I get a thrill every year around this time when I look at the Derby prep races and all of the horses have the Triple Crown nomination symbol next to their breeding lines in the DRF PPs.

Several years ago I spent a cold wet miserable February in Dublin Ireland. My humble advice for the backers of the colt Dublin (Afleet Alex out of Classy Mirage) in the G3 Southwest at Oaklawn on Saturday is to wait for his races in April and May. This colt will be rounding into form nicely during the warmer months, a much more pleasant experience than Dublin in February.

I don’t understand why both the Blood-Horse staff written piece and DRF’s Mike Welsch never mentioned the stewards’ inquiry of the stretch run in yesterday’s 8th race at GP. From the head-on shot it looked like the eventual winner Doubles Partner and Chris DeCarlo really made their own hole at the rail when the horse dug his right shoulder into Saint Eligius who then went into Lentenor. Both Lentenor and Saint Eligius were pushed several paths wide of the eventual winner. Maybe not enough to take him down in the eyes of the stewards but well worth a mention in the journals of record. Add the Paulick Report slug line “Lentesnore” and you get a distinct feeling Barbaro’s (over hyped?) little brother is getting written off a bit too early in the game. Look for Lentenor to prove himself later this spring, possibly in an emotion generating appearance in the Preakness.

A local Chinese restaurant has a special dish called the Triple Crown: it includes jumbo shrimp, beef and chicken in a spicy Hong Kong sauce all for a mere $11.00… far cheaper than what I’ll be playing on May 1st.
Happy Derby Trails.

Yesterday at Aqueduct, Eightyfiveinafifty was set to make his second start as a 3-year old after winning his first race this year (and only the 2nd race of his young career) by 17 lengths. He was the odds-on favorite in the race. A good performance in this race would send him well on his way for preparing for the Kentucky Derby this May.

So what happened?

Going around the first turn his bit broke, the jockey lost control and the Eightyfiveinafifty ran off the track, breaking through a rail and then leaping another rail heading off the grounds. His jockey, Jorge Chavez, fell off sometime after the crash through the first rail. Luckily the horse was caught and miraculously was pretty much OK except for a gash on his leg requiring 14 stitches. Chavez was taken to the hospital and appears to be OK as well.

A day that began with such high hopes and excitement ended with the horse very likely being taken off the Derby trail. Preparing for the Derby is a very carefully planned thing. A horse only gets one shot to run in the Derby since it is a race for 3-year old horses and any glitch in the plan can spoils a horse’s chances for getting to the big race.

Quality Road is a perfect example of this. Last year Quality Road looked like he was going to be going to the Derby as the favorite. He’d had some hoof problems early on but had apparently overcome them. He’d broken the Gulfstream track record in the Florida Derby in March 09. But then the hoof problems reemerged shortly after. He was taken out of training to heal up and missed the opportunity for the Derby. He ended 2009 with a freak out at the starting gate at Breeders Cup (read more about that here). Yesterday he was back at Gulfstream for his second start as a 4-year old.

So, what happened?

He broke his own track record and won by 12-3/4 lengths in the Donn Handicap. You can’t make stories like this up!

The Natural and the Theatrical

On this day of winter’s horse racing retreat
brings me to dreams of our two great fillies in a matched heat.
You punters and horse lovers and backers alike
help me to conjure a bit of excitement in this grey light

There she is – The Natural – undefeated in every trip to the gate
The lady Zenyatta takes it slow off the pace
but she knows where the wire spreads out overhead
And when it is late she is passing the also-rans without breaking a sweat

Look at the size of her with hair and ears a flapping
At least 16 hands and everyone of those, and ours, are clapping
The way she runs, she is a hero from Hollywood, but this no film
Her desire to win burns so hot, you’d think she was foaled in a kiln

There dear friends is Rachel Alexandra – the Theatrical beaut.
She makes a race so dramatic, so alluring, right out of the chute.
Like in a dark theatre where she is the only player on the stage
We cannot look away from her as she runs in a rage

She is a star, and like a heavenly body, has the power of attraction
A force of gravity that has yet to reach maturation.
One who has taken on all comers no matter how well–meant
Her true character shines; to the wire first, how wonderfully hell-bent

For these two horses are unmatched on any track
Worthy of a tale of yore and a fabled race so sublime
like a watched clock that has yet to chime
What a bold pair these two would make – The Natural and the Theatrical

Oh the palms do sweat and the hands do quake
Seeing will be believing when they are off  in this great stake
And nary a number will I be punting
Just holding my head on high to see them so stunning

But, oh for the chance to see them fly by!

Leaving a bizarre Breeders’ Cup gate freakout in the past, Quality Road romped to victory in the $100,000 Hal’s Hope at Gulfstream Park on opening day. The win put his career earnings just over a million dollars.

The 4-yo Elusive Quality colt, who is owned by Edward Evans, had run the gambit of racing highs and and lows in 2009. The winner of  the Gr I Florida Derby in March when trained by Jimmy Jerkins, the horse was switched to Todd Pletcher in June and came back to set the track record for 6 ½ furlongs (1:13 3/5) while winning the Gr II Amsterdam at Saratoga in August.

In between those two races he was sidelined with a recurring quarter crack issue that kept him out of the Triple Crown. Quality Road hit another,  more emotional, low when freaking out and being scratched at the starting gate in the  Breeders’ Cup Classic. Although it wasn’t mentioned on the ESPN coverage, it seems the low flying TV helicopter hovering over the starting gate was what spooked the horse.

You can hear the helicopter clearly in the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGfrr8CFuIw

Jay Slender the starter from Santa Anita that day told Jay Hovdey from the DRF that “I didn’t know anything about that horse before, and I haven’t looked at any replays. There’s only one thing I thought of that could have set the horse off – that damn TV helicopter flying above the gate, because it was loud.”

After being vanned back to New York  (he was still too upset to get on a plane) Quality Road began working with former NYRA starter  Bob Duncan who  knows how to calm horses that are getting into the gate.

Bob Duncan and Quality Road at Belmont photo by Barbara D. Livingston in the DRF

Chris Baker, the farm manager for Evans was quoted in the Daily Racing Form “We’re focusing now on what we hope to be a very productive 2010 campaign that puts him (Quality Road)  in position to be champion older horse and Horse of the Year.”

Look for his next start to be in the Gr I Donn Handicap at Gulf Stream Park on February 6th, the day before the Super Bowl which is just down the road in Dolphin Stadium.

I admit that I have a soft spot for the horse after what happened to him at gate in the Classic. He’ll probably have to face Rachel Alexandra at some point, and Summer Bird again, but if this star-crossed runner is improving like I think he is… we may be talking about the Horse of the Year in 2010.

In horse racing and gambling parlance “the handle” is the amount of money wagered on any race, game or other event such as a boxing match. The word handle has been around for quite awhile according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary.  In the days of Middle English the spelling transposed the last two letters to handel but the meaning has not changed: “something that was made or designed to be grasped by the hand.”  It is not known for sure when handle was first used in connection to horse racing,  but its use is clearly understood:  the amount of money that passes  through the hands of bettors and bet takers.

The word has also taken on different forms; there are  handlebars on bicycles and handlebar moustaches. A fairly new use is the term “political handler,”  who  is someone that supports a politician during an election season and beyond. Now that’s a handful!

It’s almost Thanksgiving and for most of us that means a day of overeating is almost here.  Are you going to eat like a horse? This phrase has always seemed to mean simply eating too much.  Though a horse certainly eats a a lot (somewhere around 15 lbs of hay a day), there’s a bit more to it than just the amount of food being eaten. Generally, a horse who eats a lot is a healthy horse. Here are some quotes from trainers about some of this year’s most successful horses after recently running a race that attest to this:

“She recovered very well. She seemed strong and was starving when we fed her last night, and ate everything this morning, as well.” -Assistant trainer Scott Blasi son Rachel Alexandra after her win in the Mother Goose.

“We weren’t planning on running her back so soon, but since she ate up and was feeling so well, Mr. Strawbridge thought we should give it a shot.” -Jonathan Sheppard on Informed Decision after finishing third in the Ballerina.

“He came out of it in good shape, ate up.”- Mary Hartman on Presious Passion after winning the Monmouth Stakes.

So eat up and have a healthy Thanksgiving!

[Quotes all come from DRF articles (search the phrase “ate well”).]

Be sure to check out the preview launch of a new horse racing fan education website called helloracefans.com. To start out they’ve compiled recommendations from industry professionals and regular players alike to help new fans embark on a fantastic journey of learning about the Sport of Kings. The site will have it’s full launch in the Spring, just before the Kentucky Derby. We’ve contributed a light-hearted piece on the language of the track. But, be sure to check out all the other great contributors while you’re there.

We are thrilled to support the efforts of the Backstretch Education Fund and the teaching staff at Belmont Park. Congratulations to the backstretch workers who graduated yesterday, we hope you enjoy your books. There is more information about the Education Fund and the new language center ““La Escuelita” here:

http://www.nyra.com/belmont/stories/July082009.shtml

11/7/9

Art work by Ana Mirela Tache

All images are owned by Off to Flying Start Press, and are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws.

We will be joining host Carolyn Conley on her show Race Day America to discuss the language of horse racing.  We met Carolyn when we were at Santa Anita signing our book a few weeks ago. We hope you can join the discussion by tuning to HRTV this Thursday (10/29) at 12:15 pm (EST) and 9:15 am (PST)