Needing four victories to reach the 3,000-win milestone for his career, Corey Nakatani got all of them on Memorial Day at Hollywood Park.
Congratulations Corey!

We all know that Corey is a great rider, but did you know that Corey is also a 3 handicap in golf?

Julien Leparoux - The next elite jockey ???

Gary West wrote an article in the Star-Telegram proclaiming that Julien Leparoux is going to be the next elite jockey. I think this is a nice article, however I think it is about 10 months too late. This would be like me stating that the Steelers are a good football team. It is easy to call a person or team great when they are on top. On the other hand, I give West credit for the quick mention of the queen of Pimlico, Rosie Napravnik.

Met Mile

I had a family day at Belmont today. The wife, kids and parents joined me to watch a few races, including Met Mile. It did not begin well. We arrived as the 4th race was starting and I had not handicapped the race because I did not expect to arrive so early. The 8 horse was pulled up and stumbled awkwardly down the stretch. I looked at my program and saw that this horse, Belarion (Belong to Me), was ridden by Edgar Prado. Just over a week after the Preakness and Mr. Prado is pulling up another injured horse. It was sad. The 4yo gelding was vanned off and I do not know his status. They ignored the whole thing on the recap show this evening.

After that, the day was great. The weather was perfect and Belmont was actually crowded. The races were entertaining and I took a few pictures:





The Met Mile winner, Silver Train, getting saddled.














Mr. Pletcher saddling Bandini



















Mr. Zito prepping Sun King














Now this was interesting. Wilko jumped up on his hind legs in the paddock. Mr. Noseda decided to saddle him on the move. It reminded me of Mr. Matz and Barbaro on Preakness day.





Patrick over at Pulling Hair and Betting Horses recently wrote about taking his daughter to the track for the first time. Today was our first time out as a family and it went a lot better than I could have imagined. I look forward to many more days at the track with them.

Quick Hits

> Gretchen and Roy Jackson - I'm sure they are nice people. Generous people. Good people. But I do not believe for a minute that the heroic measures taken to treat Barbaro would have been consistently applied to "just any" horse in their stables.

> Cloned mules - I don't care. I'm sick of hearing about them. The technology can't be used in Thoroughbred racing. Why is this news?

> Fernando Jara - He rode a 41-1 shot to victory in the Belmont feature yesterday. At 18 years old, he is another young jockey to watch. He already has a Kentucky Derby ride under his belt and an upcoming ride in the Belmont Stakes on Jazil. Kiaran McLaughlin is high on him so he will probably get more high-profile rides.

> Discreet Cat - In training at Belmont and pointing to a return race on July 4th

> Rosie Napravnik - She is running away with the Pimlico meet. 26% wins and 55% in the money. She has as many wins as the next 4 jockeys combined. She faced the big time riders during Preakness weekend and did well, including a stakes win.

Everyone have a happy and safe holiday weekend!

Stop Stirring the Pot...Andy

Andy Beyer wrote a column yesterday about the rigors of the triple crown. He did not come out and say that the time between the races is too short, however he did do a good job of stirring the pot. Barbaro's breakdown in the Preakness has everyone talking about the conditioning of the horses. If you are reading this blog, I am sure you have read all the articles about how unfair the triple crown is to the horses. I say BULLSHIT. Before the money in breeding went through the roof, horse would run ten times before the Derby, and for years after. Now the money is in breeding, not racing. Horses have not become more frail, they have become less worked. Today a horse suffers a critical breakdown in his 7th race, unfortunately for America, Barbero's 7th race was the Preakness. Forty years ago, the 7th race for a horse was during his 2 year old campaign.
I can go on for hours about this.
My point when I started writing was shame on Andy Beyer. Our sport has enough problems without him trying to cause more.... In the effort to get more readers.

Barbaro Updates

Alex at Tim Woolley Racing (Fair Hills) has been updating all day with the status of the Kentuck Derby winner.


Click this link to see the Barbaro updates

Julien Leparoux - Back to New York

OK...Get over it.....Barbaro pulled up lame. All the credit in the world should be given to Prado for doing everything he could to save the horse. Now back to the news.

Leading rider Julien Laparoux is heading back to New York

Get Well Soon

Good luck on your recovery Barbaro. I hope the surgery goes well and you can live a happy, productive life. Think about all those mares that you're going to cover and your rehab will be a little more pleasant.

Great job Edgar. You may have saved his life.

Preakness Day Predictions

Ah Day romps to 5 length victory in Sir Barton

Straight Trifecta for Preakness:

Barbero, Sweetnorthernsaint, Greeleys Legacy

Today was a great day! This morning, I had the opportunity to run around the backside of Pimlico. I was at the Preakness barn and then on the rail watching the gallops. The top photo on the entry is Brother Derek getting a washdown. The second photo is Nick Zito and (trainer) Richard Smalls discussing jockeys. It was a great conversation to eavesdrop on. I then found myself in a conversation with Hammer'in Hank Goldberg. I can't remember what the conversation was about because I kept thinking about Don Chavez calling him a mush.
After the morning at Pimlico, I drove a few miles to the Fasig Tipton 2yo in training sale. I saw some great horses working 1/8 in 10 and 4, some even faster. It was a great day around the ponies and I never even saw a race.

Tomorrow....Off to Pimlico for the Black Eyed Susan and Pimlico Special.

Triple Crown Field Sizes

Today on "At the Races and Beyond", they were discussing the field sizes facing the 11 Triple Crown winners. I did some number crunching and discovered the follwing average field sizes for each of the years that there was a Triple Crown winner:

Kentucky Derby - 13.5 horses
Preakness - 7.8 horses
Belmont Stakes - 5.4 horses

So it appears that Barbaro will face more competition that the average Triple Crown winner. As a matter of fact, he faced more horses in the Kentucky Derby (19) that Count Fleet (14) and Citation (15) faced in all three of their races combined.

And look at that average for the Belmont - 5.4! Sir Barton and Count Fleet faced only 2 other horses to get their prize. I expect that Barbaro will also have a lot of elbow room at Belmont if he is lucky enough to run away with the Preakness.

"He's got a good vet" version 2

Jerry Bailey appeared Sunday on Capital OTB-TV's [upstate NY] 'TrackFacts' with hosts Tom Amello and Nick Kling. Bailey discussed many topics -- but he also took time to briefly comment on drugs in the game

Bailey's idea to address this issue: "With all the statistics we have available in the Racing Form, and other forms of information -- all the numbers that help us break down races and decide who's going to win... You know how many races and starters a trainer has. You know how many starts, mounts, and wins and places and shows a jockey has... Well, why don't we list who treats these horses for these individual trainers? List the attending veterinarian. Now, if you do that -- you can keep vet standings. And let's keep vet standings. You're not pointing any fingers. You not saying this guy's doing anything wrong. But, you know what, give us the information and let us make our own conclusions."

Earlier this month I wrote a post titled He's got a good vet. Jerry Bailey expanded on some of the points that I made. I think it is a great idea to inform the betting public about medications (other than Lasix and Bute), and who is administering them. Unfortunately, the industry will not take a proactive stance. As with most things, they will be reactive after a top horse breaks down in the Belmont or Breeders Cup. Until then they will pretend to forget about all the pre-race medications and the doctors who are administering them.

Jockey Standings

Winningest North American jockeys this year through yesterday's races:

Rider	Mts.	1st	2nd	3rd	Win%
a-Julien Leparoux	726	206	135	85	28.4
a-Martin Garcia	536	151	122	92	28.2
Russell Baze	496	139	107	78	28.0
a-Rosie Napravnik	590	138	96	109	23.4
Ramon Dominguez	522	130	103	81	24.9
Eibar Coa	594	130	97	74	21.9
Rafael Bejarano	631	115	111	92	18.2
Edgar Paucar	563	107	96	87	19.0
Cornelio Velasquez	648	106	88	104	16.4
John Velazquez	366	104	61	42	28.4

a-apprentice

"Horse racing is betting on Internet wagering

Todays Baltimore Sun had a feature article titled "Horse racing is betting on Internet wagering". The article, is filled with quotes from Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) president Joe DeFrancis. The MJC is the owner of both Laurel and Pimlico racetracks, and was sold by DeFrancis to Magna Entertainment Corp. in 2002. DeFrancis also has the title of Executive vice president for operations of interactive betting channels for Magna Entertainment...but that is a post for another day.

In the article, DeFrancis speaks of how internet wagering is going create a greater fan base for the sport. I have to strongly disagree with Mr. DeFrancis. I did not fall in love with the sport by watching it on TV or a computer monitor. The love of the game comes from visits to the track. Leaning on the rail as the horses charge toward the wire. Almost every fan recalls the first time they went to the track, the walks to the paddock, and the roar of the crowd as the horses cross the finish line. Those are the moments that have meaning. The bonding between father and son does not come from internet wagering. 30 years from now does my kid share this story:

"I remember when my father came running up the stairs from the basement yelling.....I hit the 10 cent super at Santa Anita for $36. Mom and I came rushing over and gave him a big hug. That is when I fell in love with the ponies".

That will never happen! The fan base is shrinking. It is shrinking quick. Just because the handle is increasing does not mean that more people are coming out to the tracks. An increase in internet wagering does not mean that you are creating a new young fan base. Open your eyes Joe DeFrancis.

DeFrancis and Magna Entertainment....Do you want to know how to increase the fan base and get young people involved and interested? Fix up you tracks in Maryland. Make Pimlico a safe place to park. Offer a family friendly environment. Ask people what they want.

When the owners of the local tracks are concentrating efforts on the internet, and not the grandstands..........It is probably too late to fix the problems!

Quick Jockey Update

How can you say "NO" to George Steinbrenner and the Preakness? Apparently, it is no big deal for jockey Jeremy Rose. Rose (through his agent) has said that if he can't work out the logistics, he would rather ride in a $75,000 race in Delaware, than ride Hemmingways Key (trained by Nick Zito and owned by George Steinbrenner)

Edgar Prado threw out the first pitch before the Yankees game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on May 11, 2006. I guess he can't say no to George Steinbrenner.

The NTRA needs to take a look at Japanese horse racing. One of the most famous athletes in Japan is jockey Yutaka Take. Fans fill the grandstands and paddock just to get a glimpse of this guy. See what happens when you market the jockeys?

Apprentice Rosie Napravnik won 5 races on Thursday. That is impressive, but that was just the start of a three day stretch (Thursday, Friday, Saturday). After today's mounts, she had 13 wins, and a total of 17 times in the money. Not a bad three days for an apprentice.

Alex Solis won 3 consecutive stakes races at Hollywood Park today.

No wins today for Jorge Chavez at Monmouth today. He did have a second and a third. Hopefully tomorrow win bring a trip to the winners circle.

Did you miss the race ?

If for some crazy reason you missed this years Kentucky Derby, don't worry. Our good friends at Churchill Downs have added streaming video to the site. Not only can you watch the Derby, but every Derby prep race this year. Click the link below to watch all the highlights from this years "Road to the Roses".


Click Here To Go To The Video Archive

Martin Garcia

Martin Garcia, The number 2 ranked jockey in America is getting ready to tear it up at Hollywood Park. The 21 year old apprentice will have six mounts on Friday (Opening Day), and at least that many on Saturday and Sunday. He even picked up the mount on Secret Ridge in the $100,000 Los Angeles Handicap (GIII) on Saturday.

Garcia came to the United Sates three years ago, never seeing a horse race. When he arrived, he was looking for work, any work. He started working at a deli, and met some people who introduced him to horse racing. Now three years later, and six months into his career as a jock, his is on top of the world.

This is a another great jockey to keep your eyes on.....If you haven't been watching already.

Jockeying For Position

The start of the Monmouth meet this weekend is very exciting. It is going to be great, to see all of the awesome jockeys up in the irons. The great Jorge (chop-chop) Chavez is just one of the riders featured at the summer meet. 2003 Eclipse Award winning apprentice Eddie Castro, 11 time Monmouth riding champ Joe Bravo, NY Jock Channing Hill, and Tampa Bay Downs riding title winner Jose Lezcano, and so many more great ones will be riding.

21 year old apprentice Martin Garcia just won the title at Golden Gate Fields, and will be moving his tack south to ride at Hollywood Park.

And don't forget the great Rosie Napravnik has left her home in Maryland (part time) to also ride in Delaware.

Saturday at Belmont

Although he didn't have a Kentucky Derby mount, Saturday was a big day for Eibar Coa. He had his 3,000th win in the 3rd race at Belmont. This is my picture of him in the paddock before the 5th race.

Baloo and I went to Belmont for a few races with our Dad before we went home to watch the Derby. Both Eibar and I are going to remember that day for a long time. He for the milestone win, and me for the special time spent with my brother and father. In this crazy world, I'm glad we have the racetrack to give us a common bond.

Local Talent

Nice little story in the Bloodhorse about the Mid Atlantic racing scene. It is nice to see the national press notice the local industry. Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania have some great talent in stallions, jockeys, and horses. The local scene is often over shadowed by the center of the horse racing universe (Kentucky). As the two year olds start racing at your local tracks, pay attention. You may be watching the next Derby winner. Remember, they all don't come from Kentucky!

I was at Belmont on Saturday, and took this photo just a few hours before Barbaro won the Derby. Could he be the next great one????

"He's got a good vet"

Over the past 3 years, my job has given me the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with trainers, jockeys, owners, and breeding farms. I'm not talking about Nick Zito and Lanes End, but more of the "B" and "C" class players in the industry. Over this time I have heard the term "He's got a good vet" about a dozen times. You usually hear this phrase after the following scenario.

Trainer runs horse in $25K Maiden Special, and comes in 8th
Next race he runs in $15K Claiming race, and comes in 8th
Next race he runs in $7,500 Claiming race, and comes in 4th
Next race he wins $35,000 Maiden Special
Next race he runs in $15K claiming race, comes in 8th, BUT IS CLAIMED
The Horse never runs as good as he did in the $35K win

"Nice win for Trainer X, won the big race, and then had the horse claimed.....He's got a good vet"

I thought that this meant that the horse was under better care, or that he worked through the bucked shins. It was not until today that I found out the truth. Initially, I was shocked to hear that trainers were giving these horses "performance enhancing drugs". Then I started to think.....aaah "He has a good vet". I started to wonder how many horses are getting these "legal" cocktails. I was told that all the drugs they give the horses are legal, but not necessarily in the best interest of the horse. Sometimes, the horses do so much damage to themselves while running "pain and fatigue free", that they can never return to full health.

Saying "He's got a good vet" is like saying that Barry Bonds has a good nutritionist.

My Derby Picks

I'll post my picks. Nothing to lose. Either I look like a genius on Saturday night, or I'm wrong like everyone else.

1. Barbaro 2. Lawyer Ron 3. Jazil

I trust Michael Matz that Barbaro works best after long rests. He has done enough to win every race and I don't think we have seen his best yet. Word is that Lawyer Ron has gotten bigger and stronger since the Arkansas Derby. I think Jazil will move up swiftly after the hot early pace falls apart.

Depending on the actual odds, I may put a few bucks on Sinister Minister to win wire-to-wire and put Showing Up into a trifecta somehow.

Good luck to everyone!

Update: Rosie Napravnik

As the head of the Napravnik news network (Nnn), I feel it is my duty to let the world know that Rosie is atop the jockey standings at the current Pimlico meet. Rosie has a 22% winning percentage, and 50% in the money.

I'm Baloo, reporting from Baltimore on your leading blog for Napravnik news.
Now back to the studio for your Kentucky Derby update.

Crazy Photo

Julien Leparoux being thrown over the rail by Sanibel Storm in the 6th race at Keeneland on Saturday.