April 29

Another Winning Day!

Derby Week kicked off with a ten race Tuesday card and while I had six selections on the card, I did not have any "BEST" bets.  But I did have three runners that I was doubling down on and I told all my Facebook friends that they were my top selections of the day.  I did not have a selection in the opener and my second choice won the race and paid over $9, while my top choice pressed the issue for a half mile then stopped to be 7th, beaten over twenty legths.  In the second Battle Hardened was a Churchill Downs 40% Club play for Michael Maker.  Rosie Napravnik is a 47% winning angle for this barn and Battle Hardened was a perfect 2-for-2 going a mile.  He was dropping in class and the fans made him a short 2/1 second choice at post time.  He tracked the front runner into the far turn and while he crossed the line second he was never a threat to the runaway winner, Tarpy's Goal who was my second choice and paid another nice price - $11.20.  I finally got into the winner's circle with the first of three consecutive double investments - the three I'd posted on Facebook.  Tres Belle was a CD 40% Club play for Bob Baffert.  Though based out west, when he sends a dirt sprinter to Churchill they have won at a huge 67%.  Her two best efforts had come on "real dirt" and her past performances were littered with stakes runners.  She had a near bullet work locally and looked hard to go past.  The crowd bet her down to even money.  She sat fourth of five to the far turn letting the top three battle it out.  But as they came into the lane she moved four wide and surged to the front.  Through the final furlong she poured it on and was drawing clear by three plus widening lengths under top jock Rosie Napravnik! 

She paid $4.20 and I cashed for over $20.....whooo hoooo.  Right back in the fourth with another double-down play.  Miraculousmo had had four sensational works since his last, three bullet works....a best of 89 at Gulfstream, followed by a best of 24 at Gulfstream, and then a best of 43 here at Churchill Downs in a very quick :47.1.  As the gates sprung open the 3/5 favorite was unhurried running 7th of 8 down the backside.  Then, much like the winner in the third, he swung wide (six wide to be specific), caught the leaders and drew off under top local rider Corey Lanerie. 

Didn't pay much, only $3.40, but hey.....it's my second win of the day!  It was also interesting, at least to me that the official order of finish was 3-7-4 and my top three picks were (3) Miraculousmo, (4) Kamachatka, and (7) Windgate....the $2 Tri paid $48.20 :)  I passed the fifth, but listd Gettem Up Girl as my top selection.  She was sent off as the short-priced favorite and won convincingly. 

The sixth was my final double investment play, and I made him so on the thinking that this turf race would be rained off to the main track.  Jimmy Simms had decent turf form, but he had very good dirt form.  He'd won by daylight HERE over a sloppy track at this class level last fall.  He'd only been in for a tag three times and had won twice.  The other time he was sent to the lead by Julian Leparoux - which is not his style of running. The switch to jockey Shawn Bridgmohan was a big plus for me.  Jimmy Simms sat just off the leaders around the clubhouse turn and down the backstretch.  On the turn he moved quickly four wide and swooped by easily.  He drew off under wraps by six widening lengths! 

I felt fortunate that he'd been allowed to go off at 6/5 considering how good he looked on paper.  Much like the fourth, my top three made up the trifecta, which paid $48.20 for a $2 bet.  The three-race win streak brought my money total to $60 and even with two races to go I was guaranteed to win on the day.  I passed the 7th - my third choice won and my top three made up the trifecta, again......$61 for a $2 investment.  I had bets in the last two races and both were price plays.  Primed for Passion was a good third at 5/1 and Fab Autumn Girl was also third at a big 7/1.  So for the day I won four of ten giving me a 6-for-18 record overall through two days - and I feel good that Jill Byrne is 5-for-18!  Even better, with races that I've had investments on I've scored with a whopping 5-of-12 for a 42% win rate.  AND after publicly listing my selections, I'd won with all three of them!

April 26

Opening Night!

Tonight was the first day of the Summer Handicapping Project, Opening Night at Churchill Downs, and another "Downs After Dark" program.  This summer I have several things going on with my handicapping......first, I have two projects - here at Churchill Downs for the May through June time period.  I'll take most of July off, then resume with a Monmouth Park project from late July through Labor Day which will be highlighted by a visit to Monmouth Park on Haskell Day.  Throughout the Churchill portion of the project I will be tracking my picks - both the complete set of picks and my betting selections - and I will be tracking Jill Byrne's picks.  She is the best online handicapper I know and I hope I can keep up with her!

So, on tonight's card I had seven selections from the ten races carded.  I found that "interesting" in that I'd pre-determined that I would be more selective - both with the number of betting selections and with the amount of the investment.  First post was not until 6 pm, and I got to watch the opener before we went to dinner with Kim's parents.  I did not have a bet, but my pick ran fifth while Jill Byrne's pick won....wow :)  When we returned from dinner I watched the replays through the fifth race and then hooked the computer up to our 65" HD television in the living room.  The second race was my first bet of the night.  I liked Ration, as did Jill, and he went off at 2/1.  His trainer Al Stall was a perfect 4-for-4 over the last two springs when dropping horses in class - an obvious Churchill Downs 40% Club play.  Ration hugged the rail in second to the far turn and then seemed to wait for a chance to move outside to rally.  But by the time heads were turned for home he was several lengths behind and the best he could do was beat the rest of the field home for third while my second choice, City Steel, won at 5/1 and a long shot ran second.  The third race was my "best" of the night and featured another CD 40% Club play.  Even though Bob Baffert is based out west, he is a Club member with dirt sprinters.  Over the last two years he's scored with four of six, a 67% win average!  Socialbug not only had this going for her, but her only two losses had come to graded stakes winners.  Sharp works sealed the deal....I tripled the bet.  She went off at 3/5 and set the pace comfortably into the lane, but was run down with a 16th to go by my third choice, Anahauc, who paid $9.60.....Jill's top pick ran fourth.  I passed on the fourth - ran third (Jill was 7th - what's up with her picks?  Not only not winning, but not even close!).  In the fourth my pick was Highroller Dave.  This guy had score at this starter allowance level when claimed by Tom Amoss as the 3/5 favorite that day.  Of all the race categories, dirt sprints produced the biggest profit for this barn:  35% wins and a flat-bet profit of $38.40.  Toss in Rosie Napravnik as a 36% winning jockey and you can see why 'Dave was bet down to 3/5 favoritism.  Rosie had him tracking the longshot, loose on the lead front runner about six lengths off as they hit the far turn.  It looked like the front runner had plenty of gas left as they moved through the turn, but 'Dave was picking up momentum and rallied four wide from fifth into second and as they turned for home looking down the long Churchill stretch he had dead aim on the leader.  Caught him at the furlong marker and blew right on by to score by open lengths!  WHOOOO HOOOOO! 

My first score of the project and I cashed for nearly $20 while Jill's pick was a moderate sixth!  Both Jill and I had settled on Phat day in the 6th, but he was scratched.  We started playing cards with Kim's parents (the boys won three games in a row!) as I had the races on the big screen.  In the 7th we were on the turf.  As the paddock preview came on there was very little mention of my top selection, Franklin who was 3/1 and floated up to 6/1 as they headed towards the gate on the Matt Winn turf course.  He was trained by Michael Maker and this guy has SEVEN angles in the Churchill Downs 40% Club, but the one that applied here was Rosie Napravnik on board..... a 41% winning angle.  Franklin was stretching out from a synthetic sprint at Keeneland to a two-turn route tonight.  Maker had blinkers on and a sharp bullet work for this.  I pictured him having a pressing pace and then making his move as the field moved into the lane.  Well, I was sort of right.  He pressed the pace on the inside, but was behind a wall of three horses as they moved through the turn.  You could see Franklin was ready to roll, but had no where to go.  Rosie looked for a seam outside, but another runner was closing down the middle - TRAPPED!  Just inside the furlong marker a small seam opened up between horses two off the rail.  She said go and Franklin responded.  Within a few jumps he was lined up with three others across the track, but he had the momentum and as they hit the final fifty yards he burst free to score!  HORRAY! 

And the best part was he'd gone off at 5/1, paying $13.60 meaning I would cash for over $30 AND was guaranteed a winning night!  In a satisfying side bar, the 7/2 runner-up was Jill's horse :)  Next up was the feature, the Grade 3 Derby Trial at a flat mile on the main track.  Bob Baffert had two uncoupled colts in here, but both were also entered for the Kentucky Derby next Saturday.  Would one or either, or both go?  Both figured to be the favorite and I particularly liked Bayern.  He'd been my top pick in the Arkansas Derby.  He led all the way to the stretch then flattened out to be third.  The move back to a mile from a mile and an eighth seemed ideal.  But.....there seemed to be a lot of speed so I went for the upset with #10 Myositis Dan.  He was coming off a late running win at 7 furlongs at Keeneland (where he'd been my top pick!).  I thought the distance suited him and the pace was an ideal scenario.  Bayern went to the front and was challenged the entire way.  'Dan sat well back but was picking off horses as he rallied around the turn.  The straightened for home and Bayern was in a dogfight with the third choice.  'Dan was surging late.....my heart was pounding and as they hit the wire it was a three-way head bob.  My initial reaction was that I lost, but the replay looked like I just might have won......at 7/1! 

No such luck :(  So close.  Bayern officially crossed the wire first, Jill's pick, but was DQ'd for coming out on the runner-up in the lane.  They simply swapped finish positions in the official order.  In the ninth my pick scratched, Jill won for her second winner on the night.  In the finale we both had Dynaskra.  The only thing I didn't like was that Julian Leparoux was riding for Tom Amoss.  This was another 40% Club play as Amos scores with 47% of his maiden claimers.  Leparoux got away sharply and was poised to stalk the pace, but decided to try and wire the field.  Led into the lane but had nothing left for the long stretch, fading to fifth.  Nice Julian :(

So for the night, overall I was 2-for-8 with a 60 cent profit.  Jill went 2-for-9 and lost $7.  With my betting selections I was a solid 2-for-6, 33% and a flat bet profit!  A good way to start the summer!  Below are some pics from the night at Churchill as so many people were dressed up as a part of the "Downs After Dark" party theme.  Also, you see the BIG news, literally BIG, is that Churchill unveiled a monstrous video board mounted outside the track on the far side that is visible from every spot on the grounds!  We're back into action on Tuesday as Derby week opens!

Photos from Opening Night

 

 

 

April 19 - 20

The month of April was a transition month for me between the Winter Season at Gulfstream, and the opening of the Summer Season at Churchill Downs, where I'll begin my summer handicapping project.  I had some thoughts about heading to the track for the weekend, but I just wanted to continue the "slow" month and not get into a "full day" of racing and handicapping.  So I bought the Daily Racing Form and handicapped only the multiple stakes races around the country.  I came up with seven races I liked on Saturday and one on Sunday.  So while I watched some NHL playoff hockey and caught up on some shows I'd missed during the week, I played online.  The first of the seven was the Grade 3 Miami Mile at Calder.  I told Kim that I was hopeful that the predicted showers would stay away because (a) Calder had not run a turf race for nearly two months, and (b) the Miami Mile turf field was a quality event.  Sure enough, it was sunny and or partly cloudy nearly every day through the end of the week.....and when I saw that the main track was fast I knew we were in business.  No, Calder management, in yet ANOTHER poorly considered move took the race off the grass.  There just is not any way that course could not have been suitable to a single stakes race Saturday.  Boooooo.  Luckily I had a play in the event that it came off the turf in Horse-for-the-Course Csaba.  He had nine wins from twelve starts locally and outclassed his opponents today.  But when he was allowed to go off at a big 4/1 I knew that somebody must have known something.  Well, turns out they didn't because the winner was a 15/1 longshot, and Csaba had a tough trip - squeezed on the first turn and floated wide, then four wide through the final turn.....only third. 

Next up was the Giant's Causeway at Keeneland, a five furlong turf sprint.  For a super-sprint like this it was very odd that there was little if an speed.  This seemed to give Believe In Charlie, for Javier Castellano a huge advantage.  And right to the front he went, under comfortable fractions.  But when the real running started he stopped like he was shot and was 9th as the tepid 2/1 favorite.  Newsdad did not run back to his win in the Pan American on Florida Derby Day and was fourth at 7/2 in the Grade 2 Fayette over the Keeneland main synthetic track.  At Aqueduct, Kauai Katie was my pick to take down the Grade 2 Distaff Handicap.  She'd been a super juvenile and sophomore sprinter.  Her last three were uncharacteristically poor, but you could draw a line through all of them.  Two routes - she doesn't want two turn events, and a poor start (stumbled) explained them away.  Off since early summer was not a problem as trainer Todd Pletcher knows how to get them ready to fire off workouts.  She had a perfect outside draw to stalk the speed.  Which she did, but could never get to the runaway winner.....second best. 

The next race on my sheet was the Grade 2 Illinois Derby and I thought Midnight Hawk would be a short-priced favorite and most likely winner.  I made him my co-best of the day.  His sophomore rivals today had never, not a single one of them, ever earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 90 or better, while he had earned figures of 94 or better in his LAST THREE!  That is hard to go against.  He completely outclassed these guys and looked to be long gone on an easy lead.  He was pressed by a 10/1 shot - who Mike Beer of the DRF had said that IF Midnight Hawk lost, this was the only one who made any sense.  But as they turned for home 'Hawk put that guy away and opened up a length.  That runner had been on the rail, and he now swung outside of Midnight Hawk and began to re-rally.  Still, I knew I would hold on, and I did, until the actual bob on the wire.....the bob before or after, I win.....but not ON the wire......second, again. 

Later, the featured race at Santa Anita had one of my favorites, Enterprising.  She was ridden by Gary Stevens for Tom Proctor and Glen Hill Farm - a 40% win combination.  She stalked the pace, made a move inside and hung at 6/5.....third.  Finally, a little after 10:30 pm it was my "BEST" of the day when Game On Dude looked to repeat in the Charles Town Classic.  He'd won this last year and was simply the best horse in the field.  I knew he'd take some early pressure from returning Moreno, but that guy would never stay with him the full nine furlongs.  Sure enough, they battled to the backstretch before the Dude opened up.  But as heads turned for home, here came a longshot closer......surely Dude would outfinish this guy.......sigh, second again. 

So that meant I went 0-for-7 on Saturday.  WOW.  On Sunday I thought Beholder, who'd won the Eclipse for top three-year-old, and had won the Breeders' Cup Distaff over older rivals (while I watched from the Santa Anita rail!), was just TONS the best in a listed $75K stakes.  I was planning a big $50 play.  But then I read Brad Free's comments and while he picked her and said she was WAY the horse to beat, he pointed out that in her only three starts when coming off a layoff, like today, she'd run her three WORST races and lowest speed figures, but had bounced back with career efforts in her SECOND start off the layoff.  So I hesitated.  I waited all day, until about 45 minutes before post time and decided she was a "Prime Time" play, but not a full $50.  She went right to the front and literally jogged around the track while drawing off by five widening lengths.  FINALLY!  A WIN!  Not the spring I'd anticipated, but I'll look forward to next Saturday and the start of the Churchill Downs meet!

April 12

Wedding Day!

WIN The Two Prime-Time Bets....But That's It

 

What a great day at the wedding and the reception.  The first thing that was great about today was that Brad chose to spend the day in our suite until he had to leave to get ready for the wedding.  The wedding itself was, as I told the kids, the BEST wedding I've ever been to.  It was the perfect size - if you had asked me who I would have wanted to be there, they were all there and not a single person more.  The wedding was short, but not too short - less than a half an hour.  The setting, outside at the Mission Inn just north of Orlando, was gorgeous.  The ceremony was formal, but also had some informal and/or humorous moments, such the end of Brad's wedding vows when he said, ".....Lauren, I love you more than bacon, and I love bacon ALOT....."  Click the photo above to visit the wedding web site that I built to remember the weekend.

But the racing......in a day much like yesterday, I had thought there were two solid bets today.  I really liked:  Judy the Beauty in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland and Will Take Charge in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap.  BOTH of these horses loved these tracks and were in top form.  I thought it would take a HUGE effort to beat them, and I made them both my "BEST" bets of the day.  But, like yesterday, since I knew I'd have time to kill, I downloaded the entire card for both Keeneland and Oaklawn, and spent some time Friday coming up with other "solid" bets.  I came up with eight other selections....and like yesterday, I didn't cash a single one of them.  But I did win both of the "BEST" bets.  In the Madison, Judy the Beauty stalked the leaders, made her move into the lane and drew off as MUCH the best! 

At Oaklawn, Will Take Charge was sent off as the prohibitive 2/5 favorite.  And he swooped by the field on the turn and made his move on the leaders as their heads turned for home.  Ironically, I could not get a good connection to watch this race until we got home on Sunday and it was after I'd seen a post on Facebook about the "controversial non-DQ" in the Oaklawn Handicap!  Will Take Charge dove to the inside before they even got to the 1/8th pole and the horse he shut off didn't have anything left.....but he did cut him off.  And in spite of drawing clear as much the best, apparently there were many who thought he should have come down.  Don't count me in that crowd as he scored as my other "BEST" of the day!

April 11

The Day Before The Wedding

Today was the day before Brad & Lauren's wedding, but I knew that there would be a lot of "down" time during the day, so I'd handicapped the races for both Keeneland and Oaklawn.  My initial thought was that I KNEW I wanted to bet both Wise Dan in Keeneland's feature, the Grade 1 Maker's 46 Mile going a mile over the turf, and Close Hatches in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn.  But, because I had time on Thursday I handicapped both cards looking for some solid selections.  I thought I had found five additional races, so I bet them in the morning and then checked the replays later in the evening. 

In the 2nd at Keeneland I liked Bustle who was being aggressively dropped from $50K to today's $16K by top owners Ken & Sarah Ramsey with Javier Castellano on board.  But she broke slowly, then rallied five wide.....second best, beaten less than a length at the finish at 3/5.  In the 2nd at Oaklawn it was non-winners of two lifetime, but A Firm Prospect was lightly raced, dropping in class, and had a double-Beyer advantage.  He had traffic problems and had to move wide when then got into the stretch.  He was never going to catch the winner, and was actually all out to save the place at 6/5.  Back to Keeneland for the fifth which was a nw2x allowance turf test.  Riposte was a Group winner in Europe and was dropping into this allowance spot off back-to-back second place finishes in Grade 3 efforts here in North America.  She was sent off at 8/5 and was near the back to the far turn.  She moved up four wide and forged to the front as they turned for home.  Led all the way to the final jump when nailed by an 8/1 shot....ironically ridden by Javier Castellano who had not been able to win for me in the first Keeneland pick!  My third runner-up finish from three selectIons!

Next on my selection sheet was the featured Grade 1 Maker's 46 Mile.  Last year Horse of the Year Wise Dan launched his championship season with a win in this spot and he looked to do the same thing today.  But his trainer was quoted prior to the race that, "....if they are going to get him, today is the day....." adding that his training had been interrupted by the tough Kentucky winter.  But the more I looked at it, and at the competition I didn't think they could beat him even if he wasn't 100%.  I made him "prime time."  Jockey John Velazquez had to restrain Wise Dan who wanted go, but JR wanted him to save something for the final furlongs.  He had him clear four wide down the back stretch, then let him go on the turn.  He glided up to challenge, blew on by and was quickly clear by mid-stretch.  If you watch the stretch run it appears that the runner-up was getting to him, but Velazquez never asked for more - if anything he was gearing him down through the final 16th.  Easy-peasy-pie!  Whooo hooo! 

In the eighth at Oaklawn, it was a Maiden Special and I liked Declans Fast Cat.  He was the DRF's "Best" of the day, had a field-best 76 BSF last time out for top connections and just looked solid.  Sent away at 7/5 he made steady progress from mid-pack but was no match what-so-ever for the runaway winner.  I went with 13/1 longshot Mighty Brown in the Bachelor's Stakes at Oaklawn, but he was never a threat.  Then it was time for he featured, Grade 1 Apple Blossom.  I had originally thought I might go to Arkansas to see this race months ago, but then this was chosen as the wedding weekend.  Close Hatches had won several times for me last season and she'd wired the prep for this, the Azeri, to kick off her four-year-old season.  She drew the one hole for the Apple Blossom, but I knew she had won for me by stalking the pace, so I looked for her to break well, hold her spot on the rail through the turn, move off the rail to challenge for the lead on the far turn and draw off as much the best.  But instead she broke sharply, went right to the front and never looked back!  WHOOOO HOOOOO!  My second prime-time winner! 

The rehearsal?  It went very well, in fact my only complaint about the day / the dinner (which we hosted) was how slow the service was.  I would not have minded about the service except that Lauren & Brad wanted a small dinner (only wedding party & parents) so we planned to meet all the out-of-towners afterwards.  So the fact that the dinner took from 7:30 until nearly 9:30 was a little long for me.  But it was a good time, especially having our grandson Cameron at the table with us :)

April 6

Multi-Tasking!

It wasn't all that unusual that on this Sunday I found a single race where I liked the winner in a stakes race; and it didn't take any great handicapping skills to come to the conclusion that multiple Grade 1 winner Princess of Sylmar would take down the listed Cat Cay Stakes at Aqueduct - a track that she absolutely adores. No, none of this was noteworthy as I collected my next win to move me closer to the magic 5,000......what WAS unusual was that Kim and I were at the Panthers Sunday matinee game when the Princess went to post. The Panthers had roared back from a 0-2 deficit, being completely outplayed after one, to tie the game in the final minute of the second period. During the intermission I logged on to my horse racing app and was surprised I was able to get a full signal to watch the replay of the race! So as you can see in the photo below right, I am at the arena, enjoying a hockey game, and through the wonder of the Internet and smart phone technology, not only did I get the result I WATCHED the race. How cool is that?

April 5

Six Wins - Very Long & Disappointing Day

I had spent most of Friday handicapping six cards on what looked to be an exciting day of racing, only to return home disappointed in the lack of wins for the day.  The lone silver lining was that I hit on my BET of the Day.  To be fair, in looking back, I was on the board in 18 of 31 selections, it was just not my day for good racing luck.  And as I told Jeff on the phone late in the afternoon, I just seemed to be zagging when I should have been zigging.  In brief.....

The opener at Calder I broke behind the field at 4/1 and was a fast closing 4th; led to the far turn after setting a far-too-fast pace over the Gulfstream turf - the first of many front runners NOT to score for me; lost with a Wesley Ward 2yo first-timer at Keeneland where he scores at over 40% with those kind; split horses in mid-stretch to surge to the front at Calder only to be nailed on the wire by a 30/1 runner.  I finally won my first race of the summer when Sokitumi Samurai blew to the front going seven furlongs at Aqueduct and was life-and-death to hold on.  But hold on he did and I had my 4,864th win!  At Calder I was checked from third to last down the backstretch and closed quickly to finish a close third; at Keeneland I looked to be in perfect position when for no apparent reason Rosie Napravnik pulled County Corrections to the back of the pack and tried to make a late run - 6th.  At Tampa in the Sophomore Stakes I stalked the lead, as anticipated, and glided to the front, opened up heading for home and looked gone.....but was nailed by two closers on the wire.  At Gulfstream I had the lone speed and Beccawhit opened up with a swift :21.4 opening quarter, daylight lead into the lane and caught late at 3/5.  At Gulfstream on the turf I seriously considered changing my selection to a runner that was 5/1, but stuck with my pick who ran flatly to be third while, yes, the 5/1 runner won.  In what could have been a big difference maker on the day the 5th at Keeneland was an allowance test on the turf which had three Grade 1 winners in he field. I went instead with upset choice Tricky Hat who was 7/1 and the only front-runner in the field.  Led all the way to the final two jumps, only to be nailed by Boisterous who suddenly rediscovered his form after I'd bet him at Gulfstream on Donn Day and he showed nothing......sigh.  At Calder I went down at 3/5 when Hot Sirachi pressed the pace to the turn and stopped. 

But I finally caught another win, this one out west at Santa Anita when Storm Fighter loose on the lead AND DID hang on!  At Aqueduct I dueled on the lead to mid-stretch and gave way with Todd Pletcher's Catron.  At Tampa in the Distaff Turf Stakes EB Ryder was making a winning move entering the stretch when the leader took a right hand turn into the second place horse and slammed him three paths to the outside....she pinballed into me and caused EB Ryder to lose her stride for two jumps before recovering and just missing in a three way photo.  OBVIOUS foul resulting in an INQUIRY.  No question the winner comes down, and while it may not have been the second place finisher's fault she slammed into me, she did, costing me the win.  No action on that one :(  Then two of my best bets of the day.......

Ben's Cat was going for his FIFTH Mister Diz Stakes and just laid over the field.  As they approached the gate, Kentucky Derby-bound Ring Weekend loaded into the gate at Calder as the 1/5 favorite.  Pressed the leader to the turn and while it was true the jockey was having to push him, he was getting to the winner when he suddenly looked like he was going to clip heels and wheeled to the right.  Second best and after a long inquiry no change.  I raced inside as they hit the far turn at Pimlico and Ben's Cat glided right by the front runner without ever being asked.....MUCH the best.  And I thought I might make a late charge to close to maybe break even on my better bets of the day. 

Legal Laura was easily the fastest in the Sophomore Fillies at Tampa, but gave way as they turned for home at even money.....3rd.  But I did win three of my next six, cashing for nearly $75 and I had hope........Footstepsinbronze was much the best down the hillside at Santa Anita in a Maiden Special; Myositis Dan proved how much he liked the Keeneland synthetic main track at even money when I tripled the bet; and Old Time Hockey confirmed he SHOULD have won the Sunshine Millions Turf when he came flying late to win the Tampa Turf Classic.  Of the three I lost, the one that hurt most was in the Grade 3 Bay Shore at Aqueduct when Kobe's Back shipped from Santa Anita and turned back to his best distance.  But he again had gate problems and spotted the field at least five lengths if not more.  Flying late while very wide, he was a very close third (gray on outside)...... 

But then the day closed with all of the decisions I made going wrong.  At Santa Anita I went against the lone speed and with the class of Ria Antonia.  Big move on the turn at 6/5, could not get by the front runner.  At Gulfstream went WITH the speed....set the pace to the turn and was long gone at 7/2, weakened in the final 100 yards to be third.  At Aqueduct in the Gazelle went AGAINST the lone speed for the classy Sweet Reason, ranged up entering the turn, but couldn't get by the front runner.  Evolution Rocks had run three straight 100+ figures and had a triple figure advantage.....broke behind the field, third at even money.  Tiz A Dynaformer was my best at Gulfstream for Bill Mott on the turf.  In perfect position on the rail into the turn, blocked, steadied, no where to go through the entire stretch....6th.  In the Grade 1 Wood I told Jeff that I'd bet $50 that a closer would win at double-digit payoffs.  I went with 7/1 Harpoon.  But it was Dave Liftin's pick that he gave out in the DRF that was flying late to win and pay $20.....sigh.  At Santa Anita in the Grade 3 Providencia on the turf Diversy Harbor was locked into coming up the rail, but had to wait for room until mid stretch, and by then it was too late to catch the second choice in a close finish - 2nd.  At Aqueduct Golden Ticket ran evenly at 7/2 to be third in the Grade 1 Carter.  And finally at Santa Anita in the Santa Anita Derby California Chrome was TONS the best, I thought he would either bounce or show that he was simply a good Cal-bred.  Instead he's the likely Kentucky Derby favorite off yet another sensational win.