news

Caught a story in the Form this week that Lou Raffetto has abruptly resigned from his post at the Maryland Jockey Club (organization that runs Laurel and Pimlico) where he ran the two Maryland tracks for the past few years. I don't know him, but I do know that he's a Jersey guy and probably spends as much time hanging out around Monmouth Park as he does down in MD. I'd suspect that a job closer to home is in the cards and wonder if something might be in play with the NJ tracks. The NJSEA, the state agency that owns Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands, recently brought in a new President and CEO, so perhaps something might be in the works. Lou was pretty popular up at Suffolk Downs and he's been a fairly straight shooter through some tough times down in Maryland, so might not be the worst guy to throw into the mix around here. He did mess around with reduced takeout this past summer, so he can't be too far off the reservation, which is more than you can say for most in the racetrack management business.

Will cruise down Route 1 tomorrow for Nautical Agent's race at Philadelphia Park. It should go off at around 4:20 or so and can be viewed here. Expectations are fairly low; just hoping we can get a good race into her against this tough field and position ourselves for a more purposeful run next out against softer. I've already started daily max withdrawals of $300 in preparation for the betting bonanza. Judging from the last ATM receipt, I needn't worry about too many more trips to the bank.

just how we roll

Veiled Reference, 11/18/07, at Charles Town. You can see the four of us down on the rail during the race, which is kind of funny. Plus, it seems that I need a new belt from all the hiking of the jeans afterwards. Better than busting out of them, I guess.

It's striking to see her shut down when she gets to the front ("What do I do now?"). Notice her ears and how she flicks them forward and starts throwing her head a bit. She's totally checking out the grandstand in the lane, ignores her cue to switch leads until very late and only picks it up when the other horse comes to her. Galloping out past the wire, she put that colt away. My favorite is the excited couple that runs toward the winner's circle after the race to take pictures of the husband with his winning ticket. Two more fans of the empire, baby.

turnpike dreams

We've finally managed to land Nautical Agent in a race. She's entered on Saturday, 12/1, down at Philadelphia Park in the 10th. Post time is at 4:28pm and the video feed will be available from the track's website. It's not the most ideal spot, but it should serve to knock off some of the rust from this month-plus break dating back to her last at Finger Lakes in NY. She's doing well at Overbrook, but has always been a filly that's better with a few races under her belt. If all goes well on Saturday, she'll put in a run, come back in good order and be ready for action again in 10-14 days. I'll explain to her after the race that I've got Christmas shopping to do, so now is not the time of year to be messing around. I can hear it already if things don't work out, "Oh, Sean, this is great. I've always wanted Crest toothpaste with extra whitening. How did you know?"

Weekend was to be busy enough with mixed sale at Timonium on the calendar. I'm looking at weanlings (little babies) and will head down on Sunday to check them out. From the work I've done so far, the pedigrees are holding up nicely. We'll see how things play out on the physical side, but I like the mix of pedigrees consigned to the sale. Maybe I'll catch a break with the stock market all over the place and banks writing off hundreds of billions in losses. If we can't find horses, I'll just buy banking and housing stocks on the cheap. I'd just be worried that they'd make for awfully dry blogging material.

turkey talk

Back on the scene from holiday fun up in Northampton, MA., a happening little town with lots of cool shops and places to grab a bite. Kate and I got started on Christmas shopping on Friday, so that was a job well done. Had a hell of a time with a wine opener when our hosts asked me to uncork a few bottles before the Thanksgiving dinner with a classic, basic opener which requires a bit more dexterity that the ol' double-handled corkscrew. Now, just because I'll have a glass or two and might, from time to time, talk about wine as if I know something, doesn't necessarily mean that I can always open a bottle without either a) breaking the cork in two or b) hurting myself. Fortunately, it was the former this time, which I'm pleased about given that a puncture wound on my left leg from Easter has only recently healed up. Sure, it was a little embarrassing to look at half the folks at the dinner table with cork stuck between their teeth, but I just told myself it was wild mushrooms from the stuffing.

Anyway, this experience marked the second time I was done in by a wine-opener, the first time happening a few years ago when someone asked me to "Grab the Rabbit from the top drawer," while handing me a bottle and heading out to guests seated in the dining room. Before I had a chance to explain that I didn't roll that way, I was left to hunt down the Rabbit - a fancy, schmancy wine opener that's grown popular over the past decade or so - and try to figure out how it was employed in opening the bottle. A few minutes went by and I just could not get the job done. Guests were at the table, empty wine glasses in hand, surely wondering about the delay. So, totally flustered, I stuck my head into the dining room and asked, "Does anybody know how to use a Rabbit?", which, in hindsight, was probably not the best entreaty for help. After all the giggling and inappropriate comments died down, one of the guests came in and saved me, explaining that the Rabbit was tricky, but he used it all the time at home. (You think that I'm making this up at this point, I know, but the man said it.) I could only manage a quick thank you before grabbing a beer from the fridge and heading back out to the dining room. And I still don't know how the friggin' Rabbit works, so I'm just hoping it goes out of style. I'm already getting nervous about Christmas.

Nautical Agent is still a racehorse, yes, but we continue to have a tough time getting her in. We might have a little something, something that works for her later this week down at Philadelphia Park. I'll know more Mon/Tue. She'll need a race off of this break before firing her "A" race second off the layoff. I didn't really plan for this freshening, but it could work out and get us a few solid efforts from her as the winter months rolls in. Veiled Reference is back on the track now at Fair Hill. She'll have a light work load over the next few weeks before Tim cranks down on her in preparation for a start in late December. It seems that she's come out of that last one in good shape.

bagel time

We traveled down to Fair Hill yesterday to visit with some bagels for the gang (and carrots for the horses). Weather was touch and go, but the rain wasn't too bad, so we did well enough. Took some photos of Veiled Reference that are posted here. She hasn't been back to the track since Sunday, so she got a little fired up when she caught those other horses in the distance. Tim indicated that she'd go back later this week. Overall, she looked good, not too tired and certainly plenty alert. It was funny to learn that her next door neighbor and new best friend in the barn is Nautical Agent's younger sister, Sailing Home. Nautical is a friendly type, so it's no surprise to find out that the sister is much the same. I was feeding them carrots and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Veiled Reference would stick her neck out and around to meet Sailing Home and they would huddle up in the middle to chat. I think it was mostly just talk about how much fun it was playing the fool in front of them with the carrots, but maybe it was about allocation of their 401ks, I don't know.

Nautical Agent, the little devil, will enter today for a race down at Philadelphia Park on Sunday. Doug passed along that she's doing well. He worked her at a two-minute lick during the week and she picked it up nicely through the lane. She should be ready to fire off of this mini-break, so I hope that the race goes and she can pick up a decent piece of the pot. We'll need some cash coming in to cover gym memberships after the holiday.

cuz this is our country

Pictures from trip south are posted here. We covered it all over the two day span, from debating West Virginia's role in the Civil War to sorting out the best used car with ideal seating for four. (Ummm, the 2001 Nissan Sentra did not win.) A few more successful trips to Charles Town and the down payment on the Hummer is locked in.

Mixed emotions on the Saturday having lost Mass Romantic via claim. She was taken by Tim Keefe, who trains for a lot of breeders, so I imagine that the plan will be to breed her in the new year. She's got the pedigree and is a really sweet horse, so if they can somehow match her up with a stud that can help add some substance (particularly in back), I think she has a shot to be a nice broodmare. I really hope they have some luck.

I'll try to get a copy of Veiled Reference's win over the boys up in the next week or so. She ran really well, certainly impressing the lot of us down there for the afternoon. She broke well, secured a nice early position running through heavy dirt on the first turn (see photo of her after race), sat four lengths back down the backside and took control of the race into the far turn with a sharp attack on the pacesetters. They were tired from knocking heads with each other, but it's very nice to have a filly that seems capable of sitting just off a legit pace battle and forging ahead just as the speed is most vulnerable. As was the case yesterday, it enables her to get the jump on the closers and then rely on her stamina to gallop strongly through the lane. She was more distracted than anything in the stretch yesterday ("Oh, look at that grandstand. Are those people yelling for me?"), but she was without the blinkers that she's accustomed to having (long story, but locals' idea of hospitality is somewhat twisted; it's like they don't want us in town to take their money...), so I've got to give her a break on that score. We'll take steps to get them back on her next out and she should be more focused on running as opposed to the new winter jackets sported out on the apron. Chart of the race is here. She'll get a few weeks now and if all is well we'll look to run her back in a stakes at Charles Town in late December. She's certainly earned the opportunity and it could make for a fun Christmas weekend. I'll have to hunt down a Santa hat for her to sport in the paddock before the race just to keep things festive.

rocky mountain high

It's on in West Virginia. For better or worse, Veiled Reference is in against colts on Sunday down at Charles Town. Race number two goes off at around 1:20 and can be viewed at espn.com (link here). Something to do during one of many NFL commercial breaks.

Yes, she's facing boys, but it's actually not a bad spot. Race boils down to four, including her, Toy Soldier, Valid Trip and Senseny Road, who should run well stretching out. Entries are here. We'll look to settle her off the pace and make one run; hopefully, it's good enough to pick off a decent lot of them.

Weekend necessitates a road trip, so I'll roll out to watch Mass Romantic tomorrow at Laurel and then continue on to Charles Town on Sunday for Veiled Reference's race. I'll hook up with the fam down in DC, so we'll have a good time heading out to the two tracks and getting our party on after-hours. Let's hope the fillies help pick up a tab or two.

zigging and zagging

Mass Romantic will run on Saturday down at Laurel Park. She's in the last race of the day and drew a nice outside post. Post time is around 4:30pm. Let's hope that she's in the mood for some running. Was tough enough getting a race for her, I'll say.

Finding a spot for Veiled Reference has not been as easy either. We scratched out of the Laurel race tomorrow due to another bad inside draw against a tough field. Then we were excluded from a Saturday race down at Charles Town (your typical closed shop, if you know what I'm saying; we need Taft-Hartley for horses). So, now we're looking at another race at Charles Town on Sunday, against the boys, which isn't ideal, but seems the best option at this point. Philly Park doesn't have much that makes sense (3/4ths or 1m 70 later in the month) for setting her up for a stakes run in December (at 7/8ths), so I figure that getting the race over the track (even against colts) is better than a wasted run against tougher elsewhere. Tim is enthralled with the approach, as you might imagine, but seems to see the logic. For all I know, she might get excluded again and the whole exercise rendered moot. Maybe we'll just set her free in the backyard or something. She's doing fine, anyway.

Nautical Agent is being, well, Nautical Agent at the Overbrook Training Center in Colts Neck, NJ. Have to get back on to Doug, but we're still shooting for a race on the 25th at Philly Park. She just goes with the flow, which is nice. Yes, it sometimes means that she's more interested in showing off her new dance steps than chasing down other horses, but I've learned to take the good with the bad in this business. I will get down to visit her soon.

Still doing due diligence on those weanlings we saw earlier in the week. I'll post more (pics, too) as that whole deal shakes out.

kids' pool

Had a great time looking at baby horsies yesterday. Look at that cute belly on this one. It was fun to hang out in the paddock and have the lot of them come up nuzzling at you. Hard to believe that they'll grow so much in just the additional year. Still have some homework left to do, but we might pursue one or two if things break a certain way.

places, everybody

Veiled Reference had her final work in preparation for her second start over the weekend. She worked 5/8ths over the Tapeta surface in 1.02, a solid enough time. Looks like she's coming into the race in good shape; just have to keep fingers crossed for a nice, outside draw. Race is in the book for Friday.

Mass Romantic might have a go herself on Thursday at Penn National. We'll know more later today. It would be helpful for the race to go as she's overdue to run.

Nautical Agent is training away down in Colts Neck. We've decided to wait for the spot on the 25th at Philadelphia Park. It's a slightly longer break for her than we had planned, but it's the right race for her and so we'll just cool our jets. She shipped down well and is doing fine.

Interesting piece in the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred on PA-breds scoring across the Atlantic. Some of these old-school outfits in the Keystone state breed really awesome horses. Mostly turf, but they do throw in the occasional horse like Hard Spun (though he's really turf, too). I'll just need the few decades to play catch-up.

should we start a fund?

Have to love a story like this, posted today at the Daily Racing Form. Paul Saylor bought Fleet Indian for $290,000 a few years back at one of the KY mixed sales as a racing prospect, raced her to win a $1m+ with Todd Pletcher and is now crying in his beer that he could only sell her for somewhere in the neighborhood of $4m as a broodmare prospect. Only in America, baby. She's in foal to Storm Cat, who's not as commercially hot as he has been for the past, oh, decade, and he's annoyed that the big buyers (i.e. Coolmore and the UAE crowd) stayed away from her. Can we start something up on paypal for the guy? His Ashado money might be running low, I guess. Don't know him from a hole in the wall, but his handlers (doesn't everyone have them these days?) need to tweak his talking points. Fleet Indian was a nice mare, sure, but more the product of great placement (Pletcher's strength) and light competition, which just seems the overall direction of the distaff division these days.

Also, check out a piece on the Barnes and Noble head honcho, who is building up a broodmare operation. Now all that insider selling starts to make sense, huh?

Trip south to look at weanlings postponed until early next week. One of the babies was interviewing for admittance to a high end pre-school, so we were left to sit tight. I know, I know, you'd think these people would know with whom they're dealing...Apparently, word has been slow to get down to such parts. No hard feelings (this time). We'll do our thang soon enough.

expensive date

Young mares are all the rage in Kentucky this fall, selling for off-the-wall prices to sheiks, oil tycoons and the Irish (and Frank Stronach, too. He's spent nearly $3M over the past three days on broodmare prospects. Frank is our friend.) Other groups, mostly from Europe, are also swooping in to take advantage of the discounted dollar. Reports on the sales are here and here. Mares that I recall as nice enough, but without big pedigrees nor brilliance on the track, are selling at figures well north of $1m. Appears that all it takes is the bit of black type from a decent race, a cover from the right stud and everything pointing the proper way physically and you're on your way.

Irish Smoke, winner of the Grade One Spinaway at the Spa this summer (and nowhere in the BC Juv. Fillies at MP) sold for only $750,000, a light number considering overall results. Have to imagine that something is up with the filly given the fact that she's just two years old and already the G1 winner. She was bought by a racing operation, IEAH, so we should see her back on the track. Maybe she's really crooked, I don't know.

Money seems to be flowing in the art world, too, so the high-end spenders look to be doing quite well, thank you very much. Wonder if Wal-Mart can woo them to do holiday shopping at their stores this quarter.

Hitting the road tomorrow to check out a few weanling prospects down at Bright View Farms in Burlington County. A few just shipped in from KY that are worth the trip, so Woolley will meet me there and we'll have a look. I'll bring the camera and try to have the few baby pictures to post afterwards.

real slim shady

Now where was this cool, crisp fall weather last weekend when they really needed it for the Breeders' Cup? Karma can be wicked, I guess. As for all the pontificating on holding the Cup at MP or the need to limit it to FLA or CA, I'll only add that there are two tracks that should ever host: Belmont and Churchill Downs. If the day is to truly represent a World Championship event for racing, it's not about sunshine for the corporate sponsors and track-goers, it's about offering up the fairest, most level playing field for the horses. That means real turf courses, cool weather and main tracks that run mostly fair when managed properly (CD is the concern there, of course). When you add these other tracks to the mix and their host of fairness issues it only serves to diminish the betting product, as well as the legitimacy of the championships on the line.

As for our our own stable of future champions (of the backyard), all is running well enough. Nautical Agent shipped down to Colts Neck over the weekend. We're shopping around for a spot, probably at one of the tracks in PA. Mass Romantic and Veiled Reference are training toward races in the next few weeks. Veiled Reference worked a good half in 50 1/5 on Friday and will come back at 5/8ths next week in preparation for a second start mid-month.

Finally, it was only a matter of time before senior management canned me from my job as stable photographer. Wendy, from the Great Lake state, didn't help my cause with these additional photos from her day out a week or so back. Let that serve as a reminder of why you never turn your back on a Wolverine, people. Photos are quite good, so this is probably for the best in the long-term, I know.

oh, snap

That's what I get for drawing my own conclusions from the VLT study...NJ Senate President Dick Codey ain't none too happy with the findings. Just goes to show that one can twist numbers to mean anything under the sun. There's a long history here between the camps, obviously dating back to the gubernatorial throwdown, but also seeded in Corzine's overhaul of the deal Codey cut with the Giants and Jets for the new football stadium. Codey kicked in $30M for infrastructure from the state as part of the deal and Corzine nixed it, rightly so in that particular case. Will they sit in the same luxury box when that new stadium opens in a few years? I'm guessing no.

you don't say?

Have a look at the study commissioned by NJ on the impact/viability of VLTs at one or more of the state's racetracks. I took a quick look and two things that did jump out were 1) the projected .1% impact of VLTs at the Meadowlands on gross revenue on AC casinos (fatal, baby!) and 2) the NJSEA indicating 80 days of thoroughbred racing in the state in the future (at MP). Think that's enough of a season? Just read some of my more brilliant work.

In a shocking conclusion, the final word is that VLTs at the Big M are really not a huge deal because AC interests are already taking on added competition from PA, NY, DE and elsewhere. So, if VLTs up north meaning saving and growing an industry that's supposedly of some interest to the state, well, go ahead and knock yourselves out. Sure, we could have reached this conclusion back in 1998 and saved ourselves the bit of trouble, but what fun would that have been?