*Official Triple Crown Thread*

[revo]

I'm going with Take Charge Indy in this race. But since Grindstone was the only horse I've ever successfully picked right, I'll probably be wrong again. Ironically, the '96 race he won was the only one I had an opportunity to go to, being that I was stationed at Fort Knox at the time.

Nice! Never been to the Derby, but went to the '97 and '98 Preaknesses, and a bunch of Belmont Stakes.

I bet Cavonnier that race, lost by a nose. Closest Derby ever. Still, had a great Derby party that year on the Upper West Side.

[revo]

Union Rags now the favorite at 9-2.

[SeaDogStat]

One of my favorite profs from college was named Hansen. Think I'll put $2 on Hansen.

Hansen would be a good name for a band...

[SeaDogStat]

Derby Notes

- favored Bodemeister will try to snap a 130-year trend of unraced 2-year olds triumphing in the Derby
- but he's favored due to a 9 1/2 length romp in the Arkansas Derby
- Union Rags was the winter book favorite for the Derby, but finished third in the Florida Derby.
- he's also trained by Michael Matz, who won the Derby 6 years ago with undefeated Barbaro
- the only undefeated horse in this year's Derby is 6-1 Gemologist
- he beat fellow Derby entrant Alpha by a neck in the Wood Memorial
- Dullahan is the only 2-time Grade I winner in the race
- Hansen will look to become only the 2nd winner of the Breeders Cup Juvenile stakes to win the Derby. Only Street Sense, the 2006 winner, took the Derby in the 28 year history of the race
- the top five finishers of the BC Juvenile are all in the Derby
- Creative Cause has finished in the money in all 8 of his career starts
- Steve Asmussen, routinely Churchill Downs' leading trainer, has two entrants with Daddy Nose Best and Sabercat
- Calvin BoRail rides Take Charge Indy, the upset winner of the Florida Derby
- Daddy Long legs won the UAE Derby in Dubai and is the only European in the race
- 76-year old D. Wayne Lukas will try for his 5th Derby win with Optimizer
- Trinniberg is the likely pacesetter but has never gone two turns before

Ed, thanks for your posts in the horseracing threads... I always look forward to them leading up to the races....

[johnnya24]

Going with Dullahan ...

[johnnya24]

Jockey Fk'd me, no clue what he was doing ... Dullahan had legs on the field, and despite going the longest way around the final bend, he still would have won with another 30-40 meters. Where's Frankie Dettori when you need him.

[revo]

Great race, Bodemeister was a rocketship. I thought it was interesting that Lava Man was I'll Have Another's pony. Onto Baltimore!

[johnnya24]

Great race, Bodemeister was a rocketship. I thought it was interesting that Lava Man was I'll Have Another's pony. Onto Baltimore!

I thought Bodemeister's race plan was bonkers ... he is clearly a class horse, and they let him run himself out. He was a sitting duck on the home straight.

[johnnya24]

I like Mayweather by decision tonight 8/11 ... might stick enough on that to get my 10 quid back

... only if i manage to stay awake.

[revo]

I thought Bodemeister's race plan was bonkers ... he is clearly a class horse, and they let him run himself out. He was a sitting duck on the home straight.

Yeah, I was a bit shocked to see him challenge Trinniberg for the pace. He could have rated and closed, but I guess Mike Smith played another hand.

In hindsight, not sure why I dismissed I'll Have Another so quickly. He won the Robert Lewis & Santa Anita Derbies, so he was legit. His backers got a huge overlay.

CD got another record crowd -- 165,000+. Perhaps the Preakness rebounds with 100,000+, but killing the BYOB policy drops them from the 125,000+ ranks.

[Steve]

Hansen would be a good name for a band...

You did NOT go there.

[johnnya24]

Yeah, I was a bit shocked to see him challenge Trinniberg for the pace. He could have rated and closed, but I guess Mike Smith played another hand.

I'm not sure what the trainers are doing with this horse ... only a handful of races??? Such a waste of a talented horse. Maybe it's worth the gamble to try and win a race like this post to post? His value at stud would explode. But I dunno ... from my perspective you've gotta race them.

This why I prefer National hunt racing, they are almost all geldings, the horses can race for a decade, and they become household names in their own right ... as do the jockeys. The flat game is all about bloodstock ... the best horses are pulled in their prime if they ever achieve anything. Sometimes it feels like you're just watching a bunch of dollar signs running round the track. There were grown men crying at Cheltenham last month when Kauto Star was pulled up and finally put into retirement. The battles between Denman and Kauto Star over the last 6/7 years are the stuff of legends ... like Arkle versus Mill house from the 1960's.

Frankel will be nursed around the track this year no doubt, and there was talk of him finishing his career at the Breeders Cup ... but I doubt they risk flying him to California. If it wasn't for his crazy bloodstock value (+$150m) ... he would be moving into his prime years now, and over the next few years. But no ... he'll be sent out to hump for money. I suppose that's the game. He could be one of the most famous horses ever.

I suppose we should be thankful we get a 4th year from him ... Sea The Stars was put to stud after his 3 year old season after winning the 2000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby, and the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe in 2009.

Frankel blitzing the 2011 2000 Guineas

[johnnya24]

This is what everyone wants to see:

Frankel versus Black Caviar

As with everything in flat racing ... I doubt it will happen, and race fans will be disappointed again.

[revo]

This is what everyone wants to see:

Frankel versus Black Caviar

As with everything in flat racing ... I doubt it will happen, and race fans will be disappointed again.

Yeah, that race will likely never happen.

Camelot takes the Two Thousand Guineas today.

[ManCalledFoot]

I also wish I took I'll Have Another more seriously. 15-1 for a good horse...

How about the balls on the guy who bet the $100,000 on 20-1 shot Alpha?