Memorial Day Weekend

 May 23 - 27

It was a marathon weekend of racing, as I played Thursday's Twilight races and then had a nine hour extended day of races from seven different tracks Saturday.  Continued on Sunday, and finished by playing three holiday cards on Monday.  Lots of stories to tell, so let's get to it!

Thursday - Twilight Racing From Churchill Downs & Woodbine

Both Churchill & Woodbine had late afternoon starts, and with nothing better to do I handicapped both those cards on Tuesday & Wednesday and began playing those races as we approached early evening.  Had no luck through the first five races, with only a single runner-up finish to "cheer" about.  But in the sixth in Louisville I liked Willow Bend to score in a claiming level sprint.  The track was sloppy with a lot of weather - even had a weather delay for a while earlier in the card.  The only other time this gal had run for a tag it had been under "beaten" conditions like those tonight, but unlike the $50K price tag tonight here, she had run for a big $62.5K tag and was a best of the rest 2nd.  Sat patiently in fourth, in the clear to the turn.  Took over effortlessly under jockey Tyler G and ran off to score with my triple investment on board.  Suddenly I'm only behind a little bit!

Off the board in the Woodbine finale before they headed to the post for the Churchill program ender.  This maiden claiming sprint at the extended six and a half furlongs looked pretty wide open to me.  But several years ago I'd been in Las Vegas for a handicapping convention and attended a "Long Shot" seminar."  One angle I've used several times with some success is the "Lone pick" angle which says in the handicappers' selection chart, if ONE handicapper puts a horse on top and none of the others even list that horse in the top three, that's the pick!  Well Beelieve Her fit that description AND was the one guy who'd picked her best bet of the day.  Good enough!  Pressed the leader to the far turn, and I was thinking, "I have a legitimate chance here!"  Took control and opened up turning for home.  Was getting tired through the long Louisville stretch but held on.  And at the generous 4/1 price I cashed for over $50 and now, despite going only 2-for-8, I'd had a profitable night!  OHHHHH the track :)

Saturday May 27

Saturday was "A DAY" - with a story that will long be remembered by me from my MANY handicapping/racing adventures, and will serve as yet another reminder of a lesson I've learned since playing the races regularly .... stick with the program, it will all be good in the end!  Why do I say this?  Well, because I had the time and little else to occupy myself I handicapped SEVEN tracks for the day and had FIFTY selections on my sheet.  First post was at 12:40 and until 3pm I cashed one, count them, ONE ticket.  OH MY.  Dug myself such a hole.  And the one winner, Foggy Note in Gulfstream's 3rd was only a $3 payoff.  But as the runners continue to disappoint I thought to myself, this is one of two things.....either a reminder that racing is a difficult game and having a day like this makes you appreciate the winning days; or......at some point I'll start cashing and the day will turn out "OK."  But one thing I was nearly certain of - I would never, ever be able to dig myself out of the red for the day and make any money.  Just stick with it and cut the losses for today, I said to myself, by the end of the month it will all be good.

The fifth at Gulfstream was a $75K overnight handicap going five furlongs on the turf.  And as I said in my analysis, truly the only reason that Xy Speed would not win was "Track Logic" because he'd was in career form with numbers that beat everything on the page.  And the only "logical" alternative was a horse he'd just beaten soundly.  Pressed that one (who was the 5/2 second choice) into the turn, then moved by effortlessly and drew off handily to score with my triple investment on board.  And kudos to me for sticking with the betting plan!

The next two bets produced two more wins to run the winning streak to three.  Speightfulelection swooped by his rivals at Monmouth to win going away as the favorite, but it was a boost to the bankroll when at Delaware, Sir Wellington also swept by on the turn and drew off.  That was because I'd tripled the bet on this guy and his $7.20 mutual payout meant I'd cash for well over $50!

Ran second at Churchill, BUT kept the "cashing" streak alive as it just so happened to be one of three races that carried a special "bet back" promotion on the card :)  In the 6th at Monmouth, Antigravity had all kinds of big red flags / "Don't Bet Me!" warning signs, but I ignored them.  Why, because even without a win since 2022 and plummeting in class today, the fact that leading rider Paco Lopez was on board said the connections were looking to pose for pictures today.  Right to the front - took pressure all the way to the furlong pole before drawing off willingly as the favorite.  That's five in a row!

The feature in New York was the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge for 3yo's.  Charlie Appleby's Legend of Time had been beaten at Keeneland last time out, but I thought he was due for a big rebound effort.  I'd also thought the same thing about another Godolphin/Appleby runner last weekend at Churchill and he'd failed to produce.  So rather than go "all in," I went only with a double investment.  He trailed the field into the far turn and looked to be crying out for run, but had no where to go.  Finally with only a furlong left he muscled between rivals into the clear, surged and was up in time!  Make it SIX STRAIGHT!

In a second level allowance, turf sprint at Churchill, ten-year-old Bound For Nowhere was my top pick.  Maybe he'd lost a step, but he looked best in this spot.  Sat the ideal trip in fourth behind the leaders, split runners in the lane and drew clear to score at a near $9 payoff - seven in a row!

The featured stakes at Gulfstream was the Big Drama, a sprint going seven panels on the main track.  You COULD make a case against Octane, but for me, dropping out of four graded races in his last five starts, cutting back in distance and the fact that his LAST EIGHT Beyers beat nearly everything on the page was enough to warrant the wager.  Toss in a fourth-best of 88 works recently and I thought he was a solid win proposition.  Pressed the 4/1 leader into the turn while obviously well in hand for the rider.  Asked for his best and he rocketed to the front and drew off by daylight - make it EIGHT now.  What a comeback!

Even I was a little surprised when I ran third in Monmouth's Cliff Hanger Stakes - you mean I'm NOT going to win all the rest of the races today?  But I AM going to win more......Conspiracy Fact was JUST up in time at Delaware....then second in Louisville.  The Distractor was an easy winner at Monmouth - then two more runner-up finishes.

There was a lot of chatter amongst the "experts" on FanDuel TV about the 9th at Churchill, a first level allowance.  After a debut win on the west coast, Nay V Belle had immediately been sent two turns in a Grade 3 - too much, too soon.  Came back with a just-miss effort in another sprint.  Those two sprint efforts made her a clear winner today I thought.  Could not understand why she wasn't one of the top picks by any of the analysts.  But apparently I know more than they do :)  Fifth to the furlong marker, split runners and burst through to win at better than 5/2.  I'd had so much confidence I'd made her a triple investment so I was cashing for nearly $60!  WHOOOOO HOOOOO.

It was "California Gold Rush Weekend" at Santa Anita with stakes races Saturday-through-Monday and the third was the state-bred Thor's Echo Stakes.  The Chosen Vron was as close to a "mortal lock" as you could get in racing.  The 16-time stakes winner's LAST EIGHT Beyers beat everything on the page, and his SLOWEST Beyer could be topped by one figure on the page, that earned by a rival he'd beaten FOUR TIMES previously.  Pressed the longshot leader to the turn then cantered home under wraps in a "paid public workout" as my BEST Bet of the Day.

Almost as certain as The Chosen Vron in the Thor's Echo, Kings River Knight looked ominous in the Crystal Water Stakes at Santa Anita going a mile on the turf.  He was not only Brad Free's BEST of the Day but looked to be the LONE SPEED.  Right to the front as the prohibitive favorite and walked with it impressively with my "prime time" play on board.  That's WIN #13 for those of you counting!

The finale in New York was maiden claiming turf event.  Jhirsch, carrying the moniker of the legendary editor of the Daily Racing Form looked very strong in his first start for a tag....and he was, running away by almost a pole through the stretch.

We'd reached 6pm and first post in Minnesota (dontchaknow) at Canterbury, meaning all we had left on the selection sheet were those races and the remainder of the card from So Cal.  The Fran's Valentine Stakes at Santa Anita going a mile on the turf for the fillies & mares was next.  The "parking lot" post position for likely favorite Stay and Scam was a concern, but she looked best despite that.  Quick out of the gate she pressed the leader to the far turn while in hand, then drew off easily, never being threatened for the last quarter mile.  Oh I'm having a very good second half of the day my friends.

I'd missed in the first two CBY races I played but Channel Won in Race 4 was the first added investment play of the evening from Shakopee.  Off a three month break I liked this eleven time turf sprint winner to roll from off the pace.  Off slowly, but for a closer that wasn't a big concern.  Circled the field on the turn and mowed them all down for the first win at "The Park" on the evening.

The ninth from Santa Anita was yet another stakes race, this the Melair for 3yo fillies going a mile and a sixteenth on the main dirt track.  There used to be about five or six public handicappers that their opinions mattered a lot in my selections, but only Brad Free of the DRF who mans the west coast races is left in that role.  I've learned over the years how to read between the lines with most of his comments, and let me tell you, when he said "Grand Slam Smile should be tough to beat" that was about as solid an endorsement as he will give other than making someone the "BEST" of the day.  The filly boasted a career box of 6/4-2-0 and looked to add to the win total here.  Prompted the 15/1 longshot leader to the far turn, eased by without being asked and drew off with authority.

Picked up my second and third wins at Canterbury to close out the long day as first Birdie Be Gone was indeed LONG GONE in the 6th and Haunted Haze drew off by a pole in the finale there.  After the miserable 1-for-14 start to the day, my final numbers were 19-for-47.....that's over 40% my friends....and a clear profit of $3.05.  As I said at the top, considering the start, that's the best $3.05 profit I've ever had!

Sunday May 26

Only two wins, but still had "the story" of the weekend when the feature at Santa Anita was the Grade 2 Santa Margarita.  Adare Manor just breath takingly good.  Right to the front and jogged around the track embarrassing her rivals as my BEST BET of the Weekend.  Also had By It's Absence at Monmouth earlier in the day.

Monday May 27:  Memorial Day

With today, Monday, being a holiday, there were several tracks open, and I opted to play Monmouth and Churchill, and to look at the multiple stakes at Santa Anita as they wrapped up their Gold Rush weekend.  Started off on a pretty hot streak scoring with three of the first five picks.  Cooke Creek took pressure from the get-go but wired the Louisville opener in a gritty effort.  Amidst the stormy weather in New Jersey Spunforfun came off a maiden win to be much the best against open claimers in an off the turf event.  And last year's Gr 2 Ba

Taxed

Skidded through the next seven races with a second and three times third before World Record easily went wire-to-wire in the Churchill Downs finale.  Shortly thereafter came the first of two big highlights on the day.......

When I went through the past performances of Santa Anita's third, a six furlong turf sprint under entry level allowance conditions, I didn't see anything that really interested me.  BUT....you always have to utilize all the tools at your disposal when handicapping.  So I read through Brad Free's comments.  He pointed out that Virat had won off the layoff at this same distance in a starter allowance off a three month layoff three back.  Today....off an identical three month layoff, at the same identical distance he looked like an ideal "trainer pattern" play.  And listed at 6/1 on the morning line he would easily be the "UPSET SPECIAL" of the day.  Right out of the gate I knew I had a real chance as he pressed the leader while seemingly well in hand.  Made "the move" on the turn and opened up in the lane.  Was getting tired in the final 200 yards but had plenty left to score.  And the best part, his price floated up to a big 7/1.  Paid $16 so with my confident double investment I cashed for $80!  WHOOOO HOOOOO.

I missed on the final three races at Santa Anita, the three graded stakes of the day, but my picks ran 2nd, 3rd, and 3rd in races I thought were all toss-ups.  Prior to that sequence was what I thought would be the "story of the day" and was my "BEST Bet of the Day."  Two years ago John Sadler had trained the brilliant Flightline who won all six career starts including a eye-popping 20-length win in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar.  Well today Sadler was unveiling Flightline's half brother, Eagles Flight.  That in and of itself would be interesting, but the works for this colt had been sensational.  I read prior to the day's racing Sadler commenting that he was an "exciting prospect and we're looking forward to getting him going."  I read another comment that told me that the connections thought he genuinely was the "real deal."  I opted to make him my "prime time" best of the day thinking IF as good as advertised we'd never, ever get as good a price as we would get today....and he was a likely favorite on reputation alone.  Sure enough he was 3/5 with minutes to post...then 4/5 as they went in the gate.  Broke a little slowly and was in the back half of the field.  Not real concerned because his best races will almost certainly be in route affairs, so I figured he'd NOT go wire to wire, but settle and rally.  Into the turn, jockey Flavian Prat sliced through runners, got into the clear then split two runners in front of him with dead aim on the legitimate leader.  Inhaled that one with ease and drew off commandingly living up to the hype and the promise.  Oh, this one is going to be a good one!  And lucky for me, the bettors let him float up to better than even money so I cashed for over $40 on my 29th winner of the marathon weekend of racing!

I was able to add to my winning numbers with TwinSpires ' Memorial Day "Boost" offering a 15% odds boost on any winner you picked from either Churchill Downs or Santa Anita!

With this bonus promotion I was able to turn the $6.85 loss into a $10.57 cent profit!  Gotta love those promotions, eh?

And with the conclusion of racing Monday, the first two months of the Spring Racing Season for 2024 was in the books.  "They" say if you pick 30% winners and cash for $1.91 on every $2 you bet, you're doing better than 93% of the horseplayers.  My numbers put me in the "elite handicapper" status :)  It's a good start to the Spring/Summer season for sure!

Social Media this week.......

I must say, and I've made comments to this end previously, but I DO have several "all time favorites" from my former students, but far and away it's Kimmy who has always been my MOST favorite.  When she lived here in So Fla as a young career woman I so very much enjoyed when we would get together.  We had the best conversations because I just felt that she "got me" and genuinely cared for me, as I do for her.  I miss her a lot.  We do keep in touch, but it's relatively infrequent - but this week we had several exchanges.  The first (which I paired up with pics from our first Fla Derby together) came when I shared how I might get on the news with a story about travel tips.  Ironically just a couple days later I noticed on FB that it had been nearly 250 days since we'd been together and so I reached out without telling Kimmy what the significance was.  Not sure if she looked it up, my guess is not, that knowing me she KNEW that I'd only ask if she knew the significance of a date if it applied to the two of us being together.  And then Saturday on FB memories it came up from when she visited me at school - wow we both look so much younger!  Finally we exchanged messages Sunday during the Panthers playoff game.

Danielle was a gal I worked with at Cypress Bay and while we didn't interact a lot together we did know one another relatively well.  Just recently we connected on FaceBook and how ironic, this weekend she and her husband were at a destination wedding......in Santorini, Greece!  I immediately reached out and commented we'd just been there, and we exchanged a couple of brief messages.

Our gal-pal Michelle texted with me and then with Kim and I about her girls' weekend getaway and the playoffs.

My most favorite country DJ Chloe came to mind when I was handicapping the Sunday races and saw that my top choice in Monmouth's 8th was named "Take Charge Chloe."  I had to share and she immediately wrote back.  Tried hard but second best in a near-photo finish.

I miss Karli Barnett on the weekend news and I especially miss being able to communicate with her regularly.  But she saw one of my recent messages and wrote to me this week.  Felt bad, again, that her live chat was Sunday evening when we were at the Panthers game, so I missed talking to her again.

Interestingly enough, I thought this week I'd have little contact with gal-pal Lauren Pastrana, but it was a flurry of activity over the weekend that saw us "hook up" multiple times.  Wednesday before the first game of the Eastern Conference Playoffs I sent a pic of her and wished that she could watch the game.  And we WON Game 1 I captured her pretty smile on the 11pm news and messaged her on Instagram that this was the smile we were looking for :)  Two days later before Game 2 the CBS local news did a nice piece on our 'Cats and I expressed my appreciation - got a "like" in return.  Then towards the end of the week I reached out to Lauren and explained that in about six weeks we'd be off again on another adventure.  I told her how much I enjoyed picking out "best pics for Lauren" and that she seemed to enjoy following along.  I finished by posting a preview pic for the upcoming Rhine trip and asked if she would like me to continue to share.  The response was a very positive one, so we'll be in daily hook-ups while then next adventure goes on - and I'll be sending her preview pics starting at the end of next week.  Lauren was off the anchor desk on Friday but posted a reel that seemed to indicate she was working on another investigative piece.  I commented, she "liked" it.  And finally, Sunday evening Lauren posted a series of reels showing her having a fun Sunday with her two kids.  It's one of the things I like best about Lauren - and I think it's one of the big reasons I so enjoy her newscasts.  I find her so real and believable because she shares what she is like as a real person in her real life.  I got a big smile when she showed how competitive she was, beating her young son in ping pong.  You GO Lauren!

Preakness Weekend

 May 17 - 18

After winning just two races on Monmouth's Opening Weekend last Saturday & Sunday - I'll chalk that up to jet lag and being distracted from the trip - I had an excellent weekend of handicapping for the second leg of the Triple Crown over Friday Black-Eyed Susan Day & Saturday Preakness Day.  I started the week off by playing the Twilight Thursday card at Churchill.  Had to wait until the final bet of the day before scoring, but when Elliptic crossed the line I collected enough to make the day a minimal loss.  It was a good warm-up for the big weekend of racing!

Friday Black-Eyed Susan Day saw the first post go off in late morning at 11:30am and I wasted little time getting onto the board.  Castle Island had begun his career for Bob Baffert on the west coast but had later been moved to the mid-Atlantic and into the barn of Brittany Russell.  Dropped in for a tag he responded with a new career top on the stretchout.  Claimed away he "paired" the figure for the new barn in a conditioned allowance.  Now "dropping" into an entry level event around two turns I thought he looked solid.  Tracked the 2/1 leader through the far turn, put that one away and opened up to the wire for my first win on Old Hilltop!

I came right back to score at a nice price in the second race of the day, another entry level allowance, but this one going five furlongs on the turf.  Had To Have Him had raced against two of today's rivals a month ago and they finished 2-3-4 under the wire, but I thought Had To Have Him had license to improve more than the others as that had been his first, ever turf try.  At the top of the lane I appeared to be out of it, but he found a seam, got into the clear and was FLYING down the outside....PHOTO FINISH!  When the official photo came up I was in front and at a generous $10.60 payoff!

Missed on the next four, but fortunately for me TwinSpires was offering the popular "Bet Back" promotion if you ran 2nd or 3rd and the first two of the four hit the board to allow me to "cash" despite not winning.  I got my first stakes winner of the day in the Allaire Dupont Distaff with Shotgun Hottie.  She was a Gr 3 winner and what I liked best was that her two best efforts had come when Paco Lopez was riding, and he was in town to ride today.  Tracked the leaders into the stretch before Paco gave not one, not two, but three "condescending" looks under the arm and drew off as easily best.

The next race was the Hilltop Stakes for 3yo fillies going a mile on the turf.  She Feels Pretty had suffered her first loss in the Gr 1 BC Juvenile Fillies Turf as the favorite.  While she was coming off the layoff and you never know if they will be as good or better at 3 as they were at 2 I thought she looked awfully solid with the drop out of graded stakes to the $100K listed event.  Sat chilly in mid-pack to the far turn, split rivals and opened up to run away by daylight as EASILY best of all.

I had two seconds and a fourth in the next three selections before it was time for the big race, the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan for 3yo fillies.  Clearly all of the "star" 3yo fillies had run two weeks ago and none of those were in here.  But that made for a wide-open race with some potential future stars.  Just looking at the horses and the past performances, I thought Gun Song was the most talented and a likely winner.  But when I handicap, the human connections play a big part in my decision-making.  Trainer Mark Henning used to have solid numbers, but that has not been the case of late, especially at Gulfstream this winter.  So his 7-for-85 resume for the year made me wonder about the legitimate chances for Gun Song to perform to her ability.  Still, I couldn't find anyone else that was a likely winner so I bet the minimum.  Well, today she truly ran to her ability - albeit against somewhat softer competition.  Pressed the leader into the far turn, took over willingly and ran off.  It was a cool moment to watch the post-race interviews with the owner and trainer who both acknowledged they had not had the best racing luck, or horse talent of late, but that this one felt really good.

Saturday Preakness Day dawned with a lot of weather in Baltimore.  I checked the scratches and changes and saw that we were still on the turf.  So I made my first bet and watched some hockey highlights of our Panthers epic win in Boston last night to move into the Eastern Conference Finals.  With a couple minutes to the mid-morning (10:30am) post time I turned the sound back on for the FanDuel TV broadcast and the first thing I hear is that just 30 minutes ago, while I had the sound muted, the first race had been moved to the main track.  I looked at the odds and my pick, Irish Heartbeat was the 6/5 favorite so I stuck with it.  She tracked the other short-priced runner through the turn and took off for the wire, clear by daylight.  As she crossed the finish line, track announcer Dave Rodman said "she was a popular winner, but went off at 2/1."  What?  Her odds had floated all the way up to 2/1?  Wow what a gift from the bettors, so I cashed for over $30 to kick off the day.  

But through the next two and a half hours I could only manage a second and two thirds from six selections.  As we approached post time of the Grade 2 Gallorette on the turf the analysts on the TV broadcast were debating exactly what had been wondering - was Fluffy Socks a "I'm ok to finish 2nd and 3rd" kind of horse, or was she the victim of just being against better runners over the last year?  The Chad Brown mare had seen nothing but Gr 1 and Gr 2 competition and had run second or third in all six since a win last May at Churchill.  The analysts on air were divided with most saying she was untrustworthy, and the one who agree with me saying she was simply the best horse and would be a clear and decisive winner.  Of course I was right as she drew off to win by nearly a pole and I cashed on my triple investment for my second winner on the day and first stakes win.

Ran 2nd and 3rd in two Pimlico stakes before scoring at Monmouth.  In a MSW turf event I thought Self Confident looked very solid.  But sitting fourth through dawdling fractions (:25 - :50) she had a LOT of work to do through the lane.  Suddenly found another gear and was FLYING through the final furlong....PHOTO FINISH!  Kim was nearby and said, "Did you have that?" And I replied I thought I did, and if I did I would be cashing for $40......I DID, and the price was even better as I cashed for almost $50 :)

I had really liked Todd Pletcher's Tuscan Sky in the Sir Barton Stakes, a 3yo mile and a sixteenth test, but he scratched out.  I looked at my analysis and saw I'd listed Shug McGaughey's Corporate Power as my next choice and I stuck with him.  In February this colt had been considered for the Florida Derby and the Kentucky Derby, but the connections ran him in an allowance event in New York instead, and he was second as the 8/5 favorite.  The addition of blinkers today told me they still thought he had talent.  He looked to be spinning his wheels at the top of the lane, but surged late and was just up in time.  An INQUIRY and OBJECTION made me wait to collect but when I saw the head-on replay I knew I had to be the winner.

Less than ten minutes later and we were in the gate for the feature at Monmouth, the Spruce Fir Handicap, a six furlong sprint that featured last year's winner Mia's Crusade.  She was following the same pattern as last year, coming in off a layoff.  Instead of wiring the field like last year she tracked the leaders in fourth to midway on the turn, made her move to collar the leader.  But that one was determined and they dueled to the final 100 yards before the champ edged clear for another winner on my page.

When looking at the calendar of races for today I'd been delighted to see that Canterbury Park was opening late this afternoon.  I have fond memories of that track as I met my great, late friend Jim Anderson there several years ago, then Kim and I went to Minneapolis for a racing weekend getaway.  On that trip I had scored with Thealligatorhunter in the Minnesota Derby, but this guy had now been sprinting of late and he was the key to the opening race of this the 30th season of racing at Canterbury.  He was dueling from the rail through the opening quarter mile, then was in tight and checked back to third losing at least two, if not three lengths.  But he swung into the clear in the lane and mowed down the leaders with my triple investment on board to give me my first winner of the summer in Minnesota, dontchaknow :)

It was "Downs After Dark" at Churchill and I had handicapped the races here which would run until after 11pm!  In the second I really liked Green Light on the turf.  Pressed the longshot leader through soft fractions while well in had through the far turn, then drew off by a pole as MUCH the best.

The featured Preakness was next.  I - like many racing fans - had been waiting for weeks to see Bob Baffert's talented Muth run away here as the best 3yo in the country, but he was a late scratch.  I didn't have the winner, but I was all smiles as 89 year-old D. Wayne Lucas posed for photos with the his horse who was a MyRacehorse colt who went wire-to-wire to upset the 2nd jewel of the Triple Crown.  I got my next winner, but hardly made any money when Disarm went into the gate at Churchill Downs in an allowance event.  The only two times this colt had NOT hit the board was when running fourth in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and fourth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.  He'd been 2nd in the Grade 1 Travers and boasted four straight triple digit Beyers.  All alone on the front end I thought this would be a cake walk, but again it just went to prove that nothing is ever certain in horse racing as he turned for home ready to run away, but was confronted by a rival and a stretch duel ensued.  Finally edged clear to win, but hardly like you'd expect a 1/5 prohibitive favorite to do.  Still, I'd played a "prime time" bet and cashed.

Missed twice at Churchill, one with my "best" there in the Gr 3 Louisville when Bold Act just didn't fire, and once at Canterbury before cashing my last two bets in Minnesota with Honorable Mischief in the sixth and Distorted Pro in the 7th.

The long, twelve-hour marathon day of racing was winding down as I had the west coast hockey game playing on TV they went into the gate for the 10th at Churchill on the turf.  I was surprised that Highway Robber was not one of the top betting choices but when he was near the back heading into the far turn I thought, "well, that's why he wasn't bet."  But they he began to pick off horses, weaving through the field and swung into the clear turning for home.  Was there enough stretch for him to catch the leaders?  At the furlong pole he noticeably accelerated and not only caught but drew off to score.  And the price was a big 7/1 allowing me to cash my final ticket of the day for over $40.

It was a good two days of racing as I scored with 40% of my picks, but the best news was that the TwinSpires "Bet Back" promotion had seen me "cash" on NINE additional races and collect $85 in "winnings!"  That was a nice boost to the bottom line ROI!

Sunday at Monmouth was an "ok" day of racing.  The "best story" of the day came in the opening three races.  Perennial leading rider Paco Lopez was on my three choices.  In the third race I liked his horse enough for a minimum bet; in the second race I thought he was a nearly certain winner.  And in the opener I thought he had a chance but not enough of an edge to bet.  So I decided to play an early double for a mere $2.  Paco was 6/5 as they approached the gate.  Gave the horse a great ride and somehow scored at the inflated odds of 5/1!  The double had ballooned up from a $3 payout to $13.  But then he ran 2nd at 4/5 and was off the board at 3/2.  Figures, right?  Race Track Logic that the only Paco horse I did NOT bet paid $13 to win and the others lost.  WOW.  I did cash in the feature Speaking defended his crown in the JJ Reilly Handicap, outdueling Paco Lopez's horse to win :)  We went out to dinner with Jeff and Trista, so Jeff and I watched the replay of the finale as we both had bet Electric Eel who went wire to wire to finish off another excellent weekend of racing for me.

For the four days of racing.....

Preakness Weekend Highlights

Recapping our trip to Greece and the Mediterranean

When last I wrote in this journal we had just left Greece and were headed up the coast.  Among the many amazing things about our trip was the fact that every day, and I mean EVERY day, at the end of what ever our excursion was and/or at dinner Kim and I would agree that it had been a great day.  Every single day.  And the other thing that stood out about the trip was the scenery.  On each and every day we had the most amazing vistas - so many that you'd look at the photos and wonder "did I really see that" and recall that yes, this was not a "googled" photo but we'd actually been there.  Check out the video highlights below.......

Greece Highlights Part 1

Greece Highlights Part 2

While we were gone we had an exceptional amount of friends and family who followed our trip in one fashion or another as we had well over 1,500 social media hits on our posts & pictures.  Thank you to everyone who followed along, especially to all "my girls" that are such great friends online (see below).

Social Media .......

While we were gone, and once we returned I continued to (a) see few people "live" but (b) have most of my "human contact" with friends online.  And far and away the one person I "talked to" every day, and most days more than once was gal-pal and CBS evening anchor Lauren Pastrana.  I so very much enjoyed that SHE enjoyed having me send daily "best of" photos from our trip.  And once we returned we continued to find things to exchange comments about.  But let's start with some of the other pals who made my "highlight list" of peeps that followed our trip.  My all-time favorite former student Kimmy has always been interested in what goes on with my life and after wishing her a Happy Mother's Day she reached out to let me know she'd appreciated following along.

Jayce Birch is a morning anchor that I don't often exchange with but twice she posted pics that I reacted to and she reciprocated.

Our "adopted daughter" Jillian.....well, just look at this recent photo she posted.  It's hard to believe that the "little girl" that used to play with our son each day has blossomed into this stunning woman.  We exchanged messages over Mother's Day as well.

I also heard from gal-pals Jen Cook and Petra after we'd returned - and they had been among the many friends that had followed our trip with "likes" and comments.

Another highlight shortly after returning home was I woke up to a message from gal-pal Karli Barnett.  I used to be more "active" with Karli - especially with travel - than Lauren.  But since Facebook Messenger no longer is linked to Instagram I've found it difficult to reach Karli, other than through her FB live chats.  Still, I'd sent her pics hoping she would eventually see them.  When I woke up on this particular morning she had "found" the photos and sent me a message.  I'm hopeful we can begin to reconnect as we once did.  I like that Karli also enjoys my sharing of our trips.

And the last of the "other girls" ..... late in the week former WISE student Amber posted a photo of her with a guitar and I inquired about concert tix :)

OK, onto the Lauren stories.  For the first - and as it turned out the only time while we were gone - I was able to watch a bit of the local news and let my CBS peeps know that I was still watching despite being halfway around the globe.  Captured a pic of Lauren's "pretty in pink" look and posted it.  On the final day of the cruise we explored an amazing castle and then went far underground into some amazing caverns.  When Lauren saw those pics she sent me a message of "wow-ness!"

Twice towards the end of the trip I sent pics to Lauren and once remarked that I would have liked to be able to watch her broadcast - she replied that SHE wished she were on a cruise :)

Once we were home, Lauren and I continued to "chat" - she replied back to me after I'd wished her a Happy Mother's Day and sent a photo of her when I explained I do like to travel very much, but also enjoy watching her on the news.

We also exchanged messages as our Florida Panthers advanced in the Stanley Cup playoffs.  The night of Mother's Day we got to see our 'Cats claw out a narrow win 2-1 and I shared with Lauren that I was taking partial credit for the win after I'd changed jerseys I was wearing during the game and THEN the Panthers rallied for the win.  She wrote back almost immediately telling me I'd better where that same jersey for the next game :)

On the broadcast prior to Game 5 I snapped a photo of Lauren on the desk in what I labeled Panther red; unfortunately we lost that game, at home, in a wild/nerve-wracking 2-1 decision.  That was on Tuesday following our return.....then on Friday morning prior to Game 6 in Boston I captured Lauren on air and asked if she could please call the outcome as she'd done last year when we clinched in Boston.  That night, on the air Lauren was in a pretty orange outfit and she'd "curled" her hair.  The CBS team did a feature on the game and I posted a Twitter pic of her with a bright smile.

With 1:33 left in this intense battle to move on we scored to win.  I almost immediately reached out to Lauren and within minutes she replied back to me.  I get it, it's me - and I also get it I don't have many "in person" friends.  But STILL I find it rewarding or a "feel good" kind of thing that Lauren and I have become close enough friends that not only do I feel comfortable connecting with her in moments like this, but that she responds as well.

When on Instagram during the news following the game I noted that Lauren had posted a "plea" to the Panthers to please end the game in regulation so that she could "be smiling like this" during the 11pm broadcast.  And the photo she used for her Instagram and Facebook reel - WAS the picture I'd taken of her.  So I "liked" the post and remarked what a "great photo" that was :)  And of course she replied.

But perhaps the biggest highlight to our conversations this week came at the end of the week when I twice had "issues" with our upcoming travel plans.  I reached out to Lauren twice and said she should do a feature on "Travel Tips" and that I would love to share some of MY experiences since I'd traveled "a little."  I had been hopeful for a reply but didn't think I'd get one....but after the second message I sent Lauren wrote back and said she would pitch this idea for a story to her producers this upcoming week.  Even Kim thought this would be VERY COOL if I were featured on the local news.  And I would particularly enjoy finally getting to meet "my girl Lauren" in person were this to all unfold.  Stay tuned!