Travers '82 ........ a "redux" in 2013????

Well, unlike the past few running's of the Mid-Summer's Derby ; The Travers, we get the best three year olds of 2013. With the expectation of Oxbow and Normandy Invasion, all the other cast of characters are here. It's a big difference from last year with the historic "dead heat" between Alpha and Golden Ticket where each horse has done very little on the track since then and also three year's ago where Afleet's Express upset the field and was never heard from again. Yes, it seemed the days when "great" three year old runners like; Easy Goer, Holy Bull, Point Given and Bernardini had become a thing of the past!

This year we are very lucky to have the Kentucky Derby winner, the Belmont Stakes winner, the Haskell Stakes winner and Jim Dandy winner. Three very worthy and logical favorites that will make up the top three betting interests. All three have done very little wrong and seem not to have holes in the resume. Palace Malice won the final leg of the Triple Crown and came back to win the prep race for today; the Jim Dandy Stakes. Verrazano was quite impressive in the Haskell Stakes and his only question is the mile and a quarter distance. Orb won the Kentucky Derby at this distance and like the other two runners have been consistent all this year. I see these three runners all being in the betting range of 8-5 and 5-2. It's makes it tough for me to rate one above the other.

Looking back at the history of the Travers Stakes when three similar talented horses faced off, I went back to 31 years ago in 1982. That year, all three Triple Crown race winners appeared in the Mid-Summer's Derby . The Kentucky Derby winner; Gato Del Sol, Aloma's Ruler winner of the Preakness Stakes and Conquistador Cielo all made it Saratoga on August 20th facing off in a historic edition of this race. This was the first time that this happened and all eyes were on these three runners. But, a horse from Canada named; Runaway Groom, who himself was quite capable shipped down to the Spa and beat all three runners in a major upset. After watching the race, I thought to myself; can this same thing happened again this year?

The ONLY other day of racing that matters.......during the 40 days at the Spa!

Usually mid July and all of August, the racing focus and my columns are on the 40 days of racing at Saratoga . The Haskell Stakes at Monmouth and Arlington Million Day are the only times I stray away from the best thoroughbred racing in the world! The ONLY wagering I concentrate on is the Spa, very few other plays are made during this special time of the year. Today is one such day, when the finest grass thoroughbreds in the world gather in Chicago for the Arlington Million and three other turf stakes. Big fields and plenty of inexpensive exotic wagers are available on their biggest event of the racing season.

The one thing that has concerned me in recent years on this day was that NYRA would card their biggest older horse grass marathon race (the Sword Dancer Invitational) the same day as the Arlington Million. Fortunately with turf racing being a premium going distance of ground in recent years with major stars, this year's two fields have drawn nice big fields (both with 13 entries). Which brings up the question; why has the Breeder's Cup Turf field in recent years been under 10 runners? But more on that down the road when we get closer to that race in the Fall. Today we have two fantastic grade I races on the weeds and as a local handicapper would say; "the proper surface".

In this year's Million, there are six runners with European flavor with five of those making their U.S. debuts. The fine Arlington turf course, the prestige and one million payout are the reasons that this race is the premier turf race in the country. It's going to be the European flavor that I gravitate toward in the 31st edition of this race. My top selection draws the far outside post, he did race here stateside last year as a three year old in California and was successful. Grandeur (#13) trained by Jeremy Noseda makes his first start off the layoff today after a nice 2nd place finish in a group II event at York . Four for five at the mile and a half distance with two victories, this gray gelding gets the call for me at the 7/2 morning line odds. For 2nd in my exacta box; I'm going with another import, this time a Argentina bred who won a mile turf restricted stake at Del Mar recently. Indy Point (#7) trained by Richard Mandella (who has good success with these South American imports) wheels this colt back quickly after that July 24th victory. Although he has more victories on dirt, one of his two turf victories was at the Million distance.

With this 13-7 exacta box, I'll be using these three horses underneath in my exotics and multi-race plays; Rahystrada (#12) recent winner of the Arlington Handicap (prep race for this) and who has four victories in seven races over the Arlington turf course. Real Solution (#1) this Chad Brown / Ken Ramsey trainee was a even 3rd in the Manhattan at Belmont on a yielding surface. Lightly raced, this Pennsylvania bred who raced in Italy before coming stateside may improve today & Hunter's Light (#3) who gets lasix first time stateside for Godolphin and has back class in turf marathons in Europe .

My exotic play in the Arlington Million All-Stakes Pick Four starting in the 7th race is; 1/4 with 7/9 with 6/7 with 7/13 (50 cent play = $8.00 ticket) and "saver" ticket : 8 with 10 with 2/4 with 9/12 (50 cent play = $2.00 ticket).

First 20 days ....... in the books!

Today marks the mid way point in the 2013 historic 150th Saratoga Racecourse meet. The first 20 days have seemed like forever for me since the meet started the earliest in recent memory. The July 19th opening day Friday was a hot one, much like our summer has been most of this season. Though there was much fanfare about the "heat" and how it would effect the horses by the masses who know little about the sport, all the equine athletes who raced on the ninety degree open day card......survived! Once again the general public (and some media outlets) don't give enough credit to the horseman and people in charge of the thoroughbred product that runs racing in New York and throughout the country. NOBODY wants to see these thoroughbreds endangered in any way.

The one thing that did bother me though as I made the rounds throughout the Spa facility was, the many new food vendor trucks around the outside of the clubhouse and grandstand area. In recent years, NYRA was made a point of giving the racing public a wide variety of different food items. This is all well and good, but the number of mobile canteen food trucks is a little ridiculous. In the area around the carousel, where the handicapping seminars are and the NYRA pre-race show is taped, there are a half a dozen different food trucks lined up along the walk area behind the grandstand. It's a little overkill and space is taken away from the picnic area. What bothers me the most is with this influx of available food vendors, the possibly that in the future, NYRA may limit what items can be brought into the track. I hope I'm wrong, but the "flavor" of historic Saratoga has had a bit of it taken away with all these new vendors.

The one thing that Saratoga has always presented over Belmont and Aqueduct has been it's old time historic flavor. It has been even more apparent this year with the 150th celebration of the track. The entire calendar of events since this spring has been wonderful. We owe a big thank you of gratitude to Marylou Whitney and her husband John Hendrickson for all they have done for this historic birthday celebration. Last Saturday, the events on track before, during and after the races were what a day at the races should be like all the time. Showing the rich history, pageantry and beauty of thoroughbred racing and how it relates to the people involved. It was like going back in a time machine. THIS is how the sport should be promoted.

As far as the equine athletes on-track, we've seen a lot of talented two year old runners. I knew we would because of the lack of "baby" races downstate at Belmont Park . The three year old runners in both sexes are gearing up for the Alabama and Travers Stakes in two and three weeks from now. We'll see the Kentucky Oaks winner; Princess of Sylmar, Kentucky Derby winner ; Orb and Belmont Stakes winner; Palace Malice plus the very talented; Verrazano who won the Haskell Stakes. Newcomer superstar; Cross Traffic has leaped onto the scene with his Whitney Stakes victory and how many times to you see the reigning Horse of the Year at Saratoga? Today Wise Dan meets his foes in the Fourstardave Handicap and totes the assigned high weight of 129 lbs. It may have seem like an eternity the first 20 days with the heat, but it was well worth it!

The name WHITNEY and it's rich Saratoga history!

With the rich historic past of Saratoga Race Course, there is one name that comes to mind, especially during this 150th anniversary celebration. A family that has major ties to thoroughbred racing at Saratoga the last hundred years. As owners and philanthropist to the sport, the Whitney's have been one of the most recognized names at Saratoga . CV Whitney was one of the most prominent thoroughbred owners since the turn of the last century. In 1928 the now famous race at Saratoga was named after his family; the Whitney Handicap. Through the years, many famous thoroughbred have won this mile and an eighth event for the older horses. Today, the Whitney Handicap is a major summer race with implications for the Breeder's Cup Classic ran in the Fall and usually winners of that race become candidates for "Horse of the Year".

CV Whitney past away in 1992, but his former wife; Marylou Whitney continues the tradition to the sport and along with her husband; John Hendrickson have made many generous donations for this year's 150th race course celebration. This weekend is exact date of the Sesquicentennial celebration for Saratoga Race Course and also marks the 86th running of the race named after the family that has done so much for thoroughbred racing and the City of Saratoga Springs .

This grade I race which is a Invitational, has had many famous horses win this two turn route event. Names like; Discovery (three time winner), War Admiral, Stymie, Kelso (also three time winner), Dr. Fager, Onion (who defeated Secretariat), Alydar, Lady's Secret, Personal Ensign, Easy Goer and many others. This year we have the returning winner of this race last year; Fort Larned . His victory last year propelled him into a Breeder's Cup Classic victory in the Fall. His last race at Churchill Downs in the Stephen Foster Handicap earned him a high Beyer speed figure of 115. His runner up foe in the Breeder's Cup Classic; Mucho Macho Man faces him again making his third start off a layoff and looks to improve to his 2012 form. Newcomer Cross Traffic looks to make his mark in grade I competition with his brilliant speed. The race may not have the current "Horse of Year" Wise Dan, but his stablemate; Successful Dan is a worthy opponent in this spot. Add grade I winner; Ron the Greek with last year's "dead heat" winner of the Travers Stakes; Alpha and you have assembled the best older handicap horses in the country!

This is a tough field, filled with speed. It looks like Cross Traffic may be the pace setter with Fort Larned and Mucho Macho Man not far behind. Successful Dan, Alpha and longshot Csaba will also be just behind the front runners. The closers like Ron the Greek and Fast Falcon will have an impact if the fractions are fast up front. Fort Larned should be the post time favorite, I expect him to be around 8-5 to 2-1 odds range. He is the "horse to beat" and must use in all exotics. The 2nd choice in the betting will be between, Cross Traffic and Mucho Macho Man. The speedy Pletcher trainee will be over bet in my opinion and must show he can get the route distance. Ron the Greek will be a solid price around 7 or 8-1 and the others will have double digit odds. I'm going to take a shot (one more time) with the closer; Ron The Greek. He needs to stay in contact with the field and if the fractions are quite quick up front, he can score the minor upset. Underneath him, will be both Fort Larned and Mucho Macho Man. The others finishing in the top two spots would be a surprise in my opinion.

Trust your own instincts .......... your 1st instincts!

The quote of this young meet so far for myself is; "Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone elses." This quote from famous American director, Billy Wilder comes into play when it comes to selecting and handicapping thoroughbred runners. It couldn't be more clear than this past Wednesday as I worked on creating a "Pick 6" ticket for a double carryover going into the card. As I discussed in last week's column, my "play of the day" wager will have ALL the winnings donated to the victims of recent flooding in the Fort Plain area. With such a big carryover, I thought of putting a little pick six ticket together for a chance of possibly making a huge score and nice little donation to my hometown people. It was a tough sequence, but with a little work I came up with a $24.00 ticket.

I worked on different versions in creating how many horses I would use in races 5 through 10. The 1st leg was quite a "head banger" to say the least! Race #5 was a six furlong maiden claiming race that was wide open. I loved the #7 Lady Halite which was 10-1 on the morning line and eventually went off at 5.70 to 1 odds. I figured to use two other horses also, the #4 Mama Zee and #6 Inaflash, which these two runners ran first and second. By using three horses in leg #1, I was alive with a $11.60 horse.

Race #6 was a very good high priced optional claimer for 100k with a lot of familiar names entered. Here was my 1st "single" play with the #10 Mr. Commons (2-1) dropping from stakes action to this level. This race was won a 10-1 shot, Seal Cove for Shug McGaughey and halted my chances of hitting the pick 6 all by myself. Still with four legs to go, there was a very good chance of getting 5 out of 6 consolation payout. Race #7 was the first of two races taking off-the-turf and this is where I made my first change, which I would regret later

I still used my "top" selection which was a turf runner; #9 Corinthianna, but also used a horse with the best main track "dirt" form; #3 My Cousin Zinny who went off as the post time favorite. When I made this change, I took one horse out of the final leg in the 10th race which also came off-the-turf. This would keep my dollar amount the same ($24.00) for the play, just by adding in the 7th and deleting one in the 10th. Needless to say, I should have just stuck to my original instincts and just use the #9 who won and paid $11.20 to win.

The next two legs (8th & 9th) were won by the favorites, so heading into the finale 10th, I was alive with 4 out of 5 winners. I was getting a little excited with the prospect of possibly having a winning 5 out of 6 consolation pick six ticket that was a 1.2 million dollar pool. But, unfortunately the ticket I created the night before was subjected to change by myself because of the two races being taken off-the-turf. I said to my wife Karen, anyone but the #5 can win this race and if the #5 wins....... I'm going to be real upset!

The dirt form in the 10th maiden claimer was much like the 1st leg of today's pick 6. In fact, the post time favorite went off at final odds of 4.30 to 1. I needed the #3 Show Some Lovin to win and he sat second until mid stretch and faded to 3rd in the end. Unfortunately, the horse I tossed out late, #5 Where's Danny, who had NEVER raced on dirt, came charging up and won going away. The result was a $388.50 "5 out of 6" payout, which if the races stayed on the turf in the 7th and 10th, would have gave the people of Fort Plain a nice donation of help from yours truly. I should have trusted my instinct and have no one to blame but myself! This will be a tough one to get over, but I promise to make it up and have 35 more days to keep my promise to my hometown and win them some money!

They're off........ at SARATOGA!

To say that the beginning of 2013 Saratoga race meet got off to a "hot" start, would be a understatement! It was day #5 of a 90 plus degree heat wave when the starting gates opened for the 40 day meet that runs through Labor Day. The New York Racing Association (NYRA) supposedly opens a "new" era with new leadership in place. New faces, new directions are all what it's about when it comes to NYRA and they want to show the public and so course; New York State Government exactly that. But, I've heard this same "song and dance" the last ten years or so and in the end, state government has the LAST say!

This week, new NYRA President / CEO, Christopher Kay met with the press and talked about the direction he wants to see the racing association go into the future. But, talk is cheap IF his hands are tied by the "powers to be" much like the past decade by the state. After all, no matter how you cut it, the bottom line is that Saratoga is a RACE track! We can present it, with all the bells and whistles and new fangled ideas. In the end, it's the money that pass through the windows that counts the most. And the state is worrying about that the most.

I'll be starting my 16th season handicapping the six day a week meet for the Amsterdam Recorder and 26th over all. I've seen it all in that time frame. Opening day is STILL special though. Even though I'll be at the "century" mark (50 years old) in 2014, this time of the year still excites me. The best in thoroughbred racing in the world, comes to upstate New York during the summer months and the area economy thrives with thousands of people coming to the area. Generally a economically depressed area, the Capital District gets a much needed shot in the arm for month and a half. It's something we should be grateful for and should embrace it.

Besides my handicapping of the daily nine (or so) , I'll also have a vested interest with some of the equine flesh that will appear here at the Spa. In fact, on today's card; Dee Tee Stables has two horses entered. In today's 5th race; our N.Y. bred gelding; TOY CANNON continues to try and get his 2nd career victory. Co-owned with Paul Pompa (of Big Brown fame) he's been a steady contender this year and unlucky in his past few starts. Later on the card in the 11th race finale, our other statebred gelding; CORYBANT drops into a open company beaten claimer and gets a BIG jockey switch to Rosie Napravink. Going from the rail, he could land a piece and at a big price! We also had another runner for the grass, MY PAL OF PALS who is trying to get through his non winners of one condition.

This year's Saratoga meet will also have a special place in my heart with my "Play of the Day" which I give out every week day after the 8am news on WCSS 1490am radio during the Mike Mancini Show. My hometown of Fort Plain , New York was devastated by deadly flood which destroyed much of the town. It affected family, friends and broke my heart to see the damage that was done. So, the winnings from my play of the day wager will ALL be donated to the flood victims of Fort Plain. It's my little part in giving back to the community I spent 25 years of my youth and grew up in. It's a special time of the year for me, I'll enjoy it and invite you to come along for the ride until Labor Day!

I'm back !!!!!!!!!!! and just in time for Saratoga!