All the News That’s Fit to Print
Word count of the one article in the Sunday New York Times sports section on yesterday’s five grade one stakes races at Belmont: 532
Word count of an article in the same section summing up Saturday Ivy League football action: 536
Making Sense of TVG
So, I’ve had TVG for two days now and in that time it has mostly delighted me, occasionally angered me, and sometimes — like now — confounded me. Harness racing at Hawthorne is on, showing to the strains of “Movin’ On Up,” which was preceded by “Gimme a Break” and “Good Times.” That’s right — sitcom theme songs. And I thought the dentist office muzak playing yesterday afternoon was bad. What gives with the bizarre musical accompaniment?
Wygod, Canani Don’t Deserve All the Blame
Only after Sweet Catomine finished a poor fifth in the Santa Anita Derby as the 4-5 favorite did owner Marty Wygod reveal that the filly had bled in a workout less than a week before the race and then spent two days in an equine clinic. (LA Times) “I was 50-50 about running her. I was thinking about scratching,” he told reporters after the Santa Anita. The debate over how much disclosure trainers, owners, and tracks owe to fans regarding a horse’s condition is sure to be a hot one for the next week or two. But let’s not put all the responsibility on a horse’s connections. Wygod and trainer Julio Canani aren’t the only ones to blame here:
Sweet Catomine’s connections had every chance to come forward in a timely fashion. Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden said yesterday that Wygod had shared some of the details of the filly’s condition with him on Friday — but only after an assurance that Layden’s story would not be published until after the race was run. (San Diego Union Tribune)
So, Tim Layden, a working journalist, had information of interest to the public. And he choose to hold it until after the race.
Jay Privman, in his Daily Racing Form article on the Santa Anita, notes that, “None of this [about Sweet Catomine’s bleeding or other problems] was disclosed by Wygod or trainer Julio Canani when asked specifically about the filly’s condition on Wednesday.”
Did Privman ask about Sweet Catomine’s condition on Wednesday — when he did apparently see the filly and subsequently reported on a minor foot problem — because he had an inkling, or heard a rumor that something more was going on with her?
Is it possible that the Santa Anita Derby favorite was vanned off the backstretch for two days’ treatment and that there was no buzz picked up by a reporter — that no writer for the DRF, the LA Times, or the LA Daily News, that no stringer for Blood-Horse or Thoroughbred Times didn’t hear something, didn’t get one little whisper from another trainer or a track official and then didn’t stop by the barn to ask a question or two?
Maybe it is. After 10 months of keeping this blog and reading around 20 newspapers and magazines daily, plus checking with Google news, and a couple of forums, etc, I’ve learned that much contemporary racing journalism is not of the most investigative or aggressive variety. Every Tuesday, for instance, the NTRA hosts a teleconference for the media, and every Wednesday morning, from the Blood-Horse to the Courier-Times to the LA Times, you can read articles that sound remarkably similar, all using the same quotes from the same people. It’s not uncommon to see thinly-disguised rewritten stable notes and press releases published, or to see the same bland Associated Press story run in 15 different places. Rumors are rarely checked out. Clarifications are rarely sought. Problems are reported — after the fact. That has to end. Racing journalists and publications owe it to fans — and to the industry — to be more assertive in their reporting. Wygod and Canani deserve to be called out for not revealing Sweet Catomine’s health problems (and for running the filly if she was so compromised), but racing journalists need to step up and do their jobs too — following leads, asking hard questions, and reporting the news, good and bad.
Dream Derby: The Finale
“American Dream Derby,” GSN’s racing-related reality show, stages a live finale episode at Santa Anita tonight starting at 7 p.m. (Eastern Time). Only three contestants remain of the original 12, and they’re three of the most annoying — Eric, LeVar, and Sara — that appeared on the show. I admit to tuning out after the second week — there just wasn’t enough racing action or horse drama to keep my interest — but think it might be worth checking in this evening to catch the race that’ll decide the winner. The American Dream Derby Stakes is the final post at Santa Anita today.
2/22 Follow-up: And the winner is … Deanna Manfredi, a longshot in last night’s show. Her horse, Avenueofknowledge, won the $35,000 Dream Derby on Santa Anita’s sloppy main track. Manfredi won $250,000 and a stable of eight horses, seven of which she plans to send to Philadelphia Park to be trained by Scott Lake. Avenueofknowledge will remain in California with trainer Howard Zucker.
Dream Derby: Week 2
Episode 3: In which LeAnn Rimes pays a visits and spends more time on screen than any of the horses.
We begin with a look back at episode two. No one can believe that Jewel picked Shoot Yeah over Kool Smoke. “I was stunned,” Deanna says as we see shots from the match race and Jewel’s departure. Poor Jewel. She was so enthusiastic, so … wait, she’s gone, we don’t have to trouble ourselves with thinking about her anymore.
He’s Out
British racing pundit John McCririck became the second contestant booted off of “Celebrity Big Brother” last night. “Thank God I’m out,” he said after the decision was announced. McCririck was denied one of life’s necessities during his captivity, reports Louis, our man in Great Britain: “He went on a sulk for a day and a half because Big Brother would not give him any Diet Coke. He refused to speak to anyone in the house until he was given some. Big Brother taunted him by offering all the other housemates some in private and then offering him a glass of tomato juice.” That is cruel.
The Reviews Are In
And the headlines say it all. The movie about a zebra who thinks he’s a racehorse wins no love from critics. “Racing Stripes” …
– Pulls up lame
– Fails to show
– Can’t break out of the pack
– Brings up the rear
– Hits trifecta of cute, crude, and contrived
– Ebony without irony
– A horse of a disappointing stripe
– An also ran
– No barn burner
– More nag than racehorse
Ouch. Love the wordplay though.
Dream Derby: Week 1
“American Dream Derby,” airing on the Game Show Network, premiered on January 10 and features 12 contestants vying for a prize of $250,000 and a stable of eight Thoroughbreds. Each week, one contestant is eliminated following a match race. The final episode will air live on February 21.
Episode 1: In which introductions are made.
The show opens with shots of the contestants wandering around Santa Anita Park intercut with interview clips. Here’s a determined-looking woman named Susan telling the camera, “There’s nothing I care more about than horseracing,” and a young man named LaVar looking dazed to be at a racetrack. “I’m from the hood,” he says. There may be no horses in the hood, but there are lots of horses in Delaware, where another contender named David grew up learning about racing from his handicapper/horse owner father. David is cocky — he’s not the only one to say he’s confident, but he is the only to say, “I feel I’m going to win.” I have a feeling he’s not long for this game.
Dream Derby Premieres Tonight
“American Dream Derby” premieres tonight on the Game Show Network at 9 p.m. The New York Times declares the show “less idiotic than many examples of the reality genre,” yet the challenges involved — contestants dig through manure with their bare hands, dunk their heads in a molasses and oat-filled trough, and race around the track with 120lbs on their backs — suggest it’s not that much less idiotic. No matter. It’s about racing, and that’ll be enough to get me in front of the TV tonight.
Related: The Baltimore Sun profiles contestant Jewel Savage, racetrack novice and devoted Christian, the Times-Picayune interviews Dean Pellegrin, self-described “funny guy,” and back in December, Ocala resident Susan Bosso talked about her experience filming the show with the Star-Banner.
A Favorite for Eviction
Legendary British racing pundit John McCririck is one of eight cast members on the new season of the reality series “Big Brother.” Locked up in a house with former actress/model Brigitte Nielsen, feminist Germaine Greer, and a gaggle of minor celebrities, the “self-confessed sexist” has wasted no time offending his housemates. (ThisIsLondon)
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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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