"You Fired The Caterer?"

Klaus Panholzer, a Magna Entertainment Corp. senior vice president in charge of corporate hospitality and food and beverage services, and Helmet Pichler, general manager of food and beverage service, both have been fired by the Maryland Jockey Club.

First they fired Jockey Club President Chris Dragone and Dwayne Yuzik (Senior vice president and associate general manager of Laurel and Pimlico). Now they fire the caterers? Where they not selling enough of Fran's Energy drink?

“The gist is the Maryland Jockey Club decided to go in a different direction and food and beverage is one of them,” said Tom Chuckas, who officially will take over as the new president of the Maryland Jockey Club on June 1.

Is this a joke? The food and beverage options on the main level at Pimlico are dirty water dogs (aka. Hot Dogs kept warm in hot water) and nasty pizza. Upstairs you can get a greasy burger or a club sandwich. Not much more can be said for Laurel, except you get a bag of chips with you dog.

My suggestions for the next guy who takes the job. This is Maryland, we drink Natty Boh, eat crab cakes, Boardwalk Fries, and pit beef sandwiches. Throw in a bag of Utz Crab Chips and we would be in heaven. Also, the official drink of the Preakness, "The Black Eyed Susan" is nasty. Change the official drink to a vodka tonic and sales will go though the roof.

Frank, Hire a guy from Maryland who understands Maryland!

Kevin Plank - Sagamore Farm

A little over a year ago I wrote about Under Armour founder Kevin Plank and his purchase of the famed Sagamore Farm. This post receives more hits than any other we have written. In this months copy of Maryland Life, Jason Tinney writes a great story about Kevin and the historic farm. I recommend reading the entire article to learn not just about Sagamore, but how Kevin Plank plans to rebuild the farm with the dedication and comittment he used to build Under Armour.

I wish Kevin and his staff all the luck in the world. I hope you rebuild the legacy of both Sagamore and Maryland racing.

Thank You PETA

I would like to thank all the folks from PETA who came to Baltimore this weekend to protest the Preakness. As a resident of the great state of Maryland, I appreciate all the money you spent while you were here. You drove into our state, paying all of our wonderful tolls. While you were here, you purchased gas, food, hotels, paper, markers, granola, etc. The local shop keepers say thanks. Then you drove over to the track and parked on someones lawn for $20. The neighborhood people who rely on horse racing for a living really thank you and got a good laugh at your expense (and about $100 per house). A special thanks goes out to the two ladies on the news who flew into town on Thursday. You flew into BWI airport, rented a car, stayed in a local hotel, and then spent $500 on protest signs at a local sign shop. You PETA folks really helped make this years Preakness Stakes an incredible economic success for Baltimore City, and the state of Maryland. I hope you all had a great time while you were here. Please bring a few more friends next year, we could use the additional revenues. Speaking of additional revenue......If all goes well with the November Slots Referendum, maybe we can get you guys a special PETA rate at the new Laurel Racino and Hotel. I hope the economic impact of your protest makes this the most successful Preakness ever! THANKS!!!

Derby vs. Preakness

The Baltimore Sun has an article comparing the Kentucky Derby with the Preakness. The Sun chooses the Preakness as the winner. I guess it all depends on your idea of fun.

The author Kevin Van Valkenburg describes the infield at the Preakness as follows:

Sort of like Caligula's Rome crossed with MTV's Spring Break but with less attractive people. More disgusting acts are committed per square foot during the Preakness than just about anywhere else in the country. About the only thing you cannot do is fight. Also, look out for beer grenades! Two must-haves when attending the Preakness infield: sunscreen and penicillin.

If this sounds like a good time to you.....I'll see you in Baltimore on Saturday. I'll be the one in the grandstands pointing and laughing at you/with you!

Spooky 33

Which is more suprising to you:

1) Spooky Mulder, the 10 year old gelding with a big heart, won his 33rd race today (Delaware Park, Race 4, 5 1/2 furlongs); or

2) He was claimed out of that race for $32,000 by David Jacobson on his own behalf; or

3) Twentieth Century Fox is preparing a sequel to the X-Files movie that will be released this year.

I, for one, find option 3 to be the most unbelievable, but they are all true. I was a fan of the series until that crappy movie came out. But the hard-trying racehorse (named after the X-Files' hero Fox "Spooky" Mulder) crossed the line first in his 81st start and now has earnings approaching $930,000. Let's go for a MILLION, Mr. Jacobson!

Hmmm. 33? With Kent Desormeaux advertising UPS on his pants, I think there is a marketing opportunity for Spooky's riders to wear the Rolling Rock 33 on their pants until he wins number 34. And for a little cross marketing, the horse head on the beer bottle should be changed to Spooky's.

In it to Win It

The jackpot on tonight's Megamillions lottery is $145 million. I figure that the cash value of that jackpot after taxes should approach $40 million. That amount gives me a fighting chance to step up and begin making changes in our sport. To paraphrase Rick Dutrow, I'm going all in on Big Brown! I'll buy him. $40 mill in cash? I think IEAH might be interested. Then I can ask Fran examine his feet to be sure they will hold up under the stress of pony rides for the kids. And when the neighbor brags about his new lawn mower, I can say "Yeah, I picked up the Kentucky Derby winner over the weekend."

It's a win-win. IEAH gets paid and BB will be removed from the breeding stock. It's the least I can do.

Gotta go convert the shed into a stall........

Fact and Comment - Tuesday Night

- Six year old Declan's Moon will try again for his first win since last July in a 7.5f AOC on Wednesday at Hollywood Park. After 5 consecutive wins and a Juvenile Championship to begin his career, he has won but one race in is last eleven. However, he consistently puts up great workouts, so his race performances are a bit puzzling. One must also wonder how many high-priced stallions would have later careers like this if they weren't hustled off to stud after their 3-year-old year.

- UPS received some exposure and buzz based on their unusual connection with the Kentucky Derby winner. I think this is one of the few good signs that horse racing is moving in the right direction. New advertisers, new revenue streams, new people being exposed to the sport. Nah, we'll probably mess this up too. As I type, I imagine a yearling out on the farm being named Fedex or McDonalds in order to attract some sponsorship.

- Michael Dickinson thinks Churchill Downs should install a synthetic surface. In other news, Bill Gates thinks you should buy Windows and Hillary Clinton thinks you should vote for her.

Kentucky Derby Thoughts

- The Sunday papers will unfortunately focus on the break down of Eight Belles and the indiscretions of Rick Dutrow, and put yet another nail in the coffin of American horse racing.

- Wouldn't it have been cool to have a feel good story in the headlines? The owners of Gayego escaping from Cuba, Barclay Tagg assuring his place in history with a second Derby win, One of the charities that would have benefited from a win, or even Todd Pletcher breaking through for his first win. Nope. We're going to get death and drugs.

- The Derby winner had 2 preps this year. I'm sure this will continue the trend of hopefuls running less and less every year. We may not see the 2008 Breeders Cup Juvenile winner run at all before the Derby in 2009. And the early prep winners will surely shut it down until May.

- This all being said, it's good to see local guys who love the sport win the big one. This win will certainly accelerate the plan of Michael Iavarrone and Richard Schiavo to create an investment fund based on racing and breeding. And, gentlemen, if you need another finance guy, I am a CPA, MBA, racing fan that lives 15 minutes from your offices in Garden City.

- I think the horses that prepped predominantly on synthetics were indeed at a disadvantage.

- This should have been a great day. I just feel down now.