Quick Preakness Thoughts

My first thought is that it's going to be a fun three weeks until the Belmont. We thought the stories were good coming into this race, if the Belmont rematch materializes look out... NBC got a A++ for their Preakness telecast. Taking the documentary approach to the Mine That Bird and Rachel Alexandra stories was both effective and entertaining. Gary Stevens was at the top of his game in the telecast telling story after relevant story to help the audience understand the sport from the jockeys' perspective. Thank goodness they got the blimp back in time for the race so we could see Mine That Bird's big move again... Speaking of that move, to bad it got stopped for the better part of a sixteenth of a mile... The filly gave us that great of a performance in winning the Preakness and she wasn't comfortable running on the Pimlico track according to Borel moments after the race... Any questions about whether MTB trainer Chip Woolley is a horseman?... Class overcomes eloquence. Jockey Calvin Borel while returning to the winner's circle aboard Rachel Alexandra, tells Donna Brothers how thankful he is. He just wins the Preakness Stakes and he mentions helping the race track chaplaincy with a cancer victim. His quote was awkard, but typlified Calvin Borel's character and class... Brilliant move by Rachel's new trainer Steve Asmussen to saddle her in the paddock located under the grandstand and away from all those colts. Because she was the thirteen horse, she left the paddock almost stealthly and slipped in behind the boys to join the post parade. They never saw her coming until it was too late... Cuddos to trainer Steve Asmussen for giving RA's former trainer Hal Wiggins credit deserved... Freisan Fire looked like a calf roping horse trying to keep up with Alexandra's gallop into and around the clubhouse turn. He was done before the first quarter of mile... Thank goodness Mine That Bird is a gelding. It will be very fun watching this horse run for a long... Any question about whether Texans can train race horses? Wiggins, Asmussen and Woolley all hail from the Lone Star State. D. Wayne Lukas, who finished fourth with 50-1 shot Flying Private, trained Quarter Horses in Texas before pari-mutuel wagering became legal. He has since become a Hall of Famer and a legend in the sport... Why is Pimlico going bankrupt? Times are tough sure, but you don't get through them by banning alcohol in the infield and raising the price of infield admission to $60. Results: 2008 Attendance 112,000+. Today at Pim. 77k with a race in which money bet was $86,684,470, up from $73.5 million last year. Can you imagine being in that meeting? "Let's do something to drive away young racing fans. We have too many college kids having fun in our infield with their beer?"... And finally, maybe I shouldn't be telling people how to bet trifectas...