Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

First let me again say thank you for coming through so well last year. Havre de Grace and Blind Luck continued their rivalry, the new Santa Anita surface seems to be working, New York has their racinos up and running and Hollywood Park is still open.

This year, I’m toning it down a little bit. Asking for less and hoping that less strain helps you again deliver the items on my wish list and I see them under the tree on Christmas morning – and throughout the entire new year.

I know you’re busy St. Nick, so without further ado:

1 - You keep delivering – and I’ll keep asking. Santa, do what you can to keep Hollywood Park open for another year.

2 - Good TV Ratings for all horse racing telecasts this year. While television ratings for the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands remains solid and competitive with major sports such as NBA basketball and major league baseball, it attracts far more viewers than other horse racing telecasts, network or cable. Even the Breeders' Cup can't compete with Kentucky Derby ratings.

So let's ride the coat tails of the Kentucky Derby itself.

This year NBC will provide live coverage of six major Derby prep races over four weeks leading up to the Run for the Roses on the first Saturday in May. Good ratings will not only help - and further validate horse racing as a big time sport. A solid amount of viewers watching the Arkansas Derby, for instance, should translate to even better Kentucky Derby television ratings. Wouldn't that be nice?

The series will be highlighted by an NBC telecast of the Santa Anita Derby and the Wood Memorial April 7. The 90-minute live telecast will originate from Aqueduct Race Track in New York and Santa Anita near Los Angeles and is the third telecast of the series following the Spiral Stakes from Turfway Park in Kentucky Mar. 24 and the Florida Derby from Gulfstream Park Mar. 31. The Spiral Stakes and Florida Derby will be on NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus) while the Blue Grass Stakes and Arkansas Derby will be on CNBC on April 14.



3 - I’m not going to ask for a Triple Crown winner again. Since Affirmed won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes back in 1978, American racing has gone without a Triple Crown winner the past 33 years. Each year I ask for a Triple Crown winner and each year, I am rejected. Since Big Brown won the Derby and Preakness in 2008, we haven’t even had hope for a Triple Crown winner going into the Belmont.

So maybe Triple Crown winner is too much to put on a Christmas list. All I ask: Don’t take away our hope even before the Derby because of something silly like an equine liver disease. Not silly as in not sereious. Silly as in "What the dog gone it was that all about?" (See Union Rags)

4 - How about if Tim Tebow were to buy a race horse. We’ll take his winning magic as part of the package but you can keep his passing game. Give that to some Pop Warner team.

5 - Bring Frankel the horse to the United States. Although he is the 2011 European Horse of the Year and Champion 3-year-old, he is named after one of the great American horsemen of our time. Frankel the horse is named for the late Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel. A five-time Eclipse Award winner as champion trainer, Bobby Frankel trained many great horses for Frankel’s owner Juddmonte Farm.

6 - I still haven’t seen trainer Dale Romans and Huckleberry Hound in the same place. Coincidence?

7 - I’ve know you to sneak down to races a time or two each year Santa. I’ve see you and Prancer at Silks lounge at Arlington Park betting Saratoga and Del Mar. But let’s face it – neither of you have time to get to the track in the winter. In fact, I’d like to wish for a winter break on all-tracks after the Breeders’ Cup. Tha’t right Santa – no racing from early November through January. I’ve thought this through Santa and know that it will leave money on the table and create holiday hardships for many people who sell mutual tickets, clean stalls or sell hot dogs and maybe we should wait for the economy to get rolling again before we jump into this. But every sport needs some resemblance of a season.

Most major sports in America need some form of contraction to increase interest and eventually profits in the long run. We know pro football doesn’t work in Los Angeles and baseball is a flop in Tampa Bay. Why there is hockey in Dallas and Phoenix is beyond me. The two lowest attended teams in the NHL, neither Dallas or Phoenix average less than 11,500. That is 2,000 less fans per night than the Columbus Blue Jackets. (I played hockey and had to look up the mascot for Columbus.)

Horse racing also needs to get smaller. And I’d start with no winter racing. Sorry Hollywood Park, Santa Anita, Aqueduct, Gulfstream, Churchill Downs, Fair Grounds et. al. Your over supplying the market.

8 - And finally Santa, keep all of the jockeys, exercise riders, trainers, stable hands and of course the horses, safe throughout the year.

Sincerely,

Brock Sheridan

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.

Triple Crown Could Benefit From Dog Days of Summer

Just about this time every year the dog days of summer begin as daily triple digit temperatures become the baking norm for some while humidity joins heat to beat down others. If you not just closing your umbrella and taking off you sweater in Seattle, bouncing on a boat in Lake Superior or hiking around Colorado at about 6,000 feet elevation, these are the days when weather is no longer a topic but a concern. It can be dangerously hot.

The dog days of summer are also a miserable time for sports fans with apologies to major league baseball who consider July Fourth the unofficial start of the “things are getting serious in the standings now” season. So by their own definition, many of fans of the boys of summer are just now cranking up their enthusiasm while reading box scores and checking the standings more often.

Fans of the National Football League (in non-lock out years) are still weeks away from training camp and pre-season games; while college football fans are still counting down to the start of their season in months. The National Basketball Association crowned their champions weeks ago, as did the National Hockey League. Women’s World Cup Soccer, Wimbleton Tennis and Derek Jeter’s awkward march toward 3,000 hits are among the major sports stories now and over the July Fourth weekend.

I say this not to sound like the 11-year-old children who repeatedly whine to their mothers, “I’m board!” in every U.S. town and city this time of year. I bring this up to illustrate perhaps a lost opportunity for thoroughbred racing. Let me be clear, however. This is no criticism of racing departments throughout America. They put on a great weekend of racing nationally with Flat Out continuing the trend of upset winners in the older horse division by winning the Suburban (gr. 2); and Smiling Tiger served notice to male sprinters on the West Coast by winning the Triple Bend (gr. 1) at Hollywood Park. Cross country, Teaks North gave similar warning to turf horses with his win the United Nations (gr. 1) at Monmouth Park. The Dwyer (gr. 2) at Belmont Park, the Shoemaker Mile (gr. 1) at Hollywood Park and the Firecracker Handicap at Churchill Downs are just a small sampling of great races this past weekend.

None of those races, however, were nationally televised by a network. They probably never will be. In order for racing to guarantee a network telecast, it has to fire one of their four big bullets – the Triple Crown races and the Breeders’ Cup. And the most logical race to move to July 4 weekend – the Belmont Stakes (gr. 1) - third leg of the Triple Crown.

Moving the Belmont Stakes may seem a bit radical, but there has been a large contingent of trainers, owners and media who have criticized the current Triple Crown schedule as to rigid. After the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. 1) is run on the first Saturday in May, the Preakness is just two weeks later with three between the second leg and the Belmont Stakes. It has, after all, been 33 years since Affirmed won the last Triple Crown in 1978.

Grade 1 horses are not used racing three times in five weeks say these critics. Today’s top thoroughbreds typically race no more frequent than every four to six weeks. Why then, is the sport’s most important series of races substantially different? The answers are as old as they can be annoying.

Because that’s the way it’s always been. You can’t change the way the game is played. It won’t be fair to compare the new Triple Crown winners to the old ones. How do we compare the records?


These are many of the same arguments professional baseball heard when they expanded the schedule from 162 regular season games to 182 games. When the NFL merged with the All-American Football Conference in 1950, they played 12 regular season games. Last year the league played 16 regular season games and are considering 18. Baseball’s American League plays with a designated hitter. It would be difficult to change the game of baseball more that in one fell swoop again. And the NFL has been changing tackling rules going back to when they outlawed clothes line tackles and grabbing face masking.

So you can change the way the game is played as exemplified by the most successful professional North American sports over the last 50 years – baseball and football.


The new Triple Crown would obviously start on the first Saturday in May with the Kentucky Derby. The Preakness could be run four weeks later with the Belmont coming after five more weeks, concluding the Triple Crown each year on the Saturday of the July 4 weekend.

As mentioned above, moving the Belmont Stakes to July 4 weekend would take advantage of the very slow time in American sports. A patriotic Belmont would not likely attract more television viewers than the Coke Zero 400 NASCAR race from Daytona (also run this past weekend), but should have little problem with regular season baseball in early July, Wimbleton Tennis or the Professional Golfers’ Association tournament that week. In years when a potential Triple Crown winner races in the Belmont, horse racing will knock most of these sports out of the proverbial television ratings park.

Stringing out the Triple Crown may also reverse a troubling trend in the races leading up to the Triple Crown. Because of the grueling five week test of the Triple Crown schedule, trainers are running in fewer races preparing for the Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown schedule. They want fresh horses going into those races so they are running in few races in the months leading up to the Derby. The last five Kentucky Derby winners had only two prep races in the months before their respective Kentucky Derbies.

That trend hasn’t seemed to impact the major grade 1 Derby preps such as the Florida, Arkansas and Santa Anita Derbies, nor the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes or Resort World New York Casino Wood Memorial. But early graded preps like the Robert Lewis Stakes, Risen Star Stakes and Holy Bull Stakes are becoming less and less significant. At the very least, they are currently less attractive to the trainers with Kentucky Derby aspirations than in years past.

In the modern sports arena horse racing has been relegated to a position far below the NFL, college football and NASCAAR in their popularity and ability to draw television viewers. Major league baseball and the National Basketball Association may have challenges in the televisions ratings for given games, but their popularity is unquestionably above that of horse racing. Trainers, like football coaches and baseball managers, have a strong tendencies to copy what the champions are doing.

In such a competitive environment for the attention and dollars of American sports fans, there are very few opportunities to acquire a bigger piece of the sports pie. It would take more than a few tweaks to change the schedule of the Triple Crown, and it would no doubt create long debates comparing Triple Crown winners of yore with any future horse who may win the three races in the classic series.

Sometimes big change can also result in big pay-offs. To be fair they can end with big failures too. But horse racing may have an opportunity. It is an opportunity to capitalize on a slow time on our nation’s sports calendar. It is an opportunity to align one of our premier events with a big national holiday. And an opportunity to excel in when others are melting in the dog days of summer.

Horse of the Year Race Slow After Six Months

Approaching the six-month mark in 2011 and nobody has a hint as to who might be Horse of the Year. There are plenty of possibilities with perhaps even more predictions, but at the half-way mark of this second or third year of the decade depending on how you look at it - nobody has come to the forefront in the run for the golden Eclipse Award.

Three different horses won the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. 1), Preakness Stakes (gr. 1) and Belmont Stakes (gr. 1) for the second consecutive year and Derby winner Animal Kingdom is now out for the year with a slab fracture. There are no stars in the older horse ranks and for the first time in North American history, there are rumblings of three consecutive female Horse of the Year titles. Zenyatta was Horse of the Year last year and Rachel Alexandra took home the golden statue in 2009.

Preakness winners in recent years at least have some bling in their trophy cases giving Shackleford fans some hope. Since Derby winner Charismatic won Horse of the Year in 1999, (he also won the Preakness that year) three Preakness winners have been honored with the golden Eclipse Award. Preakness winners Point Given (2001), Curlin (2007) and Rachel Alexandra were all so honored without Kentucky Derby victories. The last Derby winner to garner Horse of the Year without a Preakness win was Spend A Buck in 1985.

Belmont winner Ruler on Ice also might have something going for him depending on your definition of asset. Although the Test of Champions has not produced the number of Horse of the Year winners in recent years, the three most contemporary Belmont winners to be named HOY were Point Given 10 years ago, A.P. Indy in 1992 and Conquistador Cielo 10 years before that. So if the Belmont Stakes continues its recent trend of producing a Horse of the Year every ten years or so, Ruler on Ice may be right on schedule. Which brings us back to the definition of asset.

Adding further optimism to the Shackleford and Ruler on Ice camps, Rachel Alexandra and Curlin also won only one Triple Crown race. Both won the Preakness and then showed what it takes for a 3-year-old to get Horse of the Year post Triple Crown.

Rachel Alexandra won the Mother Goose against fillies, the Haskell Invitational against colts again, and the Woodward against older horses to finish her 2009 campaign. All three of her year-end races were grade 1, at three different tracks and Rachel had zero losses on the year to boot.

Curlin wasn’t so accomplished losing the Belmont to Rags to Riches after his Preakness win. He was then third behind Any Given Sunday and Hard Spun in the Haskell. But Curlin hit his stride in his last two races defeating older horses in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. 1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. 1).

Not that any of the current 3-year-old males can’t make a late season run, but Curlin and Rachel Alexandra illustrate just how high that Horse of the Year bar has been set.

As in most years, the older horse division is most likely to produce the HOY but they too have struggled to produce a favorite. Donn Handicap winner Giant Oak has lost three straight since taking the division's first grade 1 race in January and Game On Dude, upset winner of the Santa Anita Handicap (gr. 1) in more ways than one, lost the grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap to Awesome Gem in his next start. The other grade 1 race for older horses at a mile or more, the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs, produced long shot winner Pool Play, who returned $75.20 to his supporters that day.

Perhaps the front runners for Horse of the Year as June turns to July come from the ranks of the older fillies and mares. Havre de Grace may have the slight advantage in that division as the winner of three graded races this year including the prestigious Apple Blossom Handicap (gr. 1) at Oaklawn Park. A recent winner of the grade 3 Obeah Stakes at Delaware Park, Havre de Grace is on target for the grade 1 Delaware Handicap July 16.

Although a slow starter this year with three consecutive seconds in graded stakes, Blind Luck (photo above) remains the longtime nemesis of Havre de Grace in a rivalry that goes back to the Delaware Oaks (gr. 2) last year won by former. Havre de Grace has the edge this year, however, defeating Blind Luck in the Azeri Stakes (gr. 3) in March at Oaklawn. Blind Luck then came back to win the grade 2 La Troinne at Churchill Downs before recently defeating an accomplished group of fillies and mares in the grade I Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park.

Meanwhile, Awesome Maria has gone undefeated in four races this year including winning the grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park. Trainer Todd Pletcher has indicated that the grade I Ruffian at Saratoga may be the next start for Awesome Maria who was among the top 2-year-old fillies on the East coast last year.

Should a female win the Horse of the Year again this year after Rachel Alexandra in 2009 and Zenyatta last year, it will be the first time in the history of North American thoroughbred racing that females will have been named Horse of the Year in three consecutive years. Since the Horse of the Year was established in 1887, Twilight Tear and Busher in 1944-’45 respectively, were the only other females to win Horse of the Year in consecutive years, so the odds seem a little stacked against the ladies. There may not be another Rachel Alexandra or Zenyatta in this group of older fillies and mares, but they do bring enough name recognition and industry credentials to be respected.

Perhaps todays male have some respect, but none of the colts, horses and geldings racing today have quite yet obtained the credentials of some of their female counterparts. This may not quite be Tea Leoni and David Duchonvy splitting up, but it is soon time for all to step up make some Horse of the Year waves.

Championship Path Can Skip Triple Crown Wins

With the less than star power talent of the thoroughbred colts and geldings class of 2011, it seems the times are ripe for perhaps a late season run by a non-winner of a Triple Crown race for year-end championship honors.

Three horses have been named the champion 3-year-old male in the last 30 years without winning the Kentucky Derby (gr. 1), Preakness (gr. 1) or Belmont Stakes (gr. 1). Tiznow was the most recent to take home the divisional eclipse award after going 0-for-triple crown in 2000 while Skip Away (photo left) in 1996 and Holy Bull two years earlier, also share the distinction.

Holy Bull was one of the early stars of the 1994 class chasing after the Kentucky Derby after going undefeated in three starts as a 2-year-old including a victory in the grade 1 Futurity. The big grey colt started 1994 just as hot, winning the grade 2 Hutchinson Stakes at Gulfstream Park keeping his record unblemished. The son of Great Above then had his first bad race in the Fountain of Youth, tiring badly to finish sixth, more than 24 lengths behind winner Dehere. But trainer Warren Croll bounced right back with Holy Bull, and won both the Florida Derby (gr. I) and Blue Grass (gr. 2) Stakes as they headed to Kentucky with jockey Mike Smith as the favorite.

But Holy Bull broke slow in the Kentucky Derby and he was never able to completely recover, finishing a well beaten twelfth behind Go For Gin. Croll then decided to rest Holy Bull and skipped they both the Preakness and Belmont.

But Holy Bull came back stronger than ever, winning the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. 1), Dwyer Stakes (gr. 2), Haskell Invitational (gr. 1), Travers (gr. 1) and Woodward (gr. 1) to end the year with a five-race winning streak and eight wins in ten starts. He also accumulated more than $2 million in earnings that year and was also named Horse of the Year for 1994.

Tiznow and Skip Away both started their championship years much more inconspicuously than Holy Bull. It took Tiznow three races to break his maiden as a 3-year-old in Southern California and Skip Away bled and was distanced in his first race as sophomore at Gulfstream Park.

Also unlike Holy Bull, Skip Away started in all three Triple Crown events after finishing third in the Florida Derby and winning the Blue Grass that year. He would go winless in the three races, however, finishing 12th in the Derby and second to both Louis Quartorze in the Preakness and Editor’s Note in the Belmont.

There would be no rest for Skip Away though, as he went to win the Ohio Derby (gr. 2) three weeks later before winning the Haskell Invitational and finishing third in the Travers behind Will's Way and Louis Quartorze. The son of Skip Trial then finished the year winning the Woodbine Million (gr. 1) and the Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. 1) over the great Cigar.

After breaking his maiden at Hollywood Park May 31, it was already post Kentucky Derby and Preakness for Tiznow in 2000. But he would win the grade 2 Affirmed in his next race before a string of seconds against grade 1 company hit him in the Swaps and Pacific Classic against older horses. But Tiznow was not deterred and kept on rolling while winning the Super Derby (gr. 1) at Louisiana Downs and the Goodwood Handicap (gr. 1) back in Southern California. Trainer Jay Robbins put the son of Cee's Tizzy back on a plane and he soon at Churchill Downs defeating Giant’s Causeway to win his first Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. 1) (photo right). Like Holy Bull in 1994, Tiznow concluded his year with the Championship 3-Year-Old Male trophy but the golden Horse of the Year Ecplise as well.

There are candidates for such a run in 2011 with Mucho Macho Man among the possibilities. Celebrating his real birthday (official birthday for thoroughbreds is Jan. 1) just this month, he is likely to continue to grow into his large frame and may excel on the track at the same time. He is the only non-winner of any of the Triple Crown races to start in all three this year finishing third in the Derby, sixth in the Preakness and seventh in the Belmont Stakes.

Belmont second and third-place finishers Stay Thirsty and Brilliant Speed respectively should be late season contenders with their late running styles that may have compromised them in the Belmont. Santiva, eighth in the Belmont Stakes, may be another late bloomer who will benefit running in races at much more conventional distances than the 1-1/2 mile Belmont Stakes.

There are some other possibilities for some earlier stars to return to racing after not making the Triple Crown. Rebel Stakes (gr. 2) winner The Factor and pre-Derby favorite Uncle Mo are considered likely to return. The Factor has been recovering from minor throat surgery and may start in the Aug. 27 King’s Bishop Stakes (gr. 1) at Saratoga while Uncle Mo continues to recover from a liver ailment that forced to be withdrawn from the Derby at the last hour. There may be another Tiznow out there as well that remains virtually anonymous for the first six months before exploding to success in the later part of 2011. One-time Santa Anita Derby (gr. 1) favorite Jaycito may not be so under the radar, but certainly has the potential for late season success.

There are certainly plenty of big races left on the racing calendar dispite with the less informed racing fan might think. The Jim Dandy (gr. 2) and Travers are the big races for 3-year-olds at Saratoga and the Haskell Invitational likewise at Monmouth Park. There will be plenty of opportunities for sophomores to take on their older brethren in the Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup in the East and the Hollywood Gold Cup, Pacific Classic and Goodwood on the West Coast to name but a few.

There is no doubt that Derby winner Animal Kingdom, Preakness winner Shackleford and Belmont champion Ruler On Ice all have a jump on the field in pursuing the Eclipse Award over all other 3-year-old colts and geldings. But they will likely have to win more than their respective Triple Crown jewels to remain in the race for the championship.

Class of 2011 Still Has Chances To Thrill Fans

So there is not a Triple Crown winner. We knew that three weeks ago. Nope. No rivalry between Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. 1) winner Animal Kingdom and Preakness Stakes (gr. I) champion Shackleford either. And another long shot (Ruler On Ice) wins a grade 1 race for 3-year-old colts (The Belmont Stakes (gr. I) in 2011. And I am less wealthy because I didn’t listen to Captain Obvious on that last one.

But our three champions coming out of the Triple Crown races, each have plenty of which to be attracted.

It was refreshing to read on the Daily Racing Form site this morning that Animal Kingdom managing partner Barry Irwin is backing off of his plans to run the Derby winner on grass to prepare for a possible start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs. Before the Belmont, Irwin told NBC’s Bob Costas that Animal Kingdom was headed for the Secretariat Stakes for 3-year-olds or against older horses in the Arlington Million, both grade I races on grass at Arlington Park near Chicago this summer. But Team Valor president Irwin has since told the Form’s Jay Privman that the Haskell Invitational (gr. I) at Monmouth Park and the Travers Stakes (gr. 1) at Saratoga are two $1 million races now under consideration.

What horse racing might need more than the staying power of its stars this year, is a victory by Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom. Since Big Brown won the 2008 Monmouth Stakes in final race of his career, Kentucky Derby winners have gone 0-13. Animal Kingdom is now winless since his big win at Churchill Downs, finishing second in the Preakness and sixth in the Belmont after a disastrous start. Super Saver, winner of the 2010 Derby, was winless in the Preakness and Haskell Invitational before he was retired last year and 2009 Derby Champion Mine That Bird was 0-9 before he was prematurely retired.

Preakness winners have a propensity for post Triple Crown success the last few years with 12 of the last 14 winners of the second jewel taking home post season honors as the champion 3-year-old male. The only Preakness winners not to garner that award since 1997were Rachel Alexandra, a filly who was named Horse of the Year following her 2009 Preakness win; and 2000 winner Red Bullet.

Shackleford, this year’s Preakness winner, has built in popularity with his front-running style and coming from the barn of Dale Romans, which has been in vouque rightly so the last few years.

As for Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Ruler On Ice maintaining his popularity, his reproductive status dictates that he will likely stay on the track for awhile. The gelding trained by Kelly Breen and owned by George and Lori Hall has nothing to send him to retirement other than injury.

Not thinking Ruler On Ice can reach the popularity of champion geldings such as Kelso or Forego, but he is sure to benefit from better management than Mine That Bird, who quite frankly, should still be running with success.

Regardless of their popularity before and during the recently concluded Triple Crown races, this much maligned class of 3-year-olds still has plenty to offer racing fans. So far they have not been the fastest class of colts and geldings, but they have been relatively sound and if nothing, surprising for those of us who have wagered on this bunch.

Standing By My Man

There is perhaps one basic question regarding the 143rd running of the Belmont Stakes (gr. 1) Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Even though there is no Triple Crown winner to be crowned in the third jewel of the classic American series, the 1-1/2 mile Test of Champions has plenty of opportunity for definition in 2011. But will this crop of 3-year-old thoroughbreds have a stand out - a divisional leader - Saturday evening.

Animal Kingdom, winner of the grade 1 Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands but second in the Preakness to Shackleford, has perhaps the best chance at separating himself from his piers. He was a convincing winner at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May and came back to run a strong second to Shackleford in the Preakness. The son of Brazilian-bred sire Leroidesanimaux is also the only Belmont starter other than Shackleford with two wins this year. Animal Kingdom also won the Vinary Racing Spiral Stakes (gr. 3) in March while Shackleford also won an allowance race at Gulfstream Park in early February.

Animal Kingdom has been given the respect as the 5-2 morning line favorite while Shackleford has been taken down a notch to 9-2 as the third choice behind Derby runner-up Nehro at 4-1 in the morning line. The thinking behind that might be that Shackleford had difficulty holding the lead In the 10 furlong Kentucky Derby which raises questions about him going a quarter-mile further. Nehro also skipped the Preakness after the Kentucky Derby, so he arrives in New York with some needed time off that Shackleford of which Shackleford and Animal Kingdom have not enjoyed.

Wednesday morning, one might have thought Shackleford would have a relatively easy time getting to the lead and setting a comfortable pace as he did in the Derby. However, the post position draw changed that assumption when the speedy son of Forestry drew the far outside 12 hole. Jockey Jesus Castanon will have plenty of time to negotiate where he wants to be with Shackleford going into the second turn of the vast sweeping Belmont main track, but both Prime Cut and Isn’t He Perfect have the inside track to the relatively short run to the first turn at the Big Sandy. Yes, Shackleford can rate as he did in winning the Preakness, but he will then have less control to establish a pedestrian pace he may desire.

None of the above make my top Belmont selection however, has I will remain true to a horse for which I am just waiting for his break out moment. I have supported Mucho Macho Man since his third-place finish in the Louisiana Derby (gr. 2) in March – a race in which he ran most of with but three shoes. There was concern about the six-weeks between Louisiana and Kentucky, but it did not shake my resolution as I was sure the improvement without the naked hoof would be significant.

Mucho Macho Man finished a solid third in the Derby and I again speculated on improving Mucho Macho Man in the Preakness. Difficult to say a horse may have needed the Kentucky Derby after the six weeks, but my thinking was just that. But the shoe monster struck Mucho Macho Man again as he again threw a racing plate in the Preakness while finishing a disappointing sixth.

Mucho Macho Man has new glue-on shoes for the Belmont and just as important, will finally turn three-years-old (actually) four days after the Belmont Stakes on June 15. One would think that Mucho Macho Man is the beneficiary of added maturity that has bypassed others with earlier foaling dates. At 10-1, the Belmont is certainly no time to desert Mucho Macho Man at the windows.

Another horse at the attractive price of 10-1 also has my attention is Master of Hounds. In a case of the clock not defining actual speed, Master of Hounds looked to be making up considerable ground in the final 110 yards of the Kentucky Derby. He eventually ran out of ground coming from as far back as eight and three-quarters lengths and Master Hounds should be much closer in the Belmont Stakes if he can manage to repeat the running styles he showed when second in the UAE Derby (gr. II-UAE) in March. The England-to-Kentucky, Kentucky-to-England then England-to-New York itinerary has created some skepticism, but the cool front expected to hit New York Saturda and having trainer Aidan O’Brien erase much of that doubt.

Belmont Selections
1. Mucho Macho Man
2. Animal Kingdom
3. Master of Hounds

Belmont Trends Say Stay Close Early

With the post positions now set and the morning line made for the 143rd Belmont Stakes (gr. I) Saturday, handicappers and prognosticators can now get underway. But before speed figures are studied and past performances perused, perhaps defining what it takes to win the Belmont Stakes is in order. After all, with the 1-1/2 mile distance, the sandy Belmont main track, the wide sweeping turns and it place as the third leg of the grueling Triple Crown to name a few of the races nuances, the Belmont Stakes is among the most unique in North America.

Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. 1) winner Animal Kingdom has been installed as the morning line favorite with 5-to-2 odds. Unfortunately, being either the Derby winner or the favorite have not been so prosperous in the concrete jungle where dreams are made of.

In the last 30 years, only Swale in 1984 and Thunder Gulch 11 years later, have won both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. During that same span, seven others who won the Run for the Roses finished second – sometimes heartbreaking seconds – in the Belmont. Smarty Jones (2004), Real Quiet (1999), Silver Charm (’97) and Sunday Silence all finished second in the Belmont to end their bid for the Triple Crown. Pleasant Colony (’81), Alysheba (’87), Charismatic (’99),War Emblem ('02)and Big Brown (’08) were less dramatic in losing their Triple Crowns in the Belmont.

Favorites have not fared so well in the last three decades either. Only six favorites have won the last 30 runnings (20%) of the Belmont Stakes with the last being Afleet Alex in 2005. Other favorites to don the white carnations in the Belmont winners’ circle were Point Given (’01), Thunder Gulch, A.P. Indy (’92), Risen Star (’88) and Swale.

Kentucky Derby runner-up Nehro has been assigned the role as second favorite in the morning line at 4-to-1. If Nehro goes to the gate in the Belmont as the second most popular among punters, he will have a considerable advantage, at least from a historical perspective, over the favorite. In the last 30 years, ten Belmont winners (30%) have gone off as the second choice In the wagering.

Although many wrongly assume that the 12 furlong Belmont plays into an advantage for closers, trainer Steve Asmussen may want jockey Corey Nakatani to repeat his strategy in the Kentucky Derby with Nehro. Previously a closer from as far back as tenth-place in earlier races, Nehro was sixth after the first half-mile of the Derby, but was just more than 3 lengths from the lead.

That seems to be the cat bird seat in the Belmont Stakes, or near that margin anyway. Looking back 30 years again, only five horses have won the Belmont virtually from gate to wire and seven others have won the race from 6-1/2 lengths off the lead or more after the first four furlongs. The other 18 winners raced from between a half-length to 3-1/2 lengths off the lead early in their victorious romps in New York.

It would not be smart to totally discount a front runner like Shackleford, however. With little competition for the front-runner position, Shackleford is likely to try to join the likes of Da’ Tara (2008), Touch Gold, Swale and Conquistador Cielo in 1982 as those who won after leading early in the Belmont. Touch Gold throws a bit of a monkey wrench into this analysis after his quirky 1997 victory in which he lead after a half-mile, then dropped back to fourth, before making another run to catch Silver Charm at the wire.

And not all speedsters are completely defeated by the long Belmont distance. Nine other front runners have held on to finish second or third in the last 30 years. In fact, in the last three years, the pace-setter has finished in the top two with First Dude and Dunkirk both finishing second last year and 2009 respectively; and Da’ Tara winning.

Preakness winners have had their challenges in the Belmont with only five winning the second and third jewels of the Triple Crown in the last 30 years including Afleet Alex (’05), Point Given (’01), Tobasco Cat (’94), Hansel (’91) and Risen Star.

Master of Hounds returns to the United States from his base in trainer Aidan O’Brien’s stable in Britain after finishing sixth in the Kentucky Derby and returning to Europe. In the last 30 years, he will be the 11th invader to start in the Belmont Stakes after traveling to New York from abroad with only Go And Go winning in 1990. Others of note were Le Voyageur, third in the 1989 Belmont behind Easy Goer and Sunday Silence; and My Memoirs, second to A.P. Indy in 1992.

The history of the Belmont is as interesting and unique as the race itself and over the last 30 years some trends seem to have developed. Speed horses, obviously, do not win the Belmont with any regularity, but they stay in the top three more often than some might think. Closers seem to have their challenges as well while staying close to the pace seems to be the winning formula.

The race has certainly measured up to its moniker as the Test of Champions as ten of the last 30 winner’s have been recognized as the divisional champion at year’s end and 59 in all. It is a large field that has entered to run in the 2011 Belmont with 12 slated to start in one of the oldest races in North America. Whether this Belmont is to be won by Derby champion Animal Kingdom, invader Master of Hounds, Preakness winner Shackleford or any other, after the race, somebody will be under the bright lights of New York and all its fame and history.

Belmont Iconic Regardless of Triple Crown

Since Shackleford dug in on his left lead in the final strides of the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) two weeks ago, holding off Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Animal Kingdom, we’ve known there will be no Triple Crown winner in 2011. It will be 33 years to the day Friday, since Affirmed and the young jockey Steve Cauthen captured the attention of America by holding off the nemisis Alydar by head to win the Belmont Stakes after taking the Derby and Preakness in 1978.

Therefor, the crowd at Belmont Park Saturday will not be as big as the crowd if Animal Kingdom had been going for the illustrious Triple Crown; and the television ratings probably won’t be as strong. The mediocrity of this group of thoroughbreds has also been concluded by those analysts who calculate such equine performance evaluations and not widely disputed by many outside the Beyers and Ragozins of the world.

But you have to give this 2011 class of 3-year-olds some credit – on many different fronts quite frankly. They have been a sound bunch compared to some classes in front of them. Arkansas Derby (gr. I) winner Archarcharch has been retired due to an injury he suffered in the Kentucky Derby, but most of the other 2008 3-year-old colt models are either still racing or in an extended pit stop.

In fact, the last three stars to leave the Triple Crown trail are all expected to return to the races. Premier Pegasus, scratched just days before going to the gate as the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) favorite, is recovering from his surgery to repair a hair line fracture in his left front cannon bone and may return to the races this summer. San Vincente Stakes (gr. II) and Rebel Stakes (gr. II) winner The Factor is recovering from similar surgery and trainer Bob Baffert has said the August 27 Foxwood’s King’s Bishop Stakes(gr. I) at Saratoga is the target for the Arkansas Derby (gr. I) favorite. Uncle Mo, the champion 2-year-old male from last year and favorite to win the Derby for most of the winter, was scratched the day before the race not because of injury, but problems with his liver, (cholangeohepatitis for those scoring at home.) There is optimism that last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I)winner will again race if efforts to treats his current condition succeed.

Having nineteen from a given class start in the Kentucky Derby is nothing special, but this group came right back and filled up the gate with 14 starting in the Preakness and there are 11 probable and three additional possible starters for the Belmont Stakes. That is partially due to a lack of an intimidating star, but as Jay Privman pointed out in his Daily Racing Form column, it may be the first time ever that the first seven finishers in the Kentucky Derby also start in the Belmont. As Privman also said, even if the top six finishers in the Derby start in the Belmont, it will be history. It has been since 1950 since the first five Derby finishers came back to run in the Belmont Stakes.

This group is not the most accomplished: there are only three 2011 stakes victories between Shackleford and Animal Kingdom and multiple graded stakes winners in the class since the first of the year can be counted on one hand. Long shot winners dominated the races leading up to the Triple Crown with the Florida Derby the only grade 1 race on dirt this year with a single digit win pay-off.

Even with no chance of a Triple Crown winner, both Animal Kingdom and Shackleford have an opportunity to join a fairly elite group that has won two legs of the Triple Crown and not the other. Only eleven horses have won the Kentucky Derby, lost in the Preakness, then won the Belmont. Coincidentally, eleven others have lost in the Derby, then come back to win the Preakness and Belmont. Seven others have won the Preakness and Belmont without running in the Kentucky Derby, but all of those were in 1922 and before when the Preakness was run before the Kentucky Derby.

The last to pull of the Derby-Belmont double was Thunder Gulch in 1995 with Swale (1984), Bold Forbes (’76), Chateaugay (’63), Needles (’56) and Zev (’23) among them as well. All were named champions in their respective years.

Among the eleven to win the Preakness and Belmont after losing the Derby, ten of those were named champions including Afleet Alex (2005), Point Given (’01), Hansel (1991), Risen Star (’88), Little Current (’74), Damascus (’67), Nashua (’55), Native Dancer (’53), Capot (’49) and Bimelech in 1940. Tabasco Cat in 1994 was the only member of that fraternity not to be named champion.

Certainly though, the Belmont Stakes is an iconic sporting event in North America regardless of a potential Triple Crown winner or not. Since the race was first run at Jerome Park in 1867, 59 of its winners have been named the champion 3-year-old colt or gelding of their respective years.

Three times, the Belmont Park crowd has exceeded 100,000 on-track fans with the largest crowd coming in 2004 when 120,139 came to watch Birdstone stop the Triple Crown bid of Smarty Jones. Large crowds of between 45,000 and 70,000 are typical on Belmont day.


The Belmont is also the oldest of the Triple Crown races predating the first Preakness (1873) by six years and the first Kentucky Derby (1875) by eight years. The Belmont Stakes is one of the oldest races in North America with the Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland (1831), the Queen’s Plate (1864) at Woodbine in Canada and the Travers Stakes (1864) at Saratoga older. However, the Belmont, which will be run for the 143rd time in 2011, is third to the Phoenix (159th running in 2011) and Queens Plate (152nd running in 2011) in total runnings. The Travers has had gaps in its history and its 142nd running will be in 2011.

For those reasons, the Belmont Stakes has plenty of history and prestige and the winner will be deserving of the all that comes with winning the American classic.

Rivalry Wishes

Now that we don’t have a Triple Crown winner for the thirty-third consecutive year, what can we hope for from this much maligned crop of 3-year-old thoroughbreds?

One, we can hope for a rivalry to develop between Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Animal Kingdom and Preakness (gr. I) winner Shackleford. It would be wonderful to see both come back in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont Park June 4. It would be better if the two hooked up at the top of the Belmont stretch and had a good old fashioned ding-dong battle to the wire.

To take our wish a little further, think how special it would be for the two to race together throughout the summer in say the Haskell Invitational (gr. I) at Monmouth in July, then on to the Travers Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga in August. While we’re in the wishing mood, let’s add to the list the Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I) and full circle back to Churchill Downs for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

But there are many things that will likely prevent our wish list from happening, not the least of which is owners who may not share our hopes. Animal Kingdom is instead owned by Team Valor International while Michael Lauffer and Bill Cubberdge own Shackleford.

Team Valor International is a syndicate of some 20 owners involved in Animal Kingdom. Controlling that syndicate is the sometimes controversial Barry Irwin, the long time proprietor of Team Valor International. Regardless of how much the racing industry needs stars (i.e. Kentucky Derby winners) to stay in the sport, there will be the lure of further riches in breeding shed for Animal Kingdom. Although his Brazilian/German pedigree may keep him on the track longer than if he had more popular bloodlines, there will be a point of marginal financial return in which Irwin will have to strongly consider the colt’s retirement, regardless of his soundness and/or success on the track.

That decision would not be based solely on greed either. Regardless of Irwin’s perception or lack of popularity among racing fans, he must responsibly answer to the many Team Valor folks who own a piece of Animal Kingdom. Team Valor International has been one of the most accomplished thoroughbred ownership syndicates in the world for more than 20 years. Irwin didn’t build that success by making a bunch of decisions based on emotion and popularity.

Lauffeer and Cubbedge on the other hand, are only responsible to themselves in making decisions about Shackleford. Should they decide to keep the colt on the race track, only injury can derail that plan. But in many ways, the two partners face the same dilemma as Irwin, regardless if they have intentions to keep the colt racing or not.

While Shackleford has more domestic bloodlines, his sire Forestry has had limited success after a decade in the stallion shed. If he doesn’t prove himself as a sire early, Shackleford may have some lean years later in his stud career. Still, with his Preakness credentials and speed, there will be plenty of money to be made during his early years in the stud shed. Of course, like all stallions, if Shackleford is successful producing runners such as himself, those lean years will never come.

Another obvious road block to a rivalry is the racing schedule. The Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. II) is the New York prep race for the Travers and is run at the same time as the Haskell. One camp could go to the Jim Dandy while the other runs in the Haskell.

Less prestigious Summer and Fall races like the West Virginia Derby, Pennsylvania Derby, Indiana Derby and Louisiana’s Super Derby are sometimes options for Triple Crown race winners as well. Management teams at tracks that host these minor derbies often contrive bonuses at the last minute, specifically targeting Derby, Preakness and/or Belmont winners.

But if both colts stay healthy and the breeding industry can wait, then there is no reason why a rivalry could not be born. The East Coast/West Coast barrier that kept Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra apart during their racing careers does not exist between these two colts. Animal Kingdom trainer Graham Motion is stabled in Maryland during the summer while Dale Romans, trainer of Shackleford, is based at Churchill Downs giving both, easy access to the races in our dream schedule.


Now that we have come to the realization that there won’t be another Triple Crown winner in 2011, the best racing fans can hope for now from this crop of 3-year-olds is a rivalry. While neither Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom nor Preakness winner Shackleford have been confirmed for the Belmont Stakes, both camps have said the 1-1/2 mile Test of Champions is a possible next start for both.

Of course, like last year, a different horse could win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. That would not be optimal for rivalry wanting fans, but as long as Animal Kingdom and Shackleford are competitive, there is nothing wrong with a three-horse rivalry either. It’s just much more difficult keeping three horses on the same path for any extended period of time.

Schedules, injuries and the riches of the breeding shed can – and probably will – keep such a rivalry from developing. Or maybe the racing gods will bless the fans with such a wish. After all, they haven’t given us a Triple Crown winner since 1978. They kinda owe us a little something.

Preakness Love

It is without doubt the least glamorous of the Triple Crown races. The Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) of course is the among America’s most classic sports events – the Run for the Roses – the most exciting two minutes in sports. The Belmont is the Test of Champions. All others things being equal, that moniker stands prominently, perhaps even more so than the Derby glamour, when championship ballots are cast at the end of the year. But the Preakness? Even its 1-13/16 miles distance is a bit non-conformist. The Preakness is... well... the Preakness is the second leg of the Triple Crown. And often misunderstood as not much more.

Yes the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland have plenty to offer Preakness fans. There is of course, the world class crab cakes and other blue crab delicacies, Fort McHenry, the chicken box, Orioles baseball, berger cookies and National Bohemian beer. But one has to leave all that and go to Pimlico Race Course for the Preakness. I’ve never been to Pimlico, but the reviews are not good. Nor have they been in quite some time. But the Preakness is bigger than it’s home and this is not about Pimlico or Magna Entertainment.

Quite the contrary in fact. Because this is what I love about the Preakness. Come on. It’s the middle child. Even though it is older than the Kentucky Derby by two years, let’s give the Preakness a little extra love.

I love the fact that the Preakness usually takes the great Kentucky Derby story and improves or solidifies them. The Preakness is the only race in the world after the Kentucky Derby that provides hopes for a Triple Crown winner. From Sir Barton in 1919 to Affirmed in ’78 and all nine Triple Crown winners in between, they all had to win the Preakness.

The Preakness can also be the first step in the healing process after suffering an upset loss in the Derby. It is kind of horse racing’s home to vindication. Bimelech at 2-5 odds, lost the 1940 Kentucky Derby to 35-1 long shot Gallahadian then cam back to win the Preakness and Belmont. Capot in 1949, Native Dancer (’53), Nashua (’55), Little Current (’74), Damascus (’77), Risen Star (’88), Tabasco Cat (’94) and Point Given in 2001 suffered the same paths of frustration to just short of history.

The Preakness can also be a part of an equally frustrating path for those who won the Derby and Preakness, but failed to take the Belmont Stakes. There have been twenty-one who have traveled that road with Burgoo King the first in 1932 and Big Brown the most recent in 2008. In those years, as well as in the eleven that produced Triple Crown winners, it is the Belmont Stakes that gets all the eventual attention. But it is the Preakness that makes the heads begin to turn. Somehow it seems, the middle jewel just doesn’t get the deserved credit again.

Also in the Preakness, rivalries sometimes get closer and the intensity rises. Affirmed defeated Alydar by a 1-1/2 lengths at Churchill Downs, but only by a neck two weeks later in the Preakness. Sunday Silence defeated Easy Goer by 2-1/2 in the Derby but only by a nose in the Preakness after a legendary stretch-long battle. (photo above left)

One of the best Preakness battles gets lost in history as the Derby tension between jockey Gary Stevens and Pat Day spilled over to the Preakness of 1988. Stevens had won the Derby, going wire-to-wire with the filly Winning Colors. But jockey Pat Day, who rode Derby second-place finisher Forty Niner, vowed that the filly would not get such an easy trip in the Preakness. Day succeeded in his plan as he raced Forty Niner to the lead in the Preakness and got inside position on Winning Colors and Stevens. Day carried Stevens wide in the first turn, wide down the backstretch and wide around the first turn. That’s when Day’s plan was exposed by jockey Eddie Delahoussaye on Risen Star, who turn the inside path and raced by the two leaders who had bumped each other more than once before then. Risen Star drew clear and won the Preakness ahead of a closing Brian’s Time in second. Winning Colors was third and Forty Niner and Pat Day were out of the money.

Then there is the 1981 Preakness when Angel Cordero aboard Codex, carried Derby winning filly Genuine Risk wide coming out of the final turn. Codex would cross the finish line first, but Genuine Risk jockey Jacinto Vasquez called foul. ABC Sports analyst and Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro told the national TV audience he felt Codex should be disqualified and placed second after the ABC replay of the race seemed to confirm that Cordero had even struck Genuine Risk with his whip.

But the track stewards upheld the order of finish and a national reaction ensued as the Pimilco switch board immediately flooded with calls and truck loads of mail from upset fans followed.

Because the Preakness only allows a maximum of 14 starters and many times feature eight to ten runners, the race is run more true to form – not to mention safer on equine and human alike. In fact, it has been six years since the Preakness featured a full gate of 14 starters. Because of that, there are fewer collisions, bumps and checks in the Preakness. It’s unlike the first 600 yards in the Derby where a wave of horse and human battle for the rail and good position going into the first turn. Field size alone allows a horse a greater chance to run to their potential in the Preakness.

The pace is more honest in the Preakness. Because the Kentucky Derby has such a large field, there are often an unusually large number of speed horses. With so many runners fighting for their comfort zone on the lead, the Derby pace is often out of control fast. Shackleford’s slow pace this year in the Derby was an anomaly of the greatest sorts.

Don’t forget about the Preakness trophy either. Valued at $1 million the 140-year-old Woodlawn Vase (photo above right) was made by Tiffany and Company and is the most valuable trophy in American Sports. Painting the colors on the winning owner on the weather vane immediately after the race is also a wonderful tradition.

Yes the Preakness does not have the glamour, prestige or championship credentials of the Kentucky Derby or the Belmont. Yes the Preakness does not come from the best home and it is even shorter than the other two. Forget the fact that the Preakness fouled up an apparent track record for Secretariat. It deserves more recognition than it sometimes gets. The winning owners, trainers and jockeys are elated to win the Preakness each year and probably appreciate the significance than most sports fans. But like other events, athletes and teams that go on over shadowed, there’s still plenty to love about the little race.

Historical Peter Pan Returns To Belmont Lore

The New York Racing Association has returned the Peter Pan Stakes (gr. 2) to their schedule of added-money events after a one year hiatus, and I for one, am happy about it. Long regarded as the local prep race for the Belmont Stakes (gr. 1), the 1-1/8 mile Peter Pan has a very interesting history and an 11-horse field Saturday trying to add to lore.

It has been some time since A.P. Indy (photo right) used the Peter Pan as a springboard to his 1992 Belmont Stakes and eventual Horse of the Year honors, but there were many great Peter Pan winners before and few good ones since.

One of the more interesting recent Peter Pan winners was Casino Drive in 2009. Purchased for $950,000 at the 2006 Keeneland September Yearling Sale by Hidetoshi Yamamoto, Casino Drive was then shipped to Japan where he would make his first start nearly two years later in an allowance race. He won the allowance race easily and because of Casino Drive’s family, Yamamoto returned him to the United States to prepare for the Belmont Stakes in the Peter Pan. Casino Drive was by 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft, out of the mare Better Than Honour, making him a half-brother to 2006 Belmont Stakes winner Jazil and a three-quarter brother to 2007 Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches.

He won the Peter Pan Stakes but unfortunately, Casino Drive was scratched from the Belmont days before the race. Casino Drive later won an allowance race in New York preparing for the Breeders’ Cup that year, but despite his undefeated record, Casino Drive would finish last in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. 1). He would end his career finishing sixth in the Japan Cup Dirt the next year in his only other race.

Before A.P. Indy, seven other Peter Pan winners went on to take the Belmont Stakes, including Danzig Connection (1986), Slew o’Gold (’83), Coastal (’79) and Caravan (’58) among them.

But the 1957 Peter Pan Stakes was a part of one of the more interesting stories in horse racing folklore. Considered by some to be the greatest crop of 3-year-olds ever, the sophomore thoroughbreds that year included 1957 Horse of the Year Bold Ruler; Round Table, later named the 1958 Horse of the Year; Kentucky Derby winner Iron Liege and Gallant Man.

In the Kentucky Derby that year, Iron Liege had the lead down the stretch, but Gallant Man was making up ground with every stride. As the two passed by the sixteenth pole, just as it appeared Gallant Man would take the lead and win the Kentucky Derby, jockey Bill Shoemaker misjudged the finish line and stood up on Gallant Man. Shoemaker quickly corrected his error and instantly resumed riding, but it was too late as Iron Liege and Bill Hartack won the Derby by a nose.

Shoemaker received a 15-day suspension for the mistake but John Nerud, the trainer of Gallant Man and a former jockey himself, never came to terms with the historical bungle by the young jockey. But whether by instruction from owner Ralph Lowe or a slow recovery from shock, Nerud again had Shoemaker aboard Gallant Man in his next race, the Peter Pan four weeks later.

Shoemaker and Gallant Man won the Peter Pan then two weeks later took the Belmont Stakes by eight lengths over Inside Track in second and Bold Ruler in third. Shoemaker and Gallant Man became quite a team after that, eventually winning seven of their next ten races including the 1957 Jockey Club Gold Cup and the 1958 Hollywood Gold Cup.

High Point in 1953 and Counterpoint in ’51 also won the Peter Pan before also winning the Belmont, but there are other memorable – perhaps not among the greats, but memorable nonetheless – Peter Peter Pan victors. The D. Wayne Lukas-trained Grand Slam in 1998 and Seeking the Gold from the famous Phipps Stable ten years earlier are notable Peter Pan winners along with Leo Castelli in 1987 and Ponder in ’49.

With a nice sized field of 11 set for the 2011 edition of the Peter Pan, there is every possibility that another star is among them. Whether or not that turns out to be case, is of little consequence to me. I’m just happy to have the Peter Pan back.

Belmont, Triple Crown, Thoughts Comments and Questions

Can anybody tell me what happened during the first eighth of a mile in the Belmont Saturday? As the race started, ABC Television decided to use the camera at ground level in the winner’s circle to show the break. A more dramatic angle, perhaps, but it makes it difficult for the viewer to follow their horse. Then ABC decided to switch to a ground level head-on camera to shoot the field running into and around the first turn. Again, it made it nearly impossible to find or follow the horses until the overhead blimp camera picked up the field half-way around the clubhouse turn. I’m okay with ABC trying to utilize the beauty of the sport to create a more dramatic telecast. But I’m not okay with doing so at the expense of failing to report on the event by taking beauty over content in their camera angle selection.

Triple Crown Format Debate: Safety Over Tradition
Regarding changing the format of the Triple Crown: I agree with former jockey and current ESPN/ABC analyst Jerry Bailey. Limit the field size of the Kentucky Derby to 14 and offer a million or multi-million dollar bonus to a horse that wins the Triple Crown. Money talks, so the bonus will take care of itself. But the field size of the Derby needs to be reduced from 20 for a reason much more important than the Triple Crown – safety. Nobody likes the wagering opportunities and the romance of 20 horses breaking from the Churchill Downs starting on the first Saturday in May more than I. But that cavalry charge into the Clubhouse turn in the Derby is dangerous. And an accident there would be catastrophic to racing on many levels.

Moss and the Magic Board
I liked Randy Moss and his magic name board. It was an effective and fun way to bring horse names, facts and jockey changes into the telecast… I thought replacing “New York, New York” with “Empire State of Mind” as the official song of the Belmont Stakes would work. I thought I was wrong watching the ABC telecast that cut the song short with a break to commercial. But apparently the Belmont crowd corrected me. Again I bow to New York racing fans… A salute to trainer Kiaran McLaughlin who immediately took responsibility for Uptowncharlybrown losing his lead pad during the running of the Belmont. Uptowncharlybrown was disqualified from fifth and placed last by the track stewards immediately after it was learned he did not carry the assigned weight during the entire course of the race… Anybody notice that Jack Conway, recent winner of the democratic primary for the Kentucky U.S. Senate seat, was in the left side of the Belmont Park paddock while Sarah Palin was in the right side?

I’m Slow But I’m Sound
All source handle, attendance and television ratings all dropped significantly for the 142nd Belmont Stakes. Money wagered on the Belmont was nearly $74 million, down 17.2% according to Daily Racing Form. Attendance was down 13.2% to just more than 45,000 on a hot and humid day in New York while television ratings plummeted 38% to a 3.1 overnight rating… Drosselmeyer’s (photo right) winning time was the slowest Belmont in 15 years with his final clocking of 2:31.57 for 1-1/2 miles on a fast main track. Thunder Gulch finished in 2:32 in 1995… It is a mediocre group of 3-year-olds. Okay… I think of the character Jimmy Rabbitte in the 1991 Irish rock movie the “The Commitments” who said “the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud.” To this much maligned group of sophomore thoroughbreds say it loud: “I’m slow. But I’m sound.” This group isn’t making any American Idol headway and their participation level is obviously weak with no Derby or Preakness winner in the Belmont, but other than Eskendereya, they’re not retiring either.

Decreases in Belmont numbers may be met with increases in Haskell Invitational, Travers Stakes, and Breeders’ Cup popularity. This group is not flashy, but they’re deep and relatively injury free. How many championship teams in other sports can you think of that have used that formula? They might even be deep enough to have a positive impact on minor late season derbies in the local markets of California, West Virginia and Louisiana.

Belmont Stakes Greatness Regardless
Onto the greatness of the Belmont regardless: It was just more than two Hall of Famers winning the Belmont in trainer Bill Mott and jockey Mike Smith. It was obvious that Smith was quite moved by his first Belmont win after riding in New York for the majority of his great career. Mott, despite his success as the trainer of Cigar and other greats, may be the most under rated trainer in thoroughbred racing today.

Betting Strategy Revisited
I had the right idea but the wrong horse. Keep the favorites in the top two of my exactas and find that mid-level long shot to take the race. I mistakenly got on Uptowncharlybrown and Interactif and left off a horse that I liked all Spring – Drosselmeyer. And I’m not sure I regret too much getting off a horse with published foot ailments, a jockey change and the owners deciding not to attend the race… But a big Brock Talk acknowledgement to those that hit the $144.50 exacta, $766.50 trifecta or $10,658.00 superfecta.

For those that thought the Belmont Stakes would not be exciting… Whoops!

Brock Belmont Bet Swings Hard

To those who believe Ice Box was the best horse in the Kentucky Derby and that he will benefit from the additional quarter-mile distance of the “Big Sandy,” the Belmont must be an easy race to handicap. And that of course, is the reason he is the 3-1 favorite. Coming from the popular barn of Nick Zito doesn’t hurt the colt’s popularity either.

But Ice Box won’t get the fast Derby pace in the Belmont. In fact, I predict quite the opposite. The first half-mile of the Belmont is often a gallop. And sometimes the pace remains slow during the first mile. That puts a lot of pressure on a closer and his jockey and gives me enough ammunition to eliminate Ice Box.

So pace makes the race right? And First Dude will get to that easy, uncontested lead (even from the #11 post position) and gallop to the finish line.

Nope. I’m not betting that either. To beat First Dude, I’m incorporating the “bounce” handicapping theory. That is, I’m betting that he won’t repeat the Preakness performance in which he almost wired the field to run a gallant second to Lookin at Lucky. I’m not usually a “bounce” advocate, but First Dude ran a race that is significantly better than anything he produced prior to that Preakness. I have to believe he will regress at least somewhat off of that giant performance.

How do I beat Dwyer winner Fly Down then? I can’t. I think this Nick Zito trainee looks primed for a big performance in the Belmont. He has all of the home field advantage, which can sometimes be very important in the Belmont Stakes. He has a win over the track, New York top jockey John Velazquez and Zito.

So how I am going to justify betting against Fly Down? On value alone. With all of the New York support, he is likely to be over bet. And with an evenly matched field like this Belmont, value is my prime directive.

So that leads me to my top choice: Uptowncharlybrown. This horse has been pointed toward the Belmont Stakes since early this year by late trainer Alan Seewald and he is in able Belmont hands now in the barn of Kiaran McLaughlin. McLaughlin is a former D. Wayne Lukas assistant who won the 2006 Belmont with Jazil and I’m betting he will do it again here with Uptowncharlybrown.

His third-place finish in the Lexington was against a speed favoring racetrack that compromised his chances and the winner of that race, Exhi, came back to impressively win the Marine Stakes at Woodbine. Uptowncharlybrown also gets jockey Rajiv Maragh and all of his Belmont Park success and experience to negotiate the dynamics of the largest oval in North American racing. McLaughlin has also taken the blinkers off of Uptowncharlybrown, which should allow him to be much closer to the pace and within striking distance at the top of the stretch.

My other key horse – again swinging for the IRS window fences here a little bit – is Interactif, from the Kentucky Derby winning connections of trainer Todd Pletcher and WinStar Farm. No horse has ever won the Belmont Stakes from the number 12 post position, but I don’t think Interactif and jockey Javier Castellano will have any problem settling into a stalking position.

If he takes to the Belmont Park surface during the last half of the Belmont the way he has for the last two weeks of training, he is a prime candidate to win the Test of Champions at a decent price.
Because I’m looking for some bigger prices in the Belmont, I’m going to reduce my investments by playing exactas only. So I’m going to key my two upset contenders to run first or second with the three logical winners and betting favorites.

$2 Exacta (8 Bets. Total Cost = $16)
1st - 3-12
2nd – 3-5-6-11-12

$2 Exacta (8 Bets. Total Cost = $16)
1st – 3-5-6-11-12
2nd – 3-12

Total cost is $32.

We need #3 Uptowncharlybrown or #12 Interactif to finish first or second along with #5 Fly Down, #6 Ice Box or #11 First Dude completing the exacta. Note however, that if Uptowncharlybrown and Interactif finish first and second in any order, we hit the exacta twice.

Good luck Belmont fans.

Belmont Posts Not Likely To Influence Race Outcome

Post positions for the $1 million Belmont Stakes (gr. 1) have been set and the third leg of the Triple Crown will have a field of twelve. At the marathon distance of 1-1/2 miles, the importance of starting gate positions is almost negligible, but there are two notes of interest when looking at this year's race.

The most likely pace setter in the race, First Dude, breaks from post position 11 Saturday and jockey Calvin Borel breaks from post position number one on longshot Dave in Dixie.

With more than an eighth of a mile (843 feet) from the starting gate to the clubhouse turn, jockey Ramon Dominguez should have little trouble urging and steering First Dude into a safe position near the front of the pack before they reach the first turn. But being in the 11 post will offer slightly more of a challenge that had he drawn further inside.

Borel, famous for his rail hugging riding style that has produced three of the last four Kentucky Derbies, begins the race in his most comfortable position from the far inside post. While the inside post can be a curse in the 20-horse field and running out of the chute in the Derby, the slow early pace of the Belmont allows for horses to settle and relax from nearly any position.

The inside post has been by far the most productive in the history of the Belmont, producing 23 winners, 40% more than any other starting spot going back to 1905 when post position records were first kept for the race. The post that has produced the second most winners is the five gate with 14, followed the three post with 13 and the seven post with 12 winners.

If you are offered an odd-even proposition bet in the Belmont, be sure to take the odds. Odd numbered posts have accounted for 68 wins during that time while 36 winners have started from an even numbered post. No horse has ever won the Belmont Stakes outside of the 11 post and only four have won from the 10 and 11 holes combined (2 each).

Ice Box (photo), as expected, is listed at the morning line favorite at 3-1 odds while breaking from post six.

At one time, the Belmont Stakes had an extraodinary record of winning favorites. During the first 96 Belmonts with pari-mutuel wagers, 49 of the 96 races were won by the favorite. Even more extraodinary, another 34 were second or third for an incredible in-the-money rate of 86%. Only 13 favorites between 1877 and 1978 finished worse than third and all finished the race.

Since 1978, only 6 favorites have won the 31 Belmonts for a 19% win rate. But nine of them finished worse than third compared to 13 in the previous 96 wagering Belmonts and for the first time, favorites Prairie Bayou (1993), Cavonnier ('96) and Big Brown (2008) did not finish the race. The in-the-money rate during that span has been a respectable 71% with 22 of the favorites finishing first, second or third but favorites have not fared well for their supporters with win tickets.

So if Ice Box is to somehow benefit from the Belmont history gods, he'll have to go back further than 1978 before he begins to ask around. And there is plenty of room in the Belmont history books as the Belmont Stakes is the fourth oldest stakes race in North America. The Phoenix Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland was first run in 1831 and The Queens Plate in Canada first began in 1860. The Travers was first run at Saratoga in 1864. However, the Belmont, which will be run for the 142nd time in 2010, is third only to the Phoenix(157th running in 2009)and Queens Plate (150th running in 2009) in total runnings because the Travers has had gaps in its history and will be run for the 141st time this year.