That's Life II

Back in November I noted how Google and Life had teamed up to post Life's wonderful photos. I'm not positive if this is completely new news, but it seems Life.com is now up and running and it has some additional elements. You can search by timeline (which is a great slide function) and it has some other pretty nifty search elements that make it pretty easy to find some nice photos, and the best part? You can share!!!

April Fool's Sucks

Ok so here's a preemptive strike against those that fancy themselves class-clowns. What will be the lame attempts at April Fool's jokes amongst the horse racing community? IEAH buys interest in (list 10 horses here) The Sheikh buys 50% interest in IEAH John Calipari signs to coach NTRA's handling of the media Dunkirk, following Tim Tebow's lead, spells out his own promise Ok, I gotta stop. Some of these I will definitely use later in the month. What cliche April Fool's jokes don't you want to see?

Illinois Derby Entries

Entries have been drawn and I've update the TBA homepage probables tab. Lord Justice looks to have a chance here, not a great one, but a chance. Last year I remember the track made last week Gulfstream's strip look fair. How much money did Recapturetheglory burn? This year looks to be a bit more deep w/ Giant Oak, Free Country, & Musket Man all having some legitimate horse race in 'em. The one I'm looking at Perfect Song, a crushing maiden victory and bred to go all day long. Very intriguing race. Keep your bookmarks pointed to the TBA homepage, should get free pp's tomorrow or the next day.

An APP

MLB is out with their new 2009 APP. To say it looks sweet is an understatement. There's a $10 version and a free version. Let's focus on free: Real-time game updates, league standings and the entire season schedule are available in the FREE version of MLB.com At Bat. I'm not even going to say this would be great for horseracing, because it's an impossibility. This app is possible thanks to MLB.com a separate entity. The baseball teams came together formed an LLC signed over some rights in exchange for revenue. Does that idea sound familiar?

A Time for Standings

I whole-heartedly agree w/ Gary West. Yes, it’s stunningly, shockingly and even frighteningly absurd. Horse racing finds itself in a bizarre place of distortion and warped priorities, a place not unlike the Fun House at the Texas State Fair. Only it’s not fun. I just disagree w/ the assertion that it "abnegates" authority to the American Graded Stakes Committee, though I always learn a new word reading West. Churchill uses dollars earned in Graded Stakes, that's the big issue. Never in a million years would the AGSC say that the Delta Jackpot is worth more than the Florida Derby, Wood, or SA Derby (all races $750k), however that's what they (Churchill Downs) does. I still believe standings have a place in this sport, and nothing has shaken me from that belief. If anything issues like this further my conviction. A Gr I second place like Dunkirk has should be worth more than a grade II win though the dollars don't back that up. If people want to see the best come Derby time Churchill has to lay out a gauntlet for horses to get there, not the red carpet like it has done w/ gimmicks at Kempton. I will update the top 20 TBA standings after all the big races have been run (2 weeks) however, currently the top 20 are: Quality Road Pioneerof The Nile Theregoesjojo Friesan Fire Papa Clem Dunkirk Capt Candyman Can This Ones For Phil Hold me Back Old Fashioned Win Willy Regal Ransom I Want Revenge Bee Cee Cee Big Drama Feisty Suances Flying Private Hello Broadway Leeds the Way Desert Party (Stardom Bound & Rachel Alexandra would both be in)

Accreditation System

Sorry, but I guess I'm missing the argument of accreditation as a strong enough stick. Mr Waldrop mentions Healthcare and Education as 2 systems that have worked with accreditation. However, both Healthcare and Education accreditation work because people will self-preserve in matters directly affecting their future. I'm saying that if my future is on the line, my future job, my future income I'll do everything I can to make sure I go through an educational system that supports me getting a good income. I'm saying that if my future is on the line, that I might not be breathing tomorrow, that my child might not be 100% healthy I'll do everything I can to make sure my family is as healthy as possible. I'm saying that if I'm sure a horse will win a race at 20-1 the last thing on my mind is whether or not the track is accredited. I'm not saying it won't work. Tracks will shape up, cause it's in their interest to get PETA off their backs, and do something for their athletes both human and equine. However, that's not accreditation that's working, that's group shame, and that can make easy decisions like those outlined, but what about the more difficult ones. Where people differ strongly on both sides w/ strong cases for both points. Try outlawing all race day drugs through accreditation. Now you want people to shape up, hit them where it hurts.

Slippery Slope of TV Coverage Gets Slipperier

Thanks Mr Paulick for the link. If you're a racing fan, please check out the group page. If you're reading this blog, then yes, I know you care about horse racing 365 days a year. But no one else does. Mainstream media, who used to afford us the First Weekend in May as a glorious sporting holiday and a chance to make new fans, has stopped covering us. There is no room for our "sport" within mainstream coverage. How many writers have been let go? We've been pushed aside as a cultural phenomenon. The Oaks has been moved off ESPN to Bravo. And now the post selection show won't be shown at all. I'm grateful for the coverage of a few select races, but we all know racing coverage is decreasing, and that the NTRA must buy time for us like paid advertising. Commentator O_crunk (he of the pessimistic, "enjoy it while it lasts, or for what it is") is starting to make more sense to me, and I can't enjoy that. I appreciate the work that is being done to clean up the sport, and my main claim to fame is image is everything with this sport. However, it's not enough. I wrote a while back about how I think this is a sweet spot for changing this sport, that those in power had some momementum built up, and hoped for an electric 100 days. All I've got to show for the last 60 days is a Web 2.0 pissing match while Rome burns. If racing coverage on TV is paid advertising what the hell are we selling people?

Who Wants to Rule Racing

No one in horse racing makes enough money, or coalesces the entire industry under a common revenue stream to have any long term power. If you want to have a central body of power in racing you need a central body of revenue. There is only 1 source that I can come up with for that and that's the signal. Buy TrackNet - open it up as an LLC - allow other tracks to invest as partial owners - buy up every partners signal exclusively - become a clearing house for signals - create carrots and sticks for buying/selling signals that detail what a "good" track looks like - distribute earnings back to the LLC partners. Everyone else running around saying they are doing this or that or that more people should do this or that... It's nice... It's helping... but it's not a long term solution. I'll keep this quick. If you want to be in charge of any organization you have to make money. AIG wasn't brought down by their CEO it was brought down by the weasel who was making a killing in CDS's. Lehman, Citi, Merrill, all these companies weren't brought down by something their CEO did, they were all brought down by the real people in power; the sections of the company making money. The sections of the company that were so rich they were able to tell the CEO, 'look over there, don't look here, we're fine, here's another $100 million, go refurbish your yacht.'

The Mint Julep is so Last Year

I'm guessing there will be a couple 4somes bought of these by some fellow TBA bloggers, but for now I beat her to it. Yep you read that label right. Horse Piss Beer is real and for sale in Kentucky. I'll let you peruse the site a bit but you should know that while it doesn't claim to taste like winstrol or lasix, part of the proceeds do benefit jockeys and other horse related charities. I'll be out in Kentucky in a couple months, I'll be on the look out for this for sure.

Injured Lebron to Undergo Surgery - The Other One

Depending on whether or not this is a horse racing blog or a basketball the above title can mean two vastly different things. Because of that I've changed the look of the mainstream news feeds over on the homepage. Now headline after headline tells you exactly where you are going. If you think I'm missing something let me know for either Domestic or International news. Also the Video page is getting better and better thanks to so many great content creators on YouTube from Mary Forney to Westpoint Tbreds, NYRA, Kentucky Derby, I'm sorry for leaving some many out. If you can play Youtube at work I suggest NOT going to the site, you'll be there a while. The homepage's main goal is to keep the fans up to date on the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance and the horses in our standings. But it's not only just that. It follows all the media in horseracing, and hopefully now it's a bit easier to search.

NTRA do you have $200?

Ok, if you have $200 get as many member tracks one of these:GoPro Hero Wide Angle Camera. I saw the review of it over on Gizmodo, and have spent the last 10 minutes blowing my mind on the videos this thing pumps out. I want one of these on every workout for the Derby. I want every track to post a video of what their track looks like from the jockeys eye. I want one of these just to walk around town in. $200. I'll buy the first one.

Horse Allergic to Grass

No mention of whether or not the horse is related to Curlin. (Too soon?)

2 simple questions

1 - If Mr Moran as stated thinks the conversation of sport/gambling is "Again bubbling to the surface" you'd think he'd throw a link to help you find the conversation. Does he know proper blogger etiquette? Anyway, it's a pretty good post. 2 - And this is the whole crux of the debate really. Do people watch the Superbowl because they have a wager on it or do they wager on the Superbowl because they are going to watch it? Depending on how you answer that question answers whether you think this sport has a chance to be marketed as a sport.

Illinois Derby Bound

I'm part owner in ARV II & III (a not-so-pleased one at that), but it's always good news when you have a runner. And, that appears to be the case right now. Lord Justice is being pointed towards the Illinois Derby. You can keep up w/ probables on the homepage. Lord Justice is the first foal from the mare Buy the Sport. A name more than a few of you will remember. She was a grade 1 winner (Gazelle) and was good enough to be entered in the 2003 BC Distaff where she finished 6th. I like the pedigree on this horse. In bred to Hail to Reason. Big fan of Devil's Bag. He's an early foal and he's gotten better most every race. Good luck to him in Illinois, maybe I'll have an entry at the Derby!

Top 5 Tracks from Space

The satellites can't see takeouts or the quality of the field they just see the surroundings. Here are my top 10, and maybe a couple of bad ones. Del Mar View Larger Map Keeneland View Larger Map Monmouth View Larger Map Saratoga View Larger Map Arlington View Larger Map The worst? There are no bad tracks right? At least from space.

No Kudos for Bravo

Thank you Mr Paulick for the link and being part of the PDI. If you like blogs please consider checking out the TBA. In a news item buried on a Friday evening before a large weekend of racing the Kentucky Oaks won't be shown on ESPN, it will be shown on Bravo. This is not a post about how ESPN is screwing us, and it's not about how inept our sport has been about getting good TV coverage. This news item is proof of something I've long believed: That the perception of horse racing is what holds this sport back. The Kentucky Derby and its weekend is more a cultural phenomenon than a sporting one. This is proven by the coverage at Bravo, a channel centered around culture: Top Chef, Actor's Studio, Project Runway. The sporting aspect of the Kentucky Oaks is non-existent outside our small clique of gamblers and horse racing fans. The Oaks is more important for its hats, mint juleps, and Spring dresses. All these are fine, and any coverage is good coverage, but it's not what the sport needs to grow. How many of us watch other cultural programs? Do we run out and buy plane tickets, buy a $20k haute couture dress, or remodel our house because of TV? The only way to grow the sport in the mainstream is to portray it as one on TV. Gambling does not sell to the masses. It's funny how much criticism I get for that, especially w/ one of the biggest sporting events paired w/ the biggest gambling event going on right now, but I digress. Basically what ESPN is saying is that the Kentucky Oaks is more easily digested as a cultural phenomenon than a sporting one. No one believes the Oaks is about sports, and that's what's killing our chances at growing. Anyone read this? I just notice Dan Liebman put up his editorial on the Bloodhorse about this very issue. His concluding statement might as well be my starting one. "The last time I can remember tuning into Bravo to watch sports was...well...never."

And You Thought 16 Million was a lot for a Horse

That is the Sheikh's new "yacht", I'd call it a battleship, but I guess that's just me. The Dubai cost $350 million dollars and is shade over 530 ft, but who's counting past 525, am I right? The Sheikh also had a message for those suffering from the worst economic times since the 1930's: What recession?

Opportunity Knocks

Silver lining to the economic mess everyone is in: Opportunities. The sport missed the boat in getting its own channel and I doubt you'll see any member publicly come out in favor of sports betting, but there's one more chance. I think the tracks, industry, whatever you want to call it come together and buy Magna's part of TrackNet, and if possible see if you can grab CDIs portion too, in fact it would probably help. Form a group to buy Tracknet, everyone's % of ownership is akin to their last years overall handle. Every track sells its signal "exclusively" to the LLC. The tracks would then have to buy their signals from the LLC, and what you've done is created a clearing house for signals, and you've created a body w/ real authority for reform and action because you're backed by $.

Context

I know if you run two races at a given distance and they both finish in the exact same times it doesn't mean you have two identical horses. However, it seems to me that these colts aren't really separating themselves from themselves or the top fillies. As noted by Foolish Pleasure Pioneerof the Nile and Stardom Bound's times were comparable. Pioneerof the Nile's race was slowed up front, and that compromised his final time.... supposedly, sorry I have a hard time believing that is a greater factor than being 4-8 wide on both turns. Pioneerof the Nile - 1.43:35 Stardom Bound - 1.43:62 At the Fairgrounds it's hard to judge, and I'm just noting this to give weight to both sides. Both won for fun, both weren't asked, and both looked awesome. Friesan Fire - 1.43:46 Rachel Alexandra - 1.43:55 Tampa Bay produced two different types of winners. Don't Forget Gil sat a perfect stalking trip and took control in the stretch. While Musket Man came through in the last 16th after sitting a little further back. I would bet these two would be hard to split. Musket Man - 1.43:67 Don't Forget Gil - 1.43:65 The context is that the races won by the fillies must have been easier due to their class restrictions, and a case can be made for that. But the overall reaction by real paid journalists just doesn't sit honestly with me. Stardom Bound vs Pioneerof the Nile is plainly obvious, and I ask some real journalists to read over what they wrote and see if context affected them in any way.

Friesan Fire

I'm driving this bandwagon. As one of only 3 people to rate him #1 on their PDI lists from the beginning I won't miss a chance to pat myself on the back. Ouch that hurts the ol' rotator cuff. A wise man once said: 2 impressive wins. That + AP Indy + Larry Jones = Kentucky Derby winner. I'll add to that now A devastating win + AP Indy + Larry Jones + The Hennegan Brothers = Triple Crown. You heard it here first. And if any of you guys bring up who I've had #2....

So You Don't Care About Twitter?

Or maybe you're not 100% sold on it yet. Or maybe your own Twitter feed is a little messy, well, the TBA wants you to get used it, or, is here to slim the feed down a little. The TBA feed we hope to fill w/ racing professionals and the bloggers you already know and love(?). Anyways, it's great news that the following people have joined our feed: NTRA, Joe Drape, & Alex Brown join TBA Twitter Feed (2nd Tab)

WTF?

"ESPN still has a great commitment to horse racing" - ESPN spokesman Mark Mandel I just saw this story pop up over on the TBA homepage US News tab, and I'm wondering A, what am I doing at a computer on Friday night at 7 o'clock. And B what the F? How can you have that above comment where the subject of the article is ESPN Drops Live Kentucky Oaks Coverage Yeah, I guess they tried to bury this story before a big weekend of racing. I'm telling you (who ever the general you is) this story is not going away and will only get louder up until the First Friday in May. The spin = Bravo is more geared towards the ladies. Oh, really so I can find the WNBA on Bravo as well? Try finding Cable rankings on the web, I'm usually pretty good at finding things and I can't find it, want to know how many viewers we're shutting out on this one.

The Value of Information

It takes difficult economic times to really find the value of something, or its worth. I'll try not to go off on an economic tangent. This whole recession is due to the overheating caused by people's reasoning: After long periods of growth it's hard to imagine a hiccup let alone a devastation on the ability to create revenue so people assumed the rosier picture in future times and paid over what something was worth today. Worth and value, to me, mean two very separate things. Value is the price paid, worth is the benefit it brings. Don't go rolling to Webster's right now, that's just my personal opinion on the matter, and that distinction is needed for the rest of this rant/diatribe. So what is a track signal worth? What is a past performance worth? What is the value of racing on Tuesday? Putting up a Gr I with the same conditions against another Gr I being run 75 miles away? I love these questions. I love that people are actually now forced to look at them, and answer them. I've said before that if this business didn't change the economy surely would change it, and not in a nice way. All of a sudden stallion fees are down and 3 yo colts horses aren't retiring as quickly, and in a personal anectdote it seems like the top ones are racing more! Auctions are well off and even the fillies aren't turned out to pasture as fast. This is what racing fans want. However, it now comes at the cost of those people who make money off those sales. I bring these value/worth questions up because of a post over at HANA, by John Roark. I'll be honest - I believe tracks deserve more for their signal, and I mostly agree with Fred Pope. And, I didn't even want to read it because it seems too often that many arguments are; give it away for free you'll make more money. However, in Mr Roark's recent post I can't pinpoint the disagreement w/ Pope other than the final cut of revenue. That's negotiable! That's certainly not a barrier. In the end a revenue split is a tricky subject, but it's negotiable it's not a standstill. I just hope that people are interested in retooling this whole economic industry for the future. Today's contracts written pre-internet pre-depression are useless except to hurt racing. So, I'll listen to Mr Roark and I hope he can negotiate and come to a middle ground. What I don't want to hear: Racing should be like Itunes, with all the money going to the distributor. You know out $.99 cents the recording industry gets like $.65, the artist probably about $.10. So following that logic on a bet, 35% should go to the ADW, 55% to the host track, 10% to the horsemen, and that everyone should come together to create a clearing house on what these individual signals are woth. On to PP's: Free ones will make people bet more. New fans need access. I agree. To a point. I believe the PP's that need to be free are for the graded stakes and overnight stakes. That's it. Explain how a free card of Tuesday racing at Philadelphia is going to get a new bettor into the game? New bettors/fans are intrigued by the top name horses not the low level claimers. The argument shifts to that the whales will bet on anything unless they get free info or that free info will lead them to bet more. If a whale is concerned by the $1 it costs to get a card (via the TBA deal w/ DRF, seriously sign up 1 time, you'll like it) well is that person a whale? Seriously, $1 for much more than a freebie, sort of how $.99 a song is a pretty good deal when you surround it w/ everything else. Anyways, the time of free everything is coming to a close as the economy makes people look at worth, not value. Micropayments are coming, and it will take some time getting used to, but it is coming. Free information backed by advertising dollars has led to the News channels not doing their job investigating and just being 24-hour hack TV, it's led every magazine to copy the Enquirer: Get high ratings, get dollars, screw the job they're there to do. I want to pay for stuff, and I want it to be used for the right reasons.

Syndicate Update II

I'm a jerk. I don't double check anything I write. It just pours out of my swiss cheese head and I hit the publish button. Anyways, I doubt any of you ran out and joined a syndicate yesterday, but I want to add a name to the list. Castle Village. It's run by Steve Zorn a fellow TBA member, and I can vouch it's a good group w/ a good leader who communicates and does the things you want to have done in a syndicate. United Thoroughbreds Castle Village That's Amore Grevelis Racing Give em all a quick look. The market is up 10% off its lows, nows the time to have some fun.

Free PPs & Bris

The people behind the PP's and their "freedom" are working on it. Let me clear again: I'm not for giving away PP's for free for every race. There I said it. I'm not posting this for a debate, just wanted to let you know how I feel. I'm posting this to let you know people are working on it, and trying to make it more equitable, and the TBA is trying to help. See, there is no point to tethering the pp's for the Oaks and Derby pools to a trainer site, and stop people from passing around the link. In fact, for a race like this it IS hurtful. The people in charge know this AND.... The PP's to the Oaks and Derby Pool are free from the tethers of what website you access it from. The links are in the top box on the TBA homepage.

Syndicate Update

Good news, bad news, and news in general. Good news = Lord Justice won a nice race last Friday at Aqueduct. An AOC for 75k the son of Buy the Sport lead gate to wire under the careful eye of CC Lopez. This horse is part of the ARV III that I'm part of. He's the only starter thus far, but he has been a winner and continues to move up the ladder. Bad news = Communications between ARV II & III and their fans through horsehats.com hasn't been that great as I've noted prior. We have a lot of horses right now in training, but no word on how far away they might be or what level hopes are for them. So, it is what it is. Good news = I named my first horse! Unfortunately they don't hand out naming bonuses through the BC purse supplement, but I think they should. A filly by Peace Rules out of a Pulpit mare is now named Higher Authority. I agree with the other part owner who said it sounds like a name that wins Graded Stakes. Hells to the yeah on that one. I own this filly through fellow blogger That's Amore Stable. Communication seems to be on the regular two week interval even w/ not much going on. Waiting on a work mate for her so she can leave the farm and go to the track. Bad news = Nothing bad here, knock on wood she's healthy and a little in front of the curve. It'd be nice to beat some of the fillies to the track and maybe catch some low hanging purses, but I'm not counting on anything. News = It's tough being a syndicate manager right now in these economic times. Money isn't as plentiful as it was just a couple months ago. So, to those people thinking about investing I have two pieces of advice. 1 = Do it. 2 = We all need some cheering up and there's no better way to do that than to own a racehorse. Be careful who you go into business with. If you're putting up some hard earned money you want a big bang for you buck. In these internet times you want access, and there's no reason these syndicate managers can't do that. I've mentioned Grevelis, That's Amore, and I want to promote one more - United Thoroughbreds. They have a couple shares left in a nice looking filly (pictured on right), currently named Daphne. I bring them up as they have a facebook page, are low priced and looking to do things the right way just like the others previously mentioned. ARV hasn't been the best syndicate I've been in, but when the horses are in the gate I can't help but enjoy it. When Higher Authority starts at Monmouth I'll probably be beside myself. All we want is a return on our money in enjoyment. These syndicates will do that. That's Amore United Grevelis

WIMPS

With a name like Iavarone and a tan like that you'd think the guy would be a little tougher. My question: If you think Stardom Bound isn't as good as she was last year why have her first loss come against the same competition in another state on a different surface? Why not run your best race against the boys, take the L, and move on. For me the L against the boys would be worth a lot more than even a win in the Ashland. Also, can we stop putting the traits of humans on the traits of our animals? The difference in genders in humans is NOT the case for animals. The differences between the sexes that underlie men's athletic advantage include body composition (percent body fat versus lean body mass), cardiac size, blood volume, and hemoglobin concentration. For a given total body weight, men have more lean body mass and less fat. Men also have larger hearts and a greater maximum cardiac output (liters of blood/minute) then women. the difference in [the sexes between thoroughbreds] was small -- no greater than 1.2 percent. Sorry, just realizing Foolish Pleasure found this last year around the Eight Belles tragedy. Still, no body reads and learns, everybody just reads to firm up their own opinions.

The TBA Listens

BRIS pp's blocked our access to providing you w/ free links to their pp's. That's their perogative, and probably in their best interest. However, the fans want their information, and it's obvious they want it cheaply. DRF to rescue. DRF has offered TBA readers an exclusive discount off their monthly enhanced pp's. Specifically their 10 cards for $29.95 deal. For TBA readers you can get 10 cards for $10 dollars, and you can access them through Formulator. Don't let Formulator scare you. If you want your pp's to look the same as ever, that's how they look to begin with, and you can print from Formulator all the races or specific races. Formulator then goes the next step in getting the information you use into the pp's. Picking and choosing what you see and how you see it. I've been using it for about a month, and I'm a little addicted. If you go to the track once a month and buy a DRF for $5, it's not a big step to pay $10 and get the tracks you want and the information in the way you want it. Additionally, all Monthly Plan members are given a monthly subscription to DRF Plus so you can read all the articles that appear in the paper as well. You can find the code on the TBA homepage. Please take the time to check out what other great information we have there.

TBA Road to the Roses

Speaking of those that Blog and know what they're talking about... Justin Dew was crushing it over in the TBA group for Road to the Roses but fell back to second this weekend. Slew Stable Too took over the lead with I believe Mr Fantasy. (Fighting the urge to complain about the Road to the Roses). It'd be nice to chat to those people in our group, but I'm unable to. (losing the fight to complain). So Charles Warner, Mr #1, #3, & #9 give us a shout out if you wish and share your secrets! Proving that us bloggers don't know what we're talking about the highest ranked blogger I can tell is Equispace at #25, and the insults haven't stopped at my house where my wife is #13 and I'm #31. I'm saying it's still early, and sticking to it until the first Friday in May.

Those That Do & Share

I should have mentioned those that "do" and communicate it a bit more. Fox Hill Farm has a great blog, it doesn't update too often, but they are usually full of great info. The most recent entries no different, as we get filled in on my #1 Derby choice, Friesan Fire who worked within himself and faster than Honest Man. I'll look forward to the pre-derby build up to both Friesan Fire and Old Fashioned and Mr Porter's assessments. The Fox Hill RSS is here (perfect for blogs that don't update often) and can also be found on the "NON-TBA" tab of the homepage. IEAH is also getting in on the content act w/ their homepage and blog/news service. Everyone knows Stardom Bound won yesterday, but where did you go for this information? I didn't watch the race live, so I heard about it first on Twitter, then I saw the headlines being posted on the TBA news site, but the one I enjoyed the most... The link from IEAH themselves. You get the DRF story + additional sources, the Win photo (which is AWESOME), and the video. They also do a fantastic job of keeping fans updated.

I Have Two Animals

In water animal A beat animal B by a scant nose and a length and half, I took animal B out of the water and raced him on terra firma. Animal B beat animals C-G by a very large margin. Is animal A faster than animals B-G on land? What if Animal A is a fish and animals B-G were alligators? I'm just trying to say it all depends. I think synthetic is somewhat of a halfway point between both dirt and turf and that there will be horses that improve on dirt not on grass, while others improve on grass not dirt. Using I Want Revenge as a barometer for Pioneerof the Nile and The Pamplemousse you handicap at your own risk. I'll wait until they work over the dirt surface at Churchill as I think that's the best time to judge PP's in context.

Zayat Stables - Looking Classy Pioneerof the Nile

Pioneeerof the Nile, Mushka, Z Fortune, EZ Warrior, J Be K. What do all these horses have in common? They look good in the winners circle. I can officially say the shirt on the left isn't just random dots and letters. It's approved by Zayat. So if you want to jump on the Pioneerof the Nile bandwagon you can look good doing it. Click on Picture to be taken to store. (Take note that the image on the front is not the same as the back, exactly like Zayat's real silks)

Future Almost Here - No One Ready For It.

This new computer is a thing of beauty. Now imagine it on a 52-in screen pumping out video from it's cable connection and the web in 1080 hi-def. You could segment your screen into what you're watching (TVG of course), a free pp (formulator of course) and make your bet (on Twinspires of course). Just have to give it a couple more years.

A Little Shilling

Free PP's are down, and are unlikely to come back up anytime soon. However, you should know that bris pp's are fee w/ a Twinspires account, and you should look into it if it's available in your state. Also, if you're ready to take the next step in your handicapping education look into Formulator, provided by DRF. I've been using the service for about 2 weeks now, and I'm addicted to the information. I know I know it's a shill post, but it's all good information.

How to Ruin a Good Thing

The TBA had a good run of posting free pp's for the past 6 months or so. You'll remember I emailed Mr Espinosa before it all started to try and get him on board something useful to both his company and the fans. I never heard back and I created the searchable free pp engine many enjoyed. As of now it's not working. So, I have emails back into everyone I can think of to come to an equitable solution. Fingers crossed someone reads an email. However, this guy is an asshat, and I'd like to blame him. I was careful to put no advertising on the free pp page. I'm sure people bookmarked that page and were never shown an ad. I never wanted to make money off the free pp's. Bris should make money off their premium products and services, not me. Always be aware of a person looking for donations, it's usually a scam. And to say his donations slowed, turns my stomach. If you know whobet, thank him for ruining it.

Talking, Doing - Mea Culpa - Plea

I'm tired. 1, it's my birthday today and I made the mistake of looking at myself in the mirror last night, the 21 year old greek god I remembered seems more like a 600 year old hutt crime lord. 2, I'm older and wiser, and I think I hate myself a little. I have worked in the finance industry for a long time. I worked at Lehman Brothers. I was at NYMEX when Crude oil was below $12 and when it first went back above $40. I consume the newspapers and most anything a reporter will throw at me. I'm like this with horse racing as well, but now I think I've jumped on a bandwagon I abhor. These guys pictured on the left are asshats. All they do is talk. It's been a long time since either one of them "did" anything. And now they know how to fix the economy, save the world, and get us back on track. Give me an F'ing break! I'll grant you I don't think this joker (pic right) has a clue either, the only thing he knows how to do is act smug. And here I am thinking I know how to fix racing. I don't. I wish I did. I have ideas, I've done all I could to shine those ideas up and show them to people, but I'm not CEO of a racetrack, I don't even hot walk at a barn somewhere, and all those people have better insight than me. So, I will continue to post ideas and write about what I want out of racing, but I'll try not to act like I know better. If anything I want to see more out of the people that do know. You know I read Alex's blog, it's a great source of inside information, maybe others (owners, breeders, executives) should get on board, and not wait for interviews. In times like these it's comforting knowing those in charge are doing something, and I'm not saying they aren't, I know they are. What might seem like a dull, really "inside" blog post to the writer is exactly what I think many fans need. I want to know about the inner machinations of the industry. I would guess it's a rusty complex monolith, but I want to know more.

What is Twitter Good For

Well what was once a trickle is now a full blown tsunami. Twitter is here, and whether people know what it's good for or not they are tweeting and clogging up blackberries and phone in-boxes by the millions. (FYI no one really knows exactly what Twitter is good for, hell the people running it can't make a dime off it.) I was not a early convert. In fact, I have had my doubts about its viability and still do. However, let me give it a go and tell you (horse racing fans & industry) what I'm looking for out of your tweets, and how I think it can be useful. The easiest thing you can do to your Twitter is turn it into an RSS. The TBA uses twitterfeed. I like the idea of putting out the TBA stories out there via Twitter, but I wouldn't want to put a huge RSS on Twitter. Something that would post more than 25 stories a day might just turn into noise and as a follower I'd probably stop following. The truth is there are many ways of getting an RSS feed and Twitter is not the easiest. So, tread lightly on this front: Maybe just your favorite stories, or the "hot" stories of the day, headlines etc. Make Twitter public. This is probably the biggest hurdle for the racing industry. Yes I can log on to Twitter and see your tweets but how does that benefit anyone else? It doesn't. The TBA grouped together to form the Twitter tab on the homepage. Now someone who doesn't have Twitter can see what we're talking about and follow our links. Take your Twitter feed and display it somewhere. Not every post will make sense or be "topical" but it does add personality. The back and forth a twitter feed can have with another member might look confusing to a person who can only see one side, but it is what it is, people can figure it out. Horse racing information is probably THE perfect fit for Twitter. Things like scratches, carryovers, and changes are a good start. However, I would love someone to twitter from the rail about what horses look like, action on the tote board, a funny pic of something happening at the track right then and there. I'm not sure you can call this news, but it does have value. The way a horse looked before a race after the race is run is worth $0, before the race is run is a different story. Twitter allows that value to come out because it is real time and short. Imagine a day where virtual stable tweets you your stable workouts. Image a clocker just putting out little comments about workouts. You could have the same thing at sales. Twitter is all those things, but it can't stand alone. Don't expect anyone to get a hundred thousand Twitter followers unless you have a name like Shaq or Brooke Burke. I think of Twitter as a public Instant Message conversation w/ everyone at the same time. That idea can't possibly stand alone, it has to be leaning on something. For the TBA it's inside our homepage and adds a little character to our TBA feed, and some members post their tweets on their site. This "conversation" might be more difficult for industry folks. Are they willing to share a conversation? To all the tracks out there I'd encourage you to collectively come together somewhere (maybe the TBA homepage email me: contact@tbablogs.com) and everywhere, and I'd include and encourage the writers to do the same thing. A conversation is only as good as those partaking, if you're talking to yourself you know you're not a good Tweeter. Consider some of these Tweeters as Industry: TTimes, NYRAnews, NTRA1, Beulah Park, Johnleemedia, NYRAComm, And of course the one you need to follow: TBAblogs And And you can follow all the TBA members who Tweet over at the homepage 2nd tab.

What Are We Measuring?

This week's PDI isn't out just yet, and I just wonder if this whole top 10 would be better if given a definition. And I don't apply this just to Paulick but to everyone that puts out a list. Exactly what are you measuring? I've ranked my horses based on accomplishments, with more emphasis put on 3yo races than 2yo races, and then factored in what I think their chances are for the Derby. However, I wonder how many rank their horses on how they think they'll finish in the Derby as a first and only criteria. That's a very important distinction, and one that would drastically change my list, just like my definition would change theirs. I see Dunkirk on people's lists as high as #2, and I just scratch my head. If he wins the Florida Derby, yeah, #2, but he's barely faced winners. I'm saying he's a little light on accomplishments. Stardom Bound #2, yeah she's a good filly, but we can't get a straight answer on if she'll face the boys at the Santa Anita Derby. So, in what scenario are these horses #2? Let me be clear. There's nothing wrong with having Dunkirk or Stardom Bound on your list, I just want to know under what circumstances. If you have Big Drama at #7, well you're just an a'hole.

Less Will Be More

In 1929 there were 10 hockey teams, 12 football teams and 16 baseball teams. In 1936 there were 8, 9, & 16 teams left respectively and a lot of movement. (Where did you go Providence Steam Roller?) This decrease in teams and movement wasn't done because things were going great. A lot of crap went down between 1929-1936; like the Great Depression. During the last economic implosion no sport was untouched, and this current situation isn't setting up much different. Tons of articles about the ability for some leagues (specifically the NBA & NHL) to survive have been written. Horse racing has it's Magna, but it should also be noted how many other tracks are propped up by state's laws allowing VLT's, casinos, and other legislature cutting them slack. When the state can no longer afford to plow the streets you think they'll still be sending millions into purses at your local track? Do you think states will still be looking to give out sweetheart leases to arenas? The NFL is safe. It has the strongest balance sheet. Its Superbowl commercials sold out and for higher prices than last year. Baseball is probably ok, but some markets are in trouble. It's the arena sports and horse racing who are looking squarely over a cliff. What does the NFL offer that others could copy? Consolidation of product. There are 16 games and 4 weekends of playoffs. Hockey & Baskeball have 82 games, and both their playoffs start 4/15 and can last until 6/15. You think hockey playoffs last forever until you realize horse racing is on somewhere 7 days a week 365 days a year. The economy will not allow this. If the horsemen don't get this and continue to fight for more race dates they'll be fighting nobody as the tracks continue to disappear. What I want to see: NHL = 63 games, 21 weeks (Oct - Feb), 3 games a week (out of Thurs-Sun) against the same team. 2 series against in-division rivals, 1 series against in-conference rivals, 1 series against same place finisher last year of the other conference. Playoffs equal 3 games series, start in March end early April. NBA = same thing, just want the season to be from Jan-May and playoffs in June. Horse racing = I'd take off Nov & December. I'd cut back racing to Thursday through Sunday + holiday Mondays. What will happen? Probably not my schedule, but something will happen. The economy isn't going to spring back to good ol' 2008 any time soon.

What's Up with Frank Stronach

I think it's easy to paint Frank Stronach as a moron. As a person who is so out of touch from the real world that all and any of his ideas are useless. That is NOT the case. And believe it or not I'm going to defend Frank a little bit here. What got me going was a comment left by Steve Zorn "Stronach has lots of good individual ideas -- standings, the Sunshine Millions, a two-year-old sale at Adena without ridiculous breezes, etc. It's a shame he's such an egotistic and incompetent manager that his race track empire is headed for bankruptcy." He's right on every account. I'd add to it that the putting a community around a racetrack is also a good idea, though unfortunately really bad timing. The latest spout off in TDN is seen as fiddling while Rome burns, but that's what makes Frank, Frank. There's no doubt the guy knows how to run a breeding operation, and a car parts corporation. So, what's the difference w/ real estate? The thing that jumps to mind instantly is government. The hurdles of dealing with a state authority regulating everything and anything. Now, you should know I'm a (D) and I believe know that a free market is a well regulated market, and I get the feeling that's not the case w/ horse racing. All I'm saying is that Frank Stronach is not the pariah some make him out to be. He takes chances and fails, but more often than not he has succeeded or been right. I'm not running out buying MECA, but I would run out to read his book or give an ear to any idea he has.

The Pamplemousse Squeezes Out Sham Win

Title courtesy of Jen.