Bordering on redboarding here, but the Chads which ran 1-2 were Multiple Grade 1 winners, the rest of the field did not have a Gr 1 among them. As to the weights, the Gr 1 winners were spotting the other four 6-8 pounds.

I play horizontal wagers almost exclusively. If I can not go “skinny” in a least one leg, I skip the wager. The Diana, to me, looked like a great opportunity to go skinny, and I basically had the race wrong, not seeing Thais as a rabbit and thinking Sistercharlie might need a race.

Shorter fields, Bots, Chad Brown dominating NYRA turf, the shift away from handicap racing, PETAphiles .... all part of the current racing landscape, adjustments by horseplayers must be made.