JC / Railbird

Belmont Archive

Desormeaux Speaks

Not to the press — “I gave my interview after the race, and I really have nothing more to say,” said the jockey (NYT) — but with trainer Rick Dutrow and the stewards. Dutrow said he and the rider are “back on target” (Blood-Horse) after meeting this morning at Aqueduct to discuss the Belmont. As for the stewards, Demormeaux spoke with them for about 20 minutes early this afternoon. It is uncertain what action, if any, the officials might — or should — take.

Posted in Belmont, Triple Crown on June 11, 2008

Back to the Races

– Finally, a winner (I have not done so well with my TBA picks today). J Be K, pressured through a first half in :44.89, rebuffed dogged longshot True Quality at the top of the stretch, drawing away to take the Woody Stephens with a final time of 1:21.85 and paying $7.20 for the win. Silver Edition got up for second, True Quality finished third. It was second stakes win of the day for rider Garrett Gomez, who will be aboard Macho Again in the Belmont.
– The Manhattan is the deepest, most competitive stakes on today’s card, with the formidable Out of Control, second to Einstein in the Turf Classic last out, and 2007 Manhattan winner Better Talk Now among the starters. Coupled with his rabbit, Shake the Bank, Better Talk Now is 7-1 with 12 minutes to post. I went with Proudinsky, coming off a win in the Muniz Handicap over the yielding turf at Fair Grounds, and Dancing Forever, winner of the Elkhorn at Keeneland at April, in a small pick four I have going. I’m awfully tempted to take a flyer on Stalingrad, making his first graded stakes appearance, and now 12-1 on the board. The 4-year-old gelding has been dominant in his first two local starts this year, but whether he’ll appreciate the added distance or has the class are questions.
– What a terrific finish: five across, then three across, then two heads bobbing for the win, with 4-1 Dancing Forever on the inside beating Out of Control by a nose. Well done!
– Watching the walk from the barns to the paddock on ABC and I’m struck by Big Brown’s appearance — it could be the angle or the light, but he looks ribby and thin in the flank, although his coat is shiny and his haunches well muscled …
– With 20 minutes to post, maiden Guadalcanal is at an inexplicable 23-1 on the board. Big Brown is at 1-4.
– The Belmont field is on the track and Ed checks in with a report: “This crowd is electric … they’re all forgetting about the plumbing, etc. Amazing experience.”
– Kent Desormeaux: “I had no horse.” Big Brown, rank in the first turn, unresponsive to his rider’s urging on the far turn, eased at the top of the stretch. Not how anyone wanted this to end. Fortunately, Big Brown does not appear lame, but he did just become the first Triple Crown hopeful to finish last (that can’t be good for his future stud fee). Congratulations to Nick Zito and rider Alan Garcia, who pulled off a wire-to-wire upset with 38-1 Da’ Tara.
– Zito is all class while being interviewed by Jeanine Edwards in the winner’s circle. Asked whether he would have started a horse with a quarter crack in the Belmont, Zito gracefully refuses to question the decision to run Big Brown or Dutrow’s judgment and turns the conversation back to his winner. Garcia is bubbly and charming thanking owner Robert LaPenta for the chance to ride Da’ Tara. As for the Big Brown connections, here’s a comment from someone on the scene:

Good for Desormeaux. I’m sure the loss was crushing for him, coming so close to a Triple Crown for the second time, as well as for the trainer who called the Belmont “a foregone conclusion.” Dutrow may have fled the press this afternoon, but the questions about Big Brown’s fitness will persist, and he missed a chance to show sportsmanship and humility …
– 8:10 p.m. update: Attendance was 94,476, way off from the crowd that packed Belmont when Smarty Jones went for the Triple Crown. Total handle has been estimated at $99,850,000, about 13% less than 2004.

Posted in Belmont, Triple Crown on June 7, 2008

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