Funny Cide

Congratulations Funny Cide on your return to the winner's circle! It's been a long time and we're glad to see you back. It was a fun race to watch and it was very generous of you to let your competitors think that they had a chance before you put it away. I hope the unfortunate nickname that the Aqueduct track announcer was using doesn't stick. The "Gutsy Gelding" is not something that I think you want to be remembered as. Don't worry about the people that say it was a New York bred affair that only had four competitors. A win's a win and you took it.

Now go have that conversation with Showing Up that Barclay wants you to have. I'm sure he can learn from your experiences.

Jorge Chavez

I Saw this article in the Thoroughbred Times, and began to daydream. I was think about the first time I saw Jorge "Chop Chop" Chavez ride at Belmont Park. I believe that this jockey is the reason I love horse racing. His aggressive riding style, and antics with the stick, made him stand out. Unfortunately, since his 2001 winners circle photo with Monarchos, his career has been plagued with bad luck and injuries. I hope to see Jorge rise to greatness again, and Monmouth Park would be a great place to start.

COME ON CHAVEZ!

Declan's Moon

Declan's Moon is in the comeback trail. He had his first timed workout today at Hollywood Park.

Date: April 25, 2006
Track: HOLLYWOOD PARK
Distance: Three Furlongs
Time: 37:80 Handily
Track Condition: Fast
Surface: Dirt
Rank: 12/22

About 2 weeks ago, Declan's trainer Ron Ellis said "He appears to be an even better horse now. He's going to have his chance." I hope Mr. Ellis is right and we see him race this summer. Malibu Moon is our favorite young stallion and Declan has been his best runner so far. You know the Jay Em Ess Stables people are motivated to get Declan on the track - there's just no breeding money for a gelding.

Scott Lake

Scott Lake, who won the trainers title two weeks ago at Laurel Park, is tearing it up at Pimlico.He has won 9 of his 15 starts in the first four days of the Pimlico meet. Keep an eye out for the Scott Lake trained horse with Rosie Napravnik in the irons. It should be a lock to win!

$100,000 ?????

Who in their right mind would claim an 8 year old gelding for $100,000? The answer is Paul P. Pompa, Jr., who claimed Spooky Mulder today in the 3rd race at Aqueduct. Spooky is one of the horses that made me love racing. In 63 starts, he has 25 wins, 15 places and 2 shows for total winnings of about $670,000. He seems to be getting better with age, with 2 firsts and 2 seconds in his last 4 starts. Good luck to the new owner. I hope Mr. Pompa continues to run Spooky in New York so I can see him again in person.

The benefit of slot machines

The Rickman family has announced that they are planning a Las Vegas style development and hotel at Delaware Park. This new development coupled with the 2000 new slot machines that are open 24 hours a day will continue to boost purses at an already popular track.

The state of Maryland failed for the four consecutive year to pass a bill legalizing slots or VLT's. Unfortunately, our bordering states (Pennsylvania, Delaware, W. Virginia) all have legalized gaming. Delaware Park was once a dump. Now they have slots, bigger purses, and a Las Vegas style development. Pennsylvania slot machines will not be operational until October, and they have already started to knock down Penn National to build a $250 million dollar venue. Closer to Baltimore is Philly Park, they are building a $350 million dollar racetrack, hotel, and casino. Maryland has missed the boat on gaming, and it is starting to show.

The spring/summer meet begins a Pimlico today. This meet always had five days of racing per week. Now they have cut it to four days, to help increase the purses. Many of the Maryland trainers have taken stalls up north in Delaware, so they can run horses 7 days a week. Not only are the trainers moving to Delaware and Pennsylvania, but the top jockeys are too. Maryland's top jockey Rosie Napravnik, will ride at Pimlico for 4 days, and at Delaware Park the additional 3 days. It is just a matter of time until Maryland racing will completely fall. We have even heard ramblings that Magna Entertainment is trying to move the preakness to Gulfstream Park. Nobody thought the Colts would leave Baltimore, probably the same people that think Preakness is owned by Maryland!

Found - Lost in the Fog

Finally! Lost in the Fog will make his 4yo debut this Saturday at Golden Gate Fields. I have been wondering about his conspicuous absence for a while and I'm glad he's back. Our new friend Scoop asked if he was the only LITF fan, but I am a card-carrying member too. I'm looking forward to seeing last year's Sprint Champ against the new crop like Too Much Bling and Bishop Court Hill. It has been a LONG layoff but the field looks weak. Maybe this will be the start of another win streak.

Breeders Cup Juvenile Jinx

The first BIG day of racing I ever attended was last year's Breeders Cup at Belmont Park. I will forever look back on that event as the day I transitioned from a casual horse racing fan to the guy I am now that schedules family events around big races, makes bloodhorse.com my first web site visit of the day and has the call to the post as my cell phone ring tone.

My favorite race of that day was the Bessemer Trust BC Juvenile. I had been following First Samurai and Henny Hughes as they finished 1-2 in several of the 2yo stakes races. I was excited that the Stevie Wonderboy and the other horses I saw that day would be the horses I would follow through the Derby preps in '06. Then I found out about "the curse". No BC Juvenile winner has EVER won the Derby.

Well, we all know that the curse continues, but I wanted to see how the BC Juvenile also-rans faired in the Run for the Roses. I was surprised how poor the results are.

2006 - Out of 14 runners in the Breeders Cup, only 3 are still pointed to Churchill. Brother Derek, who came in 4th, is generally considered the favorite for the Derby. Superfly came in 5th and currently is number 21 on the graded earnings list. Private Vow came in 14th and is currently 6th in earnings.

2005 - This year wasn't bad for the Juvenile participants. The top three participated in the Derby. The other 5 did not. The winner Wilko came in 6th in the Derby. The place horse Afleet Alex finished 3rd in the Derby and then won the two other jewels. Sun King came in third in the BC and 15th in the Derby

2004 -A rough year for the Juvenile participants. Action This Day won the race and finished 6th in the Derby. Minister Eric placed and went on to 16th in the Derby. The other 10 horses didn't make it to see the twin spires.

2003 - If 2003 was rough, then 2002 was rediculous. The only Kentucky Derby participant out of the BC Juvenile was Lone Star Sky who finished 11th in the BC and 15th in the Derby.

I didn't go back any further. I think the point is made. A successful two-year-old campaign seems to have practically no bearing on triple crown aspirations. More specifically, BC Juvenile participants are a lot more likely not to run in the Derby than to run. Based on this new knowledge, I think Brother Derek will not win the Kentucky Derby. However, the only things I am certain of are 1) that the $2 I put on First Samurai in the future wager pool is gone forever, and 2) I can't wait to attend the 2007 Breeders Cup at Monmouth, NJ.

Happy 16th Birthday Cigar

16 years ago today on a small farm in Bel Air, Maryland, the great Cigar was born. Take a moment to remember what a great race horse he was. In case you forgot, I have added a list of his accomplishments below.

Accomplishments
Voted Horse of the Year 1995 and 1996
Voted Champion Older Horse 1995 and 1996
Tied record of 16 consecutive wins
Voted Racehorse of the Decade of the 1990s
Voted 18th best Racehorse of the 20th Century
Unbeaten season in 1995, winning 10 out of 10 races
All time leading money winner at retirement Nov. 9, 1996

Enjoy you days at the Kentucky Horse Park, and may you live as long as John Henry

(Nnn) Napravnik News Network

The Bug Boys have decided to change the blog name to (Nnn) "The Napravnik News Network". Well not really, but it would not be a shock to any of our regular readers. Today, the Washington Post jumped on the already crowded Napravnik bandwagon (driven by The Bug Boys). This is a good article by John Scheinman. He reminds us that Rosie is the top female jockey in the country, and will still be able to win after she looses her bug (apprentice status).

You can also listen to an interview with Rosie from this weekend on TVG's Thoroughbred Connection.
Click this link to be directed to the interview.

Congratulations Rosie!

Laurel apprentice jockey (and favorite of the Bug Boys) A. Rosie Napravnik will win her fist meet title when racing wraps up this afternoon at Laurel Park. The Bug Boys have been driving the Napravnik bandwagon for some time now, but the bus is filling up quickly. With this weeks announcement that she will be riding in both the Pimlico meet, and 2 days a week at Delaware Park the bandwagon will start to overflow.

Congratulations to Rosie! Keep up the good work!

Don't forget about your hometown tracks

The Kentucky Derby is just weeks away, and everyone has Triple Crown fever. I just wanted to remind everyone to check the cards at the local track for other exciting raced coming up. Here in Baltimore, we are lucky to have two great days of racing leading up to The Preakness Stakes. On April 22, Pimlico will be hosting its Spring Festival of Racing. This card will feature five stakes races and a minimum of $750,000 in purse money. On the Friday before the Preakness, Ole' Hilltop (Pimlico for you out of towners) hosts four stakes races with the main event being the $500,000 Pimlico Special.

Pick your head up from your Derby handicapping sheet, and check out the races at your local tracks. The Triple Crown is fun and exciting, but it is only 3 races. Go root on your local jockeys and home bred horses for the other 362 days a year!

A United Front in Maryland

Earlier today, the Maryland Racing commission announced an agreement between all of the horse racing and breeding factions in the state (Read the Article).

This is an enormous step forward for the racing industry in Maryland. For over a decade, the thoroughbred, standard bred, and breeding industry has argued with each other and the general assembly over simulcast, and revenue sharing. This agreement helps to present a united front, and creates a very strong lobby for slot machines in the state. In addition, they have agreed to end regulation that prohibited horse racing after 6:15 in the evening. This opens up the door for Magna entertainment to install lighting at Laurel Park.

Rainy Day at the Big A

I went to Aqueduct today to see the Wood Memorial. I planned to make it a family day with the wife and kids but they lost interest with the rain and cold. Luckily, the Mrs. encouraged me to go by myself. I arrived in time for the 6th race and the place was empty. It was sad, but I enjoyed the elbow room and the access to the good views. I took a lot of pictures and here are a few of the better ones....

My view of Too Much Bling as he approached the finish line in the Bay Shore Stakes.







Pletcher giving Prado his instructions for Keyed Entry's ride in the Wood.











Bob and John entering the gate. No zoom lens required. Aqueduct was so empty that I just walked up to the rail for these shots.






Bob and John in control just before Jazil passes Keyed Entry. (I had Jazil to Win - darn, should have bet Place)






My angle of Bob and John's Winner's Circle photo. I'm so angry that I missed the great shots of Baffert hugging Gomez, and Baffert rubbing the horse in approval.




Despite the rain, it was a great way to spend a few hours. Congratulations to the winners.

Don't call it a 'Sell Out"

For the past two months I have read in numerous newspapers and blogs about the Kentucky Derby selling out to Yum! Brands. Many authors have penned the term "Sell Out". I hope that these are not he same people that complain about the drop in attendance and television coverage. Corporate sponsorship is essential to the survival of horse racing and hopefully to expanded television coverage. Almost all other sporting events have corporate partners. Turn the TV on between Christmas and New Years and all you see is corporate names added to bowl games. The NFL, MLB, NBA and World Cup soccer all have sponsors and billboards, and advertising. I want to see more advertising in horse racing. I wish the Maryland Jockey Club would sell naming rights to every corner of Pimlico. I look forward to hear this call:

......And into the Coca-Cola first turn....down the Fed Ex back stretch they go......around the Bank America clubhouse turn and to the finish line sponsored by Slim Fast.

I know it sounds funny, but it will increase the purses, and increase revenue to the tracks that desperately need it.
Having a corporate sponsor is not a "Sell Out".

This blog entry was brought to you by your good friends as Apple Computer, now with Intel duo-core processors.

Rosie Napravnik..Need I Say More!

The Bug Boys have been spreading the good word of Rosie Napravnik for months now.
Today the Thoroughbred Times jumped on the wagon.

"Napravnik's mounts have won 153 of 875 starts (17.5%) and earned $2,670,935 through March 28. If she can keep up that pace, she just might be the next Maryland rider to earn a trip to the Eclipse Awards dinner.--John Scheinman-Thoroughbred Times"

Not bad numbers for an apprentice. Get on the back of the bus John, the Bug Boys are driving this band wagon!

Maryland may be left at the gate.

Maryland Govenor Bob Ehrlich has been trying to push his slots machine agenda for the last 4 years. Unfortunately for the racing community it has never passed. Now it may be too late to get in the game. Currently three surrounding states have slot machine gambling on line or in the pipeline. Pennsylvania is not only getting ready to add slot machines, but they are already looking for casino gaming. Delaware is also pushing things further by adding machines and expanding hours. If Maryland passes a slots bill next year, it will 2009 before the machines are up and running. By then it will be too late. By then they will be running Preakness at Gulfstream.

Dominoes?

Approximately one year ago, ESPN signed a deal to broadcast the Breeder's Cup for the next eight years. One would have thought that this was a sign that ESPN/ABC would be making a major commitment to horse racing and providing it with the promotion and resources that would ensure broadcast success. Nope. First, the coverage of two major Deby preps were cut short because other programming went long. And now.... I can't even fathom it. Proving once again that reality is stranger than fiction.... the FRONT PAGE of the New York Times reports today:

"... the ESPN sports network has declared dominoes the next big
spectator sport and is promoting it as both a colorful cultural touchstone and a
highly competitive game, complete with rankings, formal tournaments, celebrity
events and sponsors.

I sure hope that the BC Classic isn't pre-empted by coverage of the Bronx Region quarterfinals of the Metro New York Domino Tournament, Environmentally-Friendly Hybrid Powered by Toyota, and hosted by Ryan Seacrest.

This is bad. I don't get it.