[b]My apolegies for the length of this post. Hey, a lot happens in two days. Two very interesting days of racing and for some personal experiences.[/b]


richiebee Wrote:
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I guess I should kick it off by giving a personal recap, seeing as the redboard police are apparently on shore leave,

[b]Via some free association I connected your "shore leave" to John Joseph Nicholson's [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Detail]The Last Detail.[/url] The Breeders Cup, for film aficionados, is not so different from Jack's filmology. i.e. Generally speaking one good act/event after another.

Probably like many of us, I was reminiscing about the weekend. So, I thank you Richie for your "kick off" which I'll return to in a sec, but first. Last year I was spent by the time Friday's card started. Too much preparation without a time out. Did the same again this year. Sort of a broken down old horseplayer's version off "Excitable Boy" thank you Mr. Zevon and Laurel Canyon memories.[/b]

and those wonderful athletes in the NFL now insist on presenting short one act dramas after EVERY touchdown (even when their team is hopelessly beaten). The days of being a gracious winner are apparently long past. I think my inclination to celebrate quietly may be a throwback to racetrack days when one would attend the races with large groups of folks, any one of whom might be willing to offer to share in one's good fortune.

[b]Several good notions in your comments above imho. Keystone Kop celebrations post touchdown actual rivaled by The Peter Miller & Steve Asmussen Cameos. Most importantly though is the camaraderie and the "Crowd Wisdom" that often results from even a small crowd well meant. Investing is an intellectual pursuit and football is physical (both assertions c/b argued). Bottom line comparing the mental flaws of entertainers vs gamblers is material for a book.

I'm an Ed Deming devotee and consequently I reflect on the weekend from the perspective of flaws the mistakes I made.[/b]


I caught the late P4 on a $45 ticket: 1/5/6/3 for .$50. I was rather disappointed when I first looked at the will pays; the only explanation being that World App and Gun Runner were bet more heavily in the horizontals than they were in the "straight" pools? Given the field size and given the fact that the shortest priced runner in the sequence did not prevail (and that none of the four winners were odds on), I was expectin more, but that is an observation, not a complaint. Am I going to "thank" JB or TG? No, because the "thank you" posts make me laugh too hard, reminding me as they do of the "Thank you God!" scene from the movie "Animal House". (Don't take this personally P-Dub-- I'm glad you had a good day and I'm glad your Raid-az beat the floundering fish Sunday night). I bought the sheets for Saturday's festivities and, to be honest, I think I could have come up with legs 1,3 and 4 without the TG product and probably without the DRF past performances. In the case of the Juvenile, I will however say that Good Magic's TG "3" compelled me to add what might have been Chad's least likely winner to my ticket; in short, GM's number power allowed (forced) me to look past thefact that he was a maiden running in North America's most prestigious race for 2YOs.

[b]Its apropos that Richie (positive perspective) first recalls a win late in the card my memory (searching for defects) is a loss early Friday. Race #2 my 6/10 exacta box defeated by Dan "Big Hoss" Blocker's post time favorite. My err c/b - Dan Blocker would not have a BC day favorite unless the horse really is a good thing. I recall the thought and was over earger from too much anticipation. As in way back when. Anyway no offense to Mr. Blocker any related trolls need not ring in.

My other four exacta fails each involved getting one horse in. My first win bet was on a 100/1 shot who ran last. I could tell myself he was blocked by all the frontrunners stopping in front of him but truth is the Ramsey winner was wise to go in this race rather the BC main card. [/b]

[b]Re: Thank you JB. I'm reminded that the TG customer base is somewhat diverse. That is not everyone plays every day, day and night. The strategy of hiring an expert seems reasonable to me. My thanks concerns the quality of TG products and services and that is cultural... bravo. Lets not forget the real world distraction of mental illness and the damage done.

My take away here is what was one's objective going into the weekend? Did you have objective(s). Were you successful? Jim Covello, you beat all but one! maybe an Eclipse?[/b]

Enough about me. Lets talk about Bob Baffled, who came up empty handed after dominating dirt racing at the higher echelons for most of the year. Lots of umbrage and consternation here and elsewhere when BB shipped in and dominated the Belmont Day undercard, with all of his runners jumping forward dramatically. I will not here debate performance enhancing medications, enhanced testing, or out of competition testing but will speculate that in the future the Baffert stable stars might not be fully cranked for Summer engagements, with an eye towards having something left in the tank in November. I think BB may have also learned that some runner (Drefong?) may lose their competitive edge when not raced on a regular schedule.

[b]My theory about Drefong's hidden gate speed was either a misconception or the dead rail idea has traction (too much traction). The Drefong performance imo can't be explained as just better competition than last year. Probable that Richie & TGJB explanations both true. Yet as pace theory insists an early speed type that doesn't get the lead is toast. I expected more from BB more from habit than any thing else. However, I now will insist that when BB sends multiple horses at a purse it is because he harbors doubt.[/b]


Still, BB had a weekend most trainers can only dream about, with Abel Tasman, Somsini, Collected and West Coast all running well and collecting large checks. I can not help think that 2018 will be a pivotal year for BB, coming off a year where he was no factor in the Triple Crown races and a year which saw the rapid decline of the "World's Greatest Racehorse".

[b]This brings me to my last mistake. I took the position that Arrogate was still the "World's Greatest Racehorse" even so I wouldn't bet him at the price after watching his w/o's so I bet the Euro which had handled the articial surface. Ridiculous, probably tilted abit after my Chantilly exacta and Chad Brown's winner along with Big Money Mikey Monarchos move in the earlier Juvenile race. I'm a little sad though. My "crowd" was small in fact just two of us. My Cohort Templeton Peck made out a bit like UFC favorites this weekend and I suppose recovery will take some time. Its only a game counselor.[/b]

Television: Good straightforward coverage as best I could tell by NBCSN and NBC. No figure skaters, no bizarrely dressed Euro experts. Solid work from Brittney Eurton of TVG and Matt Bernier of DRF. I came not to mind the cut to the overhead camera view. With TVG carrying the races, one had the choice of listening to Denman's on track call or Larry The Screamer's NBC call. Sadly it appears to this listener that the iconic and beloved Trevor Denman has lost a bit off of his race calling fastball, so the decision was made to listen to Collmus (with the volume way down).

[b]I'd like to send a HUGE get well asap and prayers to Edie O. from whom I got an Expressbet E-mail. A canuck athlete that obviously loves the game of Horse Racing. Many have won your big C challenge previously enjoy the support you've earned it.[/b]

Beyond: A thought on the Pegasus. Good concept, wrong surface? Possible that a
Pegasus like race run at a distance on the turf would have broader appeal? A large international field of owners and horses to draw from?

[b]The BC inclusion of Winx, Moreia, and a couple of Japanese horses has to be economically viable even if BC organization paid expenses, doesn't it?[/b]

[b]As for laughter? As my brother says it is caused simply by the collision of two juxtopposed realities.

Dancing with the Stars (recorded) playing in the background looks like they are having fun. In closing (Richiebee) the latest episode of Good Behavior threw me another curve and that's why I like the series. Rarely what I expect. Oh, and Michelle Dockery.[/b]