Monkeys at the Keyboard

Feeling a little better today, especially after being at last nights win. One of the greatest games I've ever been to. So, off to Monmouth Park today to help stimulate the economy, the chances of Monmouth giving me a stimulus, about the same chances Break Water Edison has in the Derby. Man that was an ugly running line for him. So, I'll try and do some Twittering of picks and pans that are worth about as much as the paper their printed on. You'll be able to find them over on the TBA homepage. Also want to say there was a bug in the video tab and it wasn't really working as well as it should. I fixed it and now all the videos are back up and running (and updating rather quickly). The most recent being a nice workout video of Brother Derek. Funny choice of music, shouldn't that be used w/ only the Moss' horses?

Ready for the Betfair Takeover

$50 million, that's all it took. That's chump change really, and I could have bought them myself if I had won the lotto w/ money to spare. The powers that be, I believe, missed another opportunity to change racing in a nice mediated manner, but now will be forced to change their ways. You reap what you sow I guess. Anyways, Betfair has a great sense of humor, better get used to it.

Cole Norman looking for Work

Leading trainer Cole Norman was released yesterday from prison after serving 9 months of a 6 year sentence. He definitely got what he deserved, I just wish other trainers joined him in jail as well. I know one might point out that Cole Norman killed a person and that drugging a horse hasn't killed anyone, but who knows. Jockeys have died, horses that shouldn't run do because of drugs, who's truly responsible in that situation? Yes this post originally said Norm Coleman, sheesh, I'm a little sick and tired and my head turns to crap.

Garrett Gomez is a Coward!

I'd like to see Garret tell this jockey to his face he thinks he's Eclipse worthy. After the kidding how dominant has Gomez been for the past 2 years. The TBA standings aren't perfect but he won this year over Rafael Bejarano 4660 to 3310 and prior beat Velazquez 4835 to 4115. Makes me wish I'd been keeping stats longer. You don't need stats to tell he's a legend though.

Marketing 101

Rule #1 Sex Sells 'Veggie Love': PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad This is the ad that was banned from getting on the superbowl, but now everyone will talk about it, link to it (like I have), and it will do just as much business. Any ideas for getting a horse racing commercial banned? I'd ask all ideas to refrain from using Assmussen and Ass in the same sentence

Zayat Got Screwed

Now, that it's official I can say plain and simple Zayat got screwed. They were the leading money earners. They had graded stakes winners J Be K, Thorn Song, Mushka, and home bred Pioneer of the Nile. They won 116 races from 740 starts (16%). I'm not going to stand here and say they deserved the win, no one can say that. However, to not be nominated is an egregious slight in my opinion. First, the Eclipse usually goes to the leading earner. I don't have the stats to back that up, but I'm sure a regular reader can put that chart together. So, to NOT be nominated as leading earner really is something. Second, in the TDN (no link sorry) Mr Irwin says it's due to the Zayats not running quality, but quantity. So, Assmussen (who seems like a good guy), a man who had a drug violation this year is the quality the Eclipse people are looking for? Finally, it smacks of old-school vs new-school. The Zayat's are new to racing, but they've gone about it the right way, buying horses, breeding horses, and organically growing their stable from there. Something like that should be rewarded. Sohby Sonbol has responded on Facebook to the TDN and to everyone in general. My favorite line (hopefully ok to post here) My goal as a racing manager is to make our horses achieve the best they can achieve whether it is at 2, 3, or 4 or older, whether it is sprinting or routing and whether it is at the G1 level or the claiming level. There is no shame of running a horse where it belongs. Something's not right w/ this, and it really says a lot more about our industry than many other problems we're facing.

Happy Chinese New Year

Happy New Year! And, while the Road to the Roses is on my brain I figured you might also want to know that the year of the Ox has been good to the Triple Crown. In my opinion it gave us our 2 best winners. In 1937 it gave us War Admiral and in 1973 it gave us Secretariat. Also this might get you superstitious lot all fired up: 1937 + 36 years = 1973 + 36 years = 2009!! Now fingers crossed it's Brother Keith or Notonthesamepage. No year has given us more than 2 winners and out of 12 types of years 5 have been goose egged. They are the Tiger, Dragon, Monkey, Rooster, and Rabbit. So, we've got that going for us which is nice.

DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship

The first video installment is up from Jill Byrne at the Red Rock. The TBA has subscribed to the feed so if you check the homepage you should be able to catch all the updates from YouTube (and while you're their check out the Derby Schedule and updates from our great TBA writers) I'm looking forward to the NHC. It's something I haven't paid attention to before, but for whatever reason I'm intrigued this year. We'll see if it's what I hoped for. Thanks to Twinspires for putting it up on the internet.

Whattha?

Best Caption wins my undying appreciation. Mine: Mudder was the Case That They Gave Me Go ahead and top that!

Road to the Roses

I've had it. I can't deal with the cold, with the market going down EVERY DAY, or with the Demon Deacons not getting it done AT HOME RANKED #1. I'm giving up on caring about those things. It's time to focus on something important, something good & fun. It's Derby Time. And while the Road to the Roses game hasn't started just yet it doesn't mean you can't start keeping track of who is going where. The TBA is going to do their best at reading all the news and letting you know exactly who is planning to go where. The TBA homepage's tabbed widget now includes the graded stakes schedule from here until the Derby. Included on the sheet will be horses who are "supposedly" pointing to the race. We'll only be as good as the real journalists tell us, but it's a start. And if you know where a horse is going you can email us at contact@tbablogs[dot]com Hopefully this cheered your day up as much as mine (and I'm the one that did the work!)

A Boat, An Office Pool, and a Horse Racing Partnership

Rod Cameron Stringer is noBernie Madoff, but he might have had better taste (at least in this fan's eye). Since 2001 Mr Stringer has been stringing along investors with promises of 61% returns from a hedge fund that didn't exist and managed to get $45,000,000.00 for his fund. The location of investor money “is presently unknown,” the SEC said, noting some was used to finance a horse-racing partnership, buy a boat and build the pool at Stringer’s office I'd love to know what $10,000 claimer these rich fat cats now own. Looking good Rod!

DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship

This is only the 2nd time I've ever gone and put out a press release, so cut me some slack. I'm posting about this press release because we got it first. And by we I mean the bloggers. Huzzah, allow me a moment to stick it in imaginary people's faces. There. I'm so proud I think I'll get out of the basement and put this on my mom's fridge. Ok, so anyways, this is a cool press release because I really don't "get" the DRF/NTRA handicapping tourney. I've participated in 1 at Monmouth Park and I think I would benefit from watching other people do it rather than ignorantly grope my way through another tourney (and another $50 down the drain). So, I'll be tuning in. Twinspires.com is producing some real time web clips from this weekends tourney and posting them on Youtube.com. You'll be able to keep up w/ all the videos on the TBA homepage under the Youtube Tab and maybe learn a little about how the big boys do it. The official release: MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (January 20, 2009) – TwinSpires.com, the official advance deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN), will be helping horseplayers get an inside look at the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC) from Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas by providing online video coverage of the event throughout the day both Friday, January 23rd and Saturday, January 24th. TwinSpires’ Jill Byrne will be on site breaking down all of the NHC action with video updates, interviews and player reactions. “When we learned the major racing television networks were not going to be on site covering the event, we found a way to step in and help out those horseplayers who wanted to get closer to the action from the Red Rock,” said Jeremy Clemons VP of Marketing for TwinSpires.com. ‘We are constantly looking for unique and innovative ways to engage the horseplayer community.” Horseplayers with or without a TwinSpires.com account can access the free NHC coverage by simply visiting www.twinspires.com. Customers may open a TwinSpires account and wager through their TwinSpires accounts online at www.twinspires.com or via telephone by dialing 1-877-SPIRES-1 (1-877-774-7371). After an initial $50 deposit to open a TwinSpires account, there is no minimum deposit amount. Customers may deposit funds into their TwinSpires accounts at any time via their phone, the TwinSpires Web site or postal mail. TwinSpires charges no fees to register, wager or to maintain an account, and TwinSpires offers live video streaming of races and free race replays to all wagering customers. TwinSpires.com (www.twinspires.com) is the official advance-deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Incorporated and its family of racetracks, as well for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks. TwinSpires.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of Churchill Downs Incorporated and offers wagering on races from the country’s most popular racetracks. TwinSpires.com is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and operates a wagering hub in Oregon.

We Take This Break from Horse Racing to Bring You a Hockey Fight

I'm a new fan of hockey. Growing up I didn't go out on any ponds, or take delight in the Rangers winning the cup, and now I hate they did. Yeah, I owned a Canucks jersey for a little while when Bure was there, but that was just dumb luck more than anything. It wasn't until the advent of HD that I started to get into hockey, and the Devils. For my horseracing readers who are still reading, the difference between watching hockey in regular vs HD is like $10,000 claimers vs Grade I material. It's just that noticeable. Seeing that I write a blog I know everything, and thought I'd chime in about the latest debate coming from the NHL over fighting. I want everyone to know that there are new fans, like myself, who would be upset to see fighting taken out of hockey. It's a tough game, and I think the players deserve the right to stick up for themselves and regulate as they see fit. However, I'm not for fighting for fighting sake. I'm tired of seeing bad blood go from game to game. If someone checked Elias 3 months ago, and you didn't take care of it then, well too bad. I'd like to see stiffer penalties handed down from the league office for fights that stem from old news. Fights after clean hard checks; this is just dumb. Hockey players play hockey, they should know better. A clean hit can be a hard hit, and fighting over it just makes everyone look embarrassingly immature. The, not used often enough, instigator rule should be there for referees to use against instigators after an obvious clean hit. Finally, the game needs more oversight from the league after the fact. I don't really hear news about players being suspended or having game checks taken away after a dirty play. By doing this the powers that be give reason for fighting about everything and anything. The point this whole debate misses: If players started playing cleaner there would be less fighting. I'm tired of cross checking, hitting players from behind or in a defenseless position. I want a good clean crisp hard fought game. I want fighting, but I want it to make sense. And while we're talking about hockey LETS GO DEVILS, #1! And if you'd like to keep up with hockey from a blog, none better than Puck Daddy, written by Greg, a fellow dweller of Monmouth County NJ.

Getting On Real Dirt

I know I should leave all picks and plays at the NYRA circuit to LATG, but I just can't help myself. Powerful Storm, a horse part of ARV II, is going out trying to break his maiden in his 7th start. Why I like this spot? It's a pretty big drop in class (from Mdn 73 to Mdn 44), but what I really like is the switch to real dirt. You gotta give the horse a chance on the real stuff right? Anyways, I'm hopeful that the new surroundings, new surface, and new jock add up to a new result. If not, well, he's still my horse, and I'll be hopeful the next go around.

Santa Anita Free PP's

The whole card for Saturday's races at Santa Anita can be found in and amongst the trainers that put out free pp's. However, there's a service out there that does it for free. You also might want to check out the TBA feed while you're there. We have a lot of Oaklawn's card as well.

Long Shot wins at Churchill Downs - Mark Johnson

I think Jennie Rees broke the story first, and I am just shocked. Mark Johnson, the English voice from the tryouts has won out and become the new voice of the Kentucky Derby. Being British myself, I'm pretty excited he'll be the first British voice in American racing. It doesn't seem like big news now, but when you think about it, it's huge news. This will be the voice of racing for many non-regular fans. He definitely has a passion for it, he's warm up to the race is unique and good for the uninitiated. I wish him all the luck in the world. No matter the spin the other entrants want to put on it, it's a sad day for them. Collmus & Wrona probably dreamed of a chance to call the Derby and be Mr Churchill from when they first started calling a race. It's an honor to be nominated for sure, but a bummer to lose. In my opinion Churchill's loss is Monmouth's gain.

Ownership Take 2

This is my new baby. She doesn't have a name yet, but I hope "winner" is thrown around a little after the fact. [Her pedigree is here, and I like Higher Authority as a name]. I've had a bad experience so far in fractional ownership, but I'm giving it one more go w/ That's Amore Stable. A. He's a blogger. B. I know where he lives. So, I figure I'm safe. If you take a look at the photo up there I think you'll see the striking similarities to horse like Man O War, Secretariat, and Ruffian. 4 legs, a head, and the ability to put on a saddle. Hopefully these similarities will continue. I'll try and keep you posted, how it goes, but so far so good. And keep a date open if she ever runs at Monmouth me and my friends will make sure she goes off the favorite.

The Sports Economy

Things are ugly all around, and it might not just be the economy as this article points out, but maybe it's the Frank factor. Everything Frank Stronach touches turns to poo. Think about it. Think about it! Now Frank is associating w/ my other new found passion of hockey! FLORIDA PANTHERS: Select any three-game package for as low as $51 and receive a free ticket to a fourth game if the Panthers win any of the three. The package includes $21 in vouchers from Gulfstream Park. Frank, stop the madness, or become associated with the Rangers. Hat Tip to the must read Puck Daddy.

Bloggers Vs Journalists - More of Us, Less of You

In the never ending series Bloggers Vs Journalists here's a little update. Things move fast and it appears some ideas are coming to fruition. The Dallas papers are going to "share" coverage. How much would it cost the NTRA to hire a beat reporter who can ship out stories to the Daily News, Post, & Times? Not a reporter who just pumps out press releases but is free to work in other ways as well. It's like buying advertising.

Bloggers Vs Journalists - Bloggers Are Better

Foolish Pleasure's recent post got me thinking. Who are the Eclipse voters, and how many of them watched more racing than me? I'm not going to blindly say I watched more racing than all of them, but I guarantee you I watched more than the average of the group. I watch every Graded Stake, thanks to Bloodhorse's and the NTRA's website. I watch graded stakes horses run in non graded stakes if on TVG thanks to the TVG standings. I read. I read A LOT. It seems to me that the powers that be always have a select few screwing it up. Whether it's a guy who didn't put Rickey Henderson on his ballot or BCS voters who don't watch Utah play there are rotten eggs that ruin the process. The worst part about it? They don't get punished. Every ballot should be published, every member should be under scrutiny. Voting is a privilege, so keep working for it.

Thanks John Sherriffs

Youtube is not a landing destination. Why the new NYRA banners take you to a Youtube page I don't know. Business-wise it doesn't make sense, when you can take those videos to a number of destinations to spruce up a place. It's not the NYRA's fault I don't think many in horse racing really get what to make of YouTube. Even YouTube doesn't get Youtube, what with their redesigns, channels, communities, etc. Many well known brands have YouTube channels, but it's rare they do something constructive with those videos on the homepage. The beauty of YouTube is that you can take any number of videos and put them on your personal page, but brands are so afraid of mixing their content with others YouTube is rarely used in the most powerful way. It's up to others to do their best with what's offered. The TBA video tab is one way, but I'm sure there are other ideas out there. Why can't the NTRA buy cameras for some trainers, find a stable hand to post the video before they go home, and have videos like these on the NTRA homepage, or the California racetracks homepage. It certainly wouldn't hurt. Anyways, John Sherriffs video stream is one of the best (TBA member Mary Forney should also be noted for the same thing). YouTube works for them as a storage. Basically they are selling the sport, they don't have to worry about taking their video somewhere else. Here's Zenyatta hitting the track. Best part of the video: Exercise rider showing her excitement that another rider got sick and can't ride the big filly. Stuff like that is great. The TBA has a video stream as a tab on the homepage.

Bloggers Vs Journalists - Was It Even Fair?

Here all the links you need (also on BB's post): Twitter Feeds from O'Crunk who loves pointing out how serious us blogs take ourselves, and Jnchapel who finds the articles to back it up. Those articles, journalists old & Blogs Win!. Also check out Moran (bless you if you can get through the whole thing) who is cranky he certainly doesn't like the intertubes. And finally, BB, who spends too many words being way too nice about the whole situation. So, let me fall over myself a little here. In a transition between old media and new media where awards are still being given out by the same panels who gave out awards to just "media" (it wasn't called "old" back then) who do you expect them to give it to? The rules are set up to keep us bloggers out, and really I don't consider myself a journalist, more a publicist...anyways. Moran goes off the rails here: While there is journalism on the Internet, the blog – an awful word in its own right – in its pure form is not the “new media.” It is certainly an adjunct, providing platforms and voice to those who are passionate about any number of things, including racing and a forum for debate but certainly fails to pass the litmus test of credibility and authority Anybody heard of Jayson Blair? Credibility & authority isn't earned when ink hits paper anymore. Furthermore, our news has become so opinionated and skewed, people (not young people, or geeky nerds in their mom's basement) are on their own trying to find anyone to give them info w/ fact to back it up. No platform is better than a blog and its hyperlink. Therefore, this blog is new media in that it allows people to be accountable immediately. The blog in its pure form is an unfiltered personal journal but works far more efficiently as a collective effort, the only example of which was The Rail C'mon. Mr. Moran the TBA is right there w/ the Rail, and preceded it. And we collate all the stories just as well. C'mon. Throw us a bone. And then the kill. they have contributed little to either the journalism or literature of racing BB takes the nice route. I'll be a little more blunt. If Moran wasn't so busy writing 15,000 word essays or just putting up a PR every day (last 10 posts 6 are press releases) he'd have a little more time to see what quality work has been done in all parts of the blogosphere. I'm not going to put together a list of look at us, look at me, but it's there. Journalism at it's heart is first person, reporting an event you saw w/ your own two eyes. Blogging by it's nature can be two things. It is 2nd person, reporting what other people have said and putting your own spin on it. However, many of us also report 1st hand what we see and what others do. And in a sport with little money to spare, where journalists have to be careful what they say so not to offend an advertiser, we don't. That is what makes blogs better than "real" journalism. It's not even fair, blogs are more personal and have the ability to be more honest. (Given that there are good and bad blogs AND journalists). In the end Moran made his best point here (near the top): Eventually, racing and other niche sports will be forced to develop industry supported news agencies to service publications no longer capable or willing to expend the resources necessary to cover the even major events. It's journalism coming from him on 1/7, but something dreadful when I think the same thing on 12/29.

PETA doesn't believe this happened

A horse owner taking care of an injured horse the best way she can. An amazing story, best of luck to them. Here's the homepage.

Chance to Pat Myself on the Back

You think I'd miss a chance to pat myself on the back? Just read Alex's new blog post (which is part of the "Non-TBA" feed over on the homepage. You do use the tabs, right?) And read this quote: "And a plan for the next 100 days will be presented to the Alliance Board in late January" Is there a chance Mr Waldrop read this fine piece of writing in the Bloodhorse? Yeah, probably doubtful. Chalk it up to great minds think alike. - No, he really did, read the comments on the post. Now I gotta figure out how this machine works and hope Mr Waldrop likes the LLC idea.

TBA Standings

Here are the Eclipse Finalists, ones in RED are in the TBA top 5. Again many people say, "Standings don't work. They're too concrete. I'm too old. What's the Internet?" To them I say you're wrong. The TBA standings are not perfect. It would be good to grade the grades, or grade each race, but even a bare-bones no frills standings gets all the red below. 26 out of 33 Two-Year-Old Male: Midshipman (#1), Old Fashioned (#22), Vineyard Haven (#4). Two-Year-Old Filly: Dream Empress (#2), Maram (#8), Stardom Bound (#1). Three-Year-Old Male: Big Brown (#1), Colonel John (#4), Raven’s Pass (#8). Three-Year-Old Filly: Eight Belles (#14), Music Note (#2), Proud Spell (#3). Older Male: Commentator (#5), Curlin (#1), Einstein (BRZ) (#1 Turf) Older Female: Cocoa Beach (CHI) (#3), Ginger Punch (#2), Zenyatta (#1). Male Sprinter: Benny the Bull (#5), Midnight Lute (#2), Street Boss (#1). Female Sprinter: Indian Blessing (#1 3yo Filly), Intangaroo (#1), Ventura (#2 F&M Turf). Male Turf Horse: Conduit (IRE) (#13), Einstein (BRZ) (#1), Grand Couturier (GB) (#9). - No Champs or Dancing Forever? Female Turf Horse: Cocoa Beach (CHI) (#3 in F&M Category), Forever Together(1), Goldikova (5). - Ventura is a TURF HORSE PEOPLE Jockey: Robby Albarado (9), Rafael Bejarano(2), Garrett Gomez(1). - No John Velazquez

Who Isn't Doing A Reality Show

NASCAR is now getting it's own reality show. Yeah, a 3 week production from the Preakness to the Belmont would be a disaster, who would watch that? If people will watch NASCAR wives, well they'll watch anything.

Whoever Buys TVG Could Win

TVG is still up for sale, and I really see this as a great opportunity for the sport to move to something different. However, as shown by the picture on the left, I'm not hopeful. I have been thinking this for a while. Back in April of 07 I wrote to Nick Nicholson of Keeneland and he responded: I implore you to consider buying or going into a large partnership with TVG. The stalemate that Tracknet and TVG are currently causing is hurting the fan. I am asking Keeneland to step in because it is part of the Keeneland mission. Keeneland's mission: "Founded as a model racetrack, we seek to continually improve Thoroughbred racing while at the same time preserve its finest traditions." The model racetrack is changing as it gravitates toward improving the revenue generated by its signal, and that means ownership of that signal on a national level. ... Finally, a Keeneland involvement in TVG would allow a fair playing field amongst those who control signals and could help settle the current impasse. Keeneland has always been a model of integrity and has a background in bringing people together. It would also benefit from having yourself, a member of the NTRA, TRA, TOBA, & TRPB; your gravitas would be felt in these current matters, and I'm sure you would be able to solve them for the benefit of all those involved. Keeneland at the forefront of national wagering is where it belongs. Mr Nicholson's response: Good Morning Patrick, Thank You for taking the time to write your thoughtful email. Interestingly, at the exact moment I received your email we were in a meeting discussing these very topics and what should be done.... I shared your thoughts with Keeneland executives. Thank You for your support of Keeneland and the Thoroughbred Industry. Good Luck. So, he's been thinking for 2 years, now it's time to act. Buy TVG and do something different. Create an LLC where other tracks can join and buy a % (based on last years handle) of TVG as well. In this LLC that owns TVG create a clearing house for signals: All member tracks will buy their signals from the clearing house, the clearing house will buy all member signals exclusively. The rate at which the clearing house buys and sells signals have "taxes" and "rebates" dependant upon new factors like safety, drug rules, enforcement, track or adw, race dates, average purse size, average field size, handle, whatever etc. Bonus #1: Gets everyone in one place to talk about problems facing the industry with leverage (signal price) Bonus #2: Uniting all the signals under one roof for the fan. The group will own the ADW TVG, but will sell signals to other ADW's. The tracks want to increase revenue through their signal it would be in their best interest to include other ADW's rather than spend the money on investing in more IT. Bonus #3: It should get rid of the source fee. The tracks own the LLC based upon the handle that's "handled" by their track. Increase wagering on your track, increase income from the group LLC. No need to know where a bet is coming from as tracks will be gettig a % of everything. I think the thing that many people miss when arguing about who should get what, the tracks or the ADW, is that the pricing of signals is false. The market price does not support the market, but the market doesn't go out of business because it has government support. That's a whole other issue. For now, getting the tracks all in a cooperative would be best for the sport. Those that wouldn't join this, would most likely fail, and that is what would fix the false price of signals.

Let The Voting Begin!!!

The TBA Year End Photo Do-Over has commenced. Please choose your top 5 (yes you are able to choose more, but try and keep it to top 5). We will hold the first round of voting from now until Sunday, then the top 10 will move onto the final round for a week long round of voting. We have a great mix of pros and non-pros all with great images. Please go check it out and vote (once or twice).

Notonthesamepage

With track records and high Beyers Notonthesamepage is proving to be an early Derby contender. His next start will be in the Fountain of Youth on Feb 28th, and it's never too late to jump on the bandwagon. With permission from the Ramsey's I'm selling Ramsey "silks" shirts. A bowling style shirt that mimics the jockey silks worn on some of this centuries best horses: Roses in May, Kitten's Joy, Precious Kitten and now Notonthesamepage. You can buy the shirts here, and keep up to date w/ Notonthesamepage. I'll do my best to update with any news and/or videos.

Funny of the Day

The Second Coming

Nicanor, brother to Barbaro, could possibly make a start in under three weeks. To say interest in this will be high is like saying you think the Yankees have a good chance this year. If he goes off at more than even money I'll be shocked. Even if he still looks like the photo above he'll be favored. And I'd even go further that not more than 90% of those win tickets will be cashed. How many poems will be produced if he wins? Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer... Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. - Yeats

Triple Crown Reality Show

I think other bloggers are starting to read my mind. I start to type up a story and it appears on the TBA feed like magic. This time Equispace brings back up the Reality Show Concept me and him talked about on Bloodhorse. I re-bring it back up because of that connection and my yesterday's post on the UFC. See the UFC is now going the reality show road. St. Pierre and Penn are Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, in the Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound poll. The winner likely becomes a Hall of Fame fighter. The loser, well, he may end up there as well. UFC and Spike TV are teaming up for a three-week reality television series modeled after the “HBO 24/7” concept to build up the fight. The series starts on Jan. 14. With Jockey soon debuting on Animal Planet not sure what the NTRA or the NYRA is waiting for. I even know a production company who would be very interested in helping to pitch this show. It could follow the jockeys, owners and trainers on their day to day business while also focusing on the big show. It would be either be Derby winner vs Preakness winner or have the TC on the line. Even if one bows out the Belmont always has a story line. And if a reality show is good for anything it's generating story lines.

Horse Can't Pony Up Money for the Movies

3 horses escape from a farm and one goes to a cinema. No this isn't the beginning of a joke, but a TRUE STORY. No word if the horse was there to ask for a refund after seeing Valkyrie last week. Feel free to provide your own pithy commentary.

The UFC of Racing

I wrote my B'horse piece a while back and got some GREAT feedback. One especially got me thinking: If the biggest viewer sport in the USA has only 32 teams(and they arrived at that very carefully), why does horse racing think it can have 100 tracks? Every move this industry makes is wrong. Yes, I mean flat out wrong. The talent in this industry in terms of promotion and development is very weak(just as the US car industry is weak in crucial areas) The latest is the Breeders Cup expansion...there is no argument...it is too big and does the opposite of what needs to be done. If you want to compare Horse racing to something, then it should be to Boxing. Too many champions, organizations, and promoters. No central league. Lack of stars who stay around. Mis-understanding of the sport. Increased competition from other sources, bad image, crooked leadership. Horse racing needs a complete outsider to come in and teach the industry about the modern world. And the industry needs to actually listen. - Edward I'll just let Edward's comment stand on his own. No need to agree or disagree with it. I'd rather use that comment to carry the conversation. If racing is boxing what would our UFC look like? Winston kind of beat me to the punch here, but uses the (I think) wrong analogy of Arena league, which itself is having problems. The UFC on the other hand has spurred off challenges from the likes of Pride and (really do I have to go into a MMA history here?). Here's what racing UFC looks like: THE LOOK I'll agree with Winston: South Carolina would be a great spot, but so would Hialeah. Need good weather, country atmosphere, but close to a major airport. Track layout would be one mile oval dirt with the ability for a 1 turn mile race and a 6f straight = hello Eurpeans! There'd be a Turf course outside the dirt course which would take an overland route on the backstretch for real distance running. The grandstand would be Keeneland: small, intimate, earthy. First Floor - Betting windows, vending machines. 2nd Floor - Grandstand and bar food, waiter-ed service 3rd Floor - Boxes, eat in restaurants, 3 or 4, bars with TV's on something else. 4th Floor - VIP section. All catered, but an open floor plan. Like a club with lounge seating. There would be Trakus and HD cameras. I'd even look into the worlds largest free floating camera that would get you right into the action. The feed would be live on the internet free, and races would be put on Youtube and the homepage immediately. THE RACING Racing from July to August, 8 weeks. 4 days a week racing. Thurday, Friday night, Saturday, & Sunday with 8 race cards. Could be open to a Jan-Feb meet to kick off Derby season as well focusing on 3yo, and maybe a Dec meet with just 2yo racing on Saturdays. Rolling doubles & Pick-4's. No pick 6 or pick 3 (that's my own problem, can't hit those) .10c minimum on ALL wagering done on personal handhelds. $.10 min on supers, pick 4's at the machines, and $2 min at live teller windows. No claiming races under $35,000. Purses not as big as one would believe - HUGE payouts for end of the meet winners - Owners, Jockeys, Trainers, Horses. All determined by standings that include the number of starts. Think of Ascot and how they get horses to start multiple times. The Ownership Maybe SC would be the place to do it, or somewhere w/o racing. The place needs to rewrite the rules. Owners would own this track. It would need a ton of startup capital. I know it's not feasible even with them, but those are the folks w/ the money. Severe penalties - 2 year bans for owners or owners w/ trainers who are found w/ a drug positive. 5 year bans for trainers if found guilty on our grounds. Others grounds will be looked at and dealt with possibly more severly than home track. Barn is protected 24/7 with ample space for even paddocks and mini-farms. No need for detention barn. Central pharmicist to all trainers. Take out would 15% on all bets. Tracks and ADW's pay 10%. The track would be a not-for-profit. The track will have it's own ADW The track will separate the racing from the gambling signal. Whoever buys the television signal will pay a lower fee on the gambling signal. The ADW The Best in the World. Rebates Will Pays galore. It's all just math. Expected payouts. Average payouts. The odds at the bell are the odds you get, otherwise we'll close betting 1 min prior to start. This will be a quirk at our track that everyone will get used to, quickly. Exchange betting for in state population (told you we have to do it in a new state) on in state racing. Majority of profits from ADW all ploughed into the plant then IT then purses. MISC Hank Goldberg will not be allowed on the grounds. Admission would be high on race days, always free parking. Free admission on non-race days. Jockeys, trainers, owners would be mic'd (for when we get the TV contract) We'd look into hosting the jockey reality show. Per fee start for retirement fund for horses who have run more than X times at our track. Pair up with state university to have one of the best veternarian hospitals in the country. Barn tours coordinated with jockeys, owners and trainers to make appearances. Housing, schooling, and health care for on-site workers. Help with off-season job placement. Jockey Tournament. Hear me out. Prior to the races all jockeys are put in a bracket style pool. Their head to head match up will go "live" if the two jockeys are in the same race on comparable horses. Comparable horses = Last 3 Beyers (over 5 month period) are within 8 points of each other. Last jock standing = Big Bonus. Maybe even jockey would wear a gold cap, or something like a captains arm band.

Contenders

I just noticed that the Kentucky Derby is starting to post Contender Profiles up on their Youtube page. You can keep up to date on a lot of videos at the TBA homepage, but I want to talk about other contenders: Photo Do-Over. 32 entries, and I have 2 more ready to put up. We have a mix of pro's and non-pros in what looks to be a great contest. If you were at the track this year and you took a photo why not send it in?

Tizfiz - A Case Study of Lone Speed

I actually had 2 minutes of down time at my house this morning and handicapped the 2 stakes races. I'll focus on the one I did well on. (I thought Elusive Heat was a stone cold lock) I had grabbed the free pp's from the TBA homepage, and the first thing that jumped out at me was that the horses all seemed well matched and there was little speed in the race. I hopped on Tizfiz and figured a show wager would pay pretty decently as the longest shot on the DRF morning line, but as the race grew closer I got more confident. Usually a bad sign. As the windows closed I went across the board, a pretty strong wager for me, and on the back stretch I was couting my money. Now, if the rest of the year is this easy who needs the stock market! Head on over to the standings to see Delgadillo's name as the #1 jockey in the country as of right now. He deserves it. Great ride. Look for the replay at the NTRA website, a master's course in lone speed.