Thanksgiving tradition

Fairgrounds began their meet early this year instead of the traditional Thanksgiving opening day. Luckily, we still have the tradition of Alice's Restaurant Massacree to fall back on.

Exercise rider killed in line of duty

Ignacio Ramirez, known as Nacho to everyone at the track, was killed Sunday morning when he fell or was thrown from a horse he was about to work and the horse then fell on him. The incident occurred just before six, near the corner of a barn that leads to the main backstretch pathway. Trainer Jerry Weaver said he gave Nacho CPR before the ambulance arrived, but that Nacho was not responding. Weaver also said much of his skull on one side appeared crushed.

Nacho was a legend on the backstretch. Not only was he a longtime exercise rider, he also almost always had a horse or two he trained throughout his life. When he was younger he also rode in match races, unsanctioned events popular to this day in California. I did not know him well, but I have heard plenty about him, including how he had dodged death many times before. He had been in some horrific spills. He had been kicked plenty. And he had been shot twice. Just a coupla years ago outside his apartment he was shot when he found himself in the midst of a robbery. Even then in his mid-fifties, he healed up and headed back to the track.

By all accounts, Nacho was known as a good hand and a great guy. He will be missed.

Travisty at the ballot box

No, we're not talking about the presidency. It's much more serious than that. The injustice I speak of is that Jerry Hollendorfer is not in the Racing Hall of Fame. Hollendorfer has over 5200 wins. He's 4th all time in wins.

Perhaps because he only wins cheap races in northern California?

He's won the Big 'Cap and Coaching Club American Oaks. He beat the boys in the California Derby with the filly Pike Place Dancer. That filly also won the Kentucky Oaks. But that was his 2nd Kentucky Oaks victory, as he won it with Lite Light 5 years earlier. Remember that horse Event of the Year? Yeah, he trained him. He has also won the Hollywood Futurity and the Haskell Invitational. The Jim Beam, too. This year alone he's won two stakes with million dollar purses.

Maybe you saw another horse he trained on the cover of today's Form. That's Hystericalady. She won the Humana Distaff and the Molly Pitcher in a fabulous career before being the first day sale topper at the most recent Keeneland sale.

So, he doesn't just win cheap races in the comfort of NoCal, where he's won the last 982743 training titles. (factcheck.org has informed me From 1986 though May 2008, he won the training championship at every major Bay Area meeting, recording 37 straight titles at Bay Meadows and 32 consecutive crowns at Golden Gate Fields)

But, could he really compete on a bigger circuit day-in and day-out? Dorf took the training title from perennial Arlington king Wayne Catalano in 2001. He only competed at the meet twice, coming in a close 2nd to Catalano the following year when Dorf halved his Arlington string in the final weeks of the meet.

Quite frankly, that Jerry Hollendorfer is not in the Hall of Fame does not detract from his accomplishments in anyway. This fact does, however, speak to the extreme malfeasance on the part of Hall of Fame voters. In 2009 perhaps they will address this black mark on their record.

A race for the ages

On the backstretch, it's almost a match race now. Obama on the inside by a head. McCain is on the outside. They've opened ten lengths on Ralph Nader and Bob Barr.

They continue down the backstretch and that's Obama now taking the lead. He's got it by about a length and a half.

Their moving on the turn now. For the turn it's Obama. he looks like he's opening. The lead is increasing. Make it three, three and a half. He's moving into the turn. Obama, holding on to a large lead. McCain is second and it's a long way back to Bob Barr & Ralph Nader. Their on the turn and Obama is blazing along.

Obama is widening now. He's moving like a tremendous machine.