Railbird 2004–2019

Miscellany Archive

Noted: July 15

– Pick 6 wagers are usually associated with big payoffs, but that’s not the case when five of six winners are heavy favorites, which is what happened at Belmont Thursday, “producing 633 winning pick 6 tickets worth whopping $57.50; better than sharp stick in eye. Consolation paid $4!” (New York Post)
– Doyle New York is auctioning the 1969 Kentucky Derby trophy won by Majestic Prince. The solid gold cup has an estimated value of $15,000-$20,000. This is the first time since the 1950s that a Derby trophy has gone up for sale. Photo (Doyle New York).
– Jeremy Rose wins the ESPY award for best jockey, beating Jerry Bailey, Javier Castellano, and Kentucky Derby winner Mike Smith for the honor. Rose, along with Afleet Alex, was also nominated in the best moment category for the duo’s recovery from the collision with Scrappy T at the top of the stretch in the Preakness. Some basketball player won that instead for his final game. The ESPY awards were given out in a ceremony on Wednesday; the event will be televised Sunday on ESPN (Centre Daily Times).

Posted in Miscellany on July 15, 2005

Noted: July 14

– Trainer Bob Baffert said that the Travers is out of the question for Roman Ruler, but that the colt might run on the Travers Day undercard in the King’s Bishop Stakes, which would have the Dwyer winner starting against Lost in the Fog (New York Daily News).
– The reliably cranky Paul Moran bemoans NYRA’s management and calls for the organization’s end. “The prevailing competency vacuum will remain because no experienced racing executive is likely to accept a position with an organization facing certain doom … This is why NYRA, which in better times would have no difficulty attracting the best and the brightest, is being steered by the inept and the clueless and kept afloat by middle management holdovers still too young to retire … It appears that the logical way to save the sport from those currently in charge and avert the decimation of the state’s breeding industry is for Albany to adopt the recommendations made repeatedly over the years.” The most recent recommendations from Friends of New York Racing call for a for-profit entity to manage the state’s racetracks (Newsday).
– Churchill Downs officials told Kentucky state legislators on Wednesday that this spring’s disease outbreaks cost the track $70,000 plus an unknown amount of lost handle (New York Times) … At the same meeting, state veterinarian Dr. Robert Stout said that it was impossible to determine the origin of the strangles cases (Blood-Horse).

Posted in Miscellany on July 14, 2005

Noted: July 13

– Strange things happen in racing. Consider the story of Joey P., “the offspring of a $25,000 claimer named Close Up out of a mare named Luckey Lipco, who was bought by breeder-owner John Petrini, a retired state cop, for $500. Trainer Frank Costa had been around for a while, but he was the type of hard-luck guy who never seemed to have a good horse and had never won a graded stakes in his 33 years in the business. Jockey Alfredo Clemente? Let’s just say he didn’t exactly remind anybody of Jerry Bailey.” Joey P. is now for 5-for-5 and one race away from meeting Afleet Alex in the Haskell (ESPN).
– Albany Times-Union columnist Matt Graves announces his retirement in a farewell column that looks back at 35 years of sports writing. “Remarkably, I spent much of my career writing about athletes who never uttered a syllable — Ruffian, Affirmed, Funny Cide, Seattle Slew and all the rest.”
– Egg Head, the only three-year-old to seriously challenge the undefeated Lost in the Fog, was euthanized Monday after succumbing to laminitis. “This is devastating,” said trainer Kieran McLaughlin (Daily Racing Form).

Posted in Miscellany on July 13, 2005

Noted: July 12

– Lava Man ran an impressive 120 Beyer speed figure for his Gold Cup win. The number puts him in the company of Ghostzapper (122 in the Met Mile) and Bellamy Road (120 in the Wood Memorial), and is a slight improvement on his last start, in which he ran a 116 (Daily Racing Form). Also: Lost in the Fog continued to improve, running a career-high 116 in the Carry Back Stakes.
– This year’s Virginia Derby could be “the best we’ve had,” said Colonial Downs general manager John Mooney. English Channel, winner of the Colonial Turf Cup, is entered along with 10 others in the Grand Slam of Grass’ second leg (Daily Press).
– The first ever Peruvian All-Stars day at River Downs is declared a success. “A larger-than-usual Monday crowd turned out to see the jockeys, donate money for autographed photos, bid on silent auction items and get treated to some Belmont-like racing.” The event was organized to showcase graduates of the Jockey School of Peru, such as Edgar Prado and Rafael Bejarano, and to raise money for the school (Lexington Herald-Leader).
– Over on the Derby List, there’s been quite a bit of talk about the Phoenix Trotting Park, which was open for two seasons in the mid-1960s and has sat abandoned since. All that’s left is the striking modern architecture grandstand; a trailer park sits where the backside once did. Some very cool photos of the ghost track have been linked to from the list, including this set of images showing the exterior and interior from first floor to skybox, and these three nighttime pictures.

Posted in Miscellany on July 12, 2005

Noted: July 11

– Hey, Suffolk Downs players: RacingFigures.com has added Suffolk’s Monday and Tuesday cards to its offerings. An experimental Suffolk sheet prepared for last Tuesday hit an impressive number of races.
– Add Delaware’s new Choose Six wager to the list of praiseworthy betting menu innovations made by racetracks this year. “It’s an outstanding product at a price all horseplayers crave” (NTRA).
– Bad week at Belmont. The breakdown of Up and Down in the fifth race on Sunday was the third fatality in a week at the track (New York Daily News).

Posted in Miscellany on July 11, 2005