Talk About Tennis 2.0

Now there's a lot of speculation about where owners with promising 2-year-olds who have Derby potential will send their horses for training. Spendthrift started pulling some of their horses away from Baffert back in May when Medina Spirit tested positive--but not all of them.

This is JUST the beginning.

Meanwhile, from the California thoroughbred community, all you hear are crickets. They have enabled and protected Baffert for so long. I guess there's no reason for them to stop now. It's sad.

JazzNU wrote: ↑Wed Jun 02, 2021 8:39 pm Why is an NFL guy reporting this seemingly first? No idea. But my sports guys are very well connected, Shams had the Insurrectionist's covid positive news before everyone else.

Not sure but I also find it funny the Ed Olyczyk, a former NHL player and broadcaster, has become the go to betting handicapper for NBC broadcasts.

Twitter is being... Twitter.

dryrunguy wrote: ↑Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:37 pm Now there's a lot of speculation about where owners with promising 2-year-olds who have Derby potential will send their horses for training. Spendthrift started pulling some of their horses away from Baffert back in May when Medina Spirit tested positive--but not all of them.

Todd Pletcher seems like the most obvious alternative. Wayne Lukas maybe another. Is there something about either that wouldn't make owners go to one of those two?

JazzNU wrote: ↑Thu Jun 03, 2021 12:48 am

dryrunguy wrote: ↑Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:37 pm Now there's a lot of speculation about where owners with promising 2-year-olds who have Derby potential will send their horses for training. Spendthrift started pulling some of their horses away from Baffert back in May when Medina Spirit tested positive--but not all of them.

Todd Pletcher seems like the most obvious alternative. Wayne Lukas maybe another. Is there something about either that wouldn't make owners go to one of those two?

Wayne's best days are behind him. He's struggling to win races. Anywhere. Agree about Todd. Brad Cox is an option and on the rise, but his day will come eventually in terms of getting caught.

In terms of California trainers, this is a golden opportunity for Dan Blacker, another young trainer on the rise and widely respected for his ethics. But there are other highly successful California trainers as well. Lots of viable options, each presenting his or her own advantages and disadvantages.

All that said, the main reason why the road to the KY Derby has generally gone through California in recent years is because of Baffert. That may change, which actually opens doors to trainers all over the United States.

It's gonna be a wild ride.

Wayne is ancient, but I would've thought he had stables set up with trainers that runs like a well oiled machine by now. That trainer that just won the Preakness for the first time, he was a trainer under Todd Pletcher for several years before going out on his own, so I'd have thought most trainers had a similar setup, so that Wayne's best days being behind him wouldn't doom choosing his stables to work with his overall operation.

JazzNU wrote: ↑Thu Jun 03, 2021 1:12 am Wayne is ancient, but I would've thought he had stables set up with trainers that runs like a well oiled machine by now. That trainer that just won the Preakness for the first time, he was a trainer under Todd Pletcher for several years before going out on his own, so I'd have thought most trainers had a similar setup, so that Wayne's best days being behind him wouldn't doom choosing his stables to work with his overall operation.

Wayne is a treasure to the sport, no question. I believe he just turned 80, and he just doesn't get that many horses anymore, so he is primarily playing the claiming game. He's still in it for the love of the horses and the sport. (And he's a BRILLIANT handicapper.) That said, he had a runner in the Preakness, so he's not completely washed up.

My kids were very excited by the news. They are cynical jerks like their dad and are tired of seeing Baffert so much over the years (we watch all the Triple Crown races.)

Meanwhile, Danceswithbourbon will return to the races on Tuesday (June 8). It will be a 6-furlong optional claiming race on the dirt at Indiana Grand, so we'll have to wait to see what the track condition will be on race day. She will be the #5 horse in a field of 7. Total purse money available is $32,500.

We're taking a chance with this race. DWB WILL be in for the claiming tag at $50K. Taking this risk will give her more opportunities to run in more desirable races at Ellis Park, Churchill, and Kentucky Downs (grass) this summer and fall simply because she was once eligible for a claim in a prior race. Race conditions are super complicated, and I have a helluva time figuring it out, but the bottom line is that we're having a very difficult time finding races where she is eligible to run without being completely over her head in terms of class at this stage of her development or being in for a cheaper tag.

Our fearless leader, Matt, did some digging and learned that, so far this year, no horse at Indiana Grand has been claimed for more than $10K. So that is the main reason why we're willing to risk the claim. That said, Indiana Grand has trainers like Brad Cox, Steve Asmussen, and Tom Amoss who also have very deep pockets and are very successful at the claiming game, so that makes me nervous.

The field looks pretty tough in spite of the fact that a few of the fillies haven't raced in a few months while a few others are coming off a really bad, head-scratching performance (including a daughter of California Chrome). But as we've seen already, with inexperienced horses, anything can happen.

::

In other news, based on his training tab, I'm guessing Cryptic Creed is roughly a month or so away from his first race. They had to do a minor procedure on him a few months back because he was getting a little wonky on his back legs. But that went well. Then he resumed very light training for 3 weeks at 3-4 furlongs until they decided to push him a little harder in his work 5/29 at 3 furlongs. That morning, he was the fastest of five at that distance, 37.95 seconds. So he's getting closer to an actual race.

::

After a horrible start to 2021 with three clunker races, Tiz the Dude (from last year, now owned and trained by Rylee Grudzien) has won 2 of his last 3 races and was 2nd in the other. Rylee has found the right level for him, which is races with $8-10K purse value. And it turns out he absolutely LOVES a sloppy track. Who knew?

Our (Euclid partnership) new Unified colt is settling in nicely in Jordan Blair's stable

Gorgeous!

The Belmont Stakes is today. Blood Horse put together a nice slide show of the field. I find the field absolutely baffling in terms of trying to predict it.

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing ... ont-stakes

dryrunguy wrote: ↑Sat Jun 05, 2021 6:15 pm The Belmont Stakes is today. Blood Horse put together a nice slide show of the field. I find the field absolutely baffling in terms of trying to predict it.

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing ... ont-stakes

So, yeah. When it doubt, statistically speaking, go with the Tapit baby in the Belmont. Great race. I'll post video when NBC puts it up.

Not the most exciting race, but a good one nonetheless. When they start at quick at Belmont, you know those at the front are almost never going to win it. Damn near got to be Secretariat to set a fast pace at the beginning and maintain it.

Essential Quality isn't the best looking horse, but ran a really smart race. And though my mom agrees with me on the looks, she said "they ain't paying him to be pretty out there." Indeed.

The race is up.