May 31 - June 2
It was a B-U-S-Y weekend! It was Penn Mile Night on Friday, then Saturday was not only Stephen Foster Preview Day at Churchill - with six stakes races - but it was also Louisiana Legends Night at Evangeline Downs. AND while that was going on the Panthers were playing in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final with a chance to move into the Stanley Cup Final. Then Sunday, as I played Monmouth races, we drove to Orlando to see our son Brad play in his adult men's league hockey championships before driving back to Fort Lauderdale Monday morning. I'm tired just writing all this!
Penn Mile Night
The racing Friday evening was eerily similar to last Saturday in that I started off with a string of losses, but told myself, remember....stick with it. In the second I had the odds-on favorite, loose on the lead by daylight turning for home, nailed late, second. Then ran 6th, 4th, and 6th in the first three stakes, before finishing 4th in the featured Gr 2 Penn Mile - my second choice was the winner, sigh. I still had three races left, and honestly I DID think "if I get all three I'll be close to 40% for the night." In the first of those, The Fabulous Strike Get Set ran poorly last time out, but the previous race would win this for fun. Rallied through the turn and UP IN TIME! Even better, Get Set went off at better than 2/1 so I cashed for over $30.
The next race on the card was the Penn Ladies Dash and it had two legitimate win options. New Hire had the consistent figures, Fee had the back figures to make her the winner. But the consistency and the fact that New Hire was a 5-for-9 over the track. Much like R7's winner, she tracked the pace, rallied through the turn, caught the leaders and edged clear late. Two in a row!
Post time for the Penn Ladies Dash was 8:45pm and I didn't like anyone in the 9th or 10th, so I had to wait until after 10pm for the finale, a maiden claiming, two-turn mile for my last bet on Kissthemoon. At first glance anyone who follows my racing would wonder if I'd lost my mind betting this 3yo. Already had seven losses, never hit the board, and in those seven losses, he'd been beaten a combined one-hundred-plus lengths....yes, 100. What ARE you thinking? Ran in MSW races at the "big tracks" the first five starts before dropping into a $100K maiden claimer and last time a $45K maiden claimer. Tonight, in for a meager $10K. As I noted, "if she can run at all, and I mean AT ALL, she wins here." As happened in the last two wins, sat well off the pace, rallied on the turn and blew by - never, ever asked, just a routine workout as she won by daylight under wraps. And there you go - 37.5% wins for the night!
Saturday Afternoon Racing
Racing got off to a solid start on Saturday when Transcendental was easily best in the Jersey Shore opener, then in R2 at Monmouth 2yo first time starter Obliging was one of two such entries for trainer Jorge Delgado, but with Paco Lopez up, he was the pick. The best-of-88 bullet work signaled he was the real deal. When he was hammered at the windows I upped the bet and he drew off in an impressive debut score. Then I made it 3-for-6 when Bells Beach drew off at nearly 5/2 in a maiden race at Churchill Downs.
North of the border in Toronto, Woodbine's card featured several stakes and I picked up my first added money win of the season there with Flag of Honour in the Grade 3 Jacques Cartier. In the Thorncliffe Stakes on Opening weekend he'd been 2nd to one of today's rival. BUT, off a long layoff and going shorter than he probably wanted I thought he'd reverse the outcome today. Away sharply he assumed command before they'd gone the opening quarter. In hand through the turn, he was challenged at the top of the lane, but edged clear through the final 200 yards for the WIN!
For R6 at Monmouth I remarked that I found it "funny" that the big knock against Neigh Dude was the price. I've said before, I get the whole "value play" thing, but the argument that those players make against guys like me is that "you'll never come out ahead" playing like that. I'd argue that over the last eighteen years and more than 40,000 bets that you CAN be successful as I've won at a steady 35% or better with a $1.97 return on ever $2 I bet. I'd take those numbers against any "value player." Neigh Dude sat behind runners to the far turn, swung very wide into the middle of the track and was the winner by a narrow margin - BUT the winner none the less :)
In Louisville it was "Stephen Foster Preview Day" with SIX stakes on the program. The first of them was my "BEST of the Day" at Churchill in the Grade 3 Arlington Stakes going a mile and a sixteenth over the grass. Ottoman Fleet is a Shadwell Euro import for international training king Charlie Appleby. He'd come over here last year and won the Grade 2 Fort Marcy then was 3rd in the Gr 1 Manhattan. This year he returned for the Ft. Marcy and bobbled early, rallied and missed by a neck before showing up here. Those three state-side races earned Beyers of 102-101-101 and would win for fun here I thought. Tracked the leaders inside while third under Flavian Prat. Swung into the clear tuning for home and drove to the wire, clear by open lengths. Cashed for more than $40 on my "prime time" play!
The next big stakes was listed Aristides, and it featured arguably the best sprinter in the country, Skelly. His early speed looked to put him loose on a lonely lead and LONG gone here, so I made him the BET of the Day, a notch higher wager than on Ottoman Fleet. The gates sprung open and the prohibitive 1/5 favorite bobble and break behind the field. Even for a champion front runner, that's almost always the kiss of death. Comfortably recovered to track the early leader and got to the front, but in mid-stretch he was out of gas and was nailed nearing the wire. Sigh.....racing, you gotta love how unpredictable it is, right? Fortunately this race was one of four on the card that offered money back, so I got a third of my bet back. The Grade 3 Shawnee going eight and a half furlongs on the main track for older fillies & mares was next. Last year Xigeria had been on a tear when winning this, and she was back to defend her title. But I thought Bill Mott's rising star.Scylla was the one to beat. And so did the crowd, making her the 6/5 favorite. Tracked the speedy Xigeria to the far turn, eased on by her, lengthened stride and ran away as much the best! My third stakes win on the day!
Missed in two Woodbine stakes sandwiched around a loss in the next Churchill stakes before it was post time for the Grade 3 Blame, the prep for the Grade 1 Foster in a month. Brad Cox's talented but lightly raced Highland Falls was my choice over the Todd Pletcher favorite. I'd seen him win twice at the Fair Grounds and he was a sharp 2nd in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap last time out behind Skippylongstockings who freaked that day. He tracked the leaders in fourth to the turn then wasn't responding to jockey Florent Geroux's urging. Hard ridden to keep pace I knew I wasn't going to win, but once he straightened into the lane he found a new gear, surged and was UP IN TIME!
With a win tonight in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals our Florida Panthers would move into the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive year. If you'd said to me ten years ago, even five, "Do you think you'll get to go to a Stanley Cup Final game, at home, TWO YEARS IN A ROW?" I would have laughed, and trust me, no one is more optimistic about the 'Cats than me. But this playoff game, even though a tight 1-0 game from the 1st period on, was all under our control. When the final horn sounded with us on top, 2-1 Kim and I celebrated wildly with the rest of the sell-out crowd and cheered as our boys went through the traditional handshake line with the President Cup winners (best team in the regular season) New York Rangers!
The traffic has been so crazy that we stayed for a drink in the in-arena bar, joining the celebration with Jeff & Trista. So by the time we got home Saturday night it was well after midnight. BUT, I still had races from Evangeline Downs where it was "Louisiana Legends Night." Only ended up with three bets, but I won "the big one," the BET OF THE DAY when Ova Charged wired the Mademoiselle over the sloppy going, for my final numbers to end up 10-for-24, well over 40%!
Sunday
After the VERY late night Saturday, we were up early (on 4 1/2 hours sleep) and drove to Orlando because our son Brad was playing in his men's adult hockey league championship. Was a good, but all-too-short visit, especially with the grandson, but still was so very proud when Brad scored late in the 3rd period to tie the game. During the day I played the Monmouth races. Won the first two before finishing 3-for-8, identical to Friday's outcome! Next week is Belmont Week!
Social Media This Week.....
A former student from my Western High days, and fellow Miami (Oh) grad, Jen has two adorable daughters and she and her family vacation on the beach often, and at Disney. Makes me smile to see her life going so well and I said so. Got a sweet message back.
About six months ago, CBS reporter Trish Christakis had posted she was going home to visit her family in Greece. I messaged her we would be going there in the spring. So this week when she posted a pic and mentioned her Greek roots I sent her a pic and message which she responded to.
I don't often actually watch the Ch 10 morning news, but I do on occasion. And I don't mind telling you one big reason is that co-anchor Jayce Birch is quite the looker and always puts on a fashion shoe. The girl LOVES her heels. And almost every day she posts pics of her outfit. So I often comment. This week I added that she is a true pro on the anchor desk and she wrote back to me :)
CBS weekend anchor Teri posted a pic about the weekend and I remarked how much better the morning news was with her at the controls. I'd be even happier if she took over the weekend evening news, sigh - missing Karli Barnett. She responded to my comment.
Of late I get a lot of "likes" from gal-pal Lauren, either on Twitter or when I message her personally on Instagram. But I did get a reply when I messaged her about being at the hockey game. The other time she messaged me was when I shared the video of the pre-game graphics on the ice :) The rest of the time I got "hearts" / "likes."
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