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08 June 2008
Aftermath & Reflections
... and another year has come and gone without a Triple Crown winner. No suprises there, at least for me. I was never fully on the Big Brown bandwagon - I believe that he's an impressive looking and even talented horse, but nothing I saw truly convinced me (I know, I know, he defied history, etc). I don't feel that he was actually tested, and I can't help but wonder if that happened early in the Belmont today as he was bumped around and had dirt thrown in his face. Or was it his hooves? The fact that he didn't receive his monthly Winstrol injection (how long does that stay in a horse's system? could it be that it was still having an influence up until just recently)? A really crappy day (they did mention that he seemed unusually worked up in the detention barn)?
The truth is, we may never know for certain.
But that's why I love this game. Every day you go in never knowing quite what to expect. Tables are turned. Horses have bad days. A lowly claimer rises through the ranks to stardom. You follow a horse from it's first workout for one reason or another and feel a small burst of pride when they break their maiden. It's an incredible emotional rush, and that, for me, is more addictive than the gambling aspect could ever be.
Did tonight's outcome surprise me? Not in the sense that Big Brown lost - I saw that coming, if only based on history. Da' Tara winning? Oh yeah. But it was a pleasant surprise ... for him to go wire-to-wire and manage to be pulling away at the end, that impresses me. It looks as though we may have a talented horse on our hands who just hadn't found the right spot up to this point. Or he could wind up a one-hit-wonder like some other Belmont winners. Whatever the case, I look forward to following his career.
Confession: I haven't actually seen the race. At the moment, I have exactly two TV channels (NBC and PBS) and no reliable internet connection, so I won't be able to actually watch it until about Tuesday (I'll drag my laptop out of the apartment when I go out for a scheduled appointment - as much as I'd like to see the race, I'm not wild about going out in 90+ degree weather with a heavy laptop on my shoulder!).
Instead, I listened to the race on ESPN radio, which was quite possibly more gratifying than seeing it ... there was nervous anticipation as I awaited Durkin's next words and I attempted to visualize the race in my mind. I actually prefer listening to races ... one of my favorite things to do is pull up a video on my computer, shut my eyes, and just listen. With exciting calls, it doesn't matter that I already know the outcome. A talented racecaller can really bring it alive, and I love hearing them momentarily lose their cool in the heat of the moment (for a good example of this, listen to Lava Man's 2007 Hollywood Gold Cup).
In light of these circumstances, I'll refrain from commenting on the race directly, but I will make one observation ... I had a very strong flashback to 2005 and one of my favorite parts of that call - 'Afleet Alex! Jeremy Rose has yet to make a move on him!' and moments later 'And Afleet Alex just ran right by Giacomo like he was standing still!' For a moment, I fully anticipated the switch to be flipped and hear a reprise of Afleet Alex's performance.
So, what now? I'll confess that one of the reasons that I haven't posted much is that the whole 'Triple Crown Trail' thing just doesn't do it for me. For the general public, this is where their racing attention begins and ends. For many racefans, this is the height of the year. For me, the year is now just beginning. The grass is lush, the snow has cleared, and the turf season is underway.
One bright side to this year's very weak crop is that we may have a very strong older horse division next year. What I see is a lot of untapped talent that may just be starting to show itself. I'll be interested to see how Da' Tara fares in his future exploits, and I can't wait to see if Pyro regains his form. Crown of Thorns will hopefully be back soon. Mushka returned to the worktab the other day. I see a lot of hope, just not quite yet.
I'm very interested in seeing how the horses from the Triple Crown fare in their future exploits, and I have an obsession with statistics (canary junior legal pads. 'nuff said). To this end, starting tomorrow, I'll be tracking the workouts and entries for these horses. My hope is to have it up (look for a link on the sidebar) sometime this week, and I'll update as regularly as possible, although there will be a delay - and if I miss anything, please let me know! We'll see if my prediction of untapped talent holds true.
Just a couple more notes...
Since Presque Isle Downs in Erie opened this year, I haven't been. I did spend close to a week visiting my parents a couple of weeks ago, but the desire simply wasn't there. If I'm honest, that experience last year pretty much killed the yearning for live racing. The vibes that I got from PID were 'this is only here because it's the only way we could get a casino'. I could hardly see the races themselves (apart from the one race I watched from the 'exclusive' dining room) - I had a choice of watching the horses turn for home or watching a stampeding blur to the finish line. The few times that I tried, by the time that I managed to shift my focus, the last horses in the field were at the wire! While I understand that this improved towards the end of the meet, I could hardly hear the call... and perhaps most annoying was having my age under a microscope so much. On a bad day, I can pass for 16, but when the security guards see the yellow wristband that indicates that I'm over twenty-one and still insist that I pull out my ID (then scrutinize it as though it's fake) over and over, it gets old. I can understand and respect the efforts to prevent underage gambling, but it grated on my nerves and was a bit offensive (relatively rude security guards didn't help, either).
To the point. That all changed. On a trip into Cleveland over Memorial Day weekend to visit my grandparents' graves, I innocently asked my father over lunch how close we were to Thistledown. Much to my surprise, he responded that it wasn't that far, and when I asked if we could just drive by so I could see what it looks like, the answer was yes.
Amazing. We only stayed for the first race (which Glitter Canyon won rather impressively), but I loved every minute. Here was a place that just oozed racing. Retirees were hunched over their racing forms scribbling away. I could overhear gossip about racing. Programs were a cinch to find, and screens showing races from around the country were everywhere. There weren't that many people there, but they were there for the races. And amazingly enough, I could see the race (it looked like there was an infield video screen that was undergoing maintenance). Hear it. And the winner's circle presentation was facing us and I could see it all. One of the things I love is seeing the excitement and joy of the winning connections, and I could here.
But it made me sad. Shortly before my grandmother's death (who was more a best friend to me than a relative), we often discussed my coming to visit for a few days, and every now and then she'd raise the issue of spending a day at the races. It's doubtful that it would have actually happened, but it meant a lot to me that she recognized my interest. She knew nothing about racing, but sometimes she'd ask questions ... and I can't help but think how fun it would have been to go with her, explain everything, and share what I love so much with her.
One night last year, my mother went with me to Presque Isle, and I genuinely enjoyed sitting down with her before each race, going over the past performances and trying to explain things, then heading over to the paddock and evaluating the horses. I'm embarrassed to admit that a couple of times, her perception was better than mine! And it was extremely gratifying when the race was over to have her rush me over to a bench saying "okay, now let's handicap the next one!!". We share our differences and difficulties, but while she may not have seen it as such, for me it was a sort of bonding experience. I know that my father and I drive her up a wall talking about racing when we're all together, but she tries, and that's what matters.
Whew. I went on way longer than intended, and my usage of run-on sentences was horrendous. But it's nice to be back posting, and I'll be slowly doing site maintanance over the next few weeks and will update links and such once I'm on a better connection.
... and another year has come and gone without a Triple Crown winner. No suprises there, at least for me. I was never fully on the Big Brown bandwagon - I believe that he's an impressive looking and even talented horse, but nothing I saw truly convinced me (I know, I know, he defied history, etc). I don't feel that he was actually tested, and I can't help but wonder if that happened early in the Belmont today as he was bumped around and had dirt thrown in his face. Or was it his hooves? The fact that he didn't receive his monthly Winstrol injection (how long does that stay in a horse's system? could it be that it was still having an influence up until just recently)? A really crappy day (they did mention that he seemed unusually worked up in the detention barn)?
The truth is, we may never know for certain.
But that's why I love this game. Every day you go in never knowing quite what to expect. Tables are turned. Horses have bad days. A lowly claimer rises through the ranks to stardom. You follow a horse from it's first workout for one reason or another and feel a small burst of pride when they break their maiden. It's an incredible emotional rush, and that, for me, is more addictive than the gambling aspect could ever be.
Did tonight's outcome surprise me? Not in the sense that Big Brown lost - I saw that coming, if only based on history. Da' Tara winning? Oh yeah. But it was a pleasant surprise ... for him to go wire-to-wire and manage to be pulling away at the end, that impresses me. It looks as though we may have a talented horse on our hands who just hadn't found the right spot up to this point. Or he could wind up a one-hit-wonder like some other Belmont winners. Whatever the case, I look forward to following his career.
Confession: I haven't actually seen the race. At the moment, I have exactly two TV channels (NBC and PBS) and no reliable internet connection, so I won't be able to actually watch it until about Tuesday (I'll drag my laptop out of the apartment when I go out for a scheduled appointment - as much as I'd like to see the race, I'm not wild about going out in 90+ degree weather with a heavy laptop on my shoulder!).
Instead, I listened to the race on ESPN radio, which was quite possibly more gratifying than seeing it ... there was nervous anticipation as I awaited Durkin's next words and I attempted to visualize the race in my mind. I actually prefer listening to races ... one of my favorite things to do is pull up a video on my computer, shut my eyes, and just listen. With exciting calls, it doesn't matter that I already know the outcome. A talented racecaller can really bring it alive, and I love hearing them momentarily lose their cool in the heat of the moment (for a good example of this, listen to Lava Man's 2007 Hollywood Gold Cup).
In light of these circumstances, I'll refrain from commenting on the race directly, but I will make one observation ... I had a very strong flashback to 2005 and one of my favorite parts of that call - 'Afleet Alex! Jeremy Rose has yet to make a move on him!' and moments later 'And Afleet Alex just ran right by Giacomo like he was standing still!' For a moment, I fully anticipated the switch to be flipped and hear a reprise of Afleet Alex's performance.
So, what now? I'll confess that one of the reasons that I haven't posted much is that the whole 'Triple Crown Trail' thing just doesn't do it for me. For the general public, this is where their racing attention begins and ends. For many racefans, this is the height of the year. For me, the year is now just beginning. The grass is lush, the snow has cleared, and the turf season is underway.
One bright side to this year's very weak crop is that we may have a very strong older horse division next year. What I see is a lot of untapped talent that may just be starting to show itself. I'll be interested to see how Da' Tara fares in his future exploits, and I can't wait to see if Pyro regains his form. Crown of Thorns will hopefully be back soon. Mushka returned to the worktab the other day. I see a lot of hope, just not quite yet.
I'm very interested in seeing how the horses from the Triple Crown fare in their future exploits, and I have an obsession with statistics (canary junior legal pads. 'nuff said). To this end, starting tomorrow, I'll be tracking the workouts and entries for these horses. My hope is to have it up (look for a link on the sidebar) sometime this week, and I'll update as regularly as possible, although there will be a delay - and if I miss anything, please let me know! We'll see if my prediction of untapped talent holds true.
Just a couple more notes...
Since Presque Isle Downs in Erie opened this year, I haven't been. I did spend close to a week visiting my parents a couple of weeks ago, but the desire simply wasn't there. If I'm honest, that experience last year pretty much killed the yearning for live racing. The vibes that I got from PID were 'this is only here because it's the only way we could get a casino'. I could hardly see the races themselves (apart from the one race I watched from the 'exclusive' dining room) - I had a choice of watching the horses turn for home or watching a stampeding blur to the finish line. The few times that I tried, by the time that I managed to shift my focus, the last horses in the field were at the wire! While I understand that this improved towards the end of the meet, I could hardly hear the call... and perhaps most annoying was having my age under a microscope so much. On a bad day, I can pass for 16, but when the security guards see the yellow wristband that indicates that I'm over twenty-one and still insist that I pull out my ID (then scrutinize it as though it's fake) over and over, it gets old. I can understand and respect the efforts to prevent underage gambling, but it grated on my nerves and was a bit offensive (relatively rude security guards didn't help, either).
To the point. That all changed. On a trip into Cleveland over Memorial Day weekend to visit my grandparents' graves, I innocently asked my father over lunch how close we were to Thistledown. Much to my surprise, he responded that it wasn't that far, and when I asked if we could just drive by so I could see what it looks like, the answer was yes.
Amazing. We only stayed for the first race (which Glitter Canyon won rather impressively), but I loved every minute. Here was a place that just oozed racing. Retirees were hunched over their racing forms scribbling away. I could overhear gossip about racing. Programs were a cinch to find, and screens showing races from around the country were everywhere. There weren't that many people there, but they were there for the races. And amazingly enough, I could see the race (it looked like there was an infield video screen that was undergoing maintenance). Hear it. And the winner's circle presentation was facing us and I could see it all. One of the things I love is seeing the excitement and joy of the winning connections, and I could here.
But it made me sad. Shortly before my grandmother's death (who was more a best friend to me than a relative), we often discussed my coming to visit for a few days, and every now and then she'd raise the issue of spending a day at the races. It's doubtful that it would have actually happened, but it meant a lot to me that she recognized my interest. She knew nothing about racing, but sometimes she'd ask questions ... and I can't help but think how fun it would have been to go with her, explain everything, and share what I love so much with her.
One night last year, my mother went with me to Presque Isle, and I genuinely enjoyed sitting down with her before each race, going over the past performances and trying to explain things, then heading over to the paddock and evaluating the horses. I'm embarrassed to admit that a couple of times, her perception was better than mine! And it was extremely gratifying when the race was over to have her rush me over to a bench saying "okay, now let's handicap the next one!!". We share our differences and difficulties, but while she may not have seen it as such, for me it was a sort of bonding experience. I know that my father and I drive her up a wall talking about racing when we're all together, but she tries, and that's what matters.
Whew. I went on way longer than intended, and my usage of run-on sentences was horrendous. But it's nice to be back posting, and I'll be slowly doing site maintanance over the next few weeks and will update links and such once I'm on a better connection.
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