dabomb_2: Q: I see a lot of people talking about Andromeda’s Hero. What are his chances?
ANDY_BEYER: You’re the only person talking about Andromeda’s Hero. He has no chance whatsoever.
illini82: Q: Why are the California horses getting no respect?
ANDY_BEYER: Because they stink.
The full DRF chat transcript.
More Derby news …
– Belmont marks 100 years with opening (TU) … “Today, Belmont Park stands alone. No longer a mere horse park, it is a landmark on New York’s horizon, an institution that has survived a century of turmoil, a civic prize of great charm and grandeur.” (NYP)
– Magna says Maryland tracks won’t get upgrades without slots. “We’re weighing very carefully what’s happened in Maryland, and we could, frankly, stop investing any significant sums at this stage,” said vice-president Jim McAlpine. (Sun)
– Trainer Richard Dutrow, Jr. won’t let backstretch gossip affect him. “He says his success is based upon solid horsemanship, good help, and patient owners.” (DRF)
– Send links, comments to railbird at jessicachapel dot com
Media Life correspondent Toni Fitzgerald predicted Monday that TV ratings for the Kentucky Derby would be way down this year without a heart-tugging favorite like Smarty Jones grabbing the public’s attention.
Toni, meet Afleet Alex.
The scrappy colt — rejected by his mother, handfed by a cute little girl with a Coors Light bottle, owned by a gang of Philadelphia friends who are going to the Derby with the very first horse they bought — is poised to become America’s horse. By Saturday, I’d guess even the most casual of racing fans will know his name, if the recent media coverage he and his connections are garnering is anything to go by.
Just today, the New York Times offers Alex’s bio (complete with photo of cute little girl feeding cute little foal), and a profile of his enthusiastic young rider Jeremy Rose; Dick Jerardi, who wrote about Cash Is King Stable and trainer Tim Ritchey last week, has a touching piece on one of the owners, Jen Reeves, in the Philadelphia Daily News; New York Daily News racing columnist Sherry Ross tries to resist Alex’s charms, but she can’t help melting a little at his story too; and the Courier-Journal talks to Alex’s breeder, John Silvertand, who’s fighting colon cancer. “Afleet Alex, the Kentucky Derby hopeful he bred, is helping him hang on.” Finally, Jay Privman wonders: “Might another Philadelphia story be written this year?”
More Derby news …
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Jessica Chapel writes and edits in Massachusetts. Railbird is a Thoroughbred horse racing blog published from June 2004 to July 2019. More / Contact
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