Breeders' Cup weekend

Here's an interesting interactive preview:

http://lang.dailynews.com/socal/editorial/breeders/breeders.html?source=rv

 

Five BC races Friday between 3:30 and 5:30 (Eastern).
Nine BC races Saturday between 1:10 and 6:45 (Eastern).

Weather should be perfect (low 80s and no chance of rain). Big Pick 6 on Saturday has a guaranteed pool of $3 million. Good luck to one and all.

 

Wow, really good stuff. Great execution.

 

Some glitches in there, but overall a terrific effort.

I'd love to go out there one year to see it in person.

 

Wait two years and go to Churchill in '10, when they hold it over a real dirt track, rather than the plastic gunk they use at Anita.


WSJ writer stole my "plastic gunk" phrase in his BC writeup, today.

Niiiiiice.

 

Just finished my three-hour handicapping session. Whew! I need a cold beer . . . but not as much as I need some fast horses on Saturday afternoon.

For whatever it's worth . . .

My best play of the day is going to be Well Armed in the Dirt Mile.

I think the last three BC races have a good shot of being fabulous. There's a ton of speed in the Sprint (I give the edge to Cost of Freedom, who won at this track a month ago in 1:07.2) and I wouldn't be surprised to see half a dozen horses within two lengths of each other at the finish of the Turf.

In the Classic, I don’t profess to know what to expect out of Duke of Marmalade, Henrythenavigator and Raven's Pass; between them, they have 36 lifetime starts and every one of them on turf. You’d think for a $5 million race, the trainer would like to have at least one race in Classic conditions, no? Raven’s Pass and Henrythenavigator get first-time Lasix; Raven’s Pass also has Frankie Dettori up, which is never a bad thing in a big race. Certainly Curlin deserves to be the favorite, but I don't see him being a cinch.

Good luck to all, and let's keep our fingers crossed that we don't see that damn equine ambulance.

 

I've got Travis Henry taking the big prize.

 

Hour and a half until Day I commences . . .

 

Finished my handicapping an hour ago. Quite the slog this year with all those races.

My brother is much more into the track than me - he took today off to be ready for the races - and he has some Euro race contacts who inform him that Sixties Icon is the lock du jour tomorrow in the Marathon.

I started well on day one last year than went for a big shit.

Good luck to all this year.

 

Really good ride by Garrett Gomez in the first BC race, the Filly & Mare Sprint, and the track is really fast. Winning time over 7 furlongs is 1:19.90.

 

Zenyatta wins Ladies' Classic!