JC / Railbird

Belmont Archive

No Water!

Commenter John S. reports from the scene:

Sounds dreadful, and dangerous. Let’s hope the problem is taken care of quickly, for everyone’s safety and comfort.
4:15 p.m. update: I just talked to Teresa of Brooklyn Backstretch, up on the Belmont third floor, and she has a sorry tale — the men’s bathrooms have been locked, the women’s bathrooms are in poor shape, and the situation is worsening as hot, inebriated people realize they have no place to relieve themselves. “I already have tomorrow’s blog post written,” she warned. I recommend you check her site on Sunday for all the details.
4:45 p.m. addendum: The third floor men’s rooms are open once again, and “spotlessly clean.” Does this mean the water situation is resolved? Let’s hope so.

Posted in Belmont, Triple Crown on June 7, 2008

Belmont Day Notes

– Two races into the card and it looks — as Paul Moran surmised it would, reporting earlier today that the “maintenance crew scraped the surface on Friday and the course was inexplicably sealed at about 9 a.m.” — as though we have a faster surface than we’ve seen all week at Belmont. In the first, Desert Key wired, getting the first half in :45.12 and finishing in 1:08.80, while in the second, maiden Sixthirteen squeaked out a similar run, flying through a half in :44.80 and wrapping up 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.70. In both races, the place horse was the same horse that chased the leader from the start.
– NYRA’s online wagering service does now show Casino Drive scratched, but the site is exhibiting plenty of other problems. I’m getting kicked out every couple minutes and have been presented with one “System busy” error so far, which does not bode well for later afternoon.
– If Big Brown wins the Belmont Stakes, I have the perfect epilogue to my book on great American racehorses. Yet, like Pete Fornatale, I’m kind of rooting for him to lose … but then, like Andrew Beyer, I suspect he’s so superior to this field that even with lost training time and a patched hoof, “he is unlikely to be beaten.” At least if Big Brown does win, we won’t see Hooters girls in the winner’s circle.
– In the fourth, Kent Desormeaux scored his first win of the day, coming through on the rail with favored Forefathers.
– ESPN just showed footage of a rambunctious Big Brown in the detention barn, kicking and bucking in his stall. Trainer Bob Baffert says, “If I were an opposing trainer, I’d be feeling nervous. He looks good.” Big Brown is fresh.
– More fun with NYRA online wagering, which apparently was not prepared to scale for Belmont day. As of 3:30 p.m., all I’m getting from it are these two errors:

Might be time to switch to TwinSpires, if that system is up …
Oh! New NYRA error at 3:41 p.m.:

Fantastic. I’ve been shut out of one of the card’s best betting races. Go, Vacare, Bayou’s Lassie, and Bit of Whimsy!
– Well, the NYRA site malfunction saved me money: 9-1 Ventura, getting a super trip inside and a dream ride from Garrett Gomez, came through in the stretch to win the Just a Game, with favored Lady of Venice, briefly boxed on the rail, taking second. As expected, lone speed Bayou’s Lassie was the pacesetter, but she faded back to fourth, with 44-1 Forever Together getting third for the wily combo of Jonathan Shepard and Ramon Dominguez.
– Another NYRA online error to report, this time at 4:38 p.m., 22 minutes to post for race nine: “All pools for race nine have been closed.” Right, NYRA … and by the way, where’s my refund on the $2 Casino Drive win wager that I shouldn’t have been allowed to make more than two hours after the colt was scratched?

Posted in Belmont, Triple Crown on June 7, 2008

Casino Drive Out

Casino Drive is an early scratch from this afternoon’s Belmont Stakes due to a bruised left hind hoof:

The injury, initially reported on Friday, is considered minor.
10:15 a.m. oddity: TwinSpires accurately shows Casino Drive as scratched and won’t process a bet on the horse, but NYRA’s online wagering service currently shows Casino Drive at 5-1 and did let me bet $2 to win on #5. Wow, that seems like an oversight and a problem. I guess I’ll look for a refund sometime this afternoon, when NYRA online finally catches up with NYRA scratches …

Posted in Belmont, Triple Crown on June 7, 2008

Belmont Day Live

Handicapping and blogging, beginning around 11:00 a.m.

Posted in Belmont, Triple Crown on June 6, 2008

If You Can Make it Here

… then thank God that your flights were actually on time for a change.
But seriously folks, I’m on the ground in New York and relaxing in my digs for the next few nights: the Red Roof Inn in Westbury.
As Bart Simpson once said while eating dinner in his panties, “This ain’t the Ritz,” but as far as Red Roofs go, it’s much nicer than any Accor brand hotel I’ve ever stayed at and infinitely nicer than the Red oof Inn (sic) I stayed at in Arlington Heights for the 2002 Breeders’ Cup. To think a girl I was courting actually stepped foot in that room is a marvel. She must have really liked me.
Anyway, I caught the last six races at Belmont today. Didn’t play the pick six but was all over the first two pick threes and the late pick four, so I have some extra ammunition for the sexier Belmont eve and Belmont cards.
It’s hard to tell how much buzz there is for the race since I wasn’t on the backside this morning, but I thought the press box was kind of sparse. I wouldn’t even call it a Preakness-sized crowd, and it was nothing like what the press box is like Derby week at Churchill.
On the plus side, I have heard that the mornings are lively, and the people in the area are very aware of what is on the line this Saturday. I consider it an honor to be a part of it.

Posted in Belmont on June 5, 2008

Sunday Morning Notes

– Zenyatta may be most exciting horse racing this year (and yes, I’m including Big Brown in the also-rans; he’s a Triple Crown season comet). The 4-year-old filly ran her unbeaten streak to five in the G2 Milady at Hollywood on Saturday. Bumped and squeezed at the start, Zenyatta showed a super turn of foot, closing from last into a slow pace (the first quarter in :24.74, the first half in :48.19) and kicking away to a 2 1/2-length win. “She always makes everyone look like they stopped,” said co-owner Ann Moss after. “It’s like she’s out for a gallop and everyone else is stopping” (LA Daily News).
– The power of having a Triple Crown contender in your barn made manifest: NYRA track superintendent John “Fast Track” Passero has adjusted Belmont track maintenance at the request of trainer Rick Dutrow, who was concerned about the recent condition of the dirt surface:

Passero said the track was graded less, harrowed more in the last week, giving it an additional quarter inch of cushion.
– Tale of Ekati breezed six furlongs in 1:11.19 this morning over the muddy main track in his final prep for the Belmont Stakes. “This was the move I was hoping for last week,” said trainer Barclay Tagg. In other Belmont news, Tomcito is out with a “reaction” and Casino Drive worked in company with stablemates Spark Candle and Champagne Squall.
– Frank Amonte, now 72 and riding at Suffolk Downs, continues in his quest to be the oldest jockey to win a race.
– When Romenesko posted the memo from Lexington Herald-Leader publisher Tim Kelly announcing a voluntary buyout program meant to cut 4% of the newspaper’s staff, I wondered if turf writer Maryjean Wall might be among those accepting the deal. Unfortunately for readers, she is:

Wall, who plans to finish her PhD in history and teach, landed the racing beat in 1973 and was one of the first women to cover the sport full-time. Given the state of the newspaper industry and declining racing coverage, she might also be one of the last to do the same …
– Bill Handleman declines to get caught up in Triple Crown excitement: “I cannot bring myself to root for Big Brown … I cannot bring myself to utter his name in the same breath with Affirmed and Seattle Slew, much less Secretariat.”

Posted in Belmont, Horses on June 1, 2008

New York State of Mind

Well, it was touch and go for awhile, but I’ve managed to convince the powers that be that our coverage of the Belmont Stakes just wouldn’t be the same without my insights. So, rather than watching Big Brown’s quest for history at Keeneland I’ll be live on the scene.
While I’m not a big fan of the racing-needs-a-Triple-Crown-winner line of thinking, I can say that a Triple Crown winner would help my business because more advertisers would want to be a part of the issues devoting to covering such a historic event.
Offshore gambling site Bodog sums up why I don’t think Big Brown winning the Triple Crown would be good for the sport: It lists odds on whether Big Brown will race past the Belmont Stakes. “Yes” is at 5-to-2 (+250) while “no” is at 1-to-4 (-400). That’s not a lot of confidence that we’ll see him in the Travers let alone in a showdown against Curlin.

Posted in Belmont on May 29, 2008

Wednesday Morning Notes

– The bird who chirped to Ernie that I preferred Divine Park over Commentator in the Met Mile had it right, although I profited little from the opinion, getting knocked out of a small pick three the leg before and missing the (logical in hindsight) $15.40 favorites’ exacta, cashing only a straight win bet on the 2-1 Kiaran McLaughlin trainee. I can’t claim any great handicapping insight: It seemed likely that Commentator would be pressured through torrid early fractions (as happened, with First Defence pushing the 6-5 favorite into first half fractions of :22.48 and :44.52) and Divine Park, coming off a superb win in the Westchester Handicap last month, seemed the obvious beneficiary in the stretch (as was the case, with the colt getting an ideal setup, closing in :26.94 into a final quarter timed in :27.30). I’ve also been partial to the son of Chester House since he debuted over the Aqueduct inner dirt two winters ago, and while Divine Park hasn’t given any sign he’s capable of brilliance — unlike the occasionally flashy Commentator, gallant in second — he has developed into a solid, game miler as a 4-year-old. The Met was Divine Park’s third straight win this year; a skeptical Mike Watchmaker reports a Beyer of 109 for the race (DRF+).
– Those wondering how seriously to take Big Brown’s latest quarter crack should take note of the recent success of another Ian McKinlay patient:

And trainer Shug McGaughey told the Times Union:

Good to know. So, if Big Brown loses the Belmont, the hoof is a handy excuse, but the reason may well be the distance or the rigors of pursuing the Triple Crown or anything else.
– Wagering security, just not a priority. Maybe the upcoming congressional hearings on horse racing should be expanded.

Posted in Belmont on May 28, 2008

Saturday Night Notes

– Nice handicapping by Ed, who alerted us yesterday to Monastic Springs in the seventh at Belmont this afternoon. Check out the head-on replay on Cal Racing and marvel at the rough stretch run the blinkered first-time starter had to survive to hit the wire on top. Steadied behind the two leaders as the field entered the stretch, Monastic Springs tried to move into the clear on the outside at the same time that eventual runner-up He Struck It Rich began drifting in the same direction, forcing Monastic Springs into tight quarters with Bob’s Star, who drifted slightly to the inside. Caught, the colt bulled through, causing bumping down the line, and was able to get up by a neck in the final yards, paying $27.80 for the win. An inquiry was conducted into the stretch run, but the stewards made no changes.
– In the fifth at Belmont, 72-1 Halation, a 4-year-old Lycius colt trying turf for the first time, graduated from the maiden ranks in his eighth start, giving rookie trainer David Prine his first win with his first starter. It’s a heartwarming story.
– An ugly scene in the seventh at Hollywood, when front-runner Waveland Avenue broke down in deep stretch, tossing rider Jose Valdivia to the track. Gobbler’s Knob, coming up the inside, veered to miss the stricken horse but was unable to get by and fell, unseating Taylor Baze. Both jockeys were able to walk off the track. Unfortunate Waveland Avenue, who had been drawing away to a convincing win, suffered a fatal front leg injury and was euthanized. The maiden special went to 54-1 Thrust, a bad actor at the gate, who balked at loading front or back for nearly five minutes and had to be blindfolded to get into the stall. He broke slowly and trailed the field by several lengths into the final turn, when he went five wide, began making up ground, and looked like a solid second coming down the center. Like commenter John, I’m wondering what’s happened to the Cushion Track — although I haven’t seen injury or fatality rates for the surface this meet and can’t say for certain, it does seem both are up significantly this spring.
– Steve Asmussen doesn’t like the trash talk coming from a certain barn. “I don’t want to hear a lot of worthless opinions about it. The proof is on the racetrack” (West Points).

Posted in Belmont on May 24, 2008

Very Promising

Music Note, so promising in her two starts last fall, won for fun this afternoon in the third at Belmont, her first race in more than six months. Relaxed and on the rail, she tracked the pace two lengths behind until the top of the stretch turn, when rider Javier Castellano nudged her to the outside and gave her a couple taps of the whip on the shoulder. Under a handride, the 8-5 favorite finished seven lengths ahead of the pricey Todd Pletcher-trained Charming, described in the results chart as “powerless to stall the winner” (PDF). So true. I hope this one shows up in a stakes next — she certainly has the breeding, being a 3-year-old filly by A.P. Indy out of the unraced Sadler’s Wells mare Note Musicale (whose dam was the champion filly It’s in the Air) and a half-sister to the mare Musical Chimes, winner of the 2003 French 1000 Guineas and the 2004 Mabee Handicap and Oak Tree Mile (she was retired in 2005). Final time for the mile allowance was 1:35.92, with a final quarter of :24.62.
5/23 Update: Rick Mettee said Music Note would be nominated to the Acorn, but was more likely to start next in the Mother Goose on June 28.

Posted in Belmont on May 22, 2008