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Vindication

2000 - Horse | Deceased

1 fan

3 favorites

[Edit]

Owner(s):

Padua Stables

Trainer:

Bob Baffert

Bred:

Kentucky (USA) by

Pedigree:

Seattle Slew - Strawberry Reason by Strawberry Road

Rating:

7.46/10

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What the Nation is saying about Vindication...

Eclipse Award Selections - Of the 21st century!

Who are the best of the best of the first dozen years of the 21st century? Help me decide...Read More

Posted 23 days ago ·

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cocoa2 · Monarchos? · 23 days ago ·

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zatt · Sorry, but Point Given was superior to Monarchos in the 3yo male class of 2001. · 23 days ago ·

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DeadHeat · Curlin not among the top older horses? DWC, Stephan Foster, Woodward, and JCGC? Zapper raced four times as a 4yr old, Tiznow was out most of the year. Inasor had a heck of a year as an older male, had a DWC and BCC. I can get not wanting to count Curlin's BCC. However, did win a total of 5 grade ones in 2008, while Invasor only won 4 in 2006. The amount he traveled during that time was unbelievable. He did lose twice, however they were on turf and synthetic, I don't remember Invasor ever trying those two surfaces. If one is willing to overlook Curlin's BCC win as a three year old then you must Tiznow. As an older Horse he was awesome in his three wins, but he lost three times, on his own surfaces. Curlin had the better older season there. Zapper was brilliant no doubt, but raced four times total and twice in sprints. Obviously brilliant and that gets him in, but Curlin nails him on durability and strength of schedule. Top four here should have been Invasor, Curlin, Mineshaft, and Zapper. · 23 days ago ·

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DeadHeat · Bernardini won the Preakness, Dandy, Travers, and JCGC...pretty good if you ask me. · 23 days ago ·

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zatt · Curlin was a tough call, but notice he is on the 3yo male list, and the Horse of the Year list. I thought Curlin was better at 3 ... here are the horses who finished 2nd or 3rd in his three wins in the U.S at 4: Einstein (not as good on dirt), Barcoloa, Past the Point, Wandering Boy (twice), and Merchant Marine. Blame it on the surface or not, but the best horses Curlin faced as an older horse, he lost to. Don't get me wrong, Curlin was a fantastic horse, but his credentials as only an older horse are not quite as strong as a few others of the decade in my opinion, including Tiznow, who won some big stakes in California early in the year, and then came back from health problems to win an amazing BC Classic, his second straight. No horse has done that. And by the way, Curlin won 4 graded stakes (all grade 1) in 2008, not 5. · 23 days ago ·

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DeadHeat · Wanderin Boy also was beaten by Invasor. Invasor beat Wild Desert, West Virginina and Sun King, all of those are not exactly World beaters. His Donn win against Hesanoldsalt? Brian, the competition card can go both ways. Both faced some nice horses in their big races, but in their other grade ones the horses that lined up against both were less than stellar. I would actually say Einnstein was a better horse than Sun King. Tiznow lost as well, so that card can also be played. Anything that can be said against Curlin can be said against at least one of the other horses on the list. · 23 days ago ·

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zatt · With all due respect, several horses that Invasor beat in the BC Classic, were better than any horse Curlin defeated as an older horse ... just look at the fields, there is absolutely no comparison. · 23 days ago ·

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DeadHeat · Brian, as i state, both faced very good horses in their "big races." DWC and BCC are what i'm counting as big races. In the DWC Curlin faced several top horses, and not ony beat them, but decimated them. · 23 days ago ·

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DeadHeat · Also to be fair, if you do not count Curlin's 3yr old Classic win then Tiznow's should not either. Both horses faced a lot, Curlin won some pretty big stakes back east his year too. Tiznow did have some good wins as a 4yr old, but if we are only counting 4yr old seasons in that vote then Curlin gets him. Both lost, but Curlin's season overall was better. He took the DWC, and came back to campaign an entire season, when many typically are knocked out for half the season. Not only did he come back he won 3 more grade ones. · 23 days ago ·

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dubby30 · Have to agree with DeatHeat on this one, all respect both ways to the argument though, when looking at the whole of the seasons, Curlin's should be the last we are debating, he would be on the older list quicker than the Zap and Tiznow, the Zap is especially questionable due to the 4 starts he made at 4 he made a start in a G2 and a G3, certainly not the schedule of an all time horse or one to be ranked up with a horse starting exclusively in Grade 1 races as an older horse. DWC, SFoster, WoodWard, Jockey Gold Cup, far out weigh the Tom Fool, Iselin, Woodward & BCC. But thats just my opinion. A horse like Curlin was tested in ways Ghostzapper never knew, and should be respected for that, so if there's anyone that should be debated, it should be Ghostzapper and Tiznow. · 23 days ago ·

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dubby30 · Also remember 2 year old filly – Sweet Catomine, 3 year old male – Summer Bird, Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex & Barbaro who i feel was twice the horse Bernardini ever was. · 23 days ago ·

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stevebiscuit · No Ginger Punch? Blasphemy! · 23 days ago ·

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LAZMANNICK · Once again, truth, realism and actual facts should never be in the same sentence as Dubby. · 23 days ago ·

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zatt · I just posted my choices for each division ... can't wait to hear your opinions. · 23 days ago ·

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curlin.bandwagoneer · Curlin or Invasor for HOTY..........Curlin is my pick. · 23 days ago ·

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curlin.bandwagoneer · Invasor barely edges out Zenyatta.....really? · 23 days ago ·

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zatt · Hey, at least your boy got best 3yo male of the decade ... and by the way, if Curlin had won the BC Classic in 2008, he would have won the biggest award going away. · 23 days ago ·

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curlin.bandwagoneer · i am thrilled he got 3yo male! But Zenyatta never ran in the DWC, which Curlin and Invasor won. Curlin beat I believe two future DWC winners, Gloria de Campeo and Well Armed, by a huge margin. He also beat Premium Tap, who finished second to Invasor in the year prior. Both were amazing race horses. But Curlin's DWC and winning margin against two future winners, makes him winner in my book. I get that the loss in the 2008 BCC was a downer, but at least it was "off" his normal surface. If he had lost on dirt, i would understand. But do you really think Raven's Pass would have won on dirt? LOL · 23 days ago ·

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curlin.bandwagoneer · BTW, i agree with your other picks, if that is any consolation ;) · 23 days ago ·

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DeadHeat · For me, HOTY is Invasor and Curlin, not Zenyatta. Two big races doesn't do it for me, not when she could have dominated open races in Cali just as easily she did females in 09 and 2010. Curlin lost after a hard hard hard season. If he won the Classic that year, then he would have been one of the top 100 TB racers of all time, not just this century. · 23 days ago ·

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zatt · Like I said before, Curlin was a fantastic horse, but frankly his five races in the U.S. in 2008, or after returning from Dubai, include two losses and three weak fields. I just didn't think he was quite the same as he was before going to Dubai. · 23 days ago ·

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AndyScoggin · I love this idea! But you know me, I have to go with Midnight Lute. · 23 days ago ·

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DeadHeat · Two losses taking risks not many other top horses are willing to take. How often do we see a to dirt or turf star try and switch surfaces? Invasor faced some weak field in 06 too. · 23 days ago ·

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andiggs · You should give Blame some kind of award to make up for last year's travesty. · 23 days ago ·

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slteam17 · I know this is from the what could have been category, but still Barbaro deserves a mention for his win in the '06 Derby and his undefeated campaign up to that point. · 23 days ago ·

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shadowno · Curlin was pronounced steroid free in 2008. It makes perfect sense his races as a 4yo did not equal his steroid enhanced 3yo campaign. · 22 days ago ·

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LAZMANNICK · Well Armed, a winner of 7 or 24 lifetime races, won the DWC by 14 lengths. Volponi, a winner of 7 of 31 races lifetime, won a BCC by 6 lengths. I guess that makes them real all time favorites, certainly a better horse than Zenyatta. Too bad Zenyatta never got to face Macho Again and Flashing and Persistently. Then maybe we could mention her in the same sentence as all these greats. · 22 days ago ·

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12thCrown · Afleet Alex was a pretty strong 3YO and never considered Invasor the best of that bunch. He ran in an era of "who-dat's" as well... · 21 days ago ·

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cugel the clever · Afleet Alex's Preakness victory was the most astounding and impressive recovery from near disaster I've ever seen in 50 years of watching racing. This race alone should place him in the top 100. Check this video of the race which includes super slomo of the incident. I get a sick feeling every time I see it - a reminder of the razor edge between tragedy and triumph. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfFzODoD7YY · 21 days ago ·

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cugel the clever · Afleet Alex's Preakness victory was the most astounding and impressive recovery from near disaster I've ever seen in 50 years of watching racing. This race alone should place him in the top 100. Check this video of the race which includes super slomo of the incident. I get a sick feeling every time I see it - a reminder of the razor edge between tragedy and triumph. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfFzODoD7YY · 21 days ago ·

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zatt · Afleet Alex was fantastic, and his Preakness was unbelievable, hard to keep him off the list ... Invasor was a champion in three continents, and beat an excellent BC Classic field. · 21 days ago ·

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travel_vic · another potential monster we were robbed of seeing mature · 21 days ago ·

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stevebiscuit · Zenyatta would've smoked Curlin. · 21 days ago ·

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Winplacsho · Though all were great, I think Ghostzapper was the most freakish (and just as dominating) of the group and would be my pick for HOY. · 21 days ago ·

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GregRiessland · i don't think zen could beat curlin and zen hasn't smoked anyone she nips you at the wire. runs hard enough to win. she should have smoked all the washed up girls, nope runs hard enough just to win. · 20 days ago ·

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1satmay · really havre? Did we forget about rags to riches ! · 13 days ago ·

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1satmay · sorry! missed her in 3yo · 13 days ago ·

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racingrooter · I'm with winplaceshow. I think Ghostzapper is the best horse of the 20th century thus far. There are some other great horses mentioned here, but GZ would have left them all eating his dirt. · 13 days ago ·

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racingrooter · Oops, meant 21st century. I'm only 12 years behind. :-) · 13 days ago ·

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Hansen!

In a race that has produced such stars as Point Given, Editor’s Note, and Vindication, in only 18 previous runnings, Hansen blew the doors off his competition in a fashion more impressive than any winner of the race to date. A son of Tapit, out of the Sir Cat mare, Stormy Sunday, Hansen took it to t...Read More

Posted 135 days ago ·

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larrydlock · I live in Cincinnati and i love my skyline but,Hansen is Makers dream come true! · 135 days ago ·

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zatt · Can't argue on either front, Larry! ...by the way this was in reference to a tweet I made, "Hansen may be the best thing to come out of Suburban Cincinnati sice 5-Way Chili." · 135 days ago ·

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larrydlock · Yes i read that. I am @LouisvilleLarry.Thanks for all you do.EJXD2 Ed DeRosa was seen at Skyline in Lex,Ky.lol · 135 days ago ·

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larrydlock · If you get back to Cincy try Camp Washington Chili,BEST! ;) · 135 days ago ·

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GoTexas · Hansen! What a neat youngster to watch; I just love Tapit's kids, especially the grays! · 135 days ago ·

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annmatt · I predict Hansen will win the Breeders Cup Juvenile in the same fashion he has shown in his first two races. He doesn't seem to care about his competition, only getting to the lead and running all out, hell bent for leather! What a beauty he is, and breathtaking to watch. If he is the "real deal", and the Juvenile should give us a clue as to the answer to that question, then the only thing he will need to be concerned about is to stay healthy!! I shall cross my fingers (and pray) that he stays healthy. This year was plagued by dropouts, injuries, setbacks -- one analysis I read said that 65% of the Derby trail runners in January were on the shelf by June! That is a scary statistic, and one which I hope will not repeat for 2012. A horse like Hansen deserves to have a clear shot at immortality, which he seems to have the talent to do. Can’t help but think about Secretariat and the Belmont in watching Hansen demolish his opponents by 12 and 13 length wins. Too early, of course, but one can dream, and hope. As Priscilla Clark, of Tranquility Farm, wrote in a piece about Zenyatta: “If you love Thoroughbred horses you go through life hoping that you can see just one more in whose presence the clouds fall away to reveal the mountaintop.” Yes, it is too early, but, I think that’s what the sport is all about – hope. · 135 days ago ·

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Protagonist · Nice race Saturday on Cup day at Turfway, I wish the best for Mike Maker and Hansen, However it's a long time till next May! We've all seen excellent 2yros. come along,and for numerous reasons, go by the wayside before that Awsome first Saturday in the" Merry Month of May" ( Camelot ) . So just take this as a vote of caution, and Congratulations. · 135 days ago ·

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larrydlock · Racing in the Breeders Cup Juvenile woud be awesome! As Annmatt stated how hard it is to stay on the derby trail. · 135 days ago ·

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skipaway2000 · I think his theme song should be MMMBop ;) · 135 days ago ·

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Woodbine · Too bad he's going right to Churchill. It would have been nice to see him in the Grey! Unusual to see a Tapit with that kind of breakneck speed. He could be a freak! · 134 days ago ·

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RuffianIŁourdes · Go Hansen! <3333333 · 134 days ago ·

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xjiadus · <3 Love to see this Video <3 · 133 days ago ·

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drcatherinehansen · Way to go Hansen! · 109 days ago ·

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AnjaRhodin · Sicken snygging! · 94 days ago ·

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Breeders' Cup Top 10 - The Juvenile

Laura Pugh of Dead Heat Debates presents her Top Ten Breeders Cup Juvenile performances. Updated with VIDEO!Read More

Posted 125 days ago ·

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BrianZipse · #11 better have been Tasso rallying down the middle of the track to nail Storm Cat by a whisker on the wire! · 126 days ago ·

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AndyScoggin · That was the BC at AQU. I actually went to that one and Tasso was a big winner for me at a good price. Was it 9-2? · 126 days ago ·

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Mike in SB · I don't know if this should make the list, but one of my most memorable Juveniles was the year that Is It True beat Easy Goer in the rain at Churchill Downs. Arazi and Uncle Mo were great 2 year olds, but I think Easy Goer was just as good and I still can't believe he lost that race. · 126 days ago ·

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DeadHeat · cashking, believe me it was very very close between the top two. Any closer and i would have been doing a coin toss. · 126 days ago ·

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KeithStrouhal · I would have put Arazi 1st. He had never raced on dirt , ha a chip in his knee (which they should've left alone) and he showed a devastating series of moves and drew off so easily against much superior competition than perfect trip Uncle Mo (my favorite horse ever tied with Zarkova) that he ranks ahead of my buddy MO. · 125 days ago ·

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DeadHeat · Much superior. I based this off of what the competition did up to that point, since Juveniles can change so quickly. At that point, in a field of 10 there were 6 other grade one winners besides Mo. Also there was a grade three winner and the two that had not won graded stakes were both grade one placed. It was a strong field of Juveniles. I understand they haven't come back well, but in retrospect look at how many have returned at all so far. You can't judged based on what you do not know. What if Boys wins big next. Both Rouge and Riveting were injured, so if they come back well that speaks volumes too. Thirsty has come back very well. Of course, Thirsty is the only one we can say so far, but what I would challenge you to do is look at how the fillies ran, only one day before. They ran the same distance in 1.45 and change. The first two finishers Awesome Feather and R Heat both went on to do quite well. Mo ran that distance in 1.42 and change. That is why his performance was so great to me. It was a slow surface that sucked the life out of speed. He was close to the lead and showed no signs of weakening, but only wanting more ground. It was a huge run. · 125 days ago ·

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footlick · DeadHeat- I know that Arazi's field had Bertrando and Pine Bluff, I believe. Do you know the other horses in his field? · 125 days ago ·

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DeadHeat · Not off the top of my head. As I said earlier, I had to go back and watch them all, because I wasn't around to watch most. · 125 days ago ·

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skipaway2000 · This has now been updated to include videos of all 10 :) · 125 days ago ·

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mybigred · I LOVE Awesome Feather!! She is my favorite Juvenile, of all time. · 125 days ago ·

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Herman'sKennel · I named my doggie for Macho UNO !!! What a horse!!!, what a Stud!!!!! · 124 days ago ·

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Debuting at Del Mar – Loving the 2-Year-Olds

Opening week at Del Mar and Saratoga brings plenty of potential superstars about to make their career debuts ...Read More

Posted 204 days ago ·

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J ReneeNeihart · POINT GIVEN!!! <3 <3 <3 · 205 days ago ·

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zatt · Definitely one of the best on this list, Renee, if not the very best! · 205 days ago ·

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MarkRodriquez · I'm going to compare the two meets and give my rankings on which meet is better. Keep in mind, i grew up in southern California. I was spoiled by great weather and great racing at Hol, SA and DM. Having been to Del Mar well over 50 times and never been to Saratoga, I'm goiing to do my best at being unbiased. Horses: Del Mar is a continuation of the SOCAL curcuit. Meanwhile Saratoga attracts a much classier bunch. Winner: SARATOGA. Stakes races: Del Mar's best race is the Pacific Classic and not many really good older horses will ship out here to run on the polytrack. The Del Mar Futurity and Debutante hold their own. Saratoga has the best stakes program of any track, led by the Travers and the Alabama. Winner: SARATOGA. Trainers and Jockeys: winner SARATOGA. Facility: Saratoga is old and historic, Del Mar was rebuilt in the 90's. My favorite place to watch any horse race is the upper deck at Del Mar. It really hugs the track and gives a great view of the action. Winner: DEL MAR. Weather: Saratoga suffers the east coast heat and humidity, and sometimes it can rain for weeks at a time. Great horses racing over sloppy tracks is no fun. San Diego has the best cllimate in the country. In fact the horses racing at DM, Hol and SA probably race in tempatures over 80 degrees about just 15 times a year. Winner: DEL MAR. Women: Have you seen the women of Del Mar? They are so hot and so classy. Even the older ladies look good. Winner: DEL MAR! OK, it's a 3-3 tie, but I have to give more weight to the first 3 catagories than the last 3. So the overall winner: SARATOGA · 204 days ago ·

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zatt · Mark ... fabulous comparison! And I have to say, I can't disagree with any of your points. · 204 days ago ·

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MarkRodriquez · I'm going to compare the two meets and give my rankings on which meet is better. Keep in mind, i grew up in southern California. I was spoiled by great weather and great racing at Hol, SA and DM. Having been to Del Mar well over 50 times and never been to Saratoga, I'm goiing to do my best at being unbiased. Horses: Del Mar is a continuation of the SOCAL curcuit. Meanwhile Saratoga attracts a much classier bunch. Winner: SARATOGA. Stakes races: Del Mar's best race is the Pacific Classic and not many really good older horses will ship out here to run on the polytrack. The Del Mar Futurity and Debutante hold their own. Saratoga has the best stakes program of any track, led by the Travers and the Alabama. Winner: SARATOGA. Trainers and Jockeys: winner SARATOGA. Facility: Saratoga is old and historic, Del Mar was rebuilt in the 90's. My favorite place to watch any horse race is the upper deck at Del Mar. It really hugs the track and gives a great view of the action. Winner: DEL MAR. Weather: Saratoga suffers the east coast heat and humidity, and sometimes it can rain for weeks at a time. Great horses racing over sloppy tracks is no fun. San Diego has the best cllimate in the country. In fact the horses racing at DM, Hol and SA probably race in tempatures over 80 degrees about just 15 times a year. Winner: DEL MAR. Women: Have you seen the women of Del Mar? They are so hot and so classy. Even the older ladies look good. Winner: DEL MAR! OK, it's a 3-3 tie, but I have to give more weight to the first 3 catagories than the last 3. So the overall winner: SARATOGA · 204 days ago ·

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MarkRodriquez · I posted it twice in case any of you missed it the first time (it was one of those embarrassing mistakes, lol) (we've all done it) · 204 days ago ·

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AndyScoggin · Midnight Lute is a fav of mine · 204 days ago ·

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MarkRodriquez · One more thing Brian, I'm a fan of artificial tracks. I believe they are safer for the horses and they open a new dynamic in handicapping. We have another angle to look at and perhaps if we study right, we can outsmart the other bettors. But even I can agree that Del Mar's track is just plain crap! Zenyatta's connections weren't sure if they were going to run there last summer. They made up their minds with a few hours to post. Also keep this in mind: Del Mar and Keeneland have the same polytrack surface and both track rank near the bottom of winning percentages on the favorite. Meaning they are somewhat unpredictable. So now handicappers have to handicap the different artificial tracks too. Another positive of the artificial tracks is that when horses ship from artificial to dirt, they hold their form. Dirt performers aren't as successful when they switch to artificial. Hollywood Park's surface is probably the best surface in the country, safe, fast and fair. · 204 days ago ·

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kris.fujimoto · Beautiful track;but too many injurys for me to feel comfy. · 204 days ago ·

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BrianZipse · I am not as big a fan of artificial surfaces, Mark ... unless it is proven that they are safer for our riders and horses. · 204 days ago ·

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AndyScoggin · Looking forward to the Saratoga list! · 204 days ago ·

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MarkRodriquez · Brian a study was done and reported in the Racing Form. Dr. Parkin of univ. of Glasgow's study came up with these results: Horses break down on dirt at a rate of 2.14 times per 1,000 starts. Horses break down on synthetic tracks at a rate of 1.55 per 1,000 starts. This report was widely circulated and was ignored by the dirt-loving horse media. The study looked at 750,000 starts over the past few years. Mathematically, that's a 50% higher rate that dirt has. Something ponder, and I guess the dirt-loving horse media loves it's wallet more than the jocks and horses. · 204 days ago ·

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MarkRodriquez · And Kris F. is correct about Del Mar's Polytrack. They had a rash of breakdowns last year and already have a training death this year. Just because they are artificial doesn't mean they are safe. I'll say it again, why not install Hollywood Park's Cushion track instead? Great for the horses and great for the bettors. · 204 days ago ·

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The Zipse Awards - The Best of the Decade

The first decade of the 21st century is absolutely sprinting to the finish line. The decade must have set slow fractions, because it is now flying to the wire. This allows me to unveil a very special...Read More

Source: zipseatthetrack.blogspot.com · Posted 798 days ago ·

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Unbridled's Song Filly Brings $1 Million

An Unbridled's Song filly consigned by Stone Farm became the first seven-figure offering of the Keeneland September yearling sale when she was purchased by agent John Ferguson for $1 million during the early portion of the Sept. 15 second session.Read More

Source: bloodhorse.com · Posted 876 days ago ·

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Vindication - Pedigree

[Edit]

Seattle Slew	Bold Reasoning	Boldnesian
		Reason To Earn
	My Charmer	Poker
		Fair Charmer
Strawberry Reason	Strawberry Road	Whiskey Road
		Giftisa
	Pretty Reason	Hail To Reason
		Mysore