Originally posted by str
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STR and I have chatted about this( he did it for ages.... I had a chance to enjoy for a few) but to para phrase..... up too early.... open the door to start up the car....smell the ocean breeze(yes some smells you just associate with the track DELMAR!)off to the track.....San L Buzzabout the barn as staff and horses know it's training time....(I was ONLY involved and with the grace of my cousin involved with the prep of horses for the 2 year old and training sales) smell of leather smell of straw..... (not going to mention the other lol) grooms HARD at work... riders show up instructions given... saddle up and off to training! sip of coffee wow what a wonderful feeling.... How lucky was I... pretty dang!!!Comment -
Looks like a full field for the Preakness.
Good for them. I find myself rooting for them of course, but man there are somethings I see going on that are sickening in my book.
Can't elaborate but it's detrimental to the game as well as it's participants IMHO.
But... let's stay positive right ? I'll try harder.Comment -
Is anyone surprised that the Derby winner will skip the Preakness?Comment -
As an outsider, I've made this comment b4. They should (seemingly) stretch out the series to allow longer recovery-time.Originally posted by strWhere's the fuckin power box, Carol?Comment -
meant to quote str post 2 above
worked for sovereignty last year and he won the derby with a similar running style .. you get a chance to go the derby distance in the belmont again at saratoga (for the last time) off 5 weeks rest and 6 weeks off prior to the derby worked well for GT .. if things go well in the belmont you'll be fresher for the jim dandy and the travers which also overlaps what sovereignty did
as much as I would've liked to see him run in the preakness ,I think for the above reasons , skipping it makes some sense
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in my opinion space them a month apart and that moves the belmont back 3 weeks to the final week of june..Originally posted by ChuckyTheGoat
you probably wouldn't run in the haskell after the belmont as it's a little soon (unless they push that back a week or two) but it lines up nicely with the saratoga big 2 which are the jim dandy and travers .. sure we've discussed this before and I like the idea chucky .. fits modern racing much better and you'd certainly get more horses in the preakness with that scheduleComment -
No... If she thought she had a shot she would take it.....Originally posted by str
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If they did it..might as well place and astrek by any future triple crown winner.... takes away from great horses....Originally posted by ChuckyTheGoat1919 Sir Barton 1930 Gallant Fox 1935 Omaha 1937 War Admiral 1941 Whirlaway 1943 Count Fleet 1946 Assault 1948 Citation 1973 Secretariat 1977 Seattle Slew 1978 Affirmed 2015 American Pharoah 2018 Justify Comment -
Caldera UpdateOriginally posted by batt33
We checked in with trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. as he has returned to Florida following Kentucky Derby week. Caldera remains in good order out of his dominant comeback win. Our plan will be to target a second-level allowance next, which will likely take Caldera on the road for his next race, and then from there hopefully it’s stakes from there on out.
The last three notable second-level allowance races were won with 97 (Original Sin @ Keeneland), 96 (Vibe @ Churchill) and 95 (Bramito @ Aqueduct) Beyer Speed Figures, so our son of Liam’s Map will need to take a step forward next out, but with a race under his belt we feel that is well within reach.
We do think it makes more sense to run back in an allowance race as the reality is that Caldera faced pretty weak competition in that return race. While he won convincingly, he should have if he’s the horse we think he is and can be. That race was also around one turn and it would be nice to get another race around two turns against allowance company before jumping back into the deep end. This measured approach will increase his chances to perform at the higher levels as we continue to climb the class ladder.
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Bacio remains in good order today. Check out the accompanying video for more straight from trainer Wesley Ward (apologies for the audio quality—it was a windy morning in Kentucky).
As you’ll hear from Wesley, he has his eyes on the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes on Friday, June 19 at Royal Ascot for your colt’s next start.
This handicap event is a true five-furlong dash. Wesley expects Bacio to be very tough to beat in that spot, and he likes as it as prep for another exciting target as it will give Bacio experience on a straightaway course (some races overseas are run on courses with no turns).
Assuming he runs to expectations at Royal Ascot, Bacio would stay in Europe and train there towards a start in the G2 King George S. at Goodwood on July 31. That prestigious race is a straightaway, downhill, five-furlong event that favors speed horses and should play to Bacio’s strengths.
After that, Bacio would head home to freshen up and point for something in the States—hopefully the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint if he’s proven up to the challenge.
Of course, plans could change or be adjusted along the way, but that’s Wesley’s thinking at the moment. For now, Bacio will enjoy an easy stretch at the farm as he prepares for his big trip across the pond.
Bacio Beyer Figure
Bacio’s Beyer Speed Figure has been released, and he earned a solid number of 92. That’s in line with what we expected and is a strong figure for a 3-year-old turf sprinter at this point of the year. By comparison, the recent Palisades S. at Keeneland was won with
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I think they need to call them something different because the spacing is different .. maybe " the classics" and you're going for a sweep of them .. needs to be distinguished from the old format in my opinionOriginally posted by batt33
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Finally after a long wait nakoma races tomorrow!
Good Luck Nakoma!
Nakoma is set for her unveiling in the fourth race tomorrow at Belmont at the Big A. She’ll be the #2 and has been quoted at 5-1 on the morning line, which is probably a bit lower than we might have expected. Morning-line maker and DRF/TimeformUS handicapper David Aragona, who is considered very sharp, picks your filly second behind the #5 Only for Now.
Nakoma Race Overview
Nakoma will make her belated debut in the fourth race on Friday at Belmont at the Big A. She’s the #2 among a field of 7 (plus one main-track-only, but based on the current weather forecast they should stay on the grass). Post time is 2:40 p.m. ET. The race will be live-streamed on NYRA’s YouTube channel.
We’ve been waiting for quite some time to see what this one can do, and are eager to get her going. Trainer Jena Antonucci is typically one who prefers to race her horses into fitness and let them learn as they go, though she can occasionally surprise with a newcomer and Nakoma has so much foundation that we would think she’s fairly fit at this stage. She’s also flashed speed in the mornings, which we’d hope to see from her in the afternoon as well.
The surface is perhaps a question mark, and debuting on the grass mostly came down to race availability and distance, but the filly’s siblings have run well on turf and synthetic and Vekoma’s progeny are pretty versatile surface wise. Ultimately this race will be about giving Nakoma that first afternoon experience and getting a better gauge on her talent level.
Good luck! See below for more on the competition:
#1 Florida Patriot - Fellow firster by Vekoma fetched $125,000 last June off of a solid :10 flat breeze. Unraced dam is a full-sister to a G1SP juvenile and her one prior foal had speed and was a second-out winner on the dirt. Trainer Tom Morley wins at a solid 17% clip first out in turf sprints, good for a $3.39 ROI.
#3 Angels Envy - Shortens up off of a pair of fourth-place runs in turf routes, once when rallying from far back and most recently after setting the pace here going a mile. She set very slow fractions in that last race and in general cutbacks are not very effective on the grass. Could go favored depending on the money the firsters take, but we’d side slightly against.
#4 Jet Mist - Relatively pricey daughter of Frosted ($220K yearling) showed brief speed in her main-track unveiling before fading abruptly. Is half to a pair of stakes winners on the turf, but not sure that’s enough to give this one the nod.
#5 Only for You - Homebred by super sire Not This Time out of a juvenile turf sprint graded stakes winner. Dam’s first foal finished second in her own debut. Must be respected for a hot barn that does well with firsters.
#6 Time for You - Off the board in all four previous tries at various distances and on both turf and synthetic. Pretty exposed already; have to think some of these firsters will be better.
#7 Cataenjo - $200K daughter of Into Mischief it out of a mare who was third in her debut on the grass but ultimately proved to be more of a dirt horse. Pedigree’s not screaming turf, but it’s Pletcher and Prat.
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Hers is a peek as to what Md. racing is in the midst of. Sad to see . I’m friends with all them. My frustration runs deep as all I see is disfunction . Now you can see why I was fine when the MTHA declined any affiliation with the non profit I am forming to help retired and semi retired backstretch workers.
This is an article just written and posted about Md. racing :
The next skirmish in the battle over the bylaws governing the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (MTHA) may be fought in an Anne Arundel County courthouse.
Trainer John Robb sued the MTHA April 27, claiming two of its recent actions violate its own bylaws and are illegal. It’s the latest step in a multi-month fight that’s included dueling lawyers, a heated meeting, and efforts to involve state regulators.
The larger question behind the struggle: Who should make decisions on behalf of Maryland’s horsemen, and whom should they represent?
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Robb and other dissatisfied Laurel Park trainers, who claim to represent a “substantial and decisive majority” of Maryland horsemen, say they have been left out of the loop or ignored on important decisions.
They have been pushing the MTHA to amend its bylaws in ways they claim will make the board of directors better informed, more responsive, and more representative of the trainers and owners with the most involvement in Maryland racing.
But MTHA officials defend the board’s work and say the primary effects of the proposed changes would be to disenfranchise numerous owners and trainers and shrink the pool of potential board members. They portray it as an effort by Robb and others to take over the organization.
Robb’s lawsuit followed a testy meeting March 19, when an effort at compromise ran aground. The MTHA board rejected one of the three proposed compromise bylaws and amended two others to – in the eyes of Robb and his supporters – weaken them.
That led Robb to demand a special meeting of the membership and to seek the intervention of the Maryland Racing Commission, which declined to become involved.
“Your allegations regarding MTHA’s corporate governance are not within the Commission’s jurisdiction,” Commission executive director Chris Merz wrote in a letter to Robb.
The legal issue at hand in the lawsuit: whether the MTHA can require members seeking a special meeting to pay the costs of calling that meeting, which the organization estimates will amount to $15,000, and whether a bylaws amendment, which could it more difficult for members to change the bylaws and which the MTHA adopted April 15, well past the start of the current unpleasantness, should apply.
Alan Foreman, general counsel for the MTHA, said both actions were at the advice of outside counsel the organization has retained to advise it in this matter.
Under federal and state law, the MTHA, as the organization representing the majority of the state’s owners and trainers, plays a major role in the racing landscape, signing off on the import and export of simulcast feeds, overseeing the purse account, and more.
Moreover, under the legislation enabling the Pimlico Plus project, it is the purse account that must backstop operating losses incurred by the nonprofit Maryland Jockey Club; that subsidy is projected to reach $18 million this year, sources said.
The board currently is comprised of 15 members elected by the entire membership: seven owners, seven trainers, and one additional member, who is the top vote-getter not otherwise elected.
Robb and his group are seeking three major amendments.
The first would require that those only those owners who owned at least 25% of a horse or horses that made a combined total of at least 10 starts in Maryland in the preceding 12 months would be eligible either to vote or to serve on the board.
The second is a similar restriction on trainers, requiring them to have, in the prior 12 months, made either 50% of their starts in Maryland or a total of at least 50 starts here to vote for or serve on the board.
And the third is an unusual provision that would direct that, while both owners and trainers could vote for the owner representatives, only trainers may vote for the trainer representatives.
The effort, said retired trainer Dale Capuano, who has advised the dissident group and who served a long tenure on the MTHA board, is designed to get “people that have a lot more skin in the game” onto the board.
But MTHA president Katy Voss said the notion that current board members are insufficiently committed to Maryland racing is unfair.
“You can’t find people that are more actively involved and heavily invested [in the industry]” than current board members, she said.
Voss provided The Racing Biz an analysis claiming that the first two provisions would dramatically reduce – by, perhaps, as much as 85% in the case of owners – the number of owners and trainers who could vote or serve on the board. Some of those who would be rendered ineligible currently serve on the board.
That, it seems, would be fine with many of the trainers, who portray the MTHA board as out-of-touch.
“They were saying, ‘You guys can come here and say what you want, and then we figure it out together.’ But that’s not the truth,” said Jonathan Maldonado, a Laurel-based trainer. “If they decide they want something else, they make the decision. They always do whatever they want. I always thought that the board represents the whole community.”
“There is no working with the general population of horsemen,” agreed Kenny Cox, another Laurel trainer. “When you do go to them, you always feel like you’re dismissed.”
Their frustrations run the gamut: the size of the subsidy paid to the racetrack. Races that don’t fill. A racing strip that Maldonado said used to be “the best one on the East Coast” but is now too inconsistent. The imposition of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which the MTHA’s umbrella group, the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, ultimately supported though many rank-and-file horsemen opposed it. The infrequency of open board meetings. Even the number of breaks during morning training.
“There was a poll — one or two breaks — and it was pretty much unanimous [that] everyone just wanted the one break,” said trainer Hugh McMahon. “It was brought to the board, and they denied the one break. That’s not representation.”
Voss, the MTHA president, believes the anger is more a result of challenging circumstances in the industry writ large than in anything the MTHA has done or failed to do.
“I think that times are tough now, and it’s tough for a lot of people just trying to make ends meet in this business,” she said. “You’ve got a horse shortage, so we’re having a tough time filling races. A lot of times, you’re pointing for a race and it doesn’t go. I just think it’s total frustration.”
Oddly enough, it was Robb, Voss, and Foreman, now opponents in this fight, who were among the leaders in the effort, 40 years ago, to unseat the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association as the local horseman’s group and replace it with the MTHA.
For his part, Robb says, “I just want to get the MTHA back to what it was supposed to be, and the first thing I would do is start having monthly meetings again.”
Voss and Foreman point out that it’s an election year for the MTHA board. All 15 seats are up.
“We have an election this year, and we’ve told them, ‘Get your guy elected,’” Foreman said in an interview prior to the lawsuit. “Every other organization does it that way.”
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Pretty happy how she ran...Can't complain. I loved the way she galloped out past the finish line!Originally posted by batt33Comment -
shaking my head STR I can understand your frustration...Originally posted by strHers is a peek as to what Md. racing is in the midst of. Sad to see . I’m friends with all them. My frustration runs deep as all I see is disfunction . Now you can see why I was fine when the MTHA declined any affiliation with the non profit I am forming to help retired and semi retired backstretch workers.
This is an article just written and posted about Md. racing :
The next skirmish in the battle over the bylaws governing the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (MTHA) may be fought in an Anne Arundel County courthouse.
Trainer John Robb sued the MTHA April 27, claiming two of its recent actions violate its own bylaws and are illegal. It’s the latest step in a multi-month fight that’s included dueling lawyers, a heated meeting, and efforts to involve state regulators.
The larger question behind the struggle: Who should make decisions on behalf of Maryland’s horsemen, and whom should they represent?
This article contains affiliate links. If you click and buy, we may earn a commission at no extra charge to you.
Get tickets now!
Pick up reliable and rewarding tickets for major events!
Robb and other dissatisfied Laurel Park trainers, who claim to represent a “substantial and decisive majority” of Maryland horsemen, say they have been left out of the loop or ignored on important decisions.
They have been pushing the MTHA to amend its bylaws in ways they claim will make the board of directors better informed, more responsive, and more representative of the trainers and owners with the most involvement in Maryland racing.
But MTHA officials defend the board’s work and say the primary effects of the proposed changes would be to disenfranchise numerous owners and trainers and shrink the pool of potential board members. They portray it as an effort by Robb and others to take over the organization.
Robb’s lawsuit followed a testy meeting March 19, when an effort at compromise ran aground. The MTHA board rejected one of the three proposed compromise bylaws and amended two others to – in the eyes of Robb and his supporters – weaken them.
That led Robb to demand a special meeting of the membership and to seek the intervention of the Maryland Racing Commission, which declined to become involved.
“Your allegations regarding MTHA’s corporate governance are not within the Commission’s jurisdiction,” Commission executive director Chris Merz wrote in a letter to Robb.
The legal issue at hand in the lawsuit: whether the MTHA can require members seeking a special meeting to pay the costs of calling that meeting, which the organization estimates will amount to $15,000, and whether a bylaws amendment, which could it more difficult for members to change the bylaws and which the MTHA adopted April 15, well past the start of the current unpleasantness, should apply.
Alan Foreman, general counsel for the MTHA, said both actions were at the advice of outside counsel the organization has retained to advise it in this matter.
Under federal and state law, the MTHA, as the organization representing the majority of the state’s owners and trainers, plays a major role in the racing landscape, signing off on the import and export of simulcast feeds, overseeing the purse account, and more.
Moreover, under the legislation enabling the Pimlico Plus project, it is the purse account that must backstop operating losses incurred by the nonprofit Maryland Jockey Club; that subsidy is projected to reach $18 million this year, sources said.
The board currently is comprised of 15 members elected by the entire membership: seven owners, seven trainers, and one additional member, who is the top vote-getter not otherwise elected.
Robb and his group are seeking three major amendments.
The first would require that those only those owners who owned at least 25% of a horse or horses that made a combined total of at least 10 starts in Maryland in the preceding 12 months would be eligible either to vote or to serve on the board.
The second is a similar restriction on trainers, requiring them to have, in the prior 12 months, made either 50% of their starts in Maryland or a total of at least 50 starts here to vote for or serve on the board.
And the third is an unusual provision that would direct that, while both owners and trainers could vote for the owner representatives, only trainers may vote for the trainer representatives.
The effort, said retired trainer Dale Capuano, who has advised the dissident group and who served a long tenure on the MTHA board, is designed to get “people that have a lot more skin in the game” onto the board.
But MTHA president Katy Voss said the notion that current board members are insufficiently committed to Maryland racing is unfair.
“You can’t find people that are more actively involved and heavily invested [in the industry]” than current board members, she said.
Voss provided The Racing Biz an analysis claiming that the first two provisions would dramatically reduce – by, perhaps, as much as 85% in the case of owners – the number of owners and trainers who could vote or serve on the board. Some of those who would be rendered ineligible currently serve on the board.
That, it seems, would be fine with many of the trainers, who portray the MTHA board as out-of-touch.
“They were saying, ‘You guys can come here and say what you want, and then we figure it out together.’ But that’s not the truth,” said Jonathan Maldonado, a Laurel-based trainer. “If they decide they want something else, they make the decision. They always do whatever they want. I always thought that the board represents the whole community.”
“There is no working with the general population of horsemen,” agreed Kenny Cox, another Laurel trainer. “When you do go to them, you always feel like you’re dismissed.”
Their frustrations run the gamut: the size of the subsidy paid to the racetrack. Races that don’t fill. A racing strip that Maldonado said used to be “the best one on the East Coast” but is now too inconsistent. The imposition of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which the MTHA’s umbrella group, the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, ultimately supported though many rank-and-file horsemen opposed it. The infrequency of open board meetings. Even the number of breaks during morning training.
“There was a poll — one or two breaks — and it was pretty much unanimous [that] everyone just wanted the one break,” said trainer Hugh McMahon. “It was brought to the board, and they denied the one break. That’s not representation.”
Voss, the MTHA president, believes the anger is more a result of challenging circumstances in the industry writ large than in anything the MTHA has done or failed to do.
“I think that times are tough now, and it’s tough for a lot of people just trying to make ends meet in this business,” she said. “You’ve got a horse shortage, so we’re having a tough time filling races. A lot of times, you’re pointing for a race and it doesn’t go. I just think it’s total frustration.”
Oddly enough, it was Robb, Voss, and Foreman, now opponents in this fight, who were among the leaders in the effort, 40 years ago, to unseat the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association as the local horseman’s group and replace it with the MTHA.
For his part, Robb says, “I just want to get the MTHA back to what it was supposed to be, and the first thing I would do is start having monthly meetings again.”
Voss and Foreman point out that it’s an election year for the MTHA board. All 15 seats are up.
“We have an election this year, and we’ve told them, ‘Get your guy elected,’” Foreman said in an interview prior to the lawsuit. “Every other organization does it that way.”Comment -
First off unlike in other decades there's been a switch to the importance of the summer races making it more appealing to target those races, altering the series would interfere with the scheduling for those races and most tracks aren't going to go along. However the biggest reason for leaving them as they are is for what they have always stood for, the test of a real champion. Not just a horse with racing luck on derby day, or any other race, but a truly great horse. We all know their names and speak with reverence when we remember what they did. The triple crown isn't about making it easy it's a true test of greatness that must remain for the future of this sport.Originally posted by JBEXComment -
considering there's been 2 triple crown winners in the last dozen years is another argument not to change the format .. also had flighline (2021) been able to start his career a few months earlier good chance he would've done it also .. you're gonna have a significant amount of derby winners skip the preakness in modern times but imo as long as there are horses that are capable of doing it I agree (changed my mind) it should be left aloneOriginally posted by batt33Comment -
top 3 choices in the peter pan stakes at aqueduct tomorrow are all by sons of uncle mo
3 growth equity (6-5)
nyquist
5 talk to me jimmy (9-5)
modernist
1 trendsetter (3-1)
modernist
nyquist is an elite stallion ($175k) but the other two are from modernist's 1st crop and he's only a $5k fee ..pretty remarkable that he has 2 in there at that inexpensive fee and both are logical contenders .. might bode well for kingsbarns (also UM) whose 1st crop we won't see till 2028
that's how it finished in ml order and final odds were very close .. $1 triple pd $7.64Comment -
B-O, you saying you can get us jobs tilling the Iowa farm-land this summer?Originally posted by BOA12Where's the fuckin power box, Carol?Comment -
Not my side of town Goat,Originally posted by ChuckyTheGoat
but I hear many openings exist.Comment
