Et Tu Christina?

Tonight on the set of Lady Luck, TVG's answer to The View, Christina Olivares declared she had not been involved professionally in the sport "before coming here". Of course, readers of this blog will recall I nominated her for a Viewer's Choice Award last year for her outstanding work on HRTV, where she worked both behind and in front of the camera.

I fear TVG management has brain washed her, as they wish to do with their viewers in their effort to convince them there is no other horse racing network, nor are there any races which aren't shown on TVG. Just as TVG will not so much as mention even the biggest stakes race run at a Magna track, much less show them on tape delay, clearly Tony Allevato has implanted a chip in her brain to block out the memories of her past.

Regardless, I wish her the best. She's always been one of my favorites.

Backstretch Dodges Bullet During Immigrant Boycott

I spoke with a couple of trainers about Monday's boycott, and each said they did not notice major absenteeism. The small number of mostly young backstretch workers that were absent could have as easily been missing due to "bottle fever," one trainer noted. Another trainer said one of his exercise riders was missing, but that the rider in question had a less than stellar attendance record to begin with.

MSNBC reports similar results at Churchill and the nation's tracks in general. Last month the Blood-Horse noted that the industry and the American Horse Council, of which I am a member, were voicing their concerns on capital hill given the reliance on immigrants on the backstretch.

Readings: Murray

Given that plagiarism is the greatest form of flattery, I'll take a page from Railbird's playbook and offer a vaguely misogynistic passage I was drawn to from William Murray's swan song Dead Heat.

"How's she feel about you and the horses?"
"She doesn't give a shit, basically," he said.
"You ain't going to marry her?"
"Not unless I can get her to run a mile in one thirty-four and change for me."

Unmucked Stalls and Bare Produce Shelves

All the produce markets in my neighborhood are closed today. I had to go to Safeway to buy leeks. (gasp!) Of course the produce is of low quality and horribly over priced at the megamart, so I passed altogether.

I hope the backstretch operations across the country had ample help to muck the stalls and feed our beloved horses today. As a fan of both produce and horse racing I am keenly aware how much we rely on immigrants, particularly Latin immigrants.

Annoying, Overprotective Owners

I woke up early this morning in pool of sweat after dreaming Movement had colic and immediately called Jamey in a fit of anxiety. Yesterday she had spiked a low grade fever after getting her lip tattoo and was napping when I went to see her. I cobbled these facts together and somehow convinced my subconscious that she was in mortal danger. Of course, she is fine and was kicking and rough housing on the walker this morning and worked well, jogging the track. Most trainers wont tell owners about such inconsequential matters like 101 temperature (which is in the normal rage) after getting a lip tattoo, but I pry Jamey for information constantly and he always obliges. Hopefully, my foolishness in this case wont give him pause in the future.

Movement's Breeze - 4/28

Movement went an easy eighth again today, as Jamey looked on while pulling pony duty. The untimed work was another foundation building exercise as she builds up to longer distances.
Below she is pictured just before the breeze. First she jogged the wrong way through the stretch to warm up a bit, then jogged back, the exercise rider bringer her to a stop, which she did not care for. She kicked and bucked a bit and threw her head around at the 7/8th pole. After the clocker gave the go ahead, she began an easy jog again, slowly picking it up until about the 3/8ths pole when she went into a full breeze. After a furlong the rider let her gallop out to about the 7/8ths pole again. It was like any work, and I promise not to describe one in such detail ever again, but it was a joy to watch. Next time I'll camp out in the grandstand to get some better pics, though.
From the I did not know that department, Movement doesn't have her lip tattoo yet. Furthermore, common practice is that horses get the tattoo on the day of their first race. I was shocked. To me, the lip tattoo should be like circumcision--you should get it before you're old enough to remember it. Regardless, she's getting her's soon. When the fellow from the racing office came by the barn to identify Movement for the work, we locked in a tattooing for Sunday or Wednesday.

Other notes: Tomorrow is the San Francisco Mile, the only Grade II race in northern California. This year the purse has been boosted to $400,000 and has attracted some solid company. At lunch today I perused the card while mawing on a delicious sausage from Rosamunde and washing it down with a malty Asam Bock, brewed in the alt style by Weltenburg Klosterbrauerei, at The Toranado. I think the undercard holds more promise than the feature, given full fields and nary a claiming race.

Movement Gets Ink in Louisville Publication

This week's Velocity, a free weekly publication distributed to Louisville area bars and nail salons and owned by the Louisville Courier-Journal, taps Movement as an example of how a racehorse can be owned by a regular Joe and not just the wealthy.

Movement believes there are certain advantages to being owned by working class folk instead of a powerful racing magnet. "I've chatted with other horses owned by the big outfits," the dark bay filly reported. "The feed is about the same, but you wont get much attention from the connections. A buddy of mine, a claimer just two barns over, was owned by Bob Bone before being claimed away and never even met him!"

Small timers take a greater interest, she believes. "Brad, Irv, and Allison come by all the time, usually bearing carrots or apples. Also, are the Phipps or Paulson families going to get a modestly bred unraced 2 year old like me a write up in a magazine? I'd say not!"

Sometimes small time owners can be a little too interested, though, notes Movement. "He's a nice enough guy, but if Brad tries to ride me again, I'm not just going to throw him, but also crush his skull like a grape" referring to the recent incident when after the owner mounted her bareback she cast him aside like so much rubbish. "All in all, though, I wouldn't trade places with any other horse out there, unless," she added, "I was about to be bred to A. P. Indy. He's so dreamy!"

She'll have her work cut out for her on the track if she's to earn the $300,000 stud fee the stallion commands, but I wont count her out.

Red Bluff Round-Up

Once again, the Red Bluff Round-Up was more fun than one could possibly imagine in the absence of parimutuel wagering. It didn't hurt that the Thomas clan are hosts beyond measure, and you could barely complete a sentence without having a cold beer, a plate of spiral cut ham, or a slice of a decadent homemade cake thrust into your hands. These are my kind of people.

Chatting with Ruby (pictured, right) about cloned mule Idaho Gem was as easy as enjoying their hospitality. Snapping a photo of the mule conditioning diva was less so. I took well over a hundred pictures of Ruby, almost strictly with her back to my lens, in horribly low light or tragically blurred. She is a dynamo while saddling her mules (or working the gate, left), thus far more suited to film than the still image. I'm sure she'll shine when the BBC news crew is on hand in Winnemucca. While she was trying to prepare this kicking, bucking, and generally uncooperative mule for a race, and I was annoying her & the mule as I nearly shoved my camera up one of her nostrils trying to get a decent picture, I was referred to merely as "one of Jamey's owners". This is akin to a parent telling their spouse upon discovery of their child's misbehavior, "Do you know what your son did today?" Nevermind that she trains another 2 year old filly I own a wee slice of. Nonetheless, I got the shot, and by the end of the race I was one of her owners again.
Ruby's husband and long time northern California thoroughbred trainer Ray Thomas(pictured, below) won the race with another entrant, but Ruby may turn the tables on him when the real money is on the line during the summer fair circuit. Regardless of the number of win photos Ruby collects over the summer, she's odds on to be a media darling when the serious cloned mule coverage commences.

As always, Red Bluff is a festival for the armchair photographer and I'll close with these images.

Movement to Breeze This Morning

She'll go an eighth again around 9:30 this morning at Golden Gate, in somewhere around 13 or 14 & change. She'll pick it up in about a month, but she needs these more moderate conditioning sessions before we move up to some real speed works. We prefer she not end up with shin bucks.

[Update]
Jamey called me right after the work saying, "She looked good out there today. I think she's a runner." She stopped Jamey's clock for the one furlong work in 12 and 1, which is a touch faster than expected. The public clockers got her in 12 & 2. The ever cautious trainer, accustomed to managing owners' expectations downward, slipped up a bit saying "I'm impressed."

Jamey usually doesn't call me RIGHT after a work. I knew she was breezing this morning, though, so when I saw his name on my phone, I feared the worst. My heart goes out to the connections of Up an Octave and Johnny V. I can't imagine how I would feel if that were my horse.

News & Notes 4/19/06

- Scoop calls out Godolphin on ducking the Derby with Discreet Cat.

- LATG calls out corporate bloggers like The Form's Dan Illman (sub only) & Magna's Lone Star Park blog, apparently headed by their Director of Communication.
(Also, apologies to Alan for recently using a quote he referred me to without properly crediting him)

- River Downs race caller Jason Beem notes that Travis Stone has been retained to call races at Louisiana Downs and that perhaps a new guard of announcers is assembling.

- This weekend I'll be heading to the Red Bluff Round-Up, which offers some bush track racing, as well as other events that are novelties to black type racing fans. If you've never seen a wild horse race, you should put this event on your schedule. For a similar rush, head to Canada and check out the Chuckwagon Racing series.

First Breeze for Movement

Movement breezed an sixteenth eighth this morning at Golden Gate Fields. Trainer Jamey Thomas (pictured with Movement) reports that she looked good during the untimed work. He didn't want to go so far as to say she surprised him, but it was a quality work and he does think that she could turn out to be "a fast little filly". There's just no escaping that "little" designation. She is small, but I don't feel she's circus like in her size after seeing a few other puny 2 year olds on the backstretch. Plus, we all remember Megahertz.

My 1st Local Track to Host Big Stake

Fairmount Park, a bottom feeding racing emporium in southern Illinois and across the Mississippi river from St. Louis, Missouri, is planning to host a quarter million dollar stakes event for three year olds this summer.

The track was my stomping ground while I was in high school and where I first really began to foster a love for the game. There wasn't much for a 16 year old to do in my hometown of St. Charles, Missouri. I couldn't get into bars and the pool hall could wear on you or just become too rowdy, but the track always welcomed me. At the time, Illinois had the lowest age requirement to make legal parimutuel wagers, set at age 17. No teller ever asked me for ID, though. Illinois was also one of the first states to embrace simulcast wagering. Before I left Missouri, I remember being at Fairmount watching Bay Meadows feeds thinking, "Wow, that's real racing. I want to see that live some time."

I hope the track is able to attract a triple crown participant or big name and draw in some local crowds. Even when racing was a little more popular in the days when I went to Fairmount, they weren't getting many butts in the seats over there. And, when I was in Missouri for a few months in 2002, under rather unpleasant circumstances, it seemed 90% of folks didn't even know there was a race track in the area. Nonetheless, that track was in many ways my salvation and helped me keep my sanity.

Jason Beem Calls River Downs

Jason Beem, the new race caller at River Downs, begins his first full time track announcer gig today. I've written TVG & HRTV begging them to carry at least a couple of their races, so I can hear his calls. If you've got access to a feed, or your local track carries River, tune in. You could be watching history, and when Jason calls the Breeder's Cup 15 years from now, you can say "I heard him when..."

Check out Jason's view from his booth.

Hardcore Fans Cheer

Mere Hardcore Gamblers Might Not

A recent exchange with Dan Illman on the DRF's new blog revealed some important misconceptions about who the real fans of our sport are. Mr. Illman posted a Handicapping Code of Ethics, which included this commandment: "Thou shalt not snap, clap, scream, jump, yell, or make any other offending noise unless thou hast a MAJOR wager on the race. This means more than a two dollar show bet." I responded by essentially saying cheering is good.

It's a good thing to yell, holler and root home your horse.

Many of us aren't just handicappers and gamblers. We're also fans of the game. Cheering loudly and passionately for a horse you have $2 on, or just a horse you're a fan of is not only acceptable, it's a great part of the game. No one seems to be bothered if fans yell at a football game when a play is in motion, even if they don't have money on it.

Some of us love this game. Some of us cheer for it's stars. Some of us also applaud a great effort from a $4000 claimer. We are fans. The game needs more of us.

Mr. Illman gives a little ground [sorry, subscription only--DRF doesn't appear to understand what a permalink is] writing:

Brad has a point. Horse racing needs new fans. It's nice to see newcomers cheer excitedly for one of their faves (Funny Cide comes to mind) in one of the big races, and at tracks like Saratoga and Del Mar, hardcore fans have to give them a free daily pass. I think it's when we get to the fifth race at Aqueduct on a Wednesday card when the extreme rooting and hollering (Draw Play fan club, anyone?) becomes hard to bear. There's a difference between rooting passionately for a superstar, and screaming "Gimme that 4"
in a $7,500 claiming race.

I appreciate his open mind, but it seems he's still operating in a somewhat restrictive paradigm. Not only do "newcommers cheer excitedly for one of their faves" but hardcore fans do, too. Saying "hardcore fans have to give them a free daily pass" is condescending. It reminds me of misguided ideas such as Dick Jerardi's position that "They should search everybody who comes into the track. If you have less than $100, you should be sent home. Really, what purpose do you serve? Get out." I am one of the people that would be sent packing by Mr. Jerardi or need Mr. Illmans pass because I will certainly yell at the monitor or on the apron on a Wednesday at Golden Gate Fields and I am a two dollar bettor.

My parents didn't miss a Derby when they lived in Louisville in the '60s, and I was hot-footing it over to Fairmount Park regularly as soon as I was old enough to drive. I've been to over 25 tracks in North America, a half dozen outside of our hemisphere, nearly all of the American tracks that have a grade 1 race, all the Triple Crown races, and a Breeder's Cup. I never miss an edition of "Blinkers Off" and even think that Illman & Greg Wolf do a better job than Watchmaker and Caruthers. I'm a horse owner and have even bought a yearling at the Keeneland September sale. I'm a member of the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance and write my own blog about small time horse ownership. Given these credentials, do I still not qualify as a hardcore fan?

To Mr. Illman's credit, it only took him to his second blog post to piss off another blogger. I think maybe he's got the hang of this blogging thing.

Getting acquainted

I spent some quality time with Movement at Golden Gate Fields today. I am definitely smitten with the li'l girl.

Lame Stunt Reflects English Penchant for Muck Raking

This blogger seeks more of same in American politics

Anyone who has ever visited the backstretch of a track knows what a non-story this is. Perhaps the larger story is that fans and regulators may think the stables are guarded like Fort Knox. Although I have an owner's license, I could easily visit every graded stakes winner on the backstretch in less than an hour at Golden Gate Fields without one. This may be why the CHRB is moving toward tougher licensing standards. Now, if only we could have such an interest in true lapses of judgment and security, as is our current administration's calling card. At least Alan at Left at the Gate sees fit to call such violations of the citizens' trust as he sees them.

Aintree, host of John Smith's Grand National (and you sorry bastards are pissed about The Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands...yes, I'm talking about you Greg Wolf), is being brodcast on TVG this moring. Channel 602 on DirecTV and 405 on Dish Network.

The True Life Story of [YOUR NAME HERE]

She's still to young, but after Movement wins the Oaks next year, I'll have the Youngbloods chronicle her life at the $ellout Festival.

Horse Racing Tourism

A number of my TBA brethren have been on odysseys over the winter to race tracks both steeped in grand tradition and newly under construction.

Railbird chronicled her venture to The Great Race Place for the first time since she was a child, and Ruben did the same for his pilgrimage there; my favorite librarian, Quinella Queen, is pointing her bookmobile toward Keeneland as we speak; Patrick, Sue, Alan, and John each took in the new Gulfstream, to mixed reviews.

The world's best race calling blogger, Jason Beam, scratched off a number of tracks in his cross country trek to his new gig as River Downs track announcer. Along the way, he met up with all manner of industry types and announcers. He even got the grand tour of Ed Burgart's tiny announcer's booth, noting, "I've been with women that wouldn't have even fit in there."

Even I made one disastrous trip to Hollywood Park, complete with dashed plans of hanging out with high end connections and hard rocking musicians, and culminating in my car breaking down enroute to Vegas. The following week was somewhat better when I hit Santa Anita's opening day, returned the rental & picked up my car from the dealer DEEP in the Inland Empire.

Katrina not only went to the Dubai World Cup, but live blogged the event, until the energy of her white hot blogging brought down the website.

McChump, the first horse track tourist to publish "trip notes" on the web, may want to forego the same old tired tracks and instead add Gonbad to their schedule.

Cloned Mule Idaho Gem Prepares for Racing

Cloned mule Idaho Gem is now in trainer Ruby Thomas' barn and is working toward his debut in Winnemucca this coming June. Stabled outside of Sacramento at a private training facility, Ruby has been schooling and working the mule, although the rains have limited how much of the track he can see. He is becoming well accustomed to loading into the gate, a process Ruby says has been made easier by coaxing the fella with copious cookies. Today's Las Vegas Sun calls out Gem as having plenty of personality.

"These guys have personalities," said Gordon Woods, team leader for Project Idaho and director of the Northwest Equine Reproduction Laboratory on the Moscow, Idaho, campus.

"Particularly Gem. Personally, I'm a horse person, but working with them changed me. I don't know what a camera clicking does for him, but he puts on a show," he said.

Ruby agrees, saying "he can be a bit of a ham, but that's how it is when you baby'em like I do." I'll be continuing my coverage with an exclusive interview with Trainer Ruby during the Red Bluff Round-Up, and will be on site for the Winnemucca races.

Grand National at Aintree This Weekend

The most watched horse race in England that every child and granny gets a punt down on will be contested at 36 furlongs this weekend. Yes, the Grand National is run at four and one half miles, up and down hill, over jumps. As my English buddy Alex puts it, "It's always fun to watch, and not at all like the girlie races run in this country."

Alex is picking AMBERLEIGH HOUSE and CLAN ROYAL. On his recommendation, I'll go with a £2 bet each way on those two.