Summer At Saratoga Extended Thru 2014

The National Broadcasting Company Sports Group and the New York Racing Association have agreed to terms to extend the Summer at Saratoga live series through 2014.

During it's first season this Summer, three of the hour-long programs were telecast were on NBC, with five others on the NBC Sports affiliate network Versus. Versus will become the NBC Sports Network on Jan. 2, 2012. The eight programs were telecast during a seven week span.

Extending the series another two years is a further indication of the commitment to horse racing by NBC Sports. The eight Saratoga telecasts over seven weeks were the most extensive live national broadcasts of horse racing ever.

NBC Sports is quickly becoming the home of live horse racing on network television. This year NBC became the first network since 2005 to telecast all three Triple Crown races in the same year. NBC was also the last to air all three Triple Crown races having aired the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. 1), Preakness Stakes (gr. 1) and Belmont Stakes (gr. 1) in 2005.

NBC Sports will also air a similar series from Keeneland during their 2011 Fall meeting in October.

While NBC Sports has significantly increased their coverage of live horse racing during this year, it’s not because some vice president at NBC headquarters in New York has a daughter that likes “horseys” or because The Today Show’s Matt Lauer is a big fan of the game.

Horse racing has again generated good ratings. Coverage of the Travers and King’s Bishop Stakes earned a .7 rating according to Sports Media Watch’s web site. That equates to roughly 1.054 million viewers. By comparison the U.S. Open Series Winston Salem Open Men’s Tennis final between John Isner and Julien Benneteau drew a .04 final rating on CBS the same day. Also that afternoon, the first weekend of the 2011 World Track and Field Championships earned a 1.2 final rating.

For comparison, the 2011 Kentucky Derby drew an 8.5 rating while the Preakness and Belmont earned 6.0 and 4.3 ratings this year respectively. The 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic earned a 2.5 final rating. Ratings for the live coverage of Zenyatta's only career loss in the 2010 Classic was the highest rating for a Breeders' Cup in four years and was higher than any Major League Baseball game telecast on ESPN during the 2010 season. NBC earned a 14.3 final rating Sunday for the National Football League game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons.


Brock The Horse Still Winless

Brock the horse looked like a million dollars in the post parade of Belmont's third race Wednesday and the players agreed. Going off as the 6-to-5 favorite in the field of six, the $2.3 million auction purchase again failed to break his maiden is his sixth try, finishing second to winner Steele Bridge. Even less unfortunate is that Brock almost doubled his career earnings Wednesday with the $10,200 check that boosted his career earnings to $25,920.

Travers Winner Will Join Ghosts and Greats

Take every winner of a major 3-year-old race since the second leg of the Triple Crown and throw in the winners of Monmouth Park’s Long Branch and Woodbine’s Victoria Park Stakes, some long shots, and you have the recipe for the 142nd running of the grade 1 Travers Stakes Saturday at historic Saratoga Race Course.

Winners of the Preakness (gr. 1), Belmont (gr. 1), Resorts Casino & Hotel Casino Invitational (gr. 1) and Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. 2) have entered the 1-1/4 mile “Mid-Summer” Derby and the million dollar purse has attracted four non-stakes winners hoping to capitalize on Saratoga’s historic moniker as the “graveyard of favorites.” It was after all, Saratoga that added “upset” to the sports vernacular when a horse by the same name defeated Man o’War in the 1919 Sanford Memorial at Saratoga.

But the Travers is also known for producing champions. In 2009, Summer Bird was the most recent Travers winner to be named champion 3-year-old colt. The first Travers winner to be so honored was Baden-Baden in 1877 with 24 Travers winning champions in between.

Whirlaway (photo) is the only Triple Winner to win the Travers – having done so in 1941 – but eight others have won two legs of the Triple Crown before winning the Travers some 3 months later in their respective years. Point Given (2001), Man o’War (1920), Damascus (’67), Native Dancer (’53) and Duke of Magenta won the Preakness, Belmont and Travers. Thunder Gulch (1995), Shut Out (’42) and Twenty Grand (’31) won the Derby, Belmont and Travers while.

Since no single horse won two legs of the Triple Crown this year, nobody has a chance to join the likes of Whirlaway, Point Given, Man o’War and Damascus on those lists, but there are plenty other historical clubs to join coming out of the Travers winner's circle.

Favorite Stay Thirsty comes into the Travers after winning the Jim Dandy over the same Saratoga track July 30. Arts and Letters was the first horse to win the Travers after winning the 1969 Jim Dandy with seven others having done so since. Since 1964, the Jim Dandy has been the main local prep race for the Travers and was the same path Bernardini, (sire of Stay Thirsty), used to win the 2006 Travers and later, title as champion 3-year-old colt or gelding that year.

Stay Thirsty also broke his maiden last year at Saratoga, while the only other Travers runner with a win over the track is Malibu Glow. At 20-1 in the morning line, Malibu Glow defeated older allowance horses in a 1-1/8 mile allowance race in late July and is among those with upset aspirations.

Stay Thirsty is trained by Todd Pletcher, who is the current leading trainer at this Saratoga meeting and in search of his seventh title at the Spa. Pletcher is also trying for his second Travers victory after winning in 2005 with Flower Ally.

Another nationally prominent trainer trying for his second Travers win is Bob Baffert, trainer of Haskell winner Coil. Baffert won the 2001 Travers with Point Given, who like his son after him, also won the Haskell Invitational. In fact, Point Given was the last of seven horses to win both the Haskell and Travers. Others who have won the two races include Coranado's Quest (1998), Holy Bull ('94), Forty Niner ('88), Wise Times ('86), Wajima ('75) and Holding Pattern in 1974.

So both Stay Thirsty and Coil hope to follow in the footsteps of their sires, both of whom won a graded race before the Travers, the Travers, and the division championship later.

Belmont Stakes winners have had the most success in the Travers with 27 of them coming back to win the Mid-Summer Derby, of which 14 were also named champion 3-year-old colt or gelding. Summer Bird was the last take the Belmont, Travers and championship, having done so in 2009. The first horse to list those three titles among their accomplishments was Duke of Magenta in 1878. The list also includes legends such as Man o’War (1920), Whirlaway (‘41), Native Dancer (’53), Damacus (’67) and Thunder Gulch (’95).

This year, Belmont winner Ruler On Ice (photo winning the Belmont) is hoping to join that list, but he won’t have the genetic history or trainer accomplishments of Stay Thirsty or Coil. Neither Roman Ruler (sire of Ruler On Ice) nor trainer Kelly Breen have a Travers win on their record, but Ruler On Ice remains among the probable winners at 6-1 odds as one of three grade 1 stakes winners in the Travers. Coil and Shackleford are the others.

Shackleford attained his grade 1 status the classic way, taking the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown. But also like Ruler On Ice, Shackleford’s close bloodlines are not speckled with winners of such races as the Travers, Haskell and Belmont – both have worked for their respect this year. Shackleford has been second in the Florida Derby at 68-1, fourth in Kentucky at 23-1 and won the Preakness at 12-1. His only race as the favorite was the Haskell last month when he was second by a neck behind Coil at 3-2 odds.

Shackleford also fights a futile history of Preakness winners in the Travers. Since Duke of Magenta won the Preakness and Travers in 1878, only six others have pulled off the same double. However, every one of them were champions including Man o’War, Whirlaway, Native Dancer, Damascus, Point Given and Bernardini.

It has been a much maligned group, these 3-year-old colts that make up the sophomore class of 2011. Early season long shots dotted the pre-Kentucky Derby landscape among this crop and different horses have won nearly every major race in this division this year.

But after all of that, some survivors still have a chance to step into the company of legends. Others may be looking for the edge brought on in the company of Saratoga ghosts that haunt race favorites at the upstate New York track.

But whether by grade one or grave yard, the winner of this Travers should have a say in the voting for the coveted Eclipse Award for the champion of this division and perhaps more.

Must See Horse Racing This Weekend

The purpose of today’s blog is to give notice. I want everyone to have plenty of time to clear their calendars this weekend. If it’s too late to clear your calendar and you have something planned for either Saturday or Sunday, (and it is not going to the track or your favorite simulcast center), set the DVR to record. If you don’t know how to set the DVR , you have four days to figure it. If you don’t have a DVR, you have four days to get one.

Because it is going to be a very good weekend of thoroughbred horse racing.

Saratoga on the East coast and Del Mar in the West, both feature their marquee races. Saturday, Saratoga hosts the mid-summer Derby in the grade 1 Travers Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1-1/4 miles on the main track. Sunday, Del Mar presents the 21st running of the $1,000,000 Pacific Classic, also at 10 furlongs on the main track but open to older horses.

The Saturday card at Saratoga also includes the grade 1 Foxwoods King’s Bishop Stakes, which looks to see the return of last year’s Champion 2-Year-Old Male and one-time Kentucky Derby favorite Uncle Mo. The seven furlong King’s Bishop Stakes should be no easy walz for Uncle Mo, however with Jersey Shore Stakes (gr. 2) winner Flashpoint a confirmed foe.

Another one-time Kentucky Derby hopeful after winning the grade 2 Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream Park in February, Flashpoint was fourth in the Florida Derby (gr. 1) and 14th in the Preakness (gr. 1) in his only two races around two turns. Winning the six furlong Jersey Shore makes him undefeated in sprint races the subject of much positive talk since trainer Wesley Ward confirmed Flashpoint for the King’s Bishop from his Aqueduct base 12 days ago.

As recent as last week, trainer Bob Baffert was considering the King’s Bishop for his one-time Derby hopeful, The Factor. Instead, Baffert has said he will run The Factor in the $300,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes (gr. 1) at Del Mar Sunday. The seven furlong Pat O’Brien will be The Factor’s first start since undergoing throat surgery last Spring and his first start against older horses. Baffert has won the O’Brien a record four times including the last two with Brujo last year and Zensational the year before.

Still the spotlight will be on the $1,000,000 Travers Stakes Saturday. First run in 1864, the Travers is the last chance for these top 3-year-old colts and geldings to make an impression against their age group before graduating to face older horses in the Fall. Even a impressive effort in the Travers is generally accompanied by some level of success against older horses on the resumes of most sophomore champions.

Stay Thirsty has the home course advantage in the Travers after winning the grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga in his last start. Jim Dandy runner-up Moonshine Mill is also headed to the Travers as is Preakness winner Shackleford, Belmont Stakes (gr. 1) winner Ruler on Ice and Resorts Casino Haskell Invitational winner Coil (photo).

The Pacific Classic has two of the first three finishers from last month’s Hollywood Gold Cup (gr. 1) at Hollywood Park in winner Game on Dude and third-place finisher Twirling Candy. The 1-1/4-mile Pacific Classic will also help clarify who might represent the West coast in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs in November but more importantly, may also have historical implications.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has not announced if his champion filly Blind Luck will take on older males in the Pacific Classic, but has the race under consideration. With the lack of any consistent standout horses, colts or geldings this year, Blind Luck could make significant strides toward becoming the third consecutive female Horse of the Year with a grade 1 win over males in the Classic. There has never been three consecutive female Horse of the Year winners and no filly or mare has ever won the Pacific Classic.

There will be much more to come in the final days leading up to these major races as the horses train, trainers decide and entry boxes open and close. After this weekend, a 3-year-old colt may emerge a likely champion and more will be known about older horses on the West coast. The sprint division will clarify with the Pat O’Brien in southern California and the King’s Bishop in New York and we neglected to metion the grade 1 Ballerina at the Spa or grade 2 Del Mar Handicap.

We just want do not want you to miss it.

Summer Signs Pointing Up For Horse Racing

This year horse racing couldn’t find a star colt, gelding or horse with a with a spy satellite and a bag of sweet feed.

In both male divisions, any talk of season-ending Eclipse awards is usually guided by the “What have you done for me lately” standard. Recent graded stakes winners Stay Thirsty, Coil and First Dude are at least mentioned when the topic turns to champions, even though Coil and First Dude each won their first grade I race of the year in their last starts (Resorts World Casino Haskell and Hollywood Gold Cup respectively) and Stay Thirsty has only two victories of note this year, both only grade 2 (Gotham Stakes and Jim Dandy).

The two biggest stars in the sport so far this year are from the older female ranks in Blind Luck and Havre de Grace. Not that these two very popular and gusty fillies aren’t worthy of their notability, it’s just that it is not often that we get to see their grade 1 races like the Apple Blossum (won by Havre de Grace), the Vanity Handicap (Blind Luck) or the Delaware Handicap (Blind Luck) on network television. Certainly HRTV and TVG help, but few sports fans would recognize Blind Luck.

Having said all that, from a business standpoint, horse racing is experiencing some notably upward signs, both short and long term. The industry has other more reliable indicators of the industry's overall popularity and profitability, but these positive signs are certainly notable.

Colonial Downs just concluded their 32-day season with a 21% increase in average daily attendance while money wagered on live and simulcast racing rose nearly as high, increasing 19.8%. Reducing and changing racing days and post times are attributed to the average gains, but total money bet at Colonial Downs rose slightly over last year as well.

Although purses at Colonial Downs dropped slightly due to less money wagered on Colonial races at other locations, more fans went to and wagered more money on the New Kent, Virginia track’s races this year compared to last. And that is significant in an national economy that is still far from any considerable recovery.

Saratoga, the prestigious, summer resort season located in upstate New York, is also experiencing increases. During the first two weeks of the meeting, attendance is up 1.3% with those folks wagering 4.5% more dollars on the races.

More interesting is the wagering on Saratoga from downstate. Last year, New York OTB was up and running during the Saratoga meeting. Some 50 OTB locations throughout the city closed in December due to bankruptcy caused by state budgetary problems (very long story short), and have since been replaced by simulcast facilities at both Belmont Park and Aqueduct Race Course on Long Island. The New York City fans have responded to the upgrade in facilities and have not been deterred what so ever by lost convenience of the many OTB locations available to them last year. The results speak for themselves as the increase in downstate wagering during the first two weeks of Saratoga have resulted in an increase of 11.4% over last year’s combined on-track handle.

Churchill Downs incorporated also gave investors and racing enthusiasts good news when they release their second quarter and six month figures ended June 30. In a July 27 press release, Churchill Downs Inc., revealed that net revenues from continuing operation for the quarter grew 16% compared to same period last year – to $249.7 million.

The growth was mainly attributed to the continued expansion and growth of CDI’s online and gaming business segments, of which Youbet.com and Harlow’s Casino near Memphis, Tenn., are included. The release also said that net earnings from racing operations increased primarily because of increases in admission, sponsorships, corporate hospitality and broadcast rights during the Kentucky Oaks and Derby.

Further south in the Lone Star State, where things have looked pretty dreary recently since legislation failed to legalize slots machines and casinos at tracks and on Native American reservations. Texas purses are now sure to decrease, while competing tracks in the Midwest and Southwest continue to increase their horsemen’s prize money through revenues from other forms of gaming in their states. One would think optimism for the future of horse racing in Texas would be rolling out of the state faster than a west bound tumbleweed leaving El Paso.

It has been recent headlines in the state that large gaming companies like the Chickasaw Nation’s Global Gaming and Penn National Gaming had invested heavily in Texas racing with large investments in Lone Star Park and Sam Houston Race Park respectively.

Recently, however, Retama Park in San Antonio has revealed they too are entertaining offers from corporations with large gaming interests. The story that appeared recently in the San Antonio Express-News story identified Retama Park CEO Bryan Brown as saying they would not disclose the name of the interested parties, only to say they were publicly traded Las Vegas Companies.

It may be two years before the Texas legislature meets to again and addresses the slot machine at race tracks issue, but potentially having the assets of three large gaming companies in Texas leads to much optimism for the next battle with those apposing additional gaming in Texas.

Despite horse racing's ability to provide a star in the more popular 3-year-old male and older horse divisions, racing fans appear to be showing up and betting their money on the thoroughbred game this summer nonetheless. Even in the wake of the most disheartening sports news in Texas since the 2010 Dallas Cowboys and Texas Longhorn football seasons, there is reason to look toward the future as gaming companies continue to invest in horse racing in the Lone Star state.

No doubt there are plenty of challenges for horse racing currently, but there are also some significant signs this summer that the game is going in the right direction. When there is no stars bringing the fans to the track, that alone presents signs of optimism.

Summer At Saratoga Success Opens Doors

NBC Sports Group’s Summer at Saratoga series got off to a rousing start last Saturday with the one-hour telecast of the $250,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (gr. 1), one of horse racing’s premier races exclusively for 3-year-old fillies. For the first time in several years, the historic track located in the upstate New York town of Saratoga was featured on network television and they made the most of it.

The Summer at Saratoga series will be featured every Saturday for the next six weeks plus an additional telecast on Sunday, August 7. All programs air from 5:00 – 6:00 pm EDT on either the network’s NBC Sports or on their nationally telecast cable affiliate Versus. This Saturday, the Diana Stakes and the Jim Dandy, both $500,000 grade 1 races, will highlight the Saturday telecast which will air on Versus.

The Diana is for fillies and mares going 1-1/8 miles on the turf while the Jim Dandy is for 3-year-olds going 1-1/8 miles on the dirt. The Jim Dandy is the major local prep race for the Travers Stakes (gr. 1), Saratoga’s signature event and known as the Mid-Summer Derby, to be run August 27. The King’s Bishop Stakes (gr. 1) will also be part of the Aug. 27 telecast on NBC and lists among its possible starters, Uncle Mo and The Factor, both big stars among the 3-year-old ranks this Spring before being sidelined.

According to reports in Thoroughbred Times and Bloodhorse.com, the inaugural Summer at Saratoga telecast drew some 1.18 million viewers who watched It’s Tricky win the Coaching Club American Oaks. To put that in perspective, the Kentucky Derby typically attracts a television audience of approximately 14-16 million viewers while the Belmont Stakes has roughly 5 million watch via television in a non-Triple Crown possible year. Relative to other major sports television ratings, the Derby is typically neck and neck with the Major League Baseball World Series depending which teams make the Fall classic. The San Francisco Giants won game five and the World Series last year over the Texas Rangers in front of a 14.95 million television audience.

The first installment of Summer at Saratoga also attracted more viewers than three of the last five Breeders’ Cups. The Saturday telecasts of the 2006, 2008 and 2009 Breeders’ Cups all fell short of the 1.18 million viewer of last week’s broadcast. Although it was far short of the nearly 3 million who tuned in last year on ESPN to see the strato-popular Zenyatta in her last race before retirement.

Don’t expect these big ratings to continue on the Versus network however. The Versus network is an all-sports network without near the distribution as their bigger brothers over at NBC. They have yet to find a real niche in the very crowded field of national sports networks, with their biggest contract being signed in conjunction with the National Hockey League. The Season at Saratoga premier on NBC attracted roughly the same size audience as Versus gets with their NHL regular season games.

After signing a deal with the NHL at the conclusion of their 2004-05 NHL lockout that cost the league an entire season, NBC Sports and Versus jumped on the opportunity and struck a broadcast deal with the NHL worth. The NBC Sports family has put a great deal of marketing and promotion to the National Hockey League since that contract was first signed and the fans have responded with ratings growth every year since.

It is very possible that the executives at NBC Sports have looked at the vacancy in the American Sports scene in late July and August. When Versus airs the final telecast of the series Sept. 3, Major League Baseball will be nearly four weeks away from the end of their regular season. Although the National Football League Hall of Fame game was scheduled for the afternoon of Aug. 7, it was cancelled due to the NFL lockout.

Even with the NFL preseason resuming, however, NBC Sports suites were keen in observing the NFL preseason games and their start times. Although the Aug. 13 Season at Saratoga telecast will be the same day as many NFL preseason games, the only game set for a national broadcast is Green Bay at Cleveland . And the 7:30 kick-off for that game will be at least 90 minutes after the winner of the Sword Dancer crosses the grassy finish line on Versus.

That pattern holds true the following two weeks of the preseason NFL schedule. New Orleans plays Houston on the same day as the Alabama Stakes (gr. 1) on NBC and the winners of the Travers and King’s Bishop will be out of the test barn and tucked away in their stalls with buckets of hot mash under full assault before New England and Detroit start knocking heads and chipping paint at 8:00 pm.

Having said that, racing still must rally to generate the viewership that NBC vice-presidents have in mind for Summer at Saratoga to be labeled a success – or more importantly – worthy of renewal. Opportunities for races outside the Triple Crown to be telecast by a national network do not present themselves very often. Even the rich and prestigious Breeders’ Cup has been relegated to cable as both days are now shown on the ESPN family of networks.

So the success of the Summer at Saratoga series is potentially very important to horse racing. At a time when the national sports menu is light and even the networks are looking for programming and revenue outside of infomercials, the door has suddenly swung open again for horse racing. It may even be a door similar to the one horse racing slammed shut after World War II when they scoffed at the new technology. Those were disasterous decisions. But telecasts such as the Coaching Club American Oaks last week now have some numbers on which the horse racing supporters at the large networks can rely.

Let’s just keep those numbers up.

NBC/Versus Summer at Saratoga
July 30, Diana and Jim Dandy, 5-6 p.m., VERSUS
Aug. 6, Whitney and Test, 5-6 p.m., VERSUS
Aug. 7, Vanderbilt and Honorable Miss, 5-6 p.m., VERSUS
Aug. 13, Sword Dancer, 5-6 p.m., VERSUS
Aug. 20, Alabama, 5-6 p.m., NBC
Aug. 27, Travers and King’s Bishop, 5-6 p.m., NBC
Sept. 3, Woodward and Forego, 5-6 p.m., VERSUS

Personal Ensign Obstacles Look Managable For Rachel Alexandra

Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year, returns to the site of her greatest triumph Sunday in the $300,000 Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga. Last year she completed one of the most dynamic campaigns ever by a 3-year-old filly by winning the grade 1 Woodward Stakes over older horses at the upstate New York racing icon. In fact, in the 56-year history of the Woodward, Rachel Alexandra is the only filly to ever win the race. At that time she was atop the racing world. Sunday, she returns grade 1 competition for the first time since.

It has been a challenging year for Rachel Alexandra, who started the year with two close second-place finishes in the ungraded New Orleans Ladies at Fair Grounds and the La Troienne (gr. 2) at Churchill Downs. She has since rebounded with two victories in the Fleur de Lis (gr. 2) at Churchill Downs and the ungraded Lady’s Secret at Monmouth Park, but Sunday marks her her first start this year against grade 1 competition.

In all of those races, Rachel Alexandra has been the odds-on favorite and she is the 2-5 choice in the Personal Ensign morning line in a small field of five. Unlike any of those race however, the Personal Ensign appears to have a few more legitimate challenges and challengers as well.

The first challenge will be the 1-1/4 mile distance of the Personal Ensign. This will be the first time Rachel Alexandra has run a race at the classic distance while her two top foes, Life At Ten and Miss Singhsix, just finished first and second respectively at that distance in the grade 2 Delaware Handicap.

Life At Ten brings the other apparent challenges. Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velasquez, Life At Ten rattled off her sixth consecutive victory in the Delaware Handicap going back to a win against allowance company at Aqueduct in November. That span includes her triumphs in the grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont and the Sixty Sails (gr. 3) at Hawthorne.

The other challenge Life At Ten brings to the Personal Ensign will be her early speed. Like Rachel Alexandra, Life At Ten likes to be on or near the lead when the field settles into the early running. Although Rachel Alexandra likes to go a bit faster than Life At Ten; and it is doubtful that jockey Calvin Borel would let Rachel Alexandra get into a compromising fast, early pace; Life at Ten should have the opportunity to at least apply some pressure.

Miss Singhsix looks to be the most logical to benefit should Life at Ten and Rachel Alexandra somehow exhaust themselves during the first mile of the race. But even under the most opportunistic of conditions, the Marty Wolfson-trained Miss Singhsix will have to improve significantly in order to defeat Rachel Alexandra.

No better place than the "Graveyard of Champions" to give a try though.

One interesting note that Rachel Alexandra has in her favor is the success of her sire Medaglia d’ Oro at Saratoga during his racing career. After finishing second in the Wood Memorial and Belmont Stakes, the Bobby Frankel trainee went to Saratoga to win both the Jim Dandy (gr. 2) and Travers as a 3-year-old. He returned the following year to win the Whitney Handicap over Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Valponi to finish his career 3-for-3 at the Spa.

Whitney Has All The Feel of NFL Training Camp

With National Football League training camps at full swing, many around the country have their attention on grown men trying to prove themselves to their coaches, teammates and fans. It just so happens that at the prestigious upstate New York racing haven known as Saratoga, we have nearly the same thing in the $750,000 Whitney Handicap - older horses trying to prove themselves as big league performers.

The grade 1 race at 1-1/8 miles on the main track at Saratoga features arguably three of the top five older horses in North America in Quality Road, Blame and Musket Man plus 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird as well as rising stars Haynesfield and Jardim.

The leader of the pack is without doubt Quality Road, who has been blazing through 2010 like he has some kind of equine chip on his horse shoulder. He has won all three of his starts this year – all in graded races - all impressively. In fact, during those three races, he has only been headed by another horse for about the first half-mile in the Donn Handicap (gr. 1) at Gulfstream Park in February. He went on to win that race by nearly 13 lengths while running the second fastest Donn in history achieving an eye-popping 121 Beyer Speed Figure.

That race was sandwiched between wire-wire victories in the grade 3 Hal's Hope Stakes at Gulfstream Park in January and the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. 1) at Belmont Park in May.

After a 3-year-old year in which he was scratched from the Triple Crown trail just days before the Kentucky Derby (gr. 1) presented by Yum! Brands as the potential favorite, Quality Road came back to the races last year at Saratoga with a vengeance to win the grade 2 Amsterdam at Saratoga in track record time. But in his next two races, he was never able to pass Belmont winner Summer Bird in the Travers Stakes (gr. 1) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. 1) in New York.

However, his connections thought enough of him to send him to the West coast for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. 1). But Quality Road got into a pre-race bout with the Santa Anita gate crew before taking on the starting gate itself, delaying the race and eventually being scratched. So irate about the incident was Quality Road, that he refused to board his flight home to New York days later. Instead trainer Todd Pletcher returned Quality Road to his barn at Aqueduct in a van where he promptly placed him in a camp for wayward starting gate horses.

During most of the winter, while every other horse in the barn was enjoying their mid-morning Timothy hay, Quality Road was doing time with former NYRA starter Bob Duncan at starting gate school at Aqueduct.

Unlike the Oscar winning prison rebel Cool Hand Luke however, with Quality Road it seems there was no “FAIL-yah to communicate.”

While still on probation, as exemplified by the post training hour schooling Quality Road still receives at Saratoga, it seems he is reformed and out to prove himself.

Two rookies to the national older horse league this year are Blame and Haynesfield, both undefeated in their last four starts, including two this year.

Blame brings to Saratoga the most credentials having won the grade 1 Stephen F. Foster Handicap at Chuchill Downs June 12. In fact, this 4-year-old trained by Al Stall Jr. has been turning heads since winning the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga last year. He then traveled to Louisiana Downs for the Super Derby (gr. 2) to run a very good second to a sharp Regal Ransom. Since then Blame has rattled off wins in the grade 2 Fayette at Keeneland, the grade 2 Clark Handicap at Churchill and the grade 3 William Donald Schaefer Stakes at Pimlico before taking the Foster.

Winning the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga is akin to playing on special teams in the NFL. It’s a big deal, but you just get lost in the shuffle with all the graded stakes winners at the Spa. This year, Blame has something to prove.

Haynesfield is the Rodney Dangerfield of this group from the perspective of this blogger at the very least. In blogging about his recent win over the heralded I Want Revenge in the Suburban Handicap (gr. 2) July 3, I referred to him as “Haynesworth.”

Haynesfield also has the grade 3 Discovery Handicap at Aqueduct in November in his four-race streak but the ungraded Empire Classic and an optional claiming race at Belmont are in the make up as well. He has a tendency to like to be near the lead so he’ll have to do battle with the speedy Quality Road early in the long race to make his point.

Then we have the veterans of the national wars trying to prove they can still play at this level – Mine That Bird and Musket Man. Of the two, the Derby winner has much more to prove than Musket Man.

First, Musket Man has a post Triple Crown win in the Super Stakes at Tampa Bay in February. Mine That Bird has lost six straight since taking the run for the roses including a very weak 8th place finish on the turf in the grade 2 Firecracker on the grass at Churchill July 4.

Longshot Kentucky Derby winners Giacomo (2005) and Gato Del Sol (1982) have both long been castigated for their careers after winning the run for the roses, but neither went 0-for-6 post Derby. Giacomo won his fifth race after the Derby in the San Diego Handicap but wound 1-for-7 during his career after Kentucky. Gato Del Sol won an allowance race in New York in his third start after the Derby, but had only one stakes win in the Cabrillo Handicap at Hollywood Park in 13 races after winning at Churchill on the first Saturday of May.

Mine That Bird, under the direction of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas this year, needs to start winning to avoid the one hit wonder label.

In terms of records and labels, perhaps Tom Petty best exemplies Musket Man in his 1989 tune "I Won't Back Down."

And I’ll keep this world from draggin me down.
And I’ll stand my ground, and I won’t back down

Since winning the Illinois Derby (gr. 2) some 15 months ago, Musket Man has taken on the best his class has to offer at the grade 1 level in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Carter Handicap, Metropolitan Handicap as well as the grade 2 Churchill Downs Stakes and his win in the minor Super Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. He seems to have a propensity to raise to the level of competition, but the winners’ circle has so far eluded him at that level. The words “so far” may be the operative.

Remember nobody knew Brett Favre until his second season at Green Bay.

But unlike Mr.Favre, who is staying at home during training camp this year, this group of older horses is in attendance and ready to go in August.

Show Me The Reason

A few days ago, NBA agent Lon Babby was on the ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike in the Morning talking about the much anticipated NBA free agency season that began at midnight Thursday. With the iconic Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James and superstars Dwayne Wade of Miami and Chris Boss of Toronto all becoming free agents this year, it is the biggest and potentially most impactful free agency season in NBA history. Certainly the biggest free agency class since future Hall of Famers Grant Hill and Tim Duncan hit the market together ten years ago. Babby, who represented both Duncan and Hill, told how as an agent he provides a list of criteria to each client before the free agency process begins. On that list are things like Championships, compensation, coaching, style of play, city livability, taxes, teammates, etc. There are 13 items on the list and the free agent is asked to rank them in order of importance. Without disclosing any names, Babby went on to say that nearly every free agent he has ever represented ranked compensation as their highest priority. He clarified that money does not trump every other item on the list, but if all other things are equal, money is invariably the most important to the players.

I’ve followed sports long enough to remember when Curt Flood of the St. Louis baseball Cardinals challenged a trade after the 1969 season, taking his case all the way to the United States Supreme Court, and pioneering free agency. And I’d be willing to bet that from the days when Flood roamed center field in St. Louis to James’, Wade and Boss today, money has been the driving force in most free agency decisions. For Flood it was a $100,000 contract in 1969. It was a very big number for a baseball player at that time. Today it is James, Wade and Boss each hoping for the NBA maximum contract of $96 million over four or five years.


I bring up free agency in light of the curious move recently by Jess Jackson (photo right), principal owner of Rachel Alexandra, who decided to run his 2009 Horse of the Year in the ungraded $400,000 Lady’s Secret Stakes at Monmouth Park July 24 instead of the grade 1 $250,000 Ruffian Handicap at the same distance at Saratoga the following week.

While all thoroughbreds and their handlers are technically free agents and have the right to command a certain level of purse money to perform, for most, that level is limited to the tracks at which one is given a stall and further within the confines of that track’s condition and stakes books.

But for a select few throughout history, stakes schedules and prize money has been significantly adjusted by race tracks to attract those stars. Going back to 1920 when Kenilworth Park put up $75,000 for a match race between the great Man o’ War and Triple Crown winner Sir Barton, tracks have used money and specified race conditions to feature the star thoroughbreds and promote horse racing at their venues. Certainly Rachel Alexandra and the undefeated Zenyatta fall into that category today.

Earlier this year Oaklawn Park president Charles Cella offered to boost the purse of the grade 1 Apple Blossom ten-fold to $5 million if both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta started. Jackson declined after Rachel Alexandra unexpectedly lost in the New Orleans Ladies Stakes preparing for the Apple Blossom. The purse of the Apple Blossom reverted back to the original $500,000 but Zenyatta and her connections still showed up in Arkansas to win her 16th consecutive race.

Instead Rachel Alexandra made her next start in the $200,000 La Troienne (gr. 2) at Churchill in early May and was upset. She finally won her first race of 2010 in her third start in the $200,000 Fleur dis Lis (gr. 2) at Churchill June 12. The next day Zenyatta made history winning her 17th race in as many starts in the $250,000, grade 1 Vanity Handicap. No purse levels were adjusted in the La Troienne, Fleur dis Lis nor Vanity but now Jackson is back in free agent mode, apparently taking Rachel Alexandra to the highest bidder – and taking the criticism for it from bloggers, the media and in particular the New York Racing Association, which operates Saratoga where the Ruffian will be run. NYRA president Charles Hayward said in a prepared statement that they “are puzzled and disappointed that Rachel Alexandra, who performed so well at Saratoga last year, is passing up the Grade 1 Ruffian to run in a non-graded race at Monmouth over the same distance."

The solution to Hayward’s puzzle of course is money – something the NYRA does not have much of after needing financial assistance from New York State to stay in business past the Belmont in early June this year. But NYRA’s financial problems are an entirely different story.

I can’t blame Jackson and his partner Harold McCormick for taking the extra money offered by Monmouth Park management. After all, Rachel Alexandra did win the $1 million Haskell Invitational over colts last year at Monmouth Park so we know she likes the Jersey Shore. It is also easy to imagine why Jackson and his ownership team, family and friends may want to return to Monmouth Park – the track and community have wonderful reputations. But you can’t tell me the crowd at Monmouth cheers any louder than the Saratoga folks last year when Rachel Alexandra won the Woodward.

I also don’t understand why Jackson exposes Rachel Alexandra to the potential criticism of skipping a grade 1 race – something she doesn’t need nor deserve. In the Zenyatta v. Rachel debate, (however tiring and ugly it can become at times) the Zenyatta supporters can now say Rachel dodged Zenyatta in the $5 million classic because the owner didn’t like the artificial surface. The Zenyatta supporters can now say Rachel dodged them again in the $5 million Apple Blossom. And now – never mind the competition in Zenyatta’s grade 1 wins in California, at least she shows up. Rachel’s critics now have her dodging grade 1 competition in their arsenal.

And I’m not sure the winner’s share of the extra $150,000 in the Lady’s Secret compared to the Ruffian is enough for a man like Jackson. I would take the barbs for $90,000 as I’m sure many would. But Jess Jackson can spend $90,000 at a concession stand if he sees a hot dog that he thinks is worth it. Jackson could probably lose $90,000 miscalculating a few tips.

Jackson has every right to take his filly anywhere he wants and run her anytime. And we as race fans are lucky she is even running this year at all. Most owners would have retired the Horse of the Year to the breeding shed. So don’t mistake me for looking a gift Rachel in the mouth.

As Lon Babby said, all things being equal between two teams, money comes into play making a free agent decision. But all things are not equal between the grade 1 Ruffian the Lady’s Secret. So we can only deduce that money is trumping every other factor for Jackson – at least in this instance.

I just don’t know why.

Editor's Note:
The subject of this post was suggested by the Thoroughbred Bloggers
Alliance, and other posts like it will be found at the TBA homepage
throughout the day. Click here to visit the TBA Homepage.

Neither Paradise Nor Bust, Horse Racing Presses On

Thoroughbred racing in North America is a vast industry that spans all three countries, including every state in the United States whether the home of tracks, breeders, owners and horsemen, management, manufacturing, service, agriculture or fans and gamblers. So whether you're elated by the Medaglia d' Oro filly that sold for a Maryland record $650,000 last week or prepared to take arms against the closing of Saratoga, be aware that all is not lost nor are we paradise bound.

The Triple Crown Bad News
The 2010 Triple Crown has never had much star quality momentum since the injury and departure of Fountain of Youth (gr. 2) and Wood Memorial (gr. 1) winner Eskendereya (photo right). Even before that, Looking at Lucky, who was the favorite to win the Kentucky Derby throughout most of the winter, never got untracked barely winning a troubled Rebel Stakes (gr. 3), and unlucky losses in the Santa Anita Derby (gr. 1) and the Kentucky Derby (gr. 1) presented by Yum! Brands.

Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver provided plenty of star potential coming from the barn of Todd Pletcher and having the services of public favorite Calvin Borel, but that team flattened out in the Preakness and will now skip the Belmont.

To make matters worse for racing fans, Preakness winner Lookin at Lucky will also skip the Belmont and instead be pointed toward the grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on August 1. So we are left with a Belmont Stakes (gr. 1) without a Kentucky Derby or Preakness winner for the first time since 2006.

The Triple Crown Good News
The NBC telecast of the Kentucky Derby was the highest in 18 years and eclipsed the 2009 Derby telecast that was the highest in 20 years. The 10.3 overnight rating and 23 share mean that nearly one in four television sets turned on Saturday afternoon were tuned into the Kentucky Derby. In terms of comparison to other major league sports on tv, the Derby ratings were higher than the final game of the 2009 World Series, the 2009 NBA Championship final game and the Stanley Cup finals in the NHL.

While the television ratings for the Preakness fell nearly 20% from a year ago, that Preakness was bolstered by the presence of the filly Rachel Alexandra and was among the highest rated Preakness telecasts in two decades. Even with the drop in comparison to last year, the Preakness ratings were still higher than the 2008 telecast and NBC reported that the combined ratings for the two telecasts results in the highest numbers of any consecutive horse telecasts since 1989.

More Good News To Triple Crown Bad News
While the 3-year-old crop of 2010 has yet to develop a horse with much star power, the older horse division is perhaps as loaded with stars as any year in decades.

Zenyatta continues to run into the racing history books and living rooms of America with every race as she continues to add to her now undefeated record in 16 career starts. While 2009 Horse of Year Rachel Alexandra has stumbled a bit in two close losses this year, there is no doubt she will draw attention and crowds when she makes here next start. Should Rachel Alexandra develop any resemblance of her 2009 form and eventually meet Zenyatta, the race will be a significant historical event in racing.

Just below the two superstars looms the popular Quality Road, winner of the 2009 Florida Derby (gr. 1) and undefeated in two starts this year; Summer Bird, the first horse in 20 years to win Belmont, Travers (gr. 1) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. 1); and Rail Trip on the West coast, who looked impressive while winning the Mervyn LeRoy (gr. 2)in preparation for his defense of the Hollywood Gold Cup (gr. 1) title.

Closings on the Coasts?
For at least the last two years, Hollywood Park near Los Angeles has ended a race meet with little or no assurance that it would not be the last. In July 2005, Churchill Downs sold the track to the Bay Meadows Land Company for $260 million in cash. Under the terms of the deal, the company was to continue thoroughbred racing at Hollywood Park for at least three years and longer if favorable gaming legislation was passed in California. Five years later, there are no slots at California race tracks, Hollywood Park Race Track is still running and the Hollywood Park Tomorrow retail, commercial and residential development is still just a plan.

Across town at Santa Anita, owner Magna Entertainment appears to have survived a bankruptcy in their Roman racetrack empire that has spanned to Texas, Maryland, Michigan and various points in between. Now parent company Magna International Development has told the Oak Tree Racing Association, which has leased Santa Anita since 1969 for their non-profit Fall meeting, that they are reneging on a previous agreement and want to void the lease. But California neighbors Hollywood Park and Del Mar near San Diego quickly told Oak Tree officials they are welcome to run the meeting at their tracks. MID blinked and is expected to resume negotiations with Oak Tree Officials.

MID chief executive officer Dennis Mills has a standing offer to play poker at the Sheridan house any time. He wouldn’t last an hour at the same table as my wife.

On the East coast, New York Racing Association president and CEO Charlie Hayward said Monday that cash problems must be resolved with the state or they will not have the funds to continue the Belmont Park meeting past the Belmont Stakes nor open Saratoga. Due to a $17 million shortfall from the New York Off-Track Betting Corp., NYRA, which operates Belmont Park, Saratoga and Aqueduct race tracks, has hit a cash crisis with devastating potential.

Although New York governor David Paterson and various state legislators have pledged not to allow racing to halt in New York, those same politicians have been working nine years to approve a slot operator and allow Video Lottery Terminals to be installed at Aqueduct. Slot revenues are expected to be a large benefit to the NYRA and state bottom line just as it has in other racing jurisdictions where slots have been allowed at tracks.

East Coast Good News
Saturday, Monmouth Park will open perhaps the most anticipated racing season in their 64-year history, offering $1 million per day in purses and attracting some of the top stables from New York, California and Kentucky. The 50-day summer meet is part of a plan that has sliced live thoroughbred racing days in New Jersey to 71 total and eliminating the thoroughbred season at the Meadowlands.

The season will feature racing predominantly on a Friday through Sunday basis in an effort to boost attendance and handle at the track to subsidize the large purses. Management is also counting on full fields and 11 and 12-race cards that are likely to become more attractive to the thoroughbred players across the country.

The racing industry has for years clamored for the "less racing/larger fields" strategy to be implemented in racing jurisdictions throughout the country. But the risk of potential lost revenue due to lost racing dates has been too large for managements and states before the Monmouth experiment begins this week.

Bad Economy Blasts Breeders Too
According to Bloodhorse.com, fees for advertised stallion may have fallen as much as 25% in 2009 and the 2010 season may be even worse for stallion owners and breeders. Gross sales at public auctions in North America fell from $972 million in 2008 to $659 million a year later, a decrease of some 32%. Lost revenues at sales directly and adversely affect studs fees, in particular the summer yearling market.

But the sales markets are showing signs of improvement in the early months of 2010 which will have a positive impact on stallion fees should the trend continue.

One of the leading early economic indicators for public auctions are the success of two-year-old in training sales held by public auction houses Barretts, Fasig-Tipton, Keeneland, and the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. While gross sales at these auctions have decreased at many of the sales, the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale of 2-year-olds in training Monday in Maryland saw horses sold and gross revenue increase 7.9% and 23%, respectively, from a year ago.

One segment of the industry that has done well throughout the 2-year-old season are pin-hookers. (those that purchase yearlings at summer auctions with the express intent of reselling them in 2-year-old-in-training sales the following spring.) The rate of return on investment for most pin-hookers this year has more than doubled into the 70% range according to bloodhorse.com, giving plenty of hope to the yearling market later this summer.

Good yearling sales means improved stud fees and hopefully the recovery of yet another thoroughbred racing segment from the depths of this latest recession.

Million Dollar Bids Of The Normal And Abnormal

The second session of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale answered two questions.

Nearly everyone approached this sale with cautious optimism after the sale company invested effort and money into elevating this once glamous auction to a return among the world's elite thoroughbred auctions. The Fasig-Tipton team courted the best consignors and bloodlines in North America and some of the top buyers in the world. But how would the market respond?

The second question is not nearly as serious, but one we've all asked ourselves. What would happen if some clown wondered in off the street and just started bidding on million dollar horses?

The increase in numbers after Monday night's session partially answered the first question. But the question was answered with authority when Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas challenged Shiek Mohammed in a bidding duel on hip 204, a colt by elite sire Storm Cat, who stood for as much as $500,000 per breeding as recent as 2007. Lukas bid while confering with Scott Ford of Westrock Stable while John Ferguson conducted the bidding for Shiek Mohammed from behind the sale ring. When the hammer finally fell, $2,800,000 lit the auction board as the sale's highest priced yearling.

When the two-day sale concluded, 160 yearlings had sold for $52,549,500, up a surprising 46 percent to the immence satisfaction of all involved.

The clown made his appearance, less the make-up and the humor, when he abrubtley bid $1 million on Hip no. 151, a filly by Kingmambo, from his seat in the front row. Buddled by the apparent lunacy of the stranger, no other potential buyers even offered another bid and the filly walked out of the ring with the seven-figure price tag.

According to Daily Racing Form, the press descended on the man who signed the ticket "Josh Mann", but when asked to provide identification he declined. Fasig-Tipton executives Walt Robertson and Boyd Browning approached the as he tried to escape the pavilion but were unable to convince the man into a private meeting. Shortly after consignor Craig Bandoroff joined the conversation, the man and friend embarked on a rapid departure from the facility despite Robertson and Browning repeatedly trying to stop them according to reports. Unconfirmed reports say the friend was wearing a t-shirt that read "I'm with stupidly".

Hip No. 151 was offered again later in the evening and brought $300,000 from Sheikh Hamdan al-Maktoum's Shadwell Estate Co. The incident potentially cost Bandoroff's Denali Stud agency and Fasig-Tipton tens of thousands of dollars and was partially attributed to the man being drunk. The other part was attributed to the man being stupid.

Click here for complete sale results

A Preview of The Graveyard of Champions

The opening of Saratoga is indeed a hallowed day for racing enthusiasts for two most contrasting reasons. We anticipate the 36 days of great races run by some of the best horses in some of the most prestigious races. We also somehow can not surpress our facination that the Spa is also known as the Graveyard of Champions or the Graveyard of Favorites.

For it is Saratoga that gave us one of the great sports terms of all-time as Upset became the only horse to ever defeat Man O' War in the 1919 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga. Man O' War owner Samuel D. Riddle did not collect the winner's share of the $4,900 purse for the only time in the big red colt's 21 career starts.

Another big red colt suffered one of his only defeats at Saratoga when Onion defeated Secretariat in the 1973 Whitney Handicap at .10-1 odds at Saratoga and Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox lost to Jim Dandy in the 1930 Travers Stakes at odds of .50-1.

Jim Dandy is the namesake of Saturday's grade 2 stake that will act as a local prep race for the $1 million Travers Stakes on Aug. 27. The $500,000, 1-1/8 race will feature the top three finishers from the Dwyer Stakes in Kensei, Convocation, and Warrior's Reward, pllus Peter Pan winner Charitable Man and perhaps the return of Saratoga Sinner, who is making his first start since winning the grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park in January.

Although the Jim Dandy comes up light against the $1.25 Haskell at Monmouth Park this weekend with Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra and Belmont winner Summer Bird, it will in all likely hood provide a possible "upset" in the Travers should all three Triple Crown race winners meet in the Travers as expected. Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird is also running this weekend in the $750,000 West Virginia Derby in preperation for the Travers.

Should all three run, it will be the first time since 1982 that the three winners of the American Classics have run in the Travers. That year longshot Runaway Groom defeated Preakness winner Aloma's Ruler and Belmont winner Conquistador Cielo who were second and third. Derby winner Gato Del Sol was fifth.