Fall Racing: Week 7

 Maryland Million Weekend

Not the best racing weekend, especially when it comes to racing luck.  Offsetting the racing results, it was Opening Night / Week for our Florida Panthers.  Wednesday we watched the 2025 Stanley Cup banner raised to the rafter as we beat Chicago 4-3.  Then on Thursday we were there to watch a close 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.  And we topped the week with an authoritative drubbing of the Ottawa Senators 6-2 on Saturday night!  The racing started off sharply as I picked Busk in the Keeneland Friday opener.  My original bet was the minimum but he was hammered from the opening bell so I upped the bet.  Right to the front and never looked back.  But that did it for Friday as I was off the board in the next two and third in the 12f Gr 2 feature.

Much like Friday, I started off the Saturday racing day with a win as Neolithica was JUST in front on the wire in the Laurel opener.  Came right back in the 2nd, the first of many stakes on Maryland Million Day as Had To Have Him collared the leaders at the top of the stretch....dueled and edged clear late.

Missed on the next two before it was post time for the Maryland Million Lassie as 2yo's went six furlongs for the top prize.  Slewperstitus had been a decisive winner on debut and had run 2nd in two stakes tries since.  TEN of her rivals were last out maiden winners.  And, all three Beyer figures she'd earned topped every other speed figure on the page.  Tracked the leaders from mid-pack, swung wide into the clear heading for home and wore down the leaders in the final strides.

Ran 2nd at 6/5 at Keeneland before I won their 4th, a restricted MSW when Sleepingonfreedom edged clear in the final strides.  At this point in the day my son Brad, who's been playing along with me in anticipation of our Breeders' Cup adventure in two weeks, called to ask how the day was going (he was on a weekend getaway with his wife Lauren in Nashville).  I explained we were off to a good start having won four of seven.  Perhaps that jinxed the rest of the day.......

After running third at 4/5 in the Maryland Million Distaff I hit my "best" of the day at Keeneland when One Magic Philly edged clear in a third level allowance sprint.  My next two runners went off at generous 9/2 and 5/1 prices but were never close.  And then came the BET of the Weekend.  Post Time figured to be the prohibitive favorite in the Maryland Million Classic.  In his last nine races he'd run in five major stakes - two Gr 3 events, two Gr 2 events and two Gr 1 events earning two runner-up checks and two show checks.  In the four races vs. Maryland stakes rivals he'd won all four by a combined 45 lengths.  WOW.  AND he boasted a perfect 10-for-10 record over the Laurel main track.  It's easy to look for someone to blame, but the rider had him at the back of the pack some half dozen lengths off a dawdling pace.  As they approached the far turn through a :50 and change half I knew we were in trouble.  Got a dream opening on the rail, but without any pace to run at his late charge was not nearly as effective and he couldn't run down a pace presser who'd had the easiest of trips, missing by a neck on the wire.  That was the difference in a winning day and a losing one.

I was 2nd to an upset winner in Keeneland's Gr 1 feature before scoring in the finale at Laurel when Slam Notion rallied to win the Maryland Million Sprint.  For the day Saturday I was a good 6-for-14 and WOULD have made a nice little profit had the best won, but as it was I suffered a small loss.

I told my son Brad that I felt much better about the selections on Sunday than I had on Saturday, and even at the end of the day I still believe I had the best horses.  But as racing luck would have it, I failed to hit a single winner.  In the opener my pick hopped at the start, broke in a tangle and immediately was more than half a dozen lengths behind, never recovered.  In the second I was rated well off the pace, moved too late and only got up for third.  In the third I was sitting in a comfortable spot, third down the back stretch when I was checked and squeezed back to fifth.  Had to circle horses and rallied too late finishing second.  In the fifth I had a terribly mis-judged ride before rallying way to late to be 2nd again.  In the 6th I went off at 6/1 with my "upset special" and she quickly plummeted to the back and never picked up her feet - legitimate loss there.  Finally, in the feature my BET of the Day scratched out leaving me 0-for-4 on the day.  Next week we will be in Ohio for my nephew's wedding.  But I will have a few selections, most notably my own filly, Love Like Lucy will compete in the 2nd leg of the Florida Sire Stakes at Gulfstream on Saturday!

Social Media this week.....

When I was at Cypress Bay two girls who were "partners in crime," Leah and Bri baked me a Mickey cake and we posed for pics.  We keep in contact via FB but rarely communicate.  It was Leah's birthday this week so we exchanged messages.

Another former student I don't have much regular contact with is Erica.  She was in my Mickonomics class and WISE program.  I remember her telling me she wanted to go into broadcast journalism and did that as her project.  She went on to be an anchor on the local ABC station.  She has the most adorable kids.  This week she posted a photo as she and her family were visiting the Lost City of Petra!  WOW.

My "Florida Derby Girl" Chloe saw my Opening Night Florida Panthers pick and reacted to it.

Former weekend anchor Teri posted a cute photo of herself in "Panther Red" and she liked my comment on Instagram.  She posted it on FB and asked how everyone was doing.  So I wrote to her, saying "you asked...." and explained about my eye injection.  She was so sweet in her remarks back to me.  Later in the week I shared with her about the AI project my son and I are doing on the racing and she replied to that as well.