JC / Railbird

News Archive

Noted: February 12

– Balance wins Las Virgenes. “Today she was perfect. She broke nice and relaxed, and I did what I wanted,” said jockey Victor Espinoza. Wild Fit was second.
– Donn winner Brass Hat, headed to Dubai, is “as down-home as a horse can be,” which makes him an inspiration to everyone who breeds or owns horses on a budget.
– Lost in the Fog, in his first workout since starting in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, went three furlongs handily in :36.2 this morning at Golden Gate Fields. “He went even 12’s. It was very good for a first workout,” said trainer Greg Gilchrist.
– Merv wants a match race.

Posted in News on February 12, 2006

Noted: February 7

– Giacomo’s third place finish in last Saturday’s Strub Stakes pleased trainer John Shirreffs. “I’ll go home very happy,” Shirreffs said after the race.
– Jockey Russell Baze and apprentice Martin Garcia tie for Bay Meadows riding title. Both won 47 races during the 31-day meet. Baze has led the jockey standings almost every year at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate since 1981.
– NYRA doesn’t need Magna: “Frank’s not the only date at the ball,”said NYRA board member Charles Wait. “I don’t even think he’s the prettiest.”
– The final three members of the Committee on the Future of Racing in New York have been named.
– More reaction to the Yum! Derby deal: Maryjean Wall thinks “we should welcome the 132nd Derby presented by Yum Brands,” and Jennie Rees, declaring the deal “egalitarian,” says, “I rather like the idea that Churchill didn’t pair up with some elitist brand that many Derby fans can’t afford or identify with. The Derby spectacle draws on all walks of life, as does fast food.” Paul Daley suggests some other sponsorship possibilities: “How about Bob Baffert pairing with Just For Men Hair Color?”
– Despite the passage of a bill in Congress last fall to temporarily end horse slaughter this year by eliminating funding for USDA inspectors, the Agriculture Department announced today that horse slaughter would continue in the US after the date the law was to take effect.
– The racing blogosphere grows and grows: Take a moment to visit the newly launched and highly entertaining Longshots and Other Shots by Chris Garrity (who posted on Railbird last year about visiting Atlantic City Race Course) and the delightful Sue at Post Parade.

Posted in News on February 7, 2006

Noted: January 31

– Funny Cide will try to regain his winning form in an allowance race at Gulfstream on Thursday. The gelding finished seventh in his last start, the Mr. Prospector Handicap on January 7, but worked a sharp half mile on Sunday (workouts, however, have never been Funny Cide’s problem). Other possible starters in Thursday’s race include Pennsylvania Derby winner Sun King.
– Suffolk Downs announcer Larry Collmus, at Aqueduct for the winter, is taking questions from fans. And not just on racing: “John Q. Public: ‘Brokeback Mountain;classic or catastrophy?’ Larry Collmus: ‘I thought it was ok, not as good as I expected though. I really liked King Kong and the Woody Allen movie Match Point. Brokeback would be in my top five of the last few months.'”
– Trainer Todd Pletcher is asking a judge to toss out the $3,000 fine and 45-day suspension he received after one of his horses tested positive for mepivacaine following a race at Saratoga.
– Don’t forget to include a horse’s appearance in your handicapping. Here’s what to look for in the paddock and post parade.

Posted in News on January 31, 2006

Noted: January 26

– Andrew Beyer has seen the future of racing. So has Bob Roberts: “It’s my couch, my debit card, a laptop computer, and two pari-mutuel networks bounced off the satellite dish atop my garage and onto the screen of my television set.”
Both Beyer and Roberts are right that racing’s future is online, but I can’t help but to point out that some of the sites they praise, like Youbet.com, are unusable for Mac OS visitors. Youbet doesn’t even let Mac users get past the first page without throwing up an error message. And while the solution could be that Mac users just have to buy a PC and chalk up the expense as a necessary one to fully enjoy racing online, it really shouldn’t have to be that way — I can think of no other multimedia content or security-conscious financial services site that shows the same disregard for potential users. In some corners of the racing industry, though, customer service and making your product accessible just don’t matter.
Tote Board Brad isn’t ready to concede the future yet: “The track offers real value to me in a few ways.”
– A thoroughbred named for the Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series victory is set to make his career debut at Gulfstream Park in the next couple of weeks. Curse Reversed, a son of Grand Slam, was purchased by Boston-based racing outfit Centennial Farms for $180,000 at the 2003 Keeneland September yearling sale and is trained by Jimmy Jerkens. He probably won’t be the only horse with a Red Sox-inspired name to hit the track this year either: The Jockey Club reported in November 2004 a flurry of such names registered, including Red Sox Parade, Sweep the Series, and Bambino’s Curse.
– Maryland racing is suffering this winter. Short fields caused by the quarantine at Pimlico and restrictions on shippers into the track have made Laurel a bleak place to be these days. At Pimlico, a third horse was killed by the equine herpes virus this week.

Posted in News, Web/Technology on January 26, 2006