EquiSpace

The Power of Zen

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:25:00 +0000

When in Los Angeles and you speak of the power of Zen, one usually thinks of super coach Phil Jackson of the Lakers. Not this weekend. There’s not much more that can be said or written about what I and 58,844 of my closest friends witnessed yesterday at Santa Anita Park. It was truly a majestic win in what can be called the Sport of Queens for the racing year 2009. Five year old mare Zenyatta certainly didn’t disappoint the hometown patrons who showed up en masse on a beautiful day at the Great Race Place. I can certainly say I came away a believer and with a lot less dough than I came with, but to witness history in the making was certainly one of the coolest things I’ve seen in my brief sojourn as a racing fanatic and well worth the trip to La La Land. Not only did trainer John Shireffs pull off the Double-Double for the two 2009 Classics (Female and Male) but he became the first trainer to train a filly or mare winner in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Cheers to the connections as they truly had her ready to roll and she ate up every minute of it. I was aboard Colonel John (son of two time Classic winner Tiznow) and Gio Ponti (thanks JB!) and had Twice Over in my exotics, but just didn’t think she could get the distance, not to mention I’m not Mike Smith’s biggest fan. She sure did prove me and many others wrong. The only downside to it all is we have to go through three months of Horse of the Year blather, I'm going to leave it up to the voters, cuz my opinion matters not. Why can't folks just savor the moment, I know I certainly will?

We had another spectacular day at the track and finally had a couple winners early to ease the damages, but overall I had difficultly trying to figure out the Pro Ride, the Euro invaders and how the East Coast horses would fare. That’s the name of the game on the big race days now with the three surfaces (you could argue more as each synthetic has its own idiosyncrasies). Regardless, we had an absolute blast and I have memories to treasure for a lifetime that will certainly have a place on the shelf in my top ten sporting events Space List.

We frequented the paddock for most of the day, so here’s Breeders' Cup Day Two in pictures:

We were on fire early so they brought in the locals to cool us off…would like to report that it worked.

Juvenile Turf winner Pounced ($6.80) parading in the paddock.

Turf Sprint winner California Flag ($8.80)

EquiSpace favorite Canadian Ballet…whoops Alan you’re on too soon….get off! She ran very respectful race and was in the hunt until the stretch drive. She did the boys from Obviously NY Stables very proud with the 5th place finish.

Dancing in Silks chillin’ in the paddock. Don’t you hate when you have a horse highlighted and starred in your Form and then don’t use her? Ugh. Did have show bets on Crown of Thorns and Cost of Freedom, but a big opportunity was missed here.

25-1 longshot Dancing in Silks ($52.60) making her move in the stretch drive to overtake 15-1 Crown of Thorns.

Garret Gomez on Lookin at Lucky in the post parade, nipped at the wire in the Juvenile by Vale of York. He ran a great race from the 13 post having to overcome a 7 wide clubhouse turn.

Two time BC Mile champ Goldikova making her patented stretch move just beyond the eighth pole.

How happy is Goldi’s connections doing the post race victory lap?

As predicted, Ready’s Echo blew up all my exotics in the Dirt Mile, here’s Calvin Borel up in the post parade.

Presious Passion first time by us – hey where’s everyone else? Still amazed he hung on for the placing after those crazy early fractions.

Mrs. Stronach not lookin’ so happy.......wonder why?

Zenyatta ruling the paddock like royalty.

Gio Ponti looked terrific in the jam packed paddock before the Classic.

They break in the Classic and Regal Ransom grabs the early lead.

Mighty Zenyatta with Mike Smith making his move on the outside on their way to victory

That’s a wrap on a great weekend in the City of Angels, hope you enjoy the pics.

Lastly, big kudos to the Breeders’ Cup for putting on quite a show.

Filly Friday at the Breeders' Cup: The Day in Pictures

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:02:00 +0000

All I can say about Santa Anita Racetrack is a big ole' Wow! The place was absolutely stunning on Friday. I'm sold (well, other than the traffic) and the weather was absolutely gorgeous for the setting for Filly Friday (plus one) for Breeders' Cup weekend 2009. We had fabulous seats (courtesy the NTRA...thank you) at about the 1/8th pole and I spent the day with Kevin from The Aspiring Horseplayer, who like me, was enjoying his first trip ever to the Great Race Place. My first love is Saratoga, but this place would give it a run for its money anyday. The purple and gold were rockin' throughout the Park and regardless of the betting results, there were smiles abound for the 37,000 plus that were on hand. Folks have been critical of the two consecutive years at OSA, but now I have a better appreciation why the powers that be wanted to have it here back to back. We ventured to and fro throughout the Park all day long, enjoying the sights and sounds of horsepeople digging in to the best weekend of the year. I tried to capture the day in pictures as best as I could, but nothing could do justice to enjoying the experience at Santa Anita. Pro Ride or not, the races were competitive and the crowd was into it all day long. The Tweeters Cup was fun (awesome buffet) and we met some nice folks along the way. We saw Ernie doin' his thang in the paddock and enjoyed sharing a few moments with him (Summah Bird baby). We didn't have a winning day (couple winners in the TBA contest in She Be Wild and Midday) but it didn't really matter....enjoying horse racing was the name of the game on Friday (guess that means I gotta get serious Saturday).

Here's a few photos from our glorious day in the sun...

Jimmy the Hat was in the house....dude it was a tad warm for the leather....

Laffit Pincay (racing's winningest jockey) at the Tweeters' Cup sayin' a few words...just sayin'

Tapitsfly taking over in the Juvenile Fillies Turf in the stretch drive....

Sara Louise (BC F&M Sprint) was a little rambunctious in the paddock but BC vlogger Ernie Munick was there to catch it all.....

The uber-classy Forever Together heading to the track from the paddock for the F&M Turf.

F&M Sprint winner Informed Decision in the paddock.

And they're off in the Ladies' Classic..Careless Jewel breaks out to the lead...

Careless Jewel running away on the backstretch (half in 45 and 3!)....not so fast says Life is Sweet....

Life is Sweet pulls away in the stretch to win the Classic de Ladies....Garret Gomez aboard!

That's all she wrote for Friday....good luck tomorrow everyone!

Welcome to La La Land

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:18:00 +0000

I figured I wasn't in Kansas anymore when the concierge said the Starbucks wasn't within walking distance since it was seven blocks away. Piece of cake, dude. Anyways, we navigated the six lane freeway last night in our red Ford Focus rental and arrived in Glendale for a nice dinner with an aspiring actress (my pal's daughter) who was way full of energy for two guys who had been on a plane for seven hours, including layovers. I also found out that reality TV (see: The Hills) is scripted (I knew it) -- man, the Space Gal is not going to be happy about this....

But today, it's go time at Santa Anita, which also happens to be my blog title over at the NTRA, where I've got up my final selections for your reading enjoyment (or not). I wasn't going to post any picks this year for the other races, but what else is there to do sitting on a plane for six or seven hours. There were also a couple guys from Buffalo who we chatted with who were also heading to the Cup, you can always pick out the horseplayers...

Remember the Breeders' Cup payouts can be huge (see here for a chart of last year's payouts by bet type):

So here are the picks with tons of in-depth analysis (ha, I've managed not to read anyone's analysis this year -- I'll read them after the races!):

Marathon: 1-Nite Light; 2-Man of Iron; 3-Father Time

Juvenile Turf: 1-Junia Tezia 2-Lillie Langtry; 3-Smart Seattle

Juvenile Fillies: Have no clue (let's just say I have a five horse box planned).....1-She Be Wild; 2-Negligee; 11-Always a Princess

F&M Turf: 1-Midday; 2-Forever Together; 3-Rutherienne

F&M Sprint: 1-Sara Louise; 7-Informed Decision; 3-Ventura

Ladies' Classic (Hugh Hefner Handicap): 1-Music Note; 2-Careless Jewel; 3-Rainbow View

Good luck everyone...may all your tickets be winners.

Westward Ho!

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Off to sunny (smoggy?) Southern California today for the big weekend. To say that I'm a little excited would be an understatement. Excited for my first visit to Santa Anita, a track I've only witnessed on TVG, ESPN or TwinSpires TV. I can't wait to see the mountains in the background on my own, not to mention the sun (something that disappears in these parts for months at a time). I have to say I've been quite fortunate with my track visits this year from Keeneland to Churchill to Belmont to Saratoga to wrap it up at Santa Anita. (With my brother in law settling in Fort Lauderdale, it looks like Gulfstream is next up on the rotation in January).

So what am I looking forward to most?

- By far and away the backdrop of the San Gabriel mountains.
- Enjoying the weekend with a good friend and long time client. (Buckle your seat belt)
- Hangin' at Seabiscuit Court on Friday to check out the Tweeters Cup.
- The potential of hitting a big one (hey, I guy can dream)
- The Classic (even without Rachel and Sea The Stars) looks like a damn good horse race
- The Juvenile....is next year's Derby winner among us? (MTB was there last year!)
- Hearing live for the first time "And Away They Go"
- Seein' my boy (soon to be boys) from Obviously NY Stables and rooting on the NY-bred Canadian Ballet in the Turf Sprint
- Just being around people who love and live for racing.
- Seeing Zenyatta in the flesh.
- Winning the TBA handicapping challenge (just kidding) here's the link to the open contest.

I was at the Sabres game tonight (nice 3-0 win over the Isles) in a suite with the father of Jess Jackson's in-house counsel and he gave me a Curlin hat, so the weekend is already off to a great start. So, we'll be dormant in this space for a few days, look for a recap of the weekend Sunday or Monday so drop me a line or tweet....and don't forget to check out my NTRA blog for my Dirt Mile selections (hint: beat the chalk). And Away We Go.....

Capping the BC is a synch..Part Deux

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:26:00 +0000

We've had the calculator out this week to do a little data mining to help with our weekend investing. Last year we analyzed in a post for the Blood-horse how the Pro Ride was playing during the Oak Tree meet leading up to the Breeders' Cup Championships (did I miss a word there?). Since the results were pretty compelling last year we decided to see if anything popped after 24 days of racing (through last Friday 10/30) that could give us a hint of things to come over the coming weekend.

As we did last year we garnered the data from the official charts and looked at several factors: (a) how are the favorites faring; (b) what type of horse was winning: Wire to wire, Closer or Stalker; (c) cut the data between sprints (less than a mile) and routes (mile and longer) and: (d) post positions. We also compared the results to last year's data for reference. Items (a), (b) and (c) are shown in the chart below:

One telling statistic, is that during the 24 days (compared to 22 in 2008) there is almost one less starter in the gate during the meet at Oak Tree. Another item to note is that most of the races being run were sprints (70%). As a west coaster said to me one late night at Siro's during the Spa meet, they call it the "666" track....six starters going six furlong and the longest shot is 6-1. At the time I thought he was just kidding around, but jeez it seems to come to bear above.

So what did we learn? Favorites have been winning at a 38.5% clip, even higher in the sprint races. Also, it appears that stalkers (those horses second, third or fourth at 1st call) seem to winning at a much higher pace than closers in both the sprint and route races.

How about post positions. Last year we noted that the rail was pretty dead and the middle posts (particularly post #5) had a better win %. Here's what the 2009 OSA meet has yielded from the different posts:

This year the inside posts aren't as dead as they were in 2008, but the later post positions (6-9) have been fairly successful. Take a look at last year's post positions and where they were at first call of last year's Breeders' Cup champs on the Pro Ride:

F&M Sprint: Ventura, Post 12, First Call: 11 (Closer)
Juvenile Fillies: Stardom Bound, Post 10, First Call: 12 (Closer)
Ladies Classic: Zenyatta, Post 1, First Call: 8 (Closer)
Marathon: Muhannak (Ire), Post 5, First Call: 4 (Stalker)
Dirt Mile: Albertus Maximus, Post 7, First Call: 10 (Closer)
Juvenile: Midshipman, Post 11, First Call: 2 (Stalker)
Sprint: Midnight Lute, Post 4, First Call: 8 (Closer)
Classic: Raven's Pass, Post 8, First Call: 10 (Closer)

So in 6 of the 8 races last year, a Closer (and each of the six winners were 8th or worse at first call) won its respective Championship race. The outside posts also won the majority of the Pro Ride races also. The overall stats are very comparable to 2008 through the first 24 race dates, although the sprinters seem to favor closers more than the route races. Will this hold up again in 2009?

Gone Fishin'

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:21:00 +0000

Headin' to the Cuse to catch the Orange take on the 5th ranked Cincinnati Bearcats (could be a long afternoon in the Dome), so a brief post today. You can catch my pre-entry Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile post over at the NTRA divisional blog site (alert: the filly Sweet Hearth has decided not to cross the pond).

I'm working on a few things before the big weekend:

- My pirate costume: for tomorrow evening is virtually complete. Arrrr. Space Kid going as a bee and the Space Gal as the Queen Bee.

- A post on filly Canadian Ballet going in the Turf Sprint: been communicating with the connnections here and she posted an excellent work yesterday going 5 furlongs over the turf handily in 0:57 (1/1).

- Pro-Ride Analysis: who's winning (closers, stalkers, wire-to-wire), what post is hot and what to look for next week.

- NTRA race analysis for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

So it will be a busy weekend of chewing on 3 Musketeers, Dome Dogs and researching for the races. Buckle your seatbelts.

Scorpio edition: Did You Know...

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:45:00 +0000

As we celebrate the silver anniversary of my 21st birthday at the Space Station, I thought I'd take a peek at what happened in racing history on this date....and much to my pleasure the horse most prominently displayed in the highlight reel was Big Red...so here goes.....did you know:

- That 37 years ago today (and a year after my Orioles had won their third AL pennant in a row) Secretariat won the Laurel Futurity by 8 lengths, sent off at odds of 0.10-1?

- That 36 years ago today, Secretariat wrapped up his racing career with a 6 1/2 length victory in the Canadian International Championship Stakes on the turf at Woodbine Racecourse. Eddie Maple had the ride that day as Ron Turcotte (his regular rider) was serving a suspension.

- That 26 years ago today (I was celebrating #20 in at the Branch Office in Elmira NY - drinking age was 19) jockey Jacinto Vasquez recorded his 4,000th career win riding Sunshine O' My Life at The Big A.

- That a mere 9 years ago today (I still wasn't a racing fan) the sport's winniniest rider, Laffit Pincay Jr. notched his victory #9,000 over his glorious career aboard Chichim at Santa Anita in the $150,000 California Cup Distaff (there's that word again).

- That 11 years ago tomorrow (he shows up again) the iconic Secretariat was selected to be honored with a commemorative postal stamp in 1999.

- That the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance has admitted some new member blogs? Be sure to check out Susan at Racing International and Brian from Zipse At The Track, our two newest members. Also a shoutout to four blogs who joined us a short time ago: Brock who resides at The Brock Talk, Michael (current track announcer at Turf Paradise) at They Are Off, Gordon from the Perfect Peace Farm and Glen from the Virginia Thoroughbred Blog. Welcome all and be sure to check out their blogs.

- That the TBA has a new Past Performance Search Engine running here.

- That the Breeders' Cup pre-entries were released this morning!

Source for above DYK post: Equisearch

BC Spoof: Panel Jockeys

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:54:00 +0000

It's that time of year again. Last year, Jeff Spicoli dropped by and gave us a few chuckles in our Aloha Breeders' Cup interview. This year we have a full panel of horse racing industry types that answer some pretty darn serious questions facing the big event that's ten days away. This year's panel includes Steven Christ, the Governator, Jim Romo, Fred DeHoser, Greg Ravioli, Alex Droptheball and Re-HANA. They'll chime in, as appropriate, while answering some of the hot questions burning within this year's edition of Spoof the Cup.

SpaceMan: So the BC committee made a riveting change to different color saddle cloths this year from the common BC purple, any thoughts on this change?

Greg Ravioli: Well, we met with a group of bloggers/fans last November after the 25th anniversary of the Cup and we figured if we threw 'em a bone they'd probably go away. Success!
Steven Christ: My blog readers will no longer be totally confused now when I show my little Formulator squares for my P6 selections which would have all been purple. Cheers to the Committee!
Fred DeHoser: Rachel Alexandra has my vote for Horse of the Year (HotY).
Jim Romo: Errr.....the clones have prevailed again!
Re-HANA: Horseplayers unite, but how about lowering takeout next time!

SpaceMan: The big question on everyone's mind is will Zenyatta run in the Classic or the Ladies' Classic?

Jim Romo: She's dusted Hot 'n Dusty at least four times, so you know if big Z steps her game up she can win the whole enchilada. J-stew get Simpson on the phone, we can make a show on this take!
Steven Christ: I think I may be playing the P6 at Aqueduct instead. I love the NY tracks, don't you?
The Governator: I've been waiting fellahs to chime een here. I think she will make luggage out of those male horse types. Have you seen my new bill that will save horse racing by the way?Re-HANA: I'm going to go Chris Brown on you, Arnold.
Fred DeHoser: No way Rachel doesn't win HotY.
Alex Droptheball: I'd like to take a moment to note that the Safety and Integrity Alliance has passed at Santa Anita with flying colors....did you know it's the biggest initiative we've had this year?

SpaceMan: So the choice to go to consecutive years on a synthetic surface has been questioned pretty heavily, can you expand on how you will deal with this question (> 1,000 times) in the next 10 days?

Greg Ravioli: Track surface is just one thing, but we'll have gorgeous babes all over the place and Californy is the place ya wanna be!
Steven Christ: Not loadin' up the truck here. Can't handicap it, nope. Just can't. Praying for a carryover at Aqueduct.
Alex Droptheball: You're riding a slippery slope there SpaceMan, be careful...you know, Tommy Thompson is one of my bestest buds.
Fred DeHoser: You know who has my vote....
The Governator: We have beautiful weather, beautiful women, the best IOU's and have I mentioned that I'm saving the industry, too?

SpaceMan: So I hear there's going to be a Tweeters' Cup, do you think that'll drum up some attendance with the LA techie types?

Greg Ravioli: I know you'll be there SpaceMan. We are pulling out all of the stops and there's some great grab bag stuff too...
Jim Romo: When in Rome...
Alex Droptheball: I would like to have a few words with you at the Tweet-up and introduce you to Tommy.
Fred DeHoser: I'll be there making some predictions!!
The Governator: Tweeting has been exhilarating for me and I will be there on Friday to meet all my fans and constituents.
Re-HANA: Tweet, schpeet. Repeat after me: Lower takeout. Lower takeout. Lower takeout. If you lower it, the churn will come.
Steven Christ: After viewing that photo shoot, maybe I will be Westward-ho.

SpaceMan: Ok, last question, you've all been great. Moving the Marathon to Friday afternoon? What gives?

Greg Ravioli: Voodoo, SpaceMan, voodoo. Did you see how I lulled everyone to sleep with that one? No petitions to Take Back the Race. No Filly Friday upheavals. Dished up a little change up and wah-lah. Brilliant, eh?
Steven Christ: Hey, what ever happened to the Distaff??
The Governator: In Austria, I climbed many mountains in my youth, the Marathon reminds me of my native land.
Jim Romo: Where is Chrissy Everett when you need her, he'd be a great spokesperson for Friday.
Alex Droptheball: We're just pleased as pudding that the World Series is on the East Coast.

The above interview and characters are fictional, any rebroadcast, retransmission of the above is prohibited. Filed under: Tongue in cheek.

Cup Thoughts

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:45:00 +0000

With the 26th annual Breeders' Cup (yes, Kenny Mayne I have the apostrophe in the right spot) now less than two weeks away, I have some thoughts that have been banging around the noggin all weekend. But instead of making an ill-advised rant about things I know not of, I asked a friend who is connected to the Breeders' Cup about a few things that have been on my mind.

My first thought (or question) relates to a post I wrote last week regarding calling the BC a "world championship." I went to the official website and it touts the weekend as "showcasing Thoroughbred racing at the highest level of international competition." What that means is, we basically fund it, we hold it on our territory, but you're invited if you want to come and supplement, go for it. I asked my comrade if the Committee would ever considering moving the event outside of North America, to England, France, Australia, or Japan, for example? The retort was basically that the event is supported by American breeders and bettors, so don't make any travel plans soon to jump across the pond. Fair enough answer for me, although they probably would be better off being called the North American Championships, in my humble opinion.

Next, I have been reading several posts that predict that this is the last time we'll see the Breeders' Cup on synthetics and how horrible of a mistake it was to hold it two years in a row at Santa Anita. While, I don't disagree with the two year thing, I don't think the Committee would out and out skunk tracks with synthetic surfaces. The main response here from the representative was that track surface is just one factor in many in determining a location. "It's more about the venue, market and financial deal that can be arranged" my source confirmed. Del Mar and Santa Anita are two of the warmer weather spots that can host an event that occurs in late October or early November. (See freezing CD '06, rain-soaked MTH '07 for examples). I'm with Richard Eng on this one, it would be wise not to bar the event at such places as Keeneland, Woodbine, Arlington or Del Mar. They are all capable of handling the logistics and have the capacity required. Synthetic surfaces are currently in play, so we just have to deal with it.

I am intrigued by the Tweeters' Cup planned for BC Friday and had wondered if the BC was funding this event and the photo shoot held on Friday with six LA techies/twitterers promoting the TC event (not your normal group at the track by any stretch of the imagination). But, these folks are "influential tweeters" in the LA gossip universe and you have to give the BC credit for pulling out all of the stops using the social networking craze to boost attendance any way they can. When the only cost to the event is the photographer, I'd say it was a good investment in tech-happy LaLa land and they now have several influential gossip bloggers touting the big event (well played, BC). I may even stop by to see what it's all about.

It seems to me that Zenyatta running in the Classic should be a no-brainer. It would lock up her category by avoiding a date with Music Note or Careless Jewel in the Ladies' Classic, even if she does finish up the track in the big event. Regardless, she's THE story for this year's Cup, and I am super excited to see her in action live.

Pods and Ends

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:32:00 +0000

As most of you know, I'm a big Top Chef fan and being from Western New York we have some proprietary-type foods here such as the chicken wing, beef on kummelweck, (i would add Genny Cream Ale for comic relief here) etc. There's a restaurant in town I like to frequent that serves a contraption called the "pod" which is simply delicious. If you're ever in the area check it out. PS, if you are a Top Chef fan be sure to check out the podcast in the link above produced by a couple of Twitter buds. Ok, on to racing and the like.

- Prince Dubai (50-1 ML) takes on top NY Breds on Sunday for Bona Venture Stables in the Mohawk Stakes on closing day at Belmont Park. Winner at 27-1 at the Spa in August, he struggled at the break in his next start, but was closing hard and fast in his last start (where we put an asterisk on it) finishing fifth at 50-1. He may be overmatched in here with these, but he may be around to catch a piece with another EquiSpace favorite My Man Lars. The ML favorite is the everpresent Banrock, who could be vulnerable. bOf course, based on the weather, this one may go off the turf altogether. We'll be keeping an eye on this one at the Space Station tomorrow afternoon.

- I was watching HRTV last night (man, I've been waiting a long time to write that) under their new online program I posted about earlier in the week, and saw that Pletcher is pointing two colts, Join in the Dance and Ready's Echo at the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Check out my latest Dirt Mile post on the NTRA website.

- Speaking of HRTV, I received a nice email from a Senior Vice President of Distribution and Development who sent me a document to share with everyone on the new promotion they are running. I think he's the SVP who emailed me last year when I posted about the frustrations with DirecTV and the availability of HRTV. It's nice to know people are paying attention. I was not compensated for the Intellivision post, I wrote it on my own (for full disclosure purposes).

- The Syracuse Orange(men) are playing Akron in college football today and I found this amusing post which was generated via a Twitter contest to who could come up with the best (funniest) #beatakron capsules. Comedy gold. I'll be heading crossstate to the Dome next Saturday to see 'em get whupped up on by #5 Cincinnati. Guess they can have their fun this week with Ohio.

- I'm working on a Breeders' Cup post this weekend which should be up Sunday night or Monday morning dealing with a wide range of topics...stay tuned.

EscapedFromNewYork: The Movie

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:05:00 +0000

His nickname is Snake. No, not the guy to the left who starred in the movie, Escape from New York. But the thoroughbred, EscapedFromNewYork, who when I first met him back in April in Lexington, was unnamed.

I was reminded of the rescue from the Paragallo farm in upstate New York earlier this week, when Snake, as he is fondly now called, was featured in a New York Times article by the veteran writer, Joe Drape, discussing how he has found a home at the Old Friends Retirement haven for retired racehorses in Georgetown, Kentucky.

We were fortunate enough to be visiting Old Friends that day and we happened to have our video recorder with us. We captured some "exclusive video" of the horse coming off the trailer and setting his hooves down in the Bluegrass for the first time. It was quite a moment, and you'll see in the video below the joy of executive director, Michael Blowen, and the subsequent "greeting" he receives from Creator in the background, one of the "leaders" of the retirement horses.

Here he is on April 23, 2009, making his grand appearance at Old Friends....

Intellivision

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:39:00 +0000

An interesting development just popped up in my inbox. HRTV is now making available a subscription (50% off deal right now) for online TV for those who currently are without HRTV (DirecTV subscribers, for one). One of my most read posts (over 581 hits) was my I Want My HRTV post back in September 2008 which chronicled my exploits with various DirecTV representatives questioning why it wasn't available.

The deal is basically $49.99 for 12 months if you sign up prior to New Years. The monthly price is $9.99. While some with an ADW account (like me) can see most of the HRTV tracks via TwinSpiresTV, it does avail some of the programming currently not available to those without it. Food for thought Space fans.

Speaking of TV, the HD quality of the TwinSpires TV from Churchill this past summer and for Keeneland's fall meet is quite incredible and definitely the next best thing for horse racing. We get snippets of it when the races are televised by the World Wide Leader, but I look forward to when TVG (and I assume HRTV) starts to televise racing in high definition.

Apple/Tree Theory Proven Again

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:54:00 +0000

You've heard the old cliche, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree?" Well, it appears to have been validated again in Lexington. According to this report:

"Robert A. Lundy, son of former Calument Farm president J.T. Lundy, was sentenced Friday in Fayette Circuit Court.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Robert Lundy was convicted of four felony charges of theft by deception. Lexington horse breeder Bobby Lail had sued Robert Lundy, saying Lundy tricked him by mating mares to stallions but never paying the stud fees."

The judge ordered Lundy to pay a $1.5M civil penalty after the conviction. The stink just won't get off these guys. One of the first books I read when I became an avid thoroughbred racing fan was Wild Ride by Anne Hagedorn Auerbach. The book published in 1995, chronicles the rise and fall of the famed Calumet Farm, home to two Triple Crown winners, nine Kentucky Derby winners, seven Preakness winners and bred and raced eleven Hall of Fame horses. It's a great read and the calculated inner workings of Robert's father, J.T., are laid out perfectly by the author. The book depicts how Lundy swindled banks, breeders and others in the horse industry and ruined the once proud Calumet Farm.

(hat tip to twitterer UnbridledRacing)

Canadian Ballet Headed to BC Turf Sprint?

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:44:00 +0000

The possibility was first mentioned by Steve Zorn in his September 30th NTRA Turf Sprint post, that Obviously NY Stable (ONY) could send their prized filly and EquiSpace favorite, Canadian Ballet to the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in November. She was scheduled to race at Keeneland in today's feature, but the turf conditions have forced Linda Rice to scratch her from the $100K Buffalo Trace Franklin County non-graded stake to be run at 5 1/2 furlongs. Taking on the boys in the Turf Sprint would certainly be a challenge but it appears that entering her in the KEE race was to prep her to see if she can dance with the big boys.

The chestnut filly won the $200K Turf Amazon Handicap at Philadelphia Park last month, in a photo defeating Queen Ofthe Catsle and the late charging Dubai Majesty, two strong horses in their own rights. Stewart Elliott shipped in with Canadian Ballet for the KEE race and had the mount at PHA also. Alan Garcia has also ridden her in the past, we'll see if the handlers will stick with Elliott if they point to Santa Anita.

The boys from ONY are a fun group and she's won four of her last six, so she's a hot filly, what a better way to spend an afternoon in SoCal....

We Put the World in Championships

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:09:00 +0000

So I was reflecting on my World Series of Horse Racing post on my dream race run on dirt which would include all of the classic race winners, the BC Classic and Ladies Classic champs and various other horses who qualified via points/standings to determine the annual champion a la the NCAA tournament or the Super Bowl. The original post which appeared at the Blood-horse (as well as here) generated quite a bit of commentary, but one comment that resonated with me the most was one by Gina from the very fine Gallop France blog who stated "Ah, and once again the Americans want to call something a "World Series" and not invite anybody from - well, the world (you know, that small bit that exists OUTSIDE the United States....)" Now, while I was flattered that she considered that I was representing the good ole' USA, she was properly corrected by Ms. Backstretch that yours truly is certainly not the be-all, end-all of American racing. Whew, by the way. Today, however, this comment is one that has me chuckling that the Breeders' Cup folks represent that they are holding the "World Championships" in three weeks. I guess if the world is invited, but they don't show up (or qualify?) one can justify calling it the World Championships.

With a little bit of unscientific research, last year's races included 156 BC starters, wherein only 33 were bred or ran predominantly outside of North America prior to the Cup. That's 21% of the total starters. No horses from Australia or Japan and two from South America. Can they (we) really call it the World Championships? Maybe it's just us Ugly Americans thinking we rule the world and we can call it whatever we want, and maybe Gina has a point to make here, also. Then again, maybe it really doesn't matter and I should move on to a different topic and stop breaking the BC's nuts, but with three weeks to go until the big weekend and no idea who's racing where, there's gotta be something to be snarky about.

Which brings me to the Eclipse Award for the American Horse of the Year. Actually, I won't go there, because I really could not care less, since it's not something that will be decided on the track, and I don't have a vote, so my opinion really doesn't matter anyway. Stay tuned elsewhere for further blather for the next three months on the HoTY topic. I can't wait.

Sea Ya!

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Today's posts will focus on See Ya's....wouldn't want to be ya's....

- Sea ya Sea the Stars, have a nice retirement....it was nice pondering the potential Breeders' Cup crowd on Saturday afternoon if you woulda shown up to dance.

- See ya Breeders' Cup attendance and huge marketing opportunity, if the Arc champ (StS) had entered the Classic. Time for those in charge to regroup and cross fingers that the mighty Zenyatta takes on the Classic.

- See ya Dick Jauron. I give it to the bye week.

- See ya Colorado Rockies. Tremendous comeback by the Phils last night that had me glued to the boob tube. Playoff baseball, it's fan---wait that's the NBA...anyways it was high drama at a decent hour.

- See ya to the 19 yr old drunk driver after the Bills game that plowed into several fans leaving the game at the exact spot my three boys, my brother and I were 30 seconds earlier. Say some prayers for the unfortunate folks that were in this idiot's path. They should lock this kid up and throw away the keys.

- See ya TwinSpires account balance. Many thanks to Court Vision for blowing up what was about to be a nice Pick 4 payday on Saturday. Yeah, I actually had the 13-1 Noble's Promise in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) in leg 3, which I had gone deep in. Oh well...I had a bad feeling after IEAH had a winner in Diamondrella earlier in the sequence.

- See ya Indian Summer, it was like we just met.

- See ya in my next post, mon.

Rocktober

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:41:00 +0000

This month rocks. Not just 'cause my Scorpio vibes are movin' and shakin'. We're talking Breeders' Cup prep races, college and pro football season rocking, playoff baseball jamming, the start of hockey season (we do actually have a team here), tailgating extraordinairre, and the President's Cup golf (U-S-A) to name a few things have my attention this month. It also marks the three quarter pole of the calendar year. I thought I'd check back at my wishing well from the start of the year and see how I'm doing with some of the things I wished for in December for 2009 (well we'll look at 9 of 10 anyways):

1. NY regulators take a page out of Tampa Bay Downs steward’s rulings and reports to provide the horseplayer and fans more information on inquiries and decisions.

This wish didn't quite come true during the first nine months of 2009 and I'm not holding my breath. (0 for 1)

2. A Kentucky horse-related trip in October for my birthday.

A very fun trip in April after tax season where we pulled off the Keeneland-Churchill double makes me pass wish #2. (1 for 2)

3. Spend some quality time at the Lothlorien Therapeutic Riding Center in nearby East Aurora.

Whoops, we haven't got out there yet, but there's still a few months left. The Space Clan did visit Old Friends during out Ky trip so we'll claim a 1/2 point here. (1 1/2 out of 3)

4. Buy into a horse partnership.

I invested in a small share of the recently deceased Higher Authority. While it wasn't the best first foray into ownership, I was informed at all times and will definitely consider investing in racing partnerships in the future. (2 1/2 out of 4)

5. Reevaluate where my investing strengths lie and try not to stray from them (i.e. exactas good; $0.10 superfectas bad).

About a third of my bets have been exactas and I've started to play more P3's and P4's. Out of my 646 wagers YTD, I've only made 8 superfecta plays. I'd say I've stayed with my strategy. My best ROI is W/P which I found interesting. I need to review this more often to see what's working. (3 1/2 out of 5)

6. A first time trip to the Big A, during the winter meet.

This is one I'd like to make happen, but it's probably doubtful due to my job heating up in the winter months. Not that I can't plan a business trip to the Big Apple.... (3 1/2 out of 6)

7. Attend my fourth Belmont Stakes in a row and actually see a triple crown coronation.

We can claim a 1/2 point here as we were fortunate enough to make it to see Summer Bird take the third leg of the triple crown. Part II will have to remain on the wish list. (4 out of 7)

8. Fort Erie Race Track is not closed forever. (I was just gettin’ to know ya.)

The track reopened (yay) but I've only had a chance to get over the border twice this summer and plan on getting over once more for my annual birthday at the track. (5 out of 8)

9. A visit to Woodbine for the Queen’s Plate to meet Triple Dead Heat, and continue my quest for a Canadian personal triple crown.

Scheduling issues (translation: trip to visit Space Gal's family) caused me to have to pass on this one, but it will move up the list. Will be working on a 1/2 point here as my current plans are to spend the day of the Bills-Jets Thursday night game in Toronto at WO and then head downtown to the SkyDome (Rogers Centre, whatever)..... (5 out of 9)

So we're batting .555 and we have a shot for another 1 1/2 points (AQU/WO).....not bad for a wish list, eh?

Really looking forward to the KEE fall meet, especially the $0.50 Pick Fours, which I believe have a pretty low takeout (19%). Looking forward to seeing Capt. Candyman Can in the Phoenix S. (G3) and Forever Together in the First Lady S. (G1) over the weekend. OSA has some great racing this weekend also, one allowance race that has caught my eye and has me excited has Mast Track and Space Man fave, The Bad Cat (El Gato Malo), both who may point to the Dirt Mile based on the results of this one. Speaking of the Dirt Mile, a new NTRA post has just gone up highlighting a potpourri of racing affecting the division this weekend.

Did You Know...

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:35:00 +0000

It's time for my birthday month edition of DYK....and I have some doozies for y'all. I love October, the leaves changin', touch football games, cigars at night by the fire pit, Rocktober (AC/DC's coming!), Oktoberfest, Keeneland fall meet, pickin' apples in Niagara County, drinking spiked hot cider at the Bills game, and the best holiday of all in Halloween, ya just can't beat it, but I digress....so Did You Know....

- That 60 years ago today marked the death of the great Colonel Matt Winn (pictured), also known as "The Father of The Derby," he died at age 88 after being present for 75 straight runnings of the Kentucky Derby.

- That 20 years ago today (our TBA'er Post Parade will appreciate this one) parimutuel racing was revived in Texas for the first time since 1937. A meet was held at G. Rollie White Downs in Brady, TX (population 5,976). Andrew Beyer of Washington Post fame had this to say about the return, "It wasn't at a grand facility in Houston or Dallas. The first thoroughbred racing was conducted in the town of Brady, best known as the home of the world championship barbecue goat cook-off. Brady is so rural that signs at the local motel advise patrons, 'Do Not Clean Birds in the Room.' " Hilarious.

- That 30 years ago today one of the greatest races of all time took place at Belmont Park where Affirmed and Spectacular Bid (in his 3yo season) dueled in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Affirmed went on to Horse of the Year after defeating the Bid, who was named 3yo champion of 1979. Here's a look at one of the races of the decade....

The Lost Weekend

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:48:00 +0000

Why the post title, The Lost Weekend? Because every single thing I did, gambled on, rooted for or enlisted in, well ya know, lost. I thought we started out smokin' at the Buffalo Wehrle OTB winning the first two races in the NYS OTB handicapping contest, but it was a downhill spiral from there. The results (welcome to Loserville, population: Me)....

OTB Handicapping contest: 3 winners.
Equibase handicapping tournament: Lucky to hit double figures.
UB football vs. Central Michigan (with side bet with the Mi Bred-Claimer - the gold bullion is in the mail): 17-10 loss.
Belmont Super Saturday: Played two P3's and the guaranteed P4 @ Belmont on Saturday: Lost both P3's in the last leg and the P4 blew up on contact (see Kodiak Kowboy, see Interpatation). I couldn't even turn the Summer Bird victory into a score because I left out Spa City Whatever His Name Is off my late double ticket.
Syracuse football: Close at halftime, kablooie in second half by South Florida.
Indiana Derby selections: My top four selections at my free NTRA blog finished 8th, 1st, 5th and 9th, respectively.
Meadowlands Survivor Pool: After finishing in the top 100 at Monmouth, I missed the board all day Saturday. (Space Gal, on the other hand, hit the board on all 3 of her selections?)
Sabres Home Opener: Crushing OT loss even though they outshot the Habs twofold.
ESPN Streak for the Cash: Entered the weekend with a six game streak, exited with a 3-4 record.

And that was just Saturday. At least I was dry and drinking cheap beer.

Sunday would go not much better.

Arc d'Triomphe: I watched on TwinSpiresTV and made a small wager to no avail. My ADW account is in the shop until the Breeders' Cup. (Side note: WTF TVG...Meadowlands reply show so I could watch my crappy picks lose again versus the freakin' Arc??? They lost some viewership opportunities on a Sunday morning, for sure.)
Fantasy Football Team (with Drew Brees): tied going into Monday night vs. Vikes defense (pretty much cooked). If you're wondering how my survivor pool pick did, I was eliminated last week.

Finally, the creme de le creme: The Buffalo Bills. Now wasn't that special.

Thank goodness there was no Top Chef programming this week, my man Eli would be sure to be packing his knives....

I'm just trying not to get hit by a truck while walking my trusty Tanner Jones around the block tonight.....and look what I found coming live from Orchard Park....in 1986...maybe I'll get lucky tonight (going with Pittsburgh, which means you still have time to call your bookmaker to play San Diego).

Contests Galore

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:05:00 +0000

If you're a contest hound, this weekend there's plenty of opportunities to get your groove on. If you're from New York State, the OTB's $75K challenge begins for qualifying for the championships to be held in Albany on the 24th, $20 entry fee. See here for all the rules and regs on the contest. We'll be trying our hand at that one via a couple entries as the contest is on the 11 "Super Saturday" races at Belmont. The contest is strictly for number of winners selected.

Since we'll be capping Belmont's card already, we're fortunate that a free Equibase contest is also taking place on Saturday for races 3-10. Talk about two for one. This contest is your standard $2WP on each race with the normal caps of $42 and $22.

The Meadowlands Survival Challenge contest is underway and the Space Gal and I both survived the opening day thanks to 9th race winner Islandprospectbob. I hopped off 6th race winner Carte Blanche ($25.40) after learning from my boy GG this morning that they were going off the turf. *banging self in head* Don't forget that the Meadowlands.com is one of our TBA sponsors of the Filly & Mare Turf divison.

So we'll have one eye on Belmont and the Meadowlands this weekend and the other eye will be on Hoosier Park for the Indiana Derby (G2). Check out my NTRA blog (should be up later this morning) for full race analysis on the Indiana Derby as a prep race for the BC Dirt Mile.

Push 1 for Slots, Push 2 for Drug Bans..

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:26:00 +0000

I read the Prescription for Racing, a 37 page full color report, this past weekend. It is quite the document, I just can't figure out why they hid it in the Thoroughbred Daily News and make you sign up for a free 2 week subscription to obtain it. This is a document that should be front and center, if they are serious about it, not buried like it is now. I'm surprised it's getting very little mention other than in a few blog sites. The doc talks about a commissioner's office, takeout, number of tracks in use, illegal drugs, the effect of slots, etc. etc. It's interesting reading and contains some well-known names in the racing business like NTRA prexy Waldrop, NYRA prez Hayward, DRF's Crist, and Keeneland's Nicholson to name a few. I encourage you to check it out and read it cover to cover.

Not much racing on my calendar this past weekend due to being on the party circuit. Dinner party Friday night with the Space Gal's crew (the Space Smo's) where I did my best Eli Kirshstein impression with a shrimp remoulade appetizer to kill for (so I'm told). Saturday included blogging for the NTRA with my latest post on the BC Dirt Mile, topped off with a black tie gala in the Falls. Sunday included a lax tourney that my nephew from the 'Cuse was in town showing off his solid bloodlines and leaving it all on the field. We won't mention the Bills game which ended a very long weekend on a dour note.

The one race I did catch was that of Prince Dubai (who drifted up to 50-1) before donning the monkey suit, who was in a turf race at Belmont. While he finished fifth in the race, he had a troubled early trip, as he was checked sharply at the start, his jock lost the irons, but finished very (and I mean very) strong in the stretch only 2 lengths out ahead of last time out winner Tobruk. The Prince won his last out for Bona Venture Stables, and we'll keep an eye on this one who should get a better trip next time out.

Don't forget to check out the Rx for Racing transcript, you can dial up whatever topic you like....

One of My Favorites

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Today's Kentucky Cup Classic had me remembering one of my favorite horses, Hard Spun, who won this race in 2007. While he did get his grade I in the King's Bishop at Saratoga that summer, he was typically the bridesmaid in all of the big races such as the Derby (2nd), the Breeders' Cup Classic (2nd), the Haskell (2nd), the Preakness (3rd) and the Belmont (4th) where he received a god-awful ride from GoGo. This was before I started this blog, but I was a huge backer of this horse, both at the windows and as a fan. The Ky Cup Classic, which Ryan of Graded Stakes astutely points out in his NTRA blog, has been a home for several runners-up in the BC Classic and Hard Spun is part of that list of recent runners. It was basically a match race between HS and Derby winner Street Sense in the 2007 edition, with a great stretch drive won by one of my all time favorites. I hope he is doing well in the shed and look forward to seeing his offspring soon. Here's the video of the 2007 Cup Classic and race call by Mike Battaglia:

Space Links

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:21:00 +0000

Not much to report from the Space Station this week, other than my golf game has taken a sudden turn for the worse and the Space Kid is eating more food than we can store....growin' boy (linebacker?) ya know. So we only have a few links to share mid-week as we are 44 days out from the Breeders' Cup at the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita.

- Interesting story about the Oregon football coach sending a refund check to a disgruntled fan who made the trip to Boise State. Come to think of it, the connections of Friesan Fire owe me a refund for a couple races back in May....

- I feel sorry for Michael Blowen at Old Friends, when I spoke with him in the Saratoga paddock this summer when he was up to see the Sword Dancer he was soooo excited about Lava Man joining the wonderful retirement community in Kentucky. The Thoroughbred Times reports that he wasn't even aware that he was not coming in October and was back in training....

- Thinking of taking in a Laker game while in Cali for the Breeders' Cup, they happen to be home against the Grizz on Friday night after the Ladies' Classic....that would be one to check off the list...

- I've been quiet on the Top Chef front, we have 9 people in our $25/person elimination pool, so there's some decent scratch at stake, and three folks have been eliminated through the first five weeks. I had the 5th draft choice and had to settle with my alter ego, Eli Kirshstein. The Space Gal has a stronger entry selecting Bryan Voltaggio with the fourth pick. We both will try to survive another night this evening. Eli has to pick it up, he's been a middle-of-the-packer so far. The Saratoga Resident is also sitting pretty with Kevin G. Vegas even puts out odds on the contestants...good stuff.

- Has Sean Salisbury lost his mind? Why yes, yes he has.

- I've posted a new entry on the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and some betting strategies and interesting statistics to ponder over at my NTRA blog, check it out as well as all of the NTRA blogs posted by members of the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance.

Race for the Cup Starts Today

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:09:00 +0000

Someday I hope to write this same post title and have it refer to horse racing. Of course, the race for the cup that starts today is that of, NASCAR, whose Sprint Cup series has been narrowed down to the Top Twelve drivers. Formally known as the Winston Cup and and Nextel Cup, the catchy "Chase for the Sprint Cup" has 10 races remaining to determine the overall driving champion for 2009.

Pro Golf's "chase" is also underway and is down to its final event the Tour Championship, with the final 30 qualifying golfers attempting to claim the FedEx Cup. The Cup series, which incidentally has four major tournaments (grand slam events) that take place before the fall FedEx series of four tournaments, has a much more complicated points system which is explained here. You need to be a statistics professor or an actuary to figure out if your favorite player has a chance to win. An explanation of the overall cup is provided here for the chance at the $10M bonus that comes with the title. I noticed a greater emphasis on the standings during last weekend's telecast of the BMW (third leg) Championship, but I'm guessing because Tiger is involved, it carried a bigger stick. This series has not had the traction that NASCAR has achieved, is it due to the fact that it's secondary to the grand slam (see any corollaries to the triple crown)? I'm not sure if the popularity wanes here due to the complexity of the standings (not easy to understand) or that it's not the main event as it is in NASCAR.

Regardless, both sports have some buzz around them and their Chase series. On the horse racing front we are seven weeks away from our "world championships," the Breeders' Cup, and we don't even have a clue who will be in what race come November 6th and 7th. I'm trying to write about the Dirt Mile for the NTRA, and am struggling to figure out who will be in the gate on BC Saturday for that race. If those who passionately follow the sport have no idea who will be running in which races, how does that go for the casual fan? Confusing to say the least. I thought about a series for the jockeys, which could be compared to the drivers above, but I just don't see how it could work? What distance? Would they have a choice of horses to ride to win the EquiSpace Jockey Cup, if there was a Cup race every month? I was dead-ended by the fact that the sport is about the horses and not the jockeys. Interestingly though, the jockeys ride on every year and the horses mainly retire (mostly after their 3yo season) and fade away in the breeding shed.

Bruce Millington of the Racing Post has an interesting NCAA bracketed concept for horse racing, that intrigued me wherein 64 horses attempt to qualify for the final race (one mile) to determine the Cup winner (in this case, the London Cup). As each heat of eight progresses, the top four move forward to the next race culminating in the final eight racing for the championship. Interesting concept.

So what do you think we should do? I put up a poll on this very topic....

1) Breeders Cup/W&YI - Keep the current format
2) Cup Series (Points/Standings) - BC counts as another race (with greater weight)
3) Standings (Determine PP in BC) - Year long standings determine post position draw for BC
4) NCAA Tourney Format - Racing Post idea by division

Thanks for reading. (Go Bills!)

My Favorite Holiday

budmanbflo@hotmail.com (EquiSpace) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Today is my favorite holiday of the year, International Talk Like a Pirate Day. It's only fitting that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in town to face the Bills this weekend. If only if Arrrrr was running at Belmont, we'd have the trifecta.

My top five pirate jokes:

Q: What is a pirate's favorite national monument?
A: The Gateway ARRRrrrch

Q: Why couldn't the pirate get into the movie?
A: Because it was Arrrrr rated.

Q: Why did the pirate buy a couch for his ship?
A: So he could be at his leisAAARRRRR

Q: What is a pirate's favorite planet?
A: Marrrrrs

And finally.......
A man walks into a bar and orders a drink. While he is waiting for it he spots a pirate sitting in the corner of the bar. The pirate has two wooden arms and two wooden legs. Naturally curious, the man gets his drink, walks over to the pirate and asks, "Excuse me sir, I hope you don't mind but I couldn't help noticing that you have two wooden arms and two wooden legs. You must have been involved in some fierce sea battles?" The pirate looked up, paused and said, "Arrrr no... me father was a tree!"

One of my favorite twitter follows is Somali_Pirate, a good natured pirate with a sense of humor.

Have a great day, matey.