The National Weather Service is predicting 1 to 2 inches of rain for Louisville tomorrow. Those 80 hooves and shoes hitting the wet ground will be kicking up the mud. The phrase “here’s mud in your eye” is a humorous toast, usually among friends. Some believe the phrase came from horse racing, where a horse in the lead kicks dirt or mud into the eyes or face of the horse following behind. All theories connote good spirit and humor. Perhaps it signifies a desire for two friends to finish well—the toaster in first, and the toasted a close second.

Drawing by Ana Mirela Tache

Check out our book for more phrases and idioms that come from the world of horse racing.

American Lion – Illinois Derby winner took the lead and held the lead from a suspect field 4 weeks ago at Hawthorne Park. He finished in 1:51 1/5 but his last 1/8 was in a respectable 13 flat. Am Lion had a little extra burst in the tank when Yawanna Twist (who finished 11 in front of the next- Backtalk) came up to challenge. That race was the runner’s first effort on dirt and with middling works at CD I can see an over looked talent at a healthy mutual price.

Lookin At Lucky – This troubled troubadour is 6 for 8 lifetime with a victory in the 1 1/16 Rebel at OP 7 weeks ago. In that race he clicked heels halfway thru but was able to repel the likes of Nobles Promise and Dublin. Baffert trainee has been professionally working the past two weeks at CD. I see him picking up the pieces late ala Pioneer of the Nile in ‘09. His trouble at the rail in the SA Derby Post may be a problem for the inside post runner.

Dublin – Durable Afleet Alex colt makes his 9th career start – all on dirt. Came in third in the Arkansas Derby but ran a very consistent final 1/8 of 12 4/5 seconds. His chances go up with the sunshine, I don’t think he’ll respond to a “cuppy” wet surface. I look for him to hold a stalking position and finish up close but not ahead of American Lion or Lookin at Lucky.

Sidney’s Candy – Outside draw may set him up for the blistering early fractions that he will need to get the lead, Joe Talamo will have his hands full keeping it over 46 and change. I like the final 1/8 time of 12 3/5 for the SA Derby while maintaining a 4 length lead. His prior two races were not as impressive as the SA Derby and the fields were not of this caliber. He is a special horse if he can win from the outside, I see him fading in the stretch.

Super Saver – Borel will get the leg up from Pletcher for the Winstar LLC. He ran a very respectable 12 4/5 the last 1/8 in the Arkansas Derby. He was closing in on Line Of Divid on the wire and lost by less than a neck. Front running type fires from the 4 hole which should suit Colonel Calvin. If Super Saver has kept/made the lead when turning for home I think that American Lion or Lookin At Lucky would be the only ones to catch him.

LATE SUPER ADD – Make Music For Me California turf and synthetic specialist is coming off a lackluster final 13 2/5 in the Bluegrass. He lost to Lucky and Nobles Promise by 1 1/4 lengths in the Cal Fut at Hollywood Park during the week before Christmas. Underrated Joel Rosario is up in the saddle. It wouldn’t shock me to see him take dirt and make some cha ching type of music filling out the super.

According to this article the first reported use of a camera to document the end of a race was in 1888 at a track in Plainfield, New Jersey.

The term refers to the end of a race that is so close that the winner is only discernable only from a photograph taken as the horses cross the finish line. A common variation is “It’s a photo finish!” or simply “He wins in a photo!”

Grassy Wins the 9th in a 6 horse photo at Saratoga Race Course 8/22/09 photo courtesy of NYRA

An interesting photo of a triple dead heat is here.

Another, more technical, article on the different aspects of the photo finish cameras is here.

Who knew that way back in 1888 a camera on the finish line at a racetrack in New Jersey would usher in the age of instant replay. Now during challenges in the NFL we are treated to super slow motion replays at every conceivable angle. Referees duck under video hoods like the Wizard of Oz behind his curtain. While the time clock on televised basketball games is divided into tenths of a second. It never ceases to amaze me when announcers confidently assure us that there is “no need to rush here, there is still plenty of time to get the shot off” when there are 2.7 seconds left on the clock.

In horse racing the imperfect science of keeping time during morning workouts is still associated with a hand held stopwatch. Race times are now measured by hundredths of a seconds but the time honored method of 1/5 of a second per trailing horse length is still the rule for handicapping. Many of us prescribe to our own methods of finding a Derby winner, but generally, these includes the back of the envelope computations using the finishing times for the last 1/8 mile in recent few prep races. After the injury to Eskendereya the 2010 edition of the Kentucky Derby looks like an evenly matched field, perhaps this the year for a photo finish. For those of you who are interested, a very smart Kentucky Derby system is here.

But I digress, the term photo finish originated at the track yet is used to describe everything from elections to dancing contests in Florida.

I am always surprised when I see the generally unrecognized influence horse racing has on our language and culture. I hope that both horse racing fans and those interested in the English language will also find all of this enjoyable.

In horse racing to tout means to give out tips on a horse, usually for money or for the expectation of a share of any winnings. The word tout can also be used as a noun, meaning someone who gives out the tip on a race with an expected compensation. The word is Scottish in origin and originally meant to peep, to spy. It came to be used in horse racing when touts would secretly watch horses working out and sell or profit somehow from the ill-gotten information. So touts have had a bad rap from the very beginning of horse racing. If you follow this sport, these next few weeks before the Kentucky Derby are loudest and most lucrative for touts.

Oaklawn Park, Mar 01, 1960 . Photo: Francis Miller./Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

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!