mid0827

Horses like Bind and Maclean's Music are super talented, but they are bad bets next time out, especially going two turns for the first time. Just ask Runflatout.

Animal Kingdom looked good doing it, but is he another polytrack wonder?

Off the Derby Trail. But then why did Churchill put him in the Future Wager? Buyer beware, you might say. But not so fast. I would suggest it's pure laziness on Churchill's part. Clubhouse Ride last worked on Jan. 26, blistering 5f in :58 4/5. Nothing since. That means the Future Wager pool opened, and this horse had not worked in 23 days. Is that a warning sign? YES, of course it is. How about a phone call to the trainer - is that too much to ask? After all, there are only 23 horses and most have workouts within the last 3 weeks. I'm sure they have known he was off the trail for some time now, but it only gets reported today. Nice job.

Some big works by the Kelly Breen horses, Nacho Business and Sweet Ducky.

Wow! A 105 - that's an Uncle Mo type debut.

NYRA management has done a great job given their limitations. With OTB going away, they have made the right moves by controlling the TV cable show in NYC, getting people on-track, recruiting for NYRA rewards and working on opening OTB's. From what I understand, their online ADW leaves a lot to be desired, but I think they are stuck a bit in the short-term. Racing-wise, they have the best racing circuit in the country, so I don't think it's time to cave and drop Wednesdays (at least March-Nov). Ideally, this should be a productive day for them. I do think they have a bit of a weakness at the racing secretary position. He's not bad, but not an asset either. They have relied WAY TOO MUCH on turf sprints and two turf courses to get by. That process has conditioned trainers to wait for these races. But it doesn't work so well in February when you're down to zero turf courses. They also need to work on stakes, but they have been doing better at that.

I agree. But I think it will even out in time. Blind Luck is a nice filly. But I wouldn't put her ahead of hardly any fillies/mares who won Triple Crown races or older BC races. Right there, that leaves her off the top 25 filly/mares since 1984. Realistically, if she has a great year this year and wins a BC race, that should put her just into the top 200.

I'm not familiar with the apprentice, Curatolo, but he rode a heck of a race. Pressed the pace, bottled up, bided his time and roused the horse to victory. It was a great ride for a bug.

Just got wired in a slow FG allow race, but not very impressive overall.

Just looked good winning a 1 1/8 mile Gulfstream maiden over Hammersmith, Stormberg and a few others.