Marc started coming to Del Mar with his dad in the 1970s. It's his home track. And he's been collecting jockey autographs for decades ...

Grand Jete keeping an eye on me as I take a picture of Rushing Fall's #BC17 garland. #thoroughbred #horseracing #delmar

Another #treasurefromthearchive — this UPI collage for Secretariat vs. Sham. #inthearchives #thoroughbred #horseracing

Thanks, Arlington. Let's do this again next year. #Million35

That's a helmet. #BC16 #thoroughbred #horseracing #jockeys

Lady Eli on the muscle. #BC16 @santaanitapark #breederscup #thoroughbred #horseracing

Preakness Picks

1. Street Sense: At 7-5 on the morning line, and very likely even money in actual wagering, the Derby winner is hardly a tempting betting proposition, but he has a terrific post position outside Hard Spun and possible pacesetter Flying First Class and there’s plenty of speed in here to set up for his closing style. Plus, his class, speed, fitness, etc. make it difficult to get past him. So, I won’t even try.
2. Circular Quay: Consider the Derby a prep for the Preakness for this Pletcher-trained closer.
3. Curlin: I wasn’t on the Curlin bandwagon going into the Derby, but was impressed with the way he got up for third in that race after being shuffled back and blocked through the early stages.
4. King of the Roxy: The Santa Anita Derby second place finisher comes into the Preakness fresh.
5. Xchanger: Wire to wire over the track in the Federico Tesio last month, with a trainer who’s 47% at Pimlico. No surprise if he shows up in the exotics.
Looking for excuses after: Hard Spun. We’ve seen Hard Spun’s bottom. We saw it when he tired in the last furlong of his pre-Derby workout, we saw it again when he tired in the Derby. If ever a horse was ready to bounce, it’s this one.
Trailing, by several lengths, at the end: Flying First Class, Mint Slewlep, and C P West.

Posted by JC in Triple Crown on 05/18/2007 @ 4:30 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter

Friday Notes

– The Saratogian picks up on the Blood-Horse story from earlier this week about a wild plan being floated for New York racing that includes splitting the franchise, closing Aqueduct, and turning Belmont into a slots palace. All that could never happen, right?
– Calvin Borel’s first ride at Pimlico is a winning one: Unbridled Sidney romped on the turf in the Very One stakes this afternoon.
– Nobiz Like Shobiz got back to work this morning, breezing four furlongs in :48.42 at Belmont.
– As soon as the Preakness is over, speculation about which horses might be entered in the final leg of the Triple Crown is sure to begin. According to NYRA stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes, possibles for the Belmont include Rags to Riches, Imawildandcrazyguy, Tiago, and Slew’s Tizzy. Hm … Tiago and Rags to Riches. If Street Sense wins the Preakness, either of those two could make the Belmont stretch run pretty interesting.
– Carryover alert: There’s a Preakness day pick six carryover of $123,631 at Belmont.

Posted by JC in Races/Results on 05/18/2007 @ 4:20 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter

Preakness Post Positions

2008 Preakness post positions:

PP	Horse	Jockey	ML
1	Macho Again	Leparoux	20-1
2	Tres Borrachos	Baze	30-1
3	Icabad Crane	Rose	30-1
4	Yankee Bravo	Solis	15-1
5	Behindatthebar	Flores	10-1
6	Racecar Rhapsody	Albarado	30-1
7	Big Brown	Desormeaux	1-2
8	Kentucky Bear	Theriot	15-1
9	Stevil	Velazquez	30-1
10	Riley Tucker	Prado	30-1
11	Giant Moon	Dominguez	30-1
12	Gayego	Smith	8-1
13	Hey Byrn	Lopez	20-1

Posted by JC in Triple Crown on 05/16/2007 @ 5:15 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter

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