Left at the Gate

• Odds and Ends

  - So, doesn't the weak 9th place effort by Macho Again in the Clark serve to illustrate the mediocrity of the Woodward field that Rachel Alexandra beat, thus giving a boost to those who think that Zenyatta should be Horse of the Year?
  
  - 4th in the Champagne,' [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 10:42am EST
  

• Aqueduct Notes

  A double in the second at third at the Big A for the stallion Harlan's Holiday. First-time starter Launch N Relaunch ($12.80) won the second for Dutrow Juan Rodriguez, earning $26,400 towards his $350,000 price tag at auction as a yearling last fall. In the third, On Vacation ($18.40)' [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 1:34am EST
  

• Saturday Morning Notes

  Something must be wrong. It's a big racing day for NYRA, and the weather is actually nice! I seem to remember reading a week or so ago about the possible starters for the Cigar Mile, and thinking it was going to be a full field and a wide open betting [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 10:45am EST
  

• Death Valley (Compared To) '69

  Hope that you all had a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful that, as an unpaid blogger, I was under no obligation to write one of those "what I'm thankful for" posts. However, I can tell you that, in addition to a hearty meal and quality time with my family, [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 7:46am EST
  

• No Silver Rush

  “We have five months to collect that $200 million,” says Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in the NY Times article which appears in the print edition today (and which was leaked online yesterday). Not the first time I've heard Silver make the point that the decision as to who exactly' [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 7:54am EST
  

• Capital At Risk

  A couple of huge favorites in the middle of Sunday's card at the Big A. And though they were both easily victorious, to me they still beg the question of who exactly bets on horses like these at such prohibitive odds? And who exactly are "they" in these cases? Is [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 12:02am EST
  

• Swift Defense, Bad Memories

  The testimony phase of the Bruno trial fizzled to an anticlimax on Friday with the announcement that the former Senate Majority Leader will not take the stand in his own defense. “I’m satisfied that all that has been said, has been said." “We did what we were supposed to" [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 11:22am EST
  

• Nothing to Remember

  I wrote the other day about the sharp memory that the prosecution witnesses in the Joe Bruno trial seem to have. And on Wednesday, Wayne Barr, a former NYRA board member and business partner of Jared Abbruzzese (and of Bruno in a breeding partnership), testified that he clearly remembered that [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 2:30pm EST
  

• Aqueduct Notes

  Mike Hushion has won six races in a row at the Big A - and seven overall when you add Saratoga Russell, who won at Penn National last week. And there he is, right on top of Thursday's card, with the one horse in the first. Bohemia Street (4-1) moves [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 7:35am EST
  

• Trial and Tribulations

  - Reader jk mentioned Monday's developments at Joe Bruno's trial, which is entering its third week. The Albany Times-Union has a dedicated site, a blog I suppose, set up to cover the trial, and it's an excellent resource with which to follow it if you are so inclined. [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 12:33pm EST
  

• A Decision By Horseplayers

  Here's a great post on Pull the Pocket about Bill Belichick's ultimately ill-fated decision to go for it on a 4th down deep in the Pats' own territory last night, comparing it to a "horseplayer decision." Fortunately, we can mess around and check the numbers, like a bettor' [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 8:06pm EST
  

• Aqueduct Notes

  Been a good week for Pletcher with five winners at the Big A, including Irving Rules ($8.30) in the 7th on Saturday. I think I've mentioned that the Toddster fares pretty well with maiden claimers, a category one might not associate him with - he's 28% (28 for 100) over [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 10:30am EST
  

• Consequences

  Just want to clarify pursuant to a comment on the last post, that I've never backed AEG's bid on this blog. In fact, I've never endorsed any particular bid, partly because of the lack of transparency which has denied us all the opportunity to fully evaluate them for ourselves; and' [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 11:31am EST
  

• Two Down To Three? (Updated)

  Governor Paterson is slated to meet in private with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader John Sampson in Manhattan at 2:30 today to discuss the Aqueduct bidding....and Tom Precious reports on Bloodhorse.com that we're down to three - AEG, SL Green, and Delaware North. Or maybe I should' [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 1:39pm EST
  

• Coda (Adagio)

  Rap Tale was sold at Fasig Tipton on Tuesday night for $135,000. Claimed for $25,000 from Edward P. Evans, Rap Tale earned some $200,000 on the racetrack for Kasey K Racing Stable. Not too shabby I'd say. Especially considering that she wasn't that fast. In fact, as several haters were [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 6:34am EST
  

• Jokes

  - Zensational, appropriately out of the dam Joke, has been retired. At least Ahmed Zayat is being honest about it. "Having already won three Grade 1 races, we feel that he will be more valuable at stud." [DRF]
  
  And there you go, in 17 brief words, just [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 6:17pm EST
  

• Aqueduct Notes

  I don't know about that DQ in the second at the Big A on Wednesday. Sure, Run to Grand Ave., who had a nightmare trip from the start, lugged in and brushed Stormin Bud, but the contact didn't seen that severe; in fact, I didn't detect anything amiss watching the' [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 10:05pm EST
  

• The People First

  Crain's New York Business reported on Monday that the Big A sweepstakes is now a 2-horse race between Penn National and SL Green; that according to a "source close to the process." Not sure how any such conclusions can be drawn at this particular time considering that the bidders' [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 7:40am EST
  

• Smooch!

  Joe Drape's account of the Classic in the Times on Sunday was a delightful read. Seems a shame he's spent the last couple of years highlighting the negative aspect of the sport when he can be so breezy when writing about something good.....extraordinary in this case. He relates how [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 10:56pm EST
  

• "This is Unbelievable!"

  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that I had tired of the Zenyatta team's hesitation in committing to the Classic, as they seemed to be surveying the potential competition to make sure it did not come up too tough. I then opined that the waffling had diminished her rightful' [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 1:00am EST
  

• Rachel Who?

  [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2009, 10:21am EST
  

• You Go Girl!

  I wrote before that I was standing against Zenyatta in the Classic - that was based on price and certainly nothing to do with sentiment. And since I just can't come up with any other particular horse that I like, how about I just root for her? After all, as' [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 11:39am EST
  

• Breeders Cup Picks

  - OK, finally got to do some handicapping, and here's a few ideas for your consideration. In the Juvenile Turf, not much to dislike about Viscount Nelson (6-1), shipping in from the UK for Aidan O'Brian and the Coolmore team. Two wins in four starts, most recently a close second [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 11:48pm EST
  

• Credit Where Due (Or Not)

  I've been quick to blast the New York Times for their lack of racing coverage and the highly negative perspective of Joe Drape in his continuing Happy Series on the sport. So, to be fair, I wanted to mention the fact that on Wednesday, right there on the front sports' [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 7:15am EST
  

• Wynn Loses

  Steve Wynn is out of the Aqueduct sweepstakes. Officials close to Wynn declined to say why the casino executive dropped out.
  
  “We are confident that the state of New York will find a qualified operator to meet its needs at Aqueduct," a Wynn spokesman said. “We would like" [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 1:37pm EST
  

• The Breeders' Cup Post

  If you've arrived here looking for some really detailed and perceptive Breeders Cup discussion or analysis, there ain't none here. I'm kinda torn between wanting to apologize or say "too bad," though I'm leaning towards the former since I do truly appreciate you dropping by. This is not to say [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 7:33am EST
  

• Let's Try This Again (Again)

  Governor Paterson has issued yet another request for "final" offers from the six bidders for the Aqueduct racino, with a deadline of Nov 6; this came to me from a person with knowledge of the deliberations, and was then confirmed in a report by Tom Precious on Bloodhorse.com. Here, [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 2:25pm EST
  

• Sunday Morning Notes

  Made it to Aqueduct for a few races on Halloween. Absolutely nothing there has changed, not that I should be surprised given NYRA's financial situation and the endless deadlock over the slots parlor there. I've read some of the "Aqueduct ain't so bad" posts that popped up this week,' [...]
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  Posted: November 01, 2009, 9:01am EST