Jim's Orbit: The First Texas Racing Blog

Gold Sound...powered to the front

2007-12-09T14:22:00.000-06:00

Here's the commentary on the top three in Saturday's Buffalo Bayou Stakes (see below) from Equibase's official race chart...

GOLD SOUND (FR) was well placed in the early going while being settled, saved ground on the far turn then was blocked just coming out of the far turn, split rivals in mid stretch and powered to the front and drew off in late stretch. SILVER HAZE was unhurried early then rallied five wide on the far turn and stayed five wide in the stretch making a strong bid but was no match for the winner in late stretch. SMOOTH BID vied for the early lead while two wide then dueled for the lead from the outside, was in a long drive and faded in the stretch.

Saturday recap: $418 in winnings!!!

2007-12-09T13:41:00.000-06:00

Hope you followed my picks in Saturday's Buffalo Bayou Stakes at Sam Houston. It was the only race I handicapped and made selections for this weekend (see below for original post) and I (or we, if you heeded my advice) nailed it, hitting the $20 win bet on Gold Sound, plus the $5 trifecta with Silver Haze in second and the odds-on beaten favorite, Smooth Bid, in third.

Gold Sound paid $8.60 to win as the generously priced second choice. My suggested wager being $20 to win, that was an $86 return, $66 of it for profit.

Meanwhile, I also suggested four $5 trifectas, all with Gold Sound on top. The correct ticket had Silver Haze in second, resulting in a tri that returned $132.80 for $2, or $332 for me since I had it 2 1/2 times! It's also worth noting that all of my suggested trifectas contained the top four finishers, which also included Wild Series in fourth at 14-1. The four horses I used made up a very hittable $644 superfecta. The $20 worth of tri wagers I recommended returned a $312 profit.

In all, my $40 of suggested wagers on this one race cashed out for $418, a $378 profit.

See, you can't afford to NOT be reading Jim's Orbit these days! Saturday's score comes on the heels of our Texas Champions Day winning selection of Alleged Hug ($21.20) in the Richard King Stakes.

For me, this latest streak reinforces my strong belief that I do better in allowance and stakes races (or in this case, allowance races dressed up to look like stakes races!), when the horses are known commodities and the trainers' intentions are more obvious. There's always a chance of correctly predicting any race, but your chances are much better when you know it's likely that every horse is in it to win, not just to be claimed, or not just to gain valuable experience, or not just to get fit for the next one, or not as a favor to the racing office who needs to fill the card, or not to appease a delusional owner, or not to just experiment with an equipment or surface change because nothing else seems to be working, etc. You get the point. There are so many more things going on with claimers that don't show up in the past performances. If you have the patience and really want to keep making money, save the bulk of your bankroll for the good races where the playing field is more level.

Saturday's Hou feature

2007-12-06T16:46:00.000-06:00

I've been housebound the past two days thanks to this nasty cold that's going around, so I might as well do something useful and handicap Saturday's card at Sam Houston.

The feature is one of the many $25,000 overnight stakes that will stand in for the real stakes races they can't afford. On a totally, completely, not-at-all related note, did you notice that they're running about $1.5 million worth of stakes a few hours east at Delta Downs in Vinton, La., this weekend? Bill Mott's running a colt, and name riders like Patrick Valenzuela and Rafael Bejarano will be there too. Now that sounds like fun. I wonder where they get all that money for such a great stakes program. Could it be slot machines?

But who cares about the richest juvenile race of the year outside the Breeders' Cup? Not me. This is a blog about Texas racing, dammit, so that's what you're going to get, like it or not. Now listen up, this here $25,000 Buffalo Bayou is an interesting race, and we're going to figure out how to make some money off of it.

The standout in this 8.5-furlong turf event for older horses is Smooth Bid, a Maryland-bred son of Rubaiano with more than $320k in earnings. His last win came over the summer at Lone Star, in a solid allowance race where he beat some tough turf veterans like stakes winners Wishingitwas (remember when that old guy won the first race on Breeders' Cup Day at Lone Star for Bart Evans? I still can't believe that one.), and Nobodywantmetilnow. Smmoth Bid then hit the board in three Remington Park stakes, making him the class of this field.

But wait a minute, you says, I can't make any money betting an odds-on favorite from the Steve Asmussen barn. You're right about that.

So instead let's take a look at Gold Sound, the French-bred making his second start in the U.S. for trainer Michael Stidham. The gelding nearly won a one-mile stakes race at Longchamp in April, then just missed as the favorite in his next two, both allowance races. He turned in a horribly dull effort at Churchill in a high-priced claimer last month, which apparently told Stidham he needed to face some softer company. There must not have been any physical excuse for the last effort, or Stidham wouldn't run him back in two weeks after vanning in from Kentucky. As long as he gets a firm turf course, I'll look for this guy to pull of the mild upset.

Let's check the Equibase morning line. They've got Smooth Bid at 3-1 and Gold Soundz at 7-2. I expect Smooth Bid to be much shorter than that. If they really are both that generous, I'd box them in a fat exacta and watch them run away from the field and who cares which one finishes first. But since I predict Smooth Bid to be pretty heavily bet, let's go with win money on Gold Sound and trifectas with Gold Sound on top, Smooth Bid second, and two others in third, then another ticket with Gold Sound on top, the two others in second, and Smooth Bid in third.

For the two others I'll use Wild Series, wheeling back for his 19th start of the year (!) after a non-effort on Texas Champions Day/Night, and Silver haze, who handled some decent turf horses at Remington this fall.

So it's $20 to win on (Go back to those) Gold Soundz, plus $5 trifectas 5/6/2,3 and 5/2,3/6.

Best of luck!

Chamberlain on racingdispatch.com

2007-12-02T22:11:00.000-06:00

I just noticed that the aforementioned Michael Chamberlain, who picked Ms Classic Seneca ($29.60) on top in the Bara Lass Stakes on Saturday, is providing picks to racingdispatch.com, the excellent website that is like a clearing house for racing news, with a smattering of interesting original content as well. We all know there aren't many places to get good Texas racing info online so this is a good website to bookmark and visit often.

By the way, Chamberlain picked three of eight winners in the Texas Champions Day stakes, the same stellar showing as Jim's Orbit on an extremely difficult night to pick more than two winners.

Join Our Mailing List

2007-12-02T21:47:00.000-06:00

Now that we're up and running again here at Jim's Orbit, we need to grow our e-mail list. You can sign up by e-mailing me at yourfriendjimbo@gmail.com. Also, please consider e-mailing other Texas racing fans to let them know about the site.

Constructive Criticism

2007-12-02T18:56:00.001-06:00

Have you ever tried to find the time for first post on shrp.com? I looked all over on Friday night trying to figure out when the races start and, in the end, I gave up and found the answer at equibase.com. The racing calendar is on several pages, but that only shows the dates for live racing, not the times. If you want to get new folks out to the track, it helps to tell them what time the event starts.

Random thought

2007-12-02T18:52:00.000-06:00

Shouldn't it be Texas Champions Night?

Texas Champions Recap: Alleged Hug ($21.20) Saves the Night

2007-12-02T17:39:00.000-06:00

I wasn't exactly consistent in my Texas Champions Day handicapping, but keying on Alleged Hug in the Richard King saved my night. I didn't have the right suggested wager on the blog, but did have the $21.20 winner on top and, in my real-life wagers, hit the $113.60 exacta for two bucks. This was a night where you had no chance to grind out a profit, but a good opportunity to make a big score if you came up with the right bomb or middle-priced horse. A lot of short-priced faves went down. It's not easy to go back and look at so many failures in my own picks, but that's how we learn, and that's also how you see that I don't mind being accountable for my handicapping. So here's a review of the picks I posted on Friday...

The Spirit of Texas
Mystery Classic came through as the odds-on favorite, as I predicted, but nearly got caught at the finish by a fast-closing Rain On Monday. The colt I had honed in on to complete the exacta, Nuttyboom, ran a dull fourth.

The Bara Lass
I was nowhere near this, as Ms Classic Seneca wheeled back on one-week's rest to post a $29.60 upset. My pick, the short-priced Valid Lilly, led into mid-stretch but tired badly the final furlong and checked in third. I have to give a huge shout-out to Sam Houston track announcer Michael Chamberlain, who picked the winner on top in his on-track tip sheet, From the Mike, and gave out this filly in the pre-race seminar. He also had the second- and third-place finishers in his top three to round out an incredible $2,400 trifecta. I have never in my life paid for a tip sheet before last night, when I got to the track and the nice lady selling the form asked, as if working the drive-thru at Jack in the Box, "Would you like to add a tip sheet for one dollar more?" I asked her who did it and she told me, "Michael Chamberlain, the announcer." I respect Michael as a handicapper, and I admired the effort to up the sales by the nice lady, so I figured what the hell, I'll check out the tip sheet. Not that I bet the horse, even after getting pushed on the filly a second time by another press box denizen, but I thought I'd relay the story just because I couldn't believe Chamberlain gave that one out. Nice hit, Michael. You can bet I'll be buying From the Mike next time I make it out.

The Groovy
This is another I one I was nowhere close on, but neither was anyone else. The $105.40 winner, Crook's Bodgit, was coming off an eight-length loss in a fist-level allowance at Delta Downs. Value seekers who really looked deep into the past performances, however, might have dismissed his last two efforts--one in the slop and one a poor turf debut. His maiden win at Louisiana Downs wasn't anything special, but at 50-1 an attentive bettor (which I'm not always, especially when I'mat the track drinking beer and socializing) might have seen an overlay worth throwing into the mix.

The Yellow Rose
Everybody (by everybody I guess I mean myself and the three handicappers in the pre-race seminar, plus the bettors whose feelings could be gauged by the prices on the tote board) seemed to think this was a two-horse race between Wrenice and Valid Lil. But Wrenice was done after a half-mile and finished last, and Valid Lil never made any kind of run. Annie Savoy, overlooked at 14-1 despite winning a stakes here last season, came charging in the stretch to win it by a nose over 13-1 Stealth Cat from the Steve Asmusseun barn. I had picked Wrenice with great confidence and will be eager to hear what happened to her.

The Richard King
I named Alleged Hug my "upset special of the day" on Friday, and lo and behold, look who won and paid $21.20! I didn't like General Charley as the favorite, but was still surprised he didn't even hit the board (he checked in seventh). My goofball suggested wager had counted on General Charley finishing second, but in real life that bet was too expensive for me by this point, so I played a 5-6-7 exacta box and cashed for $113.60. Nonetheless, I'm proud to have touted this live longshot on top and hope that some of you had it. If so, remember that you read it here on Jim's Orbit.

The Martanza
You can't blame me for this one, as my top choice went off at 6-1, stalked the leaders in fourth through the opening half-mile, started moving up between rivals on the far turn, then clipped heels and fell. That's a tough way to get beat, when you don't even get to find out whether you picked the best horse in the race or not. I'm at least happy to report that the horse got up and was walked off. I had recommended an exacta with two longshots over the favorite Sweet Idea, who did, in fact, finish second. The other longshot I liked, Sweet Appeal, set a pressured pace at 22-1 and faded to finish fifth. The 11-1 winner, Hollye Lynne, has now won three in a row since joining the barn of John Locke.

The Star of Texas
I'm not surprised that defending champion Sandburr repeated, I just wish I had done the logical thing and bet on it. I had convinced myself on Thursday that it was too risky to bet him coming back off a six-month layoff, but I started to have second thoughts after reading Martha Claussen's reporting in the Chronicle on Friday, which quoted trainer Michael Stidham as saying he was really working well. I should have known then to back off my initial thought, but I was too stubborn and stuck to my opinion, only to watch the favorite roll to a nearly two-length win. That Sandburr's a great Texas-bred, and I hereby vow to start giving him the proper respect. My pick, Goosey Moose, had a no-excuse trip and just came up short, checking in third.

The San Jacinto
My choice, Wild Encounter, finished a disappointing seventh, but in the wagering you would still be a winner, as entrymate Jenz Benz got the job done. I'll count that one in the victory column (paid $5.60), especially since my suggested wager was to bet "everything you have on Wild Encounter to win." So if you took that advice, um, you're welcome!

So, if you count Jenz Benz, this handicapper went three-for-eight in the stakes on a night when the average winner paid $28.25, not a bad record at all. Keep checking back as the season continues for more stakes previews, plus other random tidbits.

Texas Champions Day Selections

2007-11-28T21:56:00.000-06:00

It's kind of a shame that the best night of racing at Sam Houston is so early in the meet. After this there isn't another real stakes race until the MAXXAM on January 26, and no big day again until the Connally on April 5. Feels like we're just getting started, but after this the next few months are kind of anticlimactic. Not that it's the track's fault there's no money for a more robust stakes program, but it's still a sad reflection of where Texas racing is at. In my mind if you don't at least have a stakes race every week then it's hard to pretend your big-league.

But hey, let's not dwell on the negative. I'm just thankful there are thoroughbreds back in Houston. We've got eight stakes on Saturday with 74 horses entered (that's a respectable 9.25 per race), which means good betting all around. Early forecasts call for perfect racing weather, so I'm handicapping for fast and firm.

Below you'll find my take on each race, featuring top-three selections, brief analysis, and a suggested wager. I'm not handicapping with the benefit of a morning line, so any estimates of prices are my own guesses.

The Spirit of Texas (3&up at 6f)
Mystery Classic/Nuttyboom/Snuck By
I hate starting my blog up again after a six-month hiatus and picking a heavy favorite in my first race back, but there's no way around the defending race champion, Mystery Classic, in this spot. He dominated open company in his last two stakes, at Retama and Remington, and he's back in here off the same kind of lengthy layoff he had before last year's easy score. In the race for second, Snuck By will separate from the field with Mystery Classic early on, but my hope is that Nuttyboom will offer more value because of his relatively spotty record this year. He loves Sam Houston and I love him for second.
Suggested wager: $50,000 straight exacta Mystery Classic-Nuttyboom

The Bara Lass (2yo fillies at 7f)
Valid Lilly/Shedoesrock/Soar Above
After winning the two richest races in her division it's hard not to like Valid Lilly. For some more imaginitive picks you'll have to keep reading. The peculiarly named Shedoesrock, who has proven able to run respectably against the likes of the favorite, will round out an exacta that can buy all you addicts enough crack to keep you wasted through 2009.
Suggested wager: $100,000 to win on Valid Lilly

The Groovy (2yo at 7f)
Namesake/Moody Jones/Ferdinand's Flyer
It's hard to see how Namesake can turn the tables and make up more than eight lengths on the favorite, but I'm going to bet on it based off the works. Although we can't tell from the PPs who worked with whom, I would bet that Namesake worked with Valid Lilly in a set on the 25th, probably with Steve Asmussen's other two-year-old stakes entrants. Namesake finished 1/5 behind the fillies, so keep an eye on how they finish in the race before. Meanwhile, Ferdinand's Flyer didn't post an official work for a month after the last race and breezed in :52 1/5 for Cheryl Asmussen the same day that Namesake was out for Steve.
Suggested Wager: $5,000 tri wheel Namesake-ALL-Ferdinand's Flyer

The Yellow Rose (F&M 3&up at 6f)
Wrenice/Valid Lil/Ryan's Inheritance
Last year's Horse of the Meet couldn't get her footing on the turf last out, so don't kid yourself into thinking that one off-the-board finish means she's vulnerable. She ain't. Among Texas-bred fillies racing in Texas, there is Wrenice and there is everyone else. That said, I can't wait to see Valid Lil run with her early on. She's a real racehorse to, but Wrenice is going to break her heart in her first matchup on dirt against a better filly. Ryan's Inheritance is likely to impove in her first start for the Breeders' Cup Classic-winning trainer.
Suggested wager: $1,000,000,000 to win on Wrenice

The Richard King (3&up at 9f on turf)
Alleged Hug/General Charley/Man Named Sue
Here's my upset special of the day, on a card that doesn't offer many obvious opportunities to bet against the chalk. These horses are closer together than the Beyer Figures suggest. General Charley won easy at Retama and figures to be a short price, which I'm not willing to take on a horse that lost here a year ago against lesser horses than these. With Spiffy Agenda in here to push the favorite early on it won't be an easy task to win back to back. Alleged Hug will get a comfortable stalking trip behind the pacesetters and, although I can't be certain of his ability to get this distance, he should be ready to run his best race for a trainer that has long excelled at getting his horses ready for the big days.
Suggested wager: $2 trifecta wheel Alleged Hug-General Chuck-ALL

The Martanza (F&M 3&up at 8f)
Party of One/Sweet Idea/Sweet Appeal
This is a race where I really want to bet against what I expect to be a heavy favorite in Sweet Idea, but the alternatives are bleak. I'm not crazy about Party of One, or any of these other fillies who don't really deserve to be stakes winners, but I see an opportunity here. Sweet Idea looks to me like a filly that must be really messed up. Why would you keep running her on turf when she's proven to prefer the dirt, and why all the slow, conservative works? It's all a little too fishy for my tastes. Party of One looks to have a lot of heart, ran a fast mile on soft turf at Lone Star, and ran a decent mile at Evengeline considering it's a bullring. Somebody has to run third and Sweet Appeal is at least familiar with the course and seems to like it.
Suggested wager: $100 exactas Party of One and Sweet Appeal to Sweet Idea

The Star of Texas (3&up at 8.5f)
Goosey Moose/Sandburr/Dreamsandvisions
The main event brings out some of our favorite old Texas campaigners, including Goosey Moose and Dreamsandvisions. The defending champion Sandburr will be favored again, but that's a risky proposition for an eight-year-old coming back from a six-month layoff. Instead, my money will be on the hard-trying Goosey Moose, who has been overachieving for years now and has won races like this before. If there will ever be a time for him to get the best of Sandburr, now is it. I'll still take Sandburr for second based on my memory of his win against open stakes company at Fairgrounds last winter, an achievement out of the realm of possibility for most Texas-breds. In third it's Dreamsandvisions, rounding out a perfect trifecta of the best older horses we have around here to end the year.
Suggested wager: $2,944 trifecta Goosey Moose and Dreamsandvisions with ALL with Goosey and Dreams and Sand

The San Jacinto (3&up F&M at 8.5f on turf)
Wild Encounter/Durrymane/Boundus
If you bet every race up to this one and still show a profit then you should probably count your blessings and go home...but we all know that's no fun. Roll it all into Wild Encounter, who made a big impression here last winter but couldn't replicate her Sam Houston form elsewhere in Texas. Now it's back to her favorite track as the defending race champion and you might get a fair price if she ends up third or fourth choice behind some of those exiting the Fiesta Mile.
Suggested wager: Go out with a bang! Everything you have on Wild Encounter to win (but don't bet too much because I don't want you to kill my price!)

So there you have it. Don't forget to show up early and get some extra expert insight from the astute DRF handicapper and reporter Mary Rampellini, plus Sam Houston's Michael Chamberlain and the Chronicle's Martha Claussen. If you see me there come say hi!

Jim's Orbit On Leave

2007-07-22T22:43:00.000-05:00

Hello racing fans!

I just wanted you to know that I'm alive and well, even if this blog is barely breathing these days. I'm sorry to say that circumstances have prevented me from giving this blog the attention it deserves. The reasons are many, but they are boring so I won't get too much into them. From about the time I was promoted at my day job early this past spring, free time became scarce. And the free time I do have has been going into wedding planning (no, I'm not a wedding planner, I mean planning my own wedding in November).

However, this site will stay up in hopes that I find some time to post this summer. I'll be at Saratoga during Travers week to write for the Saratoga Special, so maybe I'll track down some of the Texas connections up there.

I just returned from a very nice weekend in Dallas, spent mostly at Lone Star Park. Hit a nice Pick Four on Saturday that included 8-1 Alleged Hug, as well as 9-2 Bob Johnson Memorial winner Sing Baby Sing, who this handicapper had picked on top in that day's Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

In any case, please continue to check in every month or so. It's just not possible for me to stay quiet for long stretches, so I'll be back eventually.

3,000 Hits and Counting!

2007-05-03T23:11:00.000-05:00

Somehow, during the time I was AWOL, this site managed to pass the 3,000-visitor mark. Thanks to everyone who checked in during my absence.

I can't wait to get back into the swing of things and talk about what's happening up at Lone Star Park.

If you're in the North Texas area, check out my daily picks in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. And then send me an e-mail to let me know how I'm doing compared to Gary West, Larry Barnes, and Bill Gann. I always keep track of my own results, but I have no way of following their selections, so I don't always know how I'm stacking up against the competition.

Also, if my S-T picks ever win you any money, send me an e-mail so I know whether anyone out there actually refers to those things.

Kentucky Derby 133 Selections

2007-05-03T22:01:00.000-05:00

Apologies for my long absence. You don't want to know where I've been or where I'm filing this from.

I couldn't let the greatest race of them all go by without weighing in. Here are my Derby picks, in order...

1. GREAT HUNTER - I've had him on top in the www.racingdispatch.com Derby poll since January and I ain't backing off now. At that time I loved his breeding, his connections, and his potential. At this point potential doesn't help anymore, but he's still got those exceptional bloodlines, a trainer who does exceptional things with racehorses (which is different from an "exceptional trainer," but often produces the same result), and a competent jock. But most importantly, and the reason I didn't back off after a fourth in the Blue Grass, he has trained well recently and reports from Churchill have been positive regarding his appearance. Outside post is a bummer, but not impossile to overcome if he can tuck in. It's a very long run to the first turn, so I don't regard post 20 as a dealbreaker.

2. CURLIN - There's a part of me that wonders is I'm brainwashed from too many years in Texas watching Steve Asmussen win anything he sets his mind to. But I think I would be on this horse regardless based on the Arkansas Derby win. It was beautiful. I'm surprised he's the fave, because these Arkansas Derby horses always receive less respect than they deserve, but maybe folks have finally figured it out after seeing Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex. After interviewing Asmussen more times than I'd like to remember, I also know that he's not one to heavily tout his horses in the media. But some of his recent comments have been very strong and oozing with confidence, shocking from a man who understands from experience how difficult a race the Derby is to win. Reports on Curlin's appearance at Churchill this week have been nothing but positive. He's extremely professional, but with only three starts there's also the potential for a bigger race than we've seen yet. If I hadn't followed Great Hunter all year and just looked at this race for the first time today like it was the fifth at Lone Star, here would be the obvious choice.

3. TEUFLESBERG - The classiest 50-1 shot ever. I've loved him since he showed so much heart nearly upsetting Scat Daddy in the Sanford at Saratoga last summer. Then I watched him win a first-level allowance at Churchill in November that showed both an affinity for the surface, and an ability to come from off the pace. This horse is being misidentified by many as part of the early speed, but I believe he can sit in the second flight (which might just mean three lengths behind Hard Spun, but even if there are others contesting it) and move to the lead around the turn. Others will be coming, of course, and a few might pass him, but he has the ability to be in the right position, and the fight to hold on to it to the wire. He has had some rough starts, but in this race a slow start could work in his favor in case he does feel a little fresh. I love him, and I love that hardly anybody else is giving him a second look.

4. STREET SENSE - Not one that I liked very much until reading about his impressive works and appearance at Churchill this week. Nafzger knows how to get one ready for the main event, and it apears he's right on schedule with the juvenile champion. In recent years the Derby winner always makes an impression in his training, but whether the public cares is another matter. Monarchos, Fusaichi, Smarty, Barbaro. This colt is all class, and right now he's at his very best. He scares me.

5. SCAT DADDY - All he did was win the two most important preps at Gulfstream Park, and against legit Grade I horses. It's difficult to separate the Pletcher posse, but they're all capable of winning and all seem to be peaking at the right time. It's probably stupid to not have one of his five in my superfecta, but that's how competitive this group is.

6. NOBIZ LIKE SHOBIZ - Everyone jumped off the formidable bandwagon after the Fountain of Youth loss, but there's no reason to think that was anything more than a schooling session. He had enough graded earnings to make the Derby before the end of 06, and Tagg was just taking his time gearing him up for this race. Like he did masterfully with that Funy Cide character.

7. CIRCULAR QUAY - Not only unraced since early March, like a few others, but also unraced over 8.5 furlongs. Closers are never glamorous, and they need a lot to go the right way. He'll get the pace, but will he be so far back that it's a lost cause by the time he gets rolling? Or will he have to give up too much ground circling such a large field? A very possible winner, but I don't like his style here.

8. ANY GIVEN SATURDAY / 9. COWTOWN CAT / 10. SAM P. - The final three Pletchers are the last of those I think can win. Which means I believe half the field is capable. Which means my exotics are going to be kind of expensive.

11. TIAGO - When I first started following racing as a teenager in the mid-nineties, it was impossible to imagine a Santa Anita Derby winner being as cold in the wagering as this colt will be.

12. DOMINICAN - Ditto the Blue Grass winner. Remember a few years ago when two longshots came in and everyone said, damn, all you had to do was box Baffert and Lukas (it was War Emblem and Proud Citizen)? Well imagine if this year all you had to do was box the longshot Santa Anita, Wood, and Blue Grass winners. But it's never that easy, is it?

13. STORMELLO - Hasn't really done anything wrong, running respectably time and again versus legit Grade I horses. Couldn't blame anyone for taking a flyer here or keying him in some exotics at a nice price. And I'm saying that about the horse I have 13th. This is one competitive Derby, moreso than any I can recall offhand.

14. ZANJERO - Another who is eliciting positive reports about his appearance, but just hasn't shown he belongs. A third in that impossibly slow Blue Grass doesn't tell me anything.

That's it for horseS I believe can make the Superfecta. Which means the only definite tosses are...

15. LIQUIDITY

16. STORM IN MAY

17. 1SEDGEFIELD

18. IMAWILDANDCRAZYGUY

19. BWANA BULL

20. HARD SPUN

I believe my wagering is going to focus on Teuflesberg, who I'll play in a variety of exotics with as many of the possible winners as I can afford to include (well, OK, if I limited to the ones I could afford, it would be a three-horse box, but this is the Derby, so I'm willing to go a little beyond what I can afford!).

Good luck to all!

E-mail Breeders' Cup

2007-03-29T22:37:00.000-05:00

If you think it would be great to have a Breeders' Cup in Houston, send an e-mail to the Breeders' Cup and tell them why. And suggest to your friends and colleagues that they do the same.

Here's the general address from their website: breederscup@breederscup.com.

If you can't think of any of your own reasons why but you still sense it's a good idea, feel free to copy any of the points listed in the post below this one.

HOLY CRAP!!! SAM HOUSTON BIDDING FOR 2009 OR 2010 BREEDERS' CUP!!!

2007-03-29T20:13:00.000-05:00

I practically fell out of my chair today when I read the astounding and exhilarating news that Sam Houston Race Park is putting together a bid for the 2009 or 2010 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships!

Much to my dismay, this development has aroused almost no interest from the media, both locally and within the racing publications. The Houston Chronicle buried it deep in a short item about the new management appointments at the track, mentioning it practically as an afterthought. Let's be frank here, most racing fans, and certainly most general sports fans, could give a darn who the new execs are. But the biggest event in the sport possibly coming to your town's racetrack, THAT'S A BIG FREAKIN' DEAL!

To read the local coverage about the new executives at Sam Houston, with a passing mention of the really big news, click here.

As an aside, I have to mention how great it is to see the track taking a chance on a young, female, entertainment-oriented executive. Everything about her and her experience is the opposite of what you would expect of a racetrack exec, which is why I like her already. It so happens that I got to hang out with some folks from the Houston Comets organization a few weeks ago, and that is a really great, well-run franchise.

Now back to the Breeders' Cup news. Mary Rampellini of Daily Racing Form naturally recognized the significance of a Breeders' cup bid and mentioned it in the first paragraph of her article about changes at Sam Houston...

Bork taking on new duties at Sam Houston

But there has yet to be one in-depth report on this announcement. There was a press release from the track today, which I'll post at the end of this entry.

The release lists several compelling points in support of their bid, which I will now address individually. In case it's not abundantly clear, I am overwhelmingly in favor of Sam Houston hosting a Breeders' Cup and believe they could do a great job of it.

The statments in quotes are from the track news release, and all the comments are mine...

"Houston is the fourth largest city in America, a very international city with all the necessary infrastructure to make a Houston a highly successful host site"

Couldn't agree more. This place has world-class everything. Tonight I was at a meeting for the Houston Greeters, a group I'm on the volunteer committee for that pairs up visitors with residents who have very specific interests so people can see this incrdible city with a native to guide them. The meeting tonight brought together all the volunteers, a group that includes people from every walk of life. They offer greets in more than 20 languages, and tonight's gathering was like a UN session, but more interesting. Cowboys, Indians, Asians, Mexicans, Euros, we have it all here and everyone loves it.

Did you know this is one of the most diverse cities in the world, with equal populations of whites, blacks, and Latinos, not to mention some of the largest Vietnamese and Korean populations in the country?

Restaurants, hotels, sports, museums, galleries, performing arts, parks, universities, medical centers, science, industry, and on and on, Houston is home to some of the best in every category. It's probably the most dynamic and unusual city I've ever lived in.

"The weather in late October/ early November is ideally suited for both the equine participants and racing fans"

I can confirm this because when Lone Star was preparing for its Breeders' Cup a few years back, I helped prepare a report on the weather in Texas in late October and early November. I researched 100 years worth of weather data, which showed an ideal average daytime temperature that was in the upper sixties, with little chance of rain. There ended up being some rain the week of Lone Star's Breeders' Cup, but by the big day it was gone and the weather was absolutely perfect.

"Sam Houston Race Park is conveniently located fifteen minutes from George Bush International Airport and has an abundance of hotels, restaurants and other attractions in northwest Houston"

The distance from the airport is accurate, and an important point for horsemen concerned about shipping. It's an easy flight here from almost anywhere in the world (has anyone noticed that Houston is one of two American cities with daily non-stop flights to and from Dubai?), and it would be an easy trip from the airport to the track.

The part where the track is stretching here is with the supposed attractions in Northwest Houston. There really aren't any, especially not any that would impress any sophisticated international visitors. If people come to visit Houston, don't encourage them to stay out there, make sure they stay at one of several fabulous boutique hotels in the city. If visitors to Houston don't actually come and see life "inside the loop," where the action is, they'll never want to come back.

But that shouldn't be a hindrance. Because of the amount of land necessary, almost no tracks are in highly desirable areas. Lone Star showcased everything that was great about Dallas and Fort Worth, but also managed to do it without slighting Grand Prairie and Arlington, where they packed the hotels.

Sam Houston shouldn't feel pressured to make Northwest Houston sound like something it isn't. Belmont is a pain to get to from Manhattan, and the other Triple Crown venues are bordered by some pretty sketchy neighborhoods. Who cares? It's about showcasing the whole metropolitan area. Instead of boostering for Northwest Houston, just promise you'll fill their hotels, but concentrate the publicity efforts on all that is amazing and beautiful, and genuinely impressive, throughout the city.

"The City of Houston has hosted a multitude of top sporting events including Super Bowl, the NBA All-Star Game, MLB All-Star Game, Shell Open PGA Tournament, the year-ending Masters Tennis Event and the Houston Grand Prix races."

I went to that MLB All-Star Game and, man, the hospitality and events were awesome. Everything was centered downtown, there was a great press party with Los Lonely Boys at the Convention Center (right before they really blew up and I was one of about 10 people even paying attention to their incredible live show), another lavish affair the night before at the Aquarium. It was a blast, and Houston knows how to throw a party.

As long as you have the right venues, which Houston does, everything else falls into place. Even if much of the city is ugly, the VIPs will never see it anyway, as they spend the whole weekend tooling around in shuttle busses from one perfectly choreographed event to the next.

"Sam Houston Race Park boasts a solid management team led by Robert L. Bork, current president of Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA)"

As far as I can tell they do everything they can in a very tough market. While a typical evening at Sam Houston leaves much to be desired, I have rarely felt like any of the shortcomings were a reflection of the management. If you put great horses and an interested crowd out there, which the Breeders' Cup would undoubtedly attract, it can be as good as most anywhere.

"Texas is home to many prominent members of the racing community including Robert McNair, William Heiligbrodt, Leland Ackerley, W. Temple Webber and William Farish, who operates a Texas breeding farm, Lane’s End Texas"

They forgot to mention me.

Now here are some other points they could add in later materials...

A quote in the release by Bob Bork touches on the racing surfaces, which will be a huge selling point. As long as I've been in Texas the horsemen have raved about both surfaces at Sam Houston. They are safe and fair. And that turf course is a sight to behold. The importance of the surfaces can not be underestimated, especially when you're a track that many top trainers have never been to.

The stable area. Relatively new, neat, spacious stalls. Most horsemen don't seem to care whether a stable area is aesthetically pleasing, they just want large stalls and lots of water.

How about the history in Texas? From King Ranch to the Asmussen family, Assault to Todd Pletcher, this state is steeped in racing tradition. And, of course, it wouldn't hurt to point to the success of Lone Star's Breeders' Cup as a model of what a mid-size track in Texas can do. And Sam Houston has its own history of course, as Bork also mentions, having hosted the NTRA Great State Challenge and the MBNA Challenge Championships. Yes, this is a different league than those events, but it says something that the NTRA and AQHA were willing to trust Sam Houston to host those. I came down from Dallas for that Great State Challenge and had an awesome time. Take Charge Lady was there and one of my favorite mares ever, Coastalota, ran second to her.

The suites. A big thing that the new and recently renovated racetracks have to offer over the older ones is the suites. They are huge revenue generators on a big day, when owners and corporations will pay obscene amounts of money for one. And the suites level at Houston, which is the same level as the press box, is right on top of the track, a perfect view. Just high enough to see over the tote board onto the backstretch, but close enough you could maybe toss a quarter onto the dirt.

The access. Tons of parking (pretty easy when you're surrounded by parking lots, open fields, and warehouses) and easy access to the highway adjacent to the property. Makes life a breeze for everyone. Right now Cirque du Soleil is using the track parking lot as its home for an extended multi-week run of its touring show. Why? Because there's a ton of space, a ton of parking, and easy access for people from all over the region to come in for the evening.

The media. I don't mean because they love horseracing, because they don't. But they love big events and this is a key market. In New York or LA the Breeders' Cup is like a blip on the radar in the midst of all the events happening there every day, but in Houston it would be like 2004 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which had wall-to-wall Breeders' Cup coverage. Everywhere you turned there was some local tv news reporter who didn't know a thing about racing asking who they could interview and when. There were special sections in both newspapers the weekend of the races, to cap off what was months of intense horseracing coverage. Of course, both the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram employed full-time turfwriters then, which sounds like a fantasy in this century, but I'm sure it was true. Nonetheless, in a place like Houston, it doens't matter if they love racing, you just tell them it's a big event and there will be a stampede of tv trucks, as well as ticket buyers.

I'm sure I'll think of more reasons in the coming weeks why this should happen. I'm beside myself at the possibility.

Here's the full release from Sam Houston...

Sam Houston Race Park Preparing a Bid for the Breeders' Cup Board of Directors

SAM HOUSTON RACE PARK (Thursday, March 29, 2007) - The 2006/2007 Sam Houston Race Park Thoroughbred Meeting is winding down and will conclude on Saturday, April 7 with the running of the Grade III Connally Breeders’ Cup Turf.

However, officials at Sam Houston Race Park are hard at work on another major racing project and want to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in 2009 or 2010. With the assistance of Bryan Pettigrew of Affinity Sports Marketing, Sam Houston Race Park has submitted a bid to Greg Avioli, president of Breeders’ Cup Limited and the Breeders’ Cup Board of Directors to host the biggest Thoroughbred racing event in the country.

The compelling points for consideration of Sam Houston Race Park as a host site include:

Houston is the fourth largest city in America, a very international city with all the necessary infrastructure to make a Houston a highly successful host site

The weather in late October/ early November is ideally suited for both the equine participants and racing fans

Sam Houston Race Park is conveniently located fifteen minutes from George Bush International Airport and has an abundance of hotels, restaurants and other attractions in northwest Houston

The City of Houston has hosted a multitude of top sporting events including Super Bowl, the NBA All-Star Game, MLB All-Star Game, Shell Open PGA Tournament, the year-ending Masters Tennis Event and the Houston Grand Prix races.

Sam Houston Race Park boasts a solid management team led by Robert L. Bork, current president of Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA)

Texas is home to many prominent members of the racing community including Robert McNair, William Heiligbrodt, Leland Ackerley, W. Temple Webber and William Farish, who operates a Texas breeding farm, Lane’s End Texas

"Sam Houston Race Park has accomplished a great deal since its opening in 1994," said Robert L. Bork, the track's Vice Chairman. "We were proud to host the NTRA Great State Challenge in 2002 and the MBNA Challenge Championships in 2004 and received many compliments from horsemen regarding our excellent surfaces. In addition, we are confident of our ability to entertain and create first-class hospitality for both the racing fans and VIPs. It will be our goal to make the Breeders’ Cup World Championships an unqualified success."

Pettigrew has been working with major sports and event consultants planning for a crowd of 60,000 fans at Sam Houston Race Park attending the two-day Breeders’ Cup racing and festivities.

A Sunday night at Hou

2007-03-26T18:10:00.000-05:00

Nothing better to do last night so I headed out to Sam Houston for a beautiful Sunday evening at the races. The weather was ideal, and with Daylight Savings in full effect it was nice to be catching some races there in the daylight. They have a 5 p.m. post on Sundays, so I encourage anyone with the opportunity to take advantage of it and enjoy twilight racing.

Two random tidbits from my night out...

A great piece of news that I missed from last weekend was the occurrence of three 20-plus-length winners in two days! I'm still trying to grasp this. In all my years of visiting tracks, including three years of working at one and seeing several hundred races annually, I don't think I've ever seen a single 20-plus-length winner in person. I can recall one spring season at Lone Star when Dallas Keen had a few huge ones, but even then I think the widest margin was 18 lengths. If you've never seen an 18-length winner from above the track in person, let me tell you that it is an unbelievable butt-kicking of the highest order. It's not really awe-inspiring, because this kind of thing tends to happen when one pretty good horse is put up against a bunch of not-very-talented ones, so instead it's just funny. I guess that's why they call it a laugher. The big winners at Sam Houston last week were: Chief Monarch, a 5-year-old gelding who broke his maiden by 23 for trainer Paul Renia Mann (under replacement rider Jose Figueroa, who took over the mount when Bobby Walker Jr. reportedly refused to ride after warming up the horse!); Becky's Blarney, a 3-year-old filly who broke her maiden by 23 3/4 for trainer Kharina Hunt (Richard Eramia was up); and State Power, a 4-year-old colt who took a maiden special weight by 23 3/4 for Bret Calhoun (Walker did ride this one). All three were post-time favorites.

I am in love with ten-cent supers as something fun to do after I've blown my real bankroll. Not that I've ever hit a decent one, I just like that I can mess with them and have tickets with numbers of combinations I used to only ever dream about. I know it's different for some people, but I get just as much thrill playing dime bets as I do for whole dollars. I'm sure cashing is not as satisfying, but it's fun to play races without anything substantial on the line. I'll be looking forward to whichever track is the first to offer dime exactas in a few years.

Best quote of the year

2007-03-21T22:32:00.000-05:00

Bryan Brown, CEO of Retama, on the grandstand they'll build at the proposed racetrack in Laredo, which was approved this week...

“There is nothing more fun than being outdoors in the un-air conditioned grandstand at Gillespie,” Brown said.

Yeah, I mean, all that air conditioning at other Texas racetracks is really cramping my ability to enjoy the 100-degree summer heat.

I love watching races outside as much as anyone, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate having the option to cool off indoors. I'm not an architect, but I'm pretty sure there are ways to have access to both air-conditioning and the great outdoors. Like these things they call balconies.

Come on, just admit that it would cost more than you're willing to spend. We're not stupid.

In any case, the good news is that we're getting two new racetracks, in Laredo and McAllen. A surprising development, if you believe all the stories in the mainstream racing media about this supposed dying sport. Here in Texas we'll have built five new tracks in less than 20 years. If business is so bad and the outlook so bleak, why are multiple interests competing for licenses to open tracks around here? Horseracing is supposedly in dire need of help, and yet, you don't read about many tracks going out of business.

Here's the news from the Texas Thoroughbred website...

At a meeting that stretched for more than 11 hours, the Texas Racing Commission on Tuesday awarded three new Class 2 racetrack licenses, the first ones granted in the state in over a decade. There was considerable contention over the licenses, all of which are for racetracks to be located in South Texas—two in the Laredo area and the other in McAllen. Laredo is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, and McAllen has also seen significant growth in recent years. Both cities are along the Mexico border; McAllen is near the state’s southernmost tip in the Rio Grande Valley, a hotbed of Quarter Horse breeding and non-pari-mutuel racing, while Laredo is some 140 miles to the north.

The license for McAllen went to a group headed by Greg and Steve LaMantia, whose family owns a major beer distributorship in South Texas. The group also includes principals from Retama Park and several Texas horsemen. Plans call for a $23 million track with a 7/8ths-mile oval, outdoor grandstand and an indoor simulcast area. The proposed facility would offer 18 days of mixed (Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse and other breeds) racing per year and be managed by the team from Retama Park. The license was granted despite opposition from officials with Valley Race Park, a greyhound track located about 35 miles away.

The issue of the Laredo licenses had been ongoing for more than three years, with much of the delay due to the competing applications being referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings. After nearly two years, two administrative law judges decided that both applications met the requirements of the Texas Racing Act. The ALJs recommended approval of the application from MAXXAM Inc. over the one submitted by a group comprised of many of the same partners as the application for McAllen. The commission opted to award licenses to both applicants, whose proposed sites are located some 15 miles apart outside of the city of Laredo.

However, a condition was attached to the approval of MAXXAM’s license. The Texas Racing Act does not allow a person or company to own more than a 5% share in two racetracks in the state. MAXXAM already owns Sam Houston Race Park and Valley Race Park, the latter of which the company is in the process of selling. To receive the Laredo license, the commission ordered MAXXAM to divest itself of Valley Race Park by May 4. MAXXAM’s application calls for the track to be built at a cost of approximately $28 million with an enclosed, air-conditioned grandstand. The track would remain open year-round as a training facility.

“We want to build a top-notch facility that will show our commitment to live racing,” said Bob Bork, president and general manager of Sam Houston.

The other Laredo license application calls for a $15 million facility with an open-air grandstand. Like the McAllen track, it would also be managed by Retama Park. Both Laredo tracks would have year-round simulcasting and a 7/8ths-mile oval with 20-30 days of mixed racing per year.

Bryan Brown, CEO of Retama, said that the group’s track would offer a simulcast area patterned after the one at Lone Star Park, while the grandstand would be similar to the one at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds.

“There is nothing more fun than being outdoors in the un-air conditioned grandstand at Gillespie,” Brown said, emphasizing that economic feasibility of not having an enclosed grandstand, like MAXXAM’s track would.

Despite a general consensus at the meeting that Laredo could not support two racetracks, both licensees indicated a willingness to move forward with their respective tracks.

Also at the meeting, Retama Park, which will not run any Thoroughbred race dates this year, asked for Thoroughbred dates in January-March 2008. Sam Houston Race Park, which traditionally runs from November through early April, opposed that request. Retama’s request was voted down, however those dates were not awarded to Sam Houston and the issue could be revisited again.

News from Hou

2007-03-20T21:18:00.000-05:00

Two incredible items showed up in the latest weekly press notes from Sam Houston. Funny Cide could be coming to Houston for the Connally, and Alumni Hall might be gay!

First, about Funny Cide...

"Sam Houston Race Park stakes coordinator, Don Thompson, has been in contact with trainers on the East and West coast and one of the most interesting nominations is Funny Cide, who won the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, before finishing third in the Belmont Stakes. Thompson spoke to Funny Cide’s trainer, Barclay Tagg, last month and he indicated they might be interested in trying the 7-year-old gelding on turf."

Reading between the lines there, I'm skeptical that Tagg is seriously considering Houston right now, but I'll hope for the best. It would be a great spot for him, actually. While Funny Cide can't win a Grade I these days, he still runs credibly against horses of that caliber, which makes me think he might even be favored if he came here.

And now on to Alumni Hall...

"Alumni Hall, winner of the $100,000 MAXXAM Gold Cup at Sam Houston Race Park in 2005, was retired last March to stand stud in Kentucky at Lane's End. In addition to his victory in the MAXXAM, the son of A.P. Indy won the Grade 3 Ben Ali at Keeneland. His stud fee was $5,000, but after several months, it became clear to the powers that be at Lane’s End that Alumni Hall had absolutely no interest in impregnating mares! W. Temple Webber, who owns Alumni Hall in partnership with Will Farish and James Elkins, commented that while most stallions have no problem adjusting to stud duty, Alumni Hall was a challenge."

Elkins then gave this great quote...

“If Will Farish can’t figure it out, we knew we had to try something else,” said Webber, who resides in Houston. “They tried everything to get him interested in the mares and nothing worked.”

I did a quick google search for homosexual horses and found this fascinating feature about gay thoroughbreds (and horsemen)...

Gay Stallions and Tomboy Mares

I highly recommend this article. It's well-researched and includes some great nuggets of information. The author starts with the story of her own gay ex-jumper and has this great line: "He liked grays the way some men like blondes."

There's also a lot of information about all the gay men in 17th-century England who helped develop the breed that would come to be called the Thoroughbred. Who knew?

Anyway, Alumni Hall has been turned over to Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, who will try to turn him into a jumper. The mares at Lane's End might not have interested Alumni Hall, but maybe the sight of Sheppard's famously charismatic stable pony, John's Call, will!

Mario Pino interview

2007-03-20T20:52:00.000-05:00

This doesn't have anything to do with Texas, but with the great Mario Pino getting a little national attention lately as the regular rider for Hard Spun, it seemed like a good time to reprint this interview I did with the jockey last summer at Saratoga for the Saratoga Special.

To make it Texas-related, I'll add this one comment. Hard Spun's trainer, Larry Jones, has to be the only cowboy-hat wearing conditioner who has never started a horse in Texas. What's up with that?

In any case, here's an old Q & A with Mario Pino, one of the good guys...

Q & A with Mario Pino
By Jim Mulvihill

With 5,746 career wins entering Friday’s racing, Mario Pino ranks 16th among the all-time leading North American jockeys. If you’re not up on riders based outside of New York, consider that Pino is quickly closing in on Jerry Bailey, who finished his career ranked 15th, and for now rests comfortably ahead of Edgar Prado in 17th.

It’s been a few years since Pino has been spotted around these parts, but fans are advised to familiarize themselves with him right away. The 44-year-old rides in two stakes this weekend aboard horses trained by Larry Jones—Miss Elsie in Friday’s Grade II Honorable Miss and Hello Liberty in Saturday’s Grade I Test.

Pino sat down with The Saratoga Special after Thursday’s races so locals could have an opportunity to get to know this living legend.

Q. When and where did you start riding?

A. I’ve been riding for 26 years and I started in Maryland. Actually, I used to work up here galloping horses before I ever even started riding. That was quite a few years ago. I’ve spent 26 years riding in Maryland and Delaware. I made a couple trips up here. It’s always fun up here. This time my wife and me came up and I’m riding three days here (Thursday to Saturday). It’s like a little vacation. I hope we get lucky.

Q. When was your last trip here?

A. I think it was like three years ago. I just got beat in a stakes here.

Q. Have you had any winners here?

A. I’ve won a lot of races, but only one here. I couldn’t tell you when it was so long ago.

Q. Do you know how many winners you have overall?

A. I’m going on 6,000 now. I think I need, oh, 200 more for 6,000. I’m almost there.

Q. How much longer will you ride?

A. I’m just going to keep riding until I feel like I can’t do it anymore. I feel good and I like riding. Over the years you get a little sour some days, but then you win a big race on a nice horse and you feel rejuvenated again. Right now I’m not even thinking about retirement.

Q. Is there any win that stands out as your biggest?

A. I’ve won a ton of races in Maryland. I must’ve won every big race in Maryland except the Preakness. I couldn’t pinpoint just one, though.

Q. What do you think of your mounts this weekend?

A. I ride a nice filly (Hello Liberty) in the Test. I’ve never rode her in a race but I’ve been working her and watching her replays and she looks like a quality horse. The horse that beat her, Bushfire, just came back and won again. Seven-eighths looks like it’s perfect for her. But there are a lot of horses in the race and you’ve got to get lucky in a full field like that. I’m looking forward to riding her. Larry Jones, is an awesome trainer. I’ve been riding a lot of horses for him in Delaware and I won the Prioress for him at Belmont a few weeks ago.

Q. And how about Miss Elsie in the Honorable Miss?

A. I won on her last time. She’ll have to step up a little tomorrow, but she’s a nice, quality mare and she shows up every time she runs. I like her record her last three starts: a third, a second, and a win. She’s always running hard at the end and she could be right in there.

Q. Who did you look up to when you were starting out?

A. Laffit Pincay. I used to watch him all the time. I never spent a lot of time with him. We’d watch him on TV and he’d come to ride the Preakness, but that’s all. Just looking at what Laffit has done, that amazes me right there, to come and show up every day like he did. I know just trying to get 6,000 wins is a tough go. That’s a lot of showing up every day when you don’t want to. It just amazes me how someone could keep doing that and that’s why he was one of my idols from when I first started. There were a lot of good riders I used to watch and I’d take little things from. Chris McCarron was another, and Pat Day.

Q. Is it true the turns are tighter at Pimlico or is that a myth?

A. Actually, the track seems that way. The straightaways are longer and the turns seem slightly tighter. That’s just the way it is. I don’t think it’s really a myth because riding there the first turn is a very sharp turn and you’ve got to keep turning out of the first turn. If you’re three- or four-wide on that turn it takes so much out of your horse, it’s like on the turf course. You’ve got to be on that rail into the first turn. It’s very essential. At other tracks you can lose a little bit of ground and not have to pay later, but at Pimlico it can really cost you a lot.

[At this point a ladybug lands on the cuff of Pino’s white dress shirt.]

Look at that. That’s good luck.

[Now back to the question.]

You’ve got to save ground at Pimlico. I’ve been there a long time and if you don’t save ground, you’re not going to finish up.

Q. Has wrestling in high school helped you at all as a jockey?

A. Yeah. It gave me the discipline. It’s a lot of discipline making weight, working out, getting in shape, trying to win, you know? The wrestling really helped me later on with my weight. In high school I actually weighed the same as I do now and I’m 44 now.

Q. What did you tack today?

A. I tack 115. Not comfortably, but it’s fine. If you can stay the same as you were in high school that’s pretty good. Not many people can say that.

Away for the Weekend

2007-03-16T00:17:00.000-05:00

I'm on vacation this weekend, heading to Dallas for the wedding of Equibase chartcaller Larry "The Legend" Barnes.

Sorry the week got away from me and I never found a chance to weigh in on everything that's going on.

So check back next week. In the meantime, if you haven't seen this please check it out, as The Onion is far more entertaining than anything you'll ever read on Jim's Orbit anyway...

Conspiracy Theorists Insist Barbaro Still Alive

Happy handicapping this weekend!

Troutt in this week's SI

2007-03-12T22:22:00.000-05:00

It's not available online, but visit your local newsstand and read Rick Reilly's column in the current Sports Illustrated. It's about Dallas horseowner Kenny Troutt, of WinStar Farm, and the money he drops on his son's sixth-grade basketball team.

They fly around the country (sometimes the world) on a chartered 737, usually with a parent along for the ride, staying at posh hotels and eating meals designed by the team nutritionist all the while. The team has three full-time coaches. Again, these are sixth-graders we're talking about.

The article mentioned that Troutt is a part-owner of Funny Cide, which I don't think is accurate, but maybe he somehow retains a small share, I don't know. WinStar bred Funny Cide, but I have no knowledge of Troutt being part of the Sackatoga Stable that owns him.

Speaking of which, I spotted Jack Knowlton, managing partner of Sackatoga and keynote speaker at last month's TTA awards dinner, at two different bars in New Orleans on Saturday. First I saw him at the clubhouse bar overlooking the paddock, then after the races at Liuzza's by the Track, a cozy neighborhood joint a few blocks away. Now that's a horse owner I can root for.

Sandburr to tackle big boys in N.O. 'Cap

2007-03-08T22:19:00.000-06:00

Just how lucky am I these days? I have to go to New Orleans this weekend for my friend's wedding on Saturday, which isn't scheduled to start until after dark at 7 p.m. Meaning I can head out to Fair Grounds in the afternoon for the richest day of racing in Louisiana history, with four straight Grade II stakes.

For fans of Texas racing, the most intriguing race of the afternoon might not be the Louisiana Derby, but the New Orleans Handicap featuring the great Sandburr, winner of the Star of Texas at Sam Houston in December, followed by an upset in the Fair Grounds Breeders' Cup a month later.

So does he have any chance against the likes of Master Command, More Than Regal, Liquor Cabinet, and Patriot Act?

Well, probably not. In fact, I hate to say it, but definitely not.

One thing to admire about Sandburr is his consistency. But looking at this field, every entrant is exceptionally consistent, which doesn't help the outlook for our Texas-bred hero. Sometimes I'll take a seemingly overmatched longshot at a good price if he's the type of horse that always runs his race, and he's up against a few who have run faster but have spotty records. That's when you get a solid chance at a nice price making the exacta.

But here I can't see it. This is a field of better horses, and none of them give any indication that they might throw a clunker in New Orleans.

The winner of Sandburr's last race, Master Command, ran the 8.5 furlongs that day two full seconds faster than Sandburr did while winning over the same track a month before. Some people will tell you time's not important because of how the surface changes, but when the difference is two seconds, that's significant, unless they happened to pave the track in early February.

Sandburr's just flat-out not fast enough to run with these legitimate Grade II studs. But hey, I'll be rooting for him all the way, and I give credit to Michael Stidham for taking a shot. You never know for sure until you test them, and you might as well take a chance when you're on your game and the race is in your backyard.

And think of it like this. When you're talking about a half-million-dollar purse, third place would be worth only a little less than winning the Star of Texas, and a surprise runner-up finish would be a hundred-thousand-dollar payday. And it's only a seven-horse field, so what the heck, give it a shot and see what happens. Whoa, I'm starting to sound like I work in the racing office.

Moving on...

Remember to stick around or stay tuned for the nightcap from Fair Grounds, where there's a Texas-bred that I do recommend betting on. Take a look at Capote's Diamond, looking to break his maiden in his fifth try for Larry Robideaux.

Note that two back he ran second to Louisiana Derby entrant Ketchikan, who has a good chance to surprise people in the feature. Capote's Diamond showed speed last time and faded, an angle I like. You know the colt is fast, and maybe he's more fit this time, or relaxes better, either of which could happen in Robideaux's extremely capable hands.

After a card like this, you'll probably need a good bet to get out at the end of the day. Give this one some serious consideration.

Check out TTA on MySpace!

2007-03-06T21:54:00.000-06:00

My new favorite MySpace page is not my own, but that of the Texas Thoroughbred Association...

www.myspace.com/texasracing

This just cracks me up, and you have to see the video from YouTube about Assault with Jim McKay (at least I think it's Jim McKay) narrating.

Confucius would say that the surest way to judge a person is by the friends they keep, and if this is the case then Texas Racing is doing OK because it has some great MySpace friends.

My far-and-away favorite is Better Talk Now, winner of the 2004 Breeders' Cup Turf at Lone Star Park. Now, I've seen a few racehorses with MySpace pages, but only Better Talk Now counts Barack Obama, Lou Reed, Mark Danielewski (whoa, the horse reads experimental fiction!), and several attractive young women amongst his 213 friends. And under "Who I'd like to meet" one of his responses is "Jeannine Edwards." That's the coolest horse ever.

So what's up with Sam Houston Race Park's MySpace page? It conveniently fails to mention anything about horseracing, instead focusing entirely on new country music artists. No wonder they only have 35 friends!

It seems very likely the Sam Houston page was created by whatever concert promoter they use, based on the pictures that consist almost entirely of publicity shots of musicians from the Verizon Wireless Concert Series. Let's see, 18 images and not one of a racehorse, but four of Miranda Lambert, who is scheduled to play live on March 16.

2,000 and counting

2007-03-06T21:32:00.000-06:00

I forgot to point out last week that Jim's Orbit had its 2,000th hit right around the first of the month (anyone can view the StatCounter tally below the links in the right margin). This site launched on New Year's Day, so I'm happy to report an average of 1,000 hits per month, at least for the time being!

If you're reading this, thanks for helping make this site a huge (and admittedly unexpected) success.

And if you're a horseman or business that wants to reach fans of Texas racing, don't forget that you could sponsor this site for less than you probably think! E-mail me at yourfriendjimbo@gmail.com and we'll work something out.

Anybody who ever read one of Andy Beyer's books knows the importance of identifying trends and biases before everyone else so you can get the best value. Well, it applies to advertising as much as handicapping!

Right now Jim's Orbit is hot. We're picking winners like crazy, we've been pushing Great Hunter since January, we have a loyal readership, and we have new folks taking notice on a regular basis. This is the time to get on board and partner with Jim's Orbit!

Ice Fantasy Wins Selin Memorial

2007-03-06T21:05:00.000-06:00

Here's the press release on Sunday's race that I wrote for the Race Track Industry Program...

ICE FANTASY EARNS JUMBO-SIZED PAYDAY IN INAUGURAL PETE SELIN MEMORIAL HAPPY MINUTE

TUCSON, Arizona (Monday, March 5, 2007) - With her first victory in nine months, the 5-year-old mare Ice Fantasy took home the Jumbo as the winner of Sunday’s inaugural Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute at Rillito Park in Tucson, Ariz.

Ice Fantasy dueled on the inside of post-time favorite Soha What through the early stages of the 5 1/2-furlong dash around two turns before kicking clear in the stretch to win by a comfortable margin. Soha What held on for second in the full field of eight older fillies and mares.

Like all races at Rillito, the official chart of the Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute remains unavailable until at least 48 hours after the race.

Rillito’s newest annual stakes event is named for turfwriter and University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program alumnus Pete Selin, who passed away last year at 52 after a prolonged battle with leukemia.

The race’s “Happy Minute” distinction recognizes one of Selin’s favorite traditions, a daily free drink at Tucson’s oldest watering hole, the Buffet Bar and Crock Pot.

Ice Fantasy received a trophy topped by the Buffet’s familiar 16-ounce beer glass known as the “Jumbo.” With the winner’s share of a $3,000-added purse, Ice Fantasy earned enough to purchase 1,714 Jumbos at “the Buff.”

Ice Fantasy was ridden by the meet’s leading rider, Steve Karr, for owner/trainer Harry Nelson of Fresno, Calif.

The Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute was organized by Selin’s former classmates Michael Costanzo of Pompano Park, Richard Scheidt of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, and Dr. Scot Waterman of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Racing Medication Testing Consortium, with additional support from F. Douglas Reed and the Race Track Industry Program.

Friends of Selin’s from around the country jammed the Rillito Park winner’s circle for the trophy presentation.

Plans are already in the works for next year’s Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute, which will complement a RTIP scholarship also to be named in Selin’s honor. For more information, contact the Race Track Industry Program at (520) 621-5660 or e-mail the Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute organizers at selinmemorial@yahoo.com.

--30--

Selin Memorial Happy Minute Recap

2007-03-06T19:19:00.000-06:00

What a great time in Tucson last weekend, catching up with old friends and, most importantly, remembering Pete Selin.

Rillito Park was as charming as ever. For once I actually made money there, and lots of it. I pretty much abandoned handicapping off the PPs in favor of picking horses out of the post parade with no regard for their odds. In the average Rillito race, where the field is limited to eight, five or six of the entrants will look as if they've come straight from winter on the farm. They have long hair, and are either overweight or frighteningly scrawny. And I'm not the kind of guy who can routinely tell the difference between a nice horse and a very nice horse, but I'm sharp enough to tell the difference between a racehorse and a pleasure hore that happens to have a saddlecloth with a number on it.

So most of the weekend I picked the three best-looking horses in the race and boxed them in an exacta. If there was only one who stood out, I bet him to win and place. Pretty darn simple and extremely profitable. I cleared $200 profit without ever spending more than $10 on a single race.

The Selin Memorial Happy Minute on Sunday was just a beautiful occasion. About 20 friends of Pete's turned out, including shippers from New York, Kentucky, California, and, of course, Texas. We drank, we gambled, we told stories, and we laughed. In fact, I laughed harder than I have in a long time, and that's saying something because I'm a dude who laughs a lot. I had hoped to gather storied from people to post on this blog, but when it came down to it we realized that most of the stories can't be published without embarassing the other people involved who are still living! If you want to hear the best Pete stories, you ought to just plan on coming next year.

The event's organizers put up a lot of their own money to make the race happen and for that the rest of us are beyond grateful. Big props to Mike Costanzo, Rich Scheidt, and Scot Waterman for the most perfect tribute since a hearse drove the body of PR guy Allen "Black Cat" Lacombe down the stretch and over the Fair Grounds finish line in 1989.

Even if it had been possible, Pete would have preferred this "chicken-fried" stakes race at Rillito over a $1 million-dollar Grade I at Keeneland. It brought everyone together again and that was the most important thing.

A few other random thoughts on the Tucson trip...

The University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program has some mighty fine new digs. When I went there we worked out of a basement. Now they've moved on up to this deeeluxe apartment in the sky. They've got this massive flat-screen TV where the students (and, I suspect, sometimes the staff) can chill in these huge, cozy armchairs and watch races on TVG and HRTV. Is that the greatest or what? I spent about one minute in that office and wanted to re-enroll.

Also on the topic of the RTIP, the few current students I met were very cool. There was this guy Pete, who called the Selin Memorial Happy Minute, and gave out winners all day Sunday. He knows a lot of the horsemen around Rillito and accurately predicted the winner of the Selin, relaying a fascinating story about how exactly he knew who the best horse in the race was (I can't confirm the tale so it would be totally reckless to repeat it here, but let's just say it's very appropriate that there's a conspiracy theory with chicanery involved in a race named for Pete, a man who loved to research and write about the dark side of racing!). And he gave the race a solid call, from what little I could hear.

The other RTIP student I met was Jon, who covered the race for the RTIP Update newsletter. He wore a great hat (as any good turwriter should) and also had some amusing Rillito stories. And I've since read his articles in the most recent Update and they're damn good. Better than whatever I was writing when I was there, that's for sure.

It's good to know there are still fun, crazy, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable young fans (and future industry professionals) coming through that program. It would be nice to see one or both of those dudes end up in Texas in a few years.

When it comes to simulcasting, I never thought I'd feel lucky to live in Texas. But damn, they just straight-up don't have it in Tucson anymore. I didn't get to hear why, but a city that used to have some great off-track facilities just a few years ago now has nothing. How frustrating to show up at the track on Saturday and find out we can't even see the races from Gulfstream or Santa Anita. I always thought Tucson would be a nice place to retire, but nevermind that idea.

When I did see the results of Saturday's racing online that night, I was glad to see that Great Hunter and Kip Deville came through, as did my choice in the Sam Houston feature. Sweet.

Racingdispatch.com shout-out

2007-03-05T21:09:00.000-06:00

Travis Stone of The Racing Dispatch at RacingDispatch.com gives me some props without naming me by name in his most recent column about the website's weekly Derby poll...

Racing Dispatch From the Editor 3/5/07

I've been the one dude with Great Hunter on top on every ballot since the first poll in January, so I told Travis last week that if he rolled in his comeback, I wanted some credit. Nevermind that Saturday's victory didn't really prove much more than what a lot of people would have agreed, that he's a real contender. The field he beat was not much, so I only feel partially validated. We'll see what he has next time out before I get too big for my britches.

But I thought it was cool of Travis to call attention to the fact that I've been on him all along. Not sure if any other public hadicapper had him pegged as early on so I'll have to start looking around. With Nobiz Like Shobiz coming up short this weekend I'm sure there'll be a few more people on my bandwagon. Now if only I'd bet him in the first round of the Kentucky! Derby! Presented! by! Yum! Brands! Future Wager when he closed at 24-1.

By the way, it was a big week for the horses who started out at Lone Star Park last summer. Not only did Great Hunter stamp himself as a legit Derby contender, but the defending Grand Prairie Turf Challenge champion, Kip Deville, won the Grade I Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita. There's never a shortage of quality horses coming out of Texas (keep in mind the recent success of Dixie Meister, too); the problem is coming up with the purses to keep them running here, if even for part of the year.

Great 3-year-old race Saturday

2007-03-01T21:27:00.000-06:00

OK, so maybe it's not the most important 3-year-old race this Saturday, but the one-mile Texas Heritage at old Sam Houston attracted some interesting colts for a $45,000 purse.

I don't have time for a full analysis on this one, but I'll tell you I like Bernie Flint's Speedway for the win. He's the 3-1 morning line favorite and if you can get 2-1 or better, which you might, then I say go for it.

The first thing that stands out is the breeding. He's a son of Forest Wildcat, and his mama was a graded stakes winner of more than $220,000.

Flint doesn't ship this way often so I'll take that to mean this one's ready to win. But he's not going to take on the sophomores stabled at Oaklawn right now, which includes a few that are Kentucky Derby-bound, so why not send him to Houston for a decent purse and more black type?

Most of the contenders here are fairly obvious, but I also encourage you to consider Hadacure, the half-brother to four-time stakes winner and half-million earner Rare Cure. He bombed here against state-breds in December, but Joe Petalino has given him plenty of rest this winter and I foresee a strong effort at a good price. Morning line is 12-1!

Here's how I see it...

Speedway
Hadacure
Beta Capo
Banquo
Makeithapencaptain (Bob Dylan up)
El Kabong
Daddy Warbucks
I Spy Wolfie
Dream America
Daddy's Mistress

Selin in DRF and an old column

2007-02-28T17:53:00.000-06:00

Sunday's Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute got a mention in Thursday's Daily Racing Form...

Daily Racing Form "Etc." 2/27/07

See previous posts for more details on the event, and check back here next week for a recap and photos.

Here's a column I wrote following Pete's death for the North Adams Transcript, the daily paper where I was living at the time in Western Massachusetts...

Back when I was at the University of Arizona studying the business of horseracing, one of my friends was “non-traditional” student Pete Selin, who died of complications from leukemia last Friday in Venice, Fla. at the age of 52. He was a club owner, musicologist, racetrack publicist and a memorable writer who fell somewhere between Damon Runyon and Hunter Thompson.

On the topic of slot machines at tracks, Pete, a lovable curmudgeon if ever there was one, wrote: “All this extra gaming jibba jabba only makes it sort of pathetic, like some Nora Desmond dowager, eager for the limelight once again, careening into the camera all rouged and smeared lipstick proclaiming, ‘I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.’ Racing’s gone cat daddy; people have just moved past it no matter what the jibba jabba offered.”

When I was in my early 20s, Pete was in his late 40s; that’s why Arizona referred to him as “non-traditional.” I took to calling him “Old Pete,” a response to his penchant for addressing me as “Young Jim.” He would bust out this patronizing moniker when exasperated by my ignorance, usually to something obscure like some Jets linebacker from the 70s or the appropriate strategy for defending a narrow lead in shuffleboard.

“Great jabberin Jaysus!” he’d bellow incredulously while shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re from Louisiana and you don’t know who Boozoo Chavis is? Oh, Young Jim, you have so much to learn.”

When something sparked Pete’s interest, he attacked it and absorbed everything there was to know. He had hundreds of CDs and tapes of musicians from Texas and Louisiana. He also kept a three-inch green binder jammed with clippings and notes on race fixing. If you ever wanted to know about Sylvester Carmouche, an infamous Cajun jockey who once hid his mount in a roux-thick fog at the top of the stretch before jumping out to win by 21 lengths, Pete had a file on him more detailed than any at the Louisiana Racing Commission.

Pete’s contagious joie de vivre never faded with age. Especially vivid in my mind is the night he tried to get me to drive from Tucson to Las Vegas at 4 a.m. At the time this was the stupidest idea I’d ever heard. It would take more than seven hours. I was tired. I had no money. We had class that morning. I made a bet with Pete and two other friends that they wouldn’t even make it to Casa Grande, let alone Phoenix.

After class the next day I listened in disbelief to a jubilant voicemail from my buddies, laughing the elated laughter of people drunk on audacity as they held the cell phone up to a bank of chiming slot machines. Pete was kind enough not to start the message with a pitying “Oh, Young Jim…” In this case, I already knew I missed out.

Before Pete fell in love with racing—“when I didn’t know the difference between a stakes race and a steak sandwich,” he’d say—he was a successful club owner and manager in Texas. In Houston, he ran joints called Club Hey Hey and The Bon Ton Room. He booked hundreds of shows and hung around accordion players like Boozoo.

But once he had enough of the nightlife, he had no problem following his muse. Just a couple of years after seeing his first live horse race, he moved west to go back to school and learn all he could about a complex and unpopular sport. He wasn’t scared to leave behind his friends and a secure life back in Texas. He wasn’t scared of being the oldest man in his class. He wasn’t scared of the prospect of an entry-level job after graduation at 47. He just wanted to be part of something new and exciting to him, so he did it.

There won’t be another opportunity to drive all night to Vegas with Old Pete, but there will be other chances for me to heed his lessons and live for the moment. If and when I should meet St. Peter by the pearly starting gate, I don’t want him to shake his head and say, “Oh, Young Jim, you have so much to learn.”

Racing Dispatch Derby Poll

2007-02-28T17:51:00.000-06:00

I've been putting Great Hunter on top all year and this weekend we finally get to see if I have any clue what the hell I'm talking about. Here's my most recent top 20, cast on Monday...

Great Hunter
Nobiz Like Shobiz
Street Sense
Notional
Circular Quay
Ravel
Birdbirdistheword
Any Given Saturday
Teuflesberg
Summer Doldrums
Noble Court
Law Breaker
Scat Daddy
Day Pass
Liquidity
Imawildandcrazyguy
Adore the Gold
Forty Grams
Ketchican
Zanjero

Teuflesberg

2007-02-21T22:12:00.000-06:00

What's a good blog without heavy doses of self-promotion?

I would like to call your attention to the Feb. 6 Racing Dispatch Derby Poll, in which the forgotten Teuflesberg received only 16 points to place 38th. Now scroll down and see who had him ranked 15th that week, before he won the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn and thrust himself into the middle of the Kentucky Derby picture.

This son of a gun showed a ton of heart at Saratoga last summer, nearly upsetting the Grade I Sanford over Scat Daddy (lost by a nose in a headbob). Trainer Jamie Sanders told John Lies of The Saratoga Special (and LS track announcer) at that time about how she used to gallop Teuflesberg's dam when she worked for Nick Zito, which was part of the reason she wanted Teuflesberg so badly and felt lucky to get him at auction for the bargain-basement price of $9,000. Sanders remembered what a fighter the dam was as a filly and commented then how Teuflesberg was the same way.

It was that memory that caused me to bet him in an allowance race last fall, I think at Churchill. I was at home in New Orleans watching it on TVG with my dad, who thought I was a genius for picking this horse out of the post parade at something like 9-2. He looked awesome that day, just as determined as he had been at Saratoga but looking more stout and powerful.

So I kept him in my Top 20 all this time, and when I read he scratched from the Fair Grounds stakes race a few weeks ago due to a bad post, that told me they really liked their chances and weren't just in there on a lark. Then he goes and upsets Hard Spun at Oaklawn, another race from this weekend I wish I had been watching.

Stupid Betting/Smart Lipo

2007-02-21T20:45:00.000-06:00

Sorry I've been away. Especially since I know I would've nailed the TTA stakes at Sam Houston this weekend. When I read about them last week, without even handicapping, I had two thoughts...

1. Wrenice will be a good bet, because she had such a bad trip at Delta but everyone will think she can't get the distance.

2. One of those Asmussen colts will win because, well, that's just the way it works around here. And when he's got four or however many in a stakes, you bet the inexperienced ones that are unproven, but you know are in there for a reason. Hello, Tiffany Jennifer!

So I don't regret going to Mardi Gras and leaving Texas behind for a few days, even if the Al Stall-Wes Hawley exacta I cashed at Fair Grounds on Sunday doesn't make up for what I might've made on 30-1 Banquo in the Jim's Orbit division of the Texas Stallion Stakes. But man it would have been nice to be at Sam Houston on Saturday.

Anyway, this weekend at Hou we have the Tomball Stakes, and it just so happens that right now on Fox-26 News at 9 they're showing live footage of a cosmetic surgery in progress in the Houston suburb of Tomball. Why I have no idea, because now it's over and I didn't turn the volume up in time, but they'll be checking back later and I'll be sure to fill you in.

In any case, nominees for the Tomball, for older Texas-breds at 8.5 furlongs on turf, are impressive. It's a lot of the usual suspects, but it could be a meeting of some of our favorites: Agrivating General, Dreamsandvisions, General Charley, Goosey Moose, Northern Scene, and Sandburr.

Live from Tomball on Fox-26, they're showing a new surgical procedure to remove fat, available in Texas exclusively at this one place in Tomball. It involves a laser, but it also apparently involves a large scalpel in your side. I still don't get it really, but they just had a teaser promising more details later in the newscast.

OK, it's something called Smart Lipo and the anchors are doing a talkback right now with the patient, who says she's very comfortable and is doing this laser/needle surgery for a nicer figure. So it's not a scalpel, but a needle to tighten up the colagen under the skin. It costs $4,000 for the first part of your body, and $2,000 for each additional location. You can go home the same night, and in 10 minutes the Fox-26 audience gets to see the results. Apparently it's all the rage in Tomball. They didn't clarify, though, whether $4,000 gets you one spot on both sides of your body. Say you want your butt done, is it $4,000 for one cheek and $2,000 for the other, or just a flat $4,000?

By the way, I'm not making this crap up. How could I and why would I want to? I just happened to be writing this and had the news on after American Idol and wouldn't you know it, Tomball is the backdrop for tonight's big "news" story. Now there's a "race" of sorts on Fox-26, where they've been promising to show the results at 9:45, but it's only five minutes away and this poor woman is still on the operating table with a huge needle stuck in her side! Please God, don't let her die! And please God, don't let her still be slightly obese! Where is House when we need him?

OK, she's done, and she's alive. The laser "literally melted the fat," which was then "sucked out by the needle."

Oh man, what a scam. All night they set it up as if we would see this woman's results, and then they just showed images of "typical results." I feel so cheated, so used. It'll be two weeks until this lady can take off the bandages and see how she looks, and they have no plans to show that on Fox-26. Lame!

Enough about this. Check back before the weekend for horse-by-horse analysis of the Tomball Stakes.

More on Selin Memorial Happy Minute

2007-02-11T22:35:00.000-06:00

Below is the latest info on the Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute, honoring the late Lone Star Park press box staffer, from a letter distributed by the organizers. I'm happy to say that I booked my flight tonight, and my wife-to-be is coming, too. Strangely enough, we're using transportation vouchers that we've been saving since last year's Kentucky Derby, when our flights home were overbooked. The racing gods have provided for us once again!

Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute

Rillito Park, in Tucson, Ariz., will host the inaugural Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute on Sunday, March 4, 2007. The race is named after the University of Arizona RTIP alumnus and turf writer who passed away on January 27, 2006, following a multi-year struggle with chronic leukemia.

This event has been assembled in Pete’s honor, and we believe it is a fitting tribute to a one-of-a-kind friend and mentor who rarely missed a day of racing at Rillito Park or a Happy Minute at the Buffet Bar and Crock Pot.

Pete touched the lives of many, and while some of you have already contacted us wishing to contribute to the purse, in order to have the race promoted with the horsemen at Rillito Park in a timely manner, this year's edition has been set at $3,000 guaranteed (with an additional 15 points, the maximum under the Rillito purse structure). Including the entry fee, we anticipate the total purse to be $4,000+.

In lieu of donating to the purse, we ask that you make an attempt to come to Tucson for the race. We realize that this isn’t an option for everyone, but it would be great to see a large turnout for what promises to be a memorable weekend.

We are planning to run this event each year, so after the inaugural 2007 edition, we can begin talks of raising the purse money for the 2008 running. One day we hope to label the Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute as the richest event offered at Rillito Park.

We are in the process of reserving a block of rooms at the University Marriott, and the more rooms we can fill, the cheaper the rate will be. If you are interested in staying at the Marriott, contact us at selinmemorial@yahoo.com before you begin the reservation process.

Hope to see you at the races on March 4.

Scot Waterman
Richard Scheidt
Michael Costanzo

Wild Encounter wins Jersey Village

2007-02-11T17:17:00.000-06:00

As predicted by Jim’s Orbit last week, Wild Encounter won Saturday night’s Jersey Village Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths over Sweet Idea. Read the Sam Houston news recap here.

This was extremely exciting for me, as it cinched a nice winning ticket on the single-single-all Pick 3 that I’d played in races 7-9. It started with 5-1 Gentlemen’s Gun easily taking a 6 1/2-furlong non-winners-of-two claimer, and then I wrapped it up with Wild Encounter, who ended up the post time favorite, even though she was not the public’s choice in the multi-race wagering pools. I was surprised, as I had pegged Bret Calhoun’s Sweet Idea as the probable favorite. I certainly wasn’t the only one, as the morning line oddsmaker had Wild Encounter as the 6-1 fourth choice and Sweet Idea as the 9-5 fave. Perhaps more people are being influenced by my handicapping on this blog than I realized!

Alas, my Pick 3 came back relatively soft when a 6-5 favorite won the ninth. That was Governors Trixie, who took longer to load than she did to win the race.

But enough about my winning night, let’s talk about the incredible Wild Encounter, who boldly bullied her way through on the rail under a confident ride by Roimes Chirinos.

It was the 4-year-old Burbank filly’s fifth win in six tries, with the lone loss being a valiant fourth while laboring over yielding turf in last month’s Allen’s Landing.

After the race I had the pleasure of speaking with winning trainer Michelle Lovell. The former jockey (formerly known as Michelle Hanley) has quickly established herself as one of the top trainers in Texas after only three years as a licensed conditioner. Michelle and her husband Casey have 50 stalls at Sam Houston this season, and are getting the most out of them, with 15 wins already, good for fourth in the standings.

Michelle first caught my attention at Lone Star last spring, where she won quality races at a high percentage and was a great bet because she was still flying under the radar, at least early in the meet. That’s not really the case anymore, as people have caught on to how well her barn performs overall. It used to be that live horses of hers could always be found in the 5-1 and up range, overlooked by bettors who concentrated on the usual suspects. But nowadays, Michelle IS one of those suspects.

In any case, here’s the transcript of our conversation last night, which also includes some comments by winning co-owner Mark Martinez of Agave Racing Stable.

Jim: Lets start with Wild Encounter's last race [the Allen’s Landing]. I was watching the replay a while ago and it looked as if she wasn’t liking the surface that night and she was fighting the jockey early on

Michelle: Yeah, I think she always runs 100-percent, but more than anything I think she had a lot of tough races back to back and we’d been running her pretty good. She ran a little bit flat that night and I think the surface had a lot to do with that. She had been running on a pretty firm surface and it was really boggy that night. She had to work real hard over it and just kind of flattened out. But she always wants to run.

Jim: Were you surprised by how powerful her win tonight was?

Michelle: No, because I thought she went into this race a little better. Not that she was off or anything last time, she was doing everything well going into that race, but this time I just really liked her and we were really wanting to win this one. I was not surprised because I thought if she fired her regular shot she would get there, and she did.

Jim: The ride was very impressive. Were you worried about her going up the rail like she did?

Michelle: It’s a little scary when you’re waiting behind a wall of horses, but that’s how we want her to run. She runs late anyway and she’s pretty brave. I was a little worried, not that she wouldn’t run through the hole, but that we might not get one.

Jim: Your stable had really come a long way in three years. To what do you attribute your quick success?

Michelle: Good owners and lots of hard work. I don’t know why these guys trust me with their horses but they do.

Mark: I wouldn’t trust them to anybody else. A friend of ours introduced us and Wild Encounter was the first horse of mine that Michelle had. We’ve got 10 either in the stalls or on the farm, and 2-year-olds that are on their way. Michelle’s got the entire string. She’s quite a woman and quite a trainer. She’s a great caretaker and easy to work with. I’m a huge fan. And believe me, I won’t give you the whole list of names, but I’ve had a lot of trainers since I’ve been in the business and she could stand with any of them.

Jim: So what’s next for Wild Encounter?

Mark: I’ll let her call that one.

Michelle: I try to play it one at a time, looking three or four weeks ahead. I think there was a stakes race every month that she could run in at this meet, as long as she’s happy and healthy going into it.

Mark: We might run her in a $10,000 starter. She’s still eligible for one of those and they run them over at Fairgrounds on the turf.

Jersey Village Preview

2007-02-07T23:00:00.000-06:00

Where else on the Internet but Jim's Orbit can you find horse-by-horse handicapping analysis for the week's top stakes race in Texas, written by someone who lives and goes to the races in Texas? The answer, as far as I know, is nowhere!

Saturday night at Sam Houston is the $45,000 Jersey Village for older Texas-bred females at 8.5 furlongs on the turf.

We'll go from the rail out...

BETTY GARR
I'm always willing to dismiss a poor effort over off going. The 4-year-old chestnut is competitive with these, based on a respectable finish in the San Jacinto in December, but does not stand out as a likely winner.

SWEET IDEA
Still on the duck at Oaklawn, this is a good opportunity for Q-Ham to experience winning again after a month away from Texas. This Langfuhr filly was a head away from taking the Lone Star Oaks against open company last summer, and she's already a two-time winner on dirt this season. There's no main-track stakes for her until next month, so my guess is that Calhoun is just taking a shot because the filly's in form. But this is a much different, thicker turf course from Lone Star, the only one where she's ever had success. And she'll have some other speed pressing her from the outside. To me, it all adds up to an overbet favorite. Let's take a shot against her in this vulnerable spot.

NIGHT SPEEKER
A game second at long odds in the Allen's Landing last month, but that's hard to gauge on paper with slow fractions over a yielding course. This is why we need something more scientific than an adjective to rate the turf's firmness in our past performances. How am I supposed to know (without watching the replay, I mean) if that was an easy lead, or if they labored over a heavy bog? I want to root for her, but still suspect she's overmatched.

LA RAINE OF TERROR
Now this one's interesting. Was beaten badly by Sweet Idea two back, but on the main track. Her one turf start was a respectable fourth in a $40,000 maiden at Delaware, where they have some very good grass racing. She won easy a few weeks ago in an entry-level state-bred allowance, one of the only winners Walker had the weekend I predicted he would go nuts. She comes from off the pace and has the underappreciated Walker back aboard. Lots to like here.

BRUSHABYBABY
I would normally dismiss her outright, but for this one she picks up the services of leading jockey Larry Taylor, who rides them all to win and regularly comes through with crazy longshots. She looks way overmatched but I've seen Larry do it too many times to not use her. I realize this may not sound like a very compelling reason to some people, but seriously, the guy could get third place money riding a kayak in the Kentucky Derby.

I.B.'s HALO
Three starts this meet, three third-place finishes, all in stakes. Hard to argue with that, but three of this race's competitors finished ahead of her in those races with no excuses. I'll get creative and pick her for third.

WILD ENCOUNTER
Reeled off four in a row, including a dead-heat in the San J, before losing over a yielding course. She's ultraconsistent, proven over the course, the distance, and in stakes. Nothing not to like, except maybe the price, but we'll hope Sweet Idea attracts more love from other bettors.

SO SORRY
This is a tough spot to try stretching out for the first time, but her sire was a Grade I winner going long. Nonetheless, there isn't much in the PPs to suggest this is doable for her.

OLMOSTA
Not even closeta. Can't support one who has never managed to hit the board in three turf tries.

So now that I've analyzed, here's my predicted order of finish (why only give a top three when you have all the space in the world?)...

1. WILD ENCOUNTER
2. LA RAINE OF TERROR
3. I.B.'s HALO
4. SWEET IDEA
5. BETTY GARR
6. BRUSHABYBABY
7. SO SORRY
8. NIGHT SPEEKER
9. OLMOSTA

Good luck to all!

Racing Dispatch Derby Poll Week 3

2007-02-07T00:07:00.000-06:00

Here's the latest poll from racingdispatch.com...

Racing Dispatch Derby Poll 3

So who is this one jackass that keeps ranking Great Hunter first every week?

That would be yours truly. And believe me, it's no disrespect to Nobiz Like Shobiz, the clear leading votegetter right now. But I'm a big fan of Great Hunter's pedigree, and he's got the right (if not my favorite) connections. He's not on the top of people's minds yet without a race in 2007, but he's working steadily and I expect him to make a big impression next month. And let's not forget that he made his first two starts, including his maiden-breaker, at Lone Star Park in the great state of Texas (though I promise you that did not influence my voting one bit; I really believe in him).

Here's a wild, random note on Great Hunter's bloodlines. If you read my article about Wrenice, you'll hear owner/breeder Guy Hamblen talk about how he liked the idea of Wrenice having Buckpasser on both sides of her (at first glance) unimpressive pedigree. In fact, Buckpasser's female descendents on both sides were bred to Seattle Slew. Well, this idea of cross-duplicating is, um, duplicated in Great Hunter, as well. He has Buckpasser on both sides, and the immediate descendent was a female, but in Great Hunter's case those fillys were both bred to Northern Dancer, the leading sire, like, ever.

Is this significant? Who the heck knows? But I at least found it fascinating given Hamblen's seemingly random success with Wrenice. Watch out for Great Hunter with those heavy doses of Buckpasser and Northern Dancer blood.

In any case, as promised, here are my votes, for you to praise or ridicule as you see fit. In order (1 to 20): Great Hunter, Nobiz Like Shobiz, Street Sense, Ravel, Circular Quay, Birdbirdistheword, Zanjero, Scat Daddy, Hard Spun, Any Given Saturday, Minefield, Day Pass, Dilemma, Liquidity, Teuflesberg, Notional, Pegasus Wind, Grasshopper, Soaring By, Came to Pass.

Texas Champions in Texas Thoroughbred

2007-02-06T23:59:00.000-06:00

The Texas Thoroughbred has a preview of its Texas Champions issue online here, with eight articles from seven links profiling all of the Texas Champions (the Dixie Meister link also includes the story about broodmare of the year Dixity Do Dah). Here you can read my piece on Wrenice as it appears in the magazine, which you should still buy if you don't already subscribe.

Chambers on Bill Pettit

2007-02-04T22:48:00.000-06:00

One longtime Texas trainer that I have to admit to not knowing much about is Bill Pettit. But now, thanks to Randy Chambers of Texas Horse News, there's a good profile of Pettit out there...

Around the Track (Texas Horse News)

Pettit is best known as the trainer of Texas-bred stakes regulars Charming Socialite and Giant Bellyache.

One thing you gotta love about Texas racing is the high percentage of trainers who are honest to goodness cowboys. In the era of corporate CEO trainers who appear more comfortable in a necktie than bluejeans, the Texas trainers, by and large, still look and act as if they could fill in as outriders if called upon. And these dudes like Danny Pish and Bill Pettit, who used to ride bulls and rope calves and all that, they are just a different breed that only comes from Texas.

Memories of Barbaro

2007-01-29T23:54:00.000-06:00

The news about Barbaro today hit pretty hard. After all these months I really believed he was going to make it. I think everybody did, except the vets and experienced horsemen who know better.

After hearing the official word at work this afternoon, I came home and spent some time watching whatever Barbaro-related videos I could find on youtube. Once my wife-to-be came home, I told her the news and suggested we drink some bourbon and view some more Barbaro tributes. This wasn’t something Miranda would normally partake in, but I took her to Louisville for her first Kentucky Derby this year, so, thankfully, she sort of understood.

Youtube has about two dozen schmaltzy Barbaro tributes, some of which are very well done and can really get to you if you turn down the music and just focus on the unbelievable images.

(Quick survey of artists whose songs serve as soundtracks to Youtube Barbaro tributes: Michael Bolton, Katharine McPhee, someone called Whisper of the Garden, Enya, and, of course, about 20 appearances of Dan Fogelberg’s “Run for the Roses.” Surely that crap would make the reigning Derby champ rear up in his grave. My recommendation is to mute your computer and blast Johnny Cash’s “When the Man Comes Around.”)

But the best video I found was of the Derby, shot by a fan right across from the eighth pole at Churchill Downs. The audio is priceless, featuring a woman shouting for Barbaro, and, at the moment he comes rolling past, widening his lead with every stride, a male voice exclaims, “Holy s---!”

This was shot just a few rows in front of where I sat for the Derby, and when I showed it to Miranda she said it was definitely me, that she remembered me shouting that. I hadn’t even considered the possibility, but it’s exactly what I was thinking, and it sounds like something I would say. The voice could be mine, I don’t know. Regardless, it was amazing to see this, just like I remember it in my mind…

Barbaro winning the Kentucky Derby (:29)"

Two weeks later I watched the Preakness from the Lone Star Park press box. It was the saddest day I’ve ever experienced at a racetrack. The silence, the bad moods, the awkwardness of running live races shortly after. And I remember staying late into the night, even though there was nothing to do, just because none of us wanted to leave. Darren Rogers obsessively posted updates on the Lone Star Press Box blog, and we called New Bolton a few times even though they just kept telling us they were sorry, but they couldn’t release any info.

Another thought I couldn’t get out of my head tonight was my continued dismay over the voters who failed to award Barbaro an Eclipse Award as Champion 3-Year-Old.

I won’t argue that Bernardini wasn’t worthy. But Barbaro was more worthy. For winning the most important 3-year-old race of them all, and winning it in the kind of way that causes somebody to exclaim “Holy s---!” at the sight of him flying past the furlong marker. A “sublime” performance, as Tom Durkin so perfectly called it.

Sure, he never won again, and he never beat older horses, and blah blah blah. But he won the one that counts most. And it’s not like he was retired by overly cautious or greedy owners. He sat on the sidelines fighting valiantly for eight months, the most courageous and sustained battle for life of any racehorse in memory. With those accomplishments--on the track and at the hospital--if Barbaro isn’t deserving of an Eclipse Award, then who is?

But enough second-guessing. Let’s be thankful we had Barbaro while we did, like all the other great ones that left us way too early.

Plans afoot for Selin stakes at Ril

2007-01-28T22:15:00.000-06:00

Where do I even start with this one?

Plans are being finalized for a stakes race at Tucson's Rillito Park that will honor former Lone Star Park press box staffer Pete Selin, co-organizer Michael Costanzo told Jim's Orbit last week.

The race, dubbed the Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute, is tentatively scheduled for March 4 at the infamous Arizona bullring. Organizers are hoping to raise enough funds for a $5,000 purse, which would likely make it the meet's richest event and, more importantly, qualify the race name for recognition in the official Equibase chart, the Incompass racing information system, and the Daily Racing Form. In other words, the organizers don't want just another named race, they want something that will live forever in racing's official records.

Costanzo says that about half the purse remains to be raised. Anyone interested in contributing can contact me at yourfriendjimbo@gmail.com and I'll put them in touch with the right people.

I'll be there, for sure, and so will a lot of other racing folks who loved Pete Selin. He only worked in racing a few years, but he touched a lot of lives. He also touched a lot of beers, but still, probably more lives.

Selin was the media relations assistant at Lone Star until he was diagnosed with leukemia in February 2002. He passed away last January.

I first knew Pete when we were students at the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program. His recommendation helped me land the job as his replacement at Lone Star, undoubtedly the biggest pair of shoes I'll ever try to fill. He was one of the most charismatic and intelligent men I ever had the privilege of knowing, and I can't even begin to tell you what he meant to all his classmates in Tucson. But I will try as the Pete Selin Memorial Happy Minute draws nearer, so check back here for more event updates and remembrances.

Happy Minute, by the way, is a revered ritual at Tucson's oldest watering hole, the Buffet Bar and Crock Pot. Anyone in the bar at 5:45 p.m. gets a free drink, simple as that. Pete loved the tradition and helped popularize it amongst friends, classmates, and more than a few visiting lecturers.

It's hard to imagine any more fitting tribute to Pete than this scheme, dreamed up by three of his closest friends and admirers in racing. Costanzo's cohorts are Richard Scheidt of Del Mar and Scot Waterman of the NTRA vice squad. Even if they don't make it to $5,000, it's a beautiful story that would undoubtedly tickle old Pete.

RacingDispatch.com Derby Poll

2007-01-28T21:22:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again...time for the racing prognosticators, including me, to renew the annual ritual of drawing straws and pretending as if we have any idea who will win the Kentucky Derby, which is still more than three months away. All the speculation is great fun, of course, but anyone who actually lands on the Derby winner in January is nothing more than the recipient of some good fortune. Unless, of course, that person duplicates the feat over a few years, then I'll start believing that any winter opinions truly matter.

Not that the Derby Watches and Triple Crown Manias and so forth are a waste of time. They're how we familiarize ourselves with the competitors and learn the storylines so we know what's what when the field is finally set. I guess my point is, don't go wasting your money on future wagers or boasting to people that the allowance winner you saw on the Gulfstream simulcast is your new Derby horse. The real handicapping doesn't start for another two months.

That said, I can't resist being part of the fun. There's a great new weekly poll of media, plus a handful of legitimate experts, over at racingdispatch.com. There are 20 participants, one of which, for some reason, is me. Also in on the fun is this state's (and the region's) foremost racing journalist, and one of the ones I refer to as a legitimate expert, Gary West.

The 20 voters rank their top 20 Derby prospects from 1 to 20, with point values assigned according to ranking. It's a great way to get a feel for some sort of consensus, as opposed to the individual lists out there. In this case I'd call it more of a "Wiseguy Consensus," since these are not your typical racing media poll voters and this is not your typical poll. Unlike, say, the NTRA poll of 3-year-olds, which ranks the colts based on what they've accomplished, this poll is a bunch of pundits forecasting the potential to win one race in particular. In other words, the Racing Dispatch poll is more fun, more useful, and far less obvious!

By the way, I wanted to link to the NTRA poll, but it looks like it isn't going yet. The current one on their website is from last June. Anyone know for sure if that's a website maintenance issue, or does the NTRA stop conducting the 3-year-old poll after the Belmont? Either way, that's pretty lame.

Anyway, I was invited into the Racing Dispatch poll by Louisiana Downs track announcer Travis Stone, who I first met while we were on the Saratoga Special staff together in 2005. I don't know these other dudes running the Racing Dispatch, but Travis is one of the most enthusiastic and dedicated racing fans I've met, so check out his poll, his site, and his racecalls. His passion comes through in all of these endeavors and that alone is good enough reason to be thankful we have him in the region.

In any case, I'm honored, but totally intimidated, to be in a poll with some of these guys, especially Mr. West. Here I am, cramming like a seventh-year college student just trying to round out my top 20. Meanwhile, West, as usual, has a list of 50 contenders, some of whom I've never even heard of! Visit the Lone Star Park Press Box Blog to see his numbers 25-50, which couldn't fit into the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Being in this poll I'm totally paranoid about voting for a horse that's off the trail and looking like a total doofus. Our individual votes aren't listed on racingdispatch.com, but this week I'll start listing my votes here. Why? Because I believe in transparency and accountability, dammit!

Other Texas-based racing blogs

2007-01-28T14:43:00.000-06:00

I'm finding out that there are other Texas-based racing blogs out there. However, I stand by my claim as "The First Texas Racing Blog," at least until someone sends some kind of cease and desist order.

I came to find these other blogs thanks to the Lone Star Park Press Box Blog, which gave me a nice plug the other day. Here are the others I now know about...

Post Parade
Sue Broux of Grapevine is quite a writer. You absolutely MUST check out her recent post that compares a recent paragraph written by Gary West of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram with one that appeared in Steve Haskin's Blood-Horse article a few days later. Hilarious, and more than a little suspicious. I don't think anybody as visible as Haskin could be stupid enough to plagiarize another popular turfwriter, but then again, I consistently underestimate the stupidity of most people.

The Paddock
This guy Joe Coker is currently focusing on Santa Anita. Love the photo of him in front of the All-Star Jockey Championship mural at Lone Star.

We're all in this together so check 'em out.

MAXXAM Past-posting

2007-01-28T14:38:00.000-06:00

I hate to get involved in “past-posting” and woulda, shoulda, coulda, but I want to apologize for not doing my part to help everyone here cash on Saturday night’s MAXXAM Gold Cup at Sam Houston. I had some real opinions on this race, but the week got away from me and I never got a chance to finish my preview and get it posted. Naturally, the horses I liked all did well and I had nothing to show for it. In fact, I never even got a chance to see the race.

What I can tell you is that there are two great new exhibitions at museums in Houston, the Everyday People show of photography at the Menil Collection and Louisville native Sam Gilliam’s retrospective at the Contemporary Arts Museum. Back to back openings on Thursday and Friday, plus the arrival of my family for the weekend, kept me too busy to get to or even think about the races.

The only racing-related part of my weekend came when I found out that the father of the curator of the current CAMH exhibition, Jonathan Binstock, owned a few stakes winners in New York in the Eighties and supposedly had one 3-year-old that was a brief player on the Derby Trail before clipping heels with General Assembly and suffering a serious injury. Not that I checked any of this for accuracy, I just found it interesting. The art world is full of people who used to own racehorses.

Anyway, for the record, here’s my incomplete analysis of the MAXXAM. I would not have picked the winner, Student Council, but I encouraged wheeling the consistent Texas-bred Goosey Moose in third! The trifecta paid $239.20. Not that I had it.

THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, IT’S OUR FAVORITE ALL-CAPITAL-LETTER STAKES EVENT, THE MAXXAM GOLD CUP AT SAM HOUSTON RACE PARK.

This year’s MAXXAM is an awesome race, whether you’re interested in sport or wagering. It’s got three of my favorite Texas-breds, two of which have legitimate shots of winning (and a third who will almost surely win once I’ve proclaimed him overmatched).

More importantly, the shippers are a quality group of established stakes winners and promising allowance winners.

One exercise that always helps my handicapping is writing a bit about each horse in a race, forcing me to look a little closer and often discover a supposed outsider who is actually quite competitive. That said, let’s look at the field…

ANDANIGHT
There are actually four Texas-breds in the MAXXAM, and this is the one that isn’t one of my three favorites. The gray has been hopelessly overmatched in recent tries against other state-breds and shows no evidence of being able to get nine furlongs.

MIDDLEWEIGHT
Let’s get ready to ruuuummmmbllllle! The defending champ doesn’t show as good of form as he did coming into last year’s race, but the work in the slop is promising and I’ve always respected Stall. Factor in that 46-percent second-off-the-layoff clip in a 13-start sample and this one looks dangerous for the repeat. If the bettors lay off this could be a cagey value play.

GOLDEN GLEN
After three in-the-money finishes, including a win, in 50k claimers, Barnett hopes he can sneak over from New Orleans and steal one of our nice pots. But let me tell you, it’s not that easy. A hundred-grander is a hundred-grander whether it’s in Houston (or the suburbs of Houston) or New Orleans or Lexington. This one looks like a contender in many ways, but don’t fall for it.

CHARMING SOCIALITE
Is a monster sprinter, and I love him, but not in this spot. I’d be happy to be wrong about that. Larry Taylor can do no wrong right now and he’s one of my favorites as far as getting the most out of every horse he rides. I’m watching American Idol right now, which explains why I’m thinking, “Sorry, sweetheart, but it’s a no.”

MR. PURSUIT
This guy proved he’s for real with three wins over some serious horses, many of them older, at the end of last year. I don’t recall Petalino making a habit out of working his nice ones extraordinarily fast, which makes me think he’s breezing bullets without trying too hard. Has the right style, a very good trainer who knows how to point to big races, and the dependable Cliff “The Man of Constant Sorrow” Berry in the saddle.

STUDENT COUNCIL
I remember seeing this horse at Saratoga last summer. He developed a small but rabid cult following amongst the staff of the Saratoga Special due to the fact that he was one of the most perfect-looking horses on the grounds, which says something at a place teeming with the world’s most beautiful racehorses. But it ain’t a beauty pageant, as they say, and those striking good looks never did the son of Kingmambo much good in New York. Howard seems to be coming around to the fact that the horse runs better on dirt, but this is a tall order.

REAL ECHO
There must be better spots out there for this horse. He got drilled in his last two starts of 2006 against $25,000 claimers in Kentucky before a decent allowance win over this track. He’s way overmatched and I just don’t get why he’s here. Must be that famous MAXXAM Fever.

GOOSEY MOOSE
This old guy always gives his best, but I’m afraid that’s not good enough in this race. However, as consistent as he is, especially here in Houston, he’s very appealing as a horse to key on the bottom of your exotics. Can’t decide who you like to win? Take this lovable old guy and use him to hit the board and maybe you’ll catch an upset winner and have two longshots that’ll produce a sweet score.

MORE THAN REGAL
He supposedly had a bad trip when Mr. Pursuit beat him straight-up in the Oklahoma Derby, and it’s very difficult to separate the two. The horse he beat last time that the past performances show was a next-out winner, Guiding Hand,

And that's as far as I got.

Looking for some help

2007-01-23T19:15:00.000-06:00

I have great visions for this site, but have to take it one step at a time. One thing I know for sure, though, is that this site will never reach its potential without the help of other racing fanatics and participants around Texas.

Here's one way you might be able to help, if you're so inclined...

BECOME A CORRESPONDENT - Are you a decent writer who wants to report on racing in your neck of the woods? Are you willing to do it for nothing? If you answered yes to both these questions, you need to do two things. First, please consider therapy, because you've got some kind of problem. Second, send me an e-mail because I'd love to have your help.

Contact me at yourfriendjimbo@gmail.com

Hamblen on Wrenice

2007-01-23T18:57:00.000-06:00

Now that I’ve submitted my article for the Texas Thoroughbred on Wrenice, the 2006 Texas Champion 2-Year-Old Filly who is riding a six-race win streak into the Genesis Stakes at Delta Downs this weekend, following are some of the leftover quotes from my conversation with owner Guy Hamblen.

Here he is talking about how he got involved in racing…

“In 1998 there were a couple of fellas putting together a racing program who had a gelding. They were looking for investors. They had a filly also. They called me and said, ‘If you buy into the gelding, we will give you the filly.’ I said, ‘No, I will give you what you want for the filly, because I don’t want anything to do with a racehorse, I just want the filly.’ That filly was named Slew, and that’s how I got into the business.”

Wrenice, as you undoubtedly know, is out of Slew, who died last year. Slew’s first foal, Slew’s Sunny, a filly by Sunny’s Halo, won once in 14 starts. Slew’s second foal didn’t make it to the races. Her third, a filly by Moving Shoulder, is winless in her career after seven starts last year. The next one was Wrenice, by Uncle Abbie.

Here’s Hamblen on one of many offers he had to sell Wrenice…

“So I still didn’t sell her. We moved to Retama and she won the allowance race by 17 lengths. That Monday evening about 5:20 a gentleman called me and said, ‘Sir, I’m Mr. So And So from Florida and I buy racehorses. I saw your filly on simulcast and I wonder if you would be interested in selling her.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not interested. In my opinion I have been offered a fair amount for the filly and I haven’t sold her yet.’ And he asked me what I had been offered and I told him [at that point it was $300,000], and he said, ‘Well, if I upped the offer, then would you sell her?’ I said, ‘No sir.’ And he said, ‘Well, I don’t blame you, that’s an exceptional filly you have and I hope you enjoy her.’ And I have.”

And here he is on how his experience with Wrenice ranks among everything he’s done in 72 years…

“Other than your kids and family, this rates right below in terms of how enjoyable it’s been.”

On Randy Mayfield as a trainer…

“Good Lord, look what he’s done with her! If it isn’t broke, you know…”

On Wrenice’s sunny disposition…

“I called Randy up one morning and he said, ‘That b----!’ I said, “What’s a matter, Randy?’ He said, ‘Well, she bit and pawed and kicked me all at the same time!’ I now own her grandma, the dam to Slew, and every one of them has [or had] an attitude.”

On Wrenice’s 2007 campaign…

“We’re going to head for the Stallion Stakes, and if we can’t run two turns, there are some good six-and-a-half and seven-furlong stakes races at Lone Star this season.”

On getting Wrenice to relax better in order to have success going long…

“She needs to run about a 25 quarter and a 47 half instead of running 21 and change and 44 and change. I don’t know how you teach them to do that, but that’s Randy’s job.”

By the way, Hamblen bemoaned the constant mispronunciation of his filly's name, which is a combination of nicknames for his two daughters, Derinda and Denise. So think of it like Ren, as in Ren and Stimpy, plus 'Nise, pronounced like niece, as in your sibling's daughter, or Nice, the city in France. Ren-niece.

Wrenice to Delta

2007-01-19T00:16:00.000-06:00

The Texas-bred Cinderella filly Wrenice will make her next start in the $50,000 Genesis at Delta Downs on Friday, Jan.26, owner Guy Hamblen told Jim's Orbit on Thursday. The connections had also been considering the Dixie Belle at Oaklawn the following day.

The 72-year-old Hamblen was as gracious as could be in a half-hour phone interview, none of which I will share with you here. Sorry, but that's business. You'll have to read my story in the next issue of the Texas Thoroughbred, which pays better than my blog!

But since my article for them will focus on what Wrenice did in 2006, I can tell you what Hamblen said about the present. He is very, very anxious to test the Texas Champion 2-Year-Old Filly going long at Sam Houston next month, in the Two Altazano. Although the Delta race is at 6.5 furlongs, the bullring will give Wrenice a chance to try two turns for the first time.

Hamblen also said he's not in a rush to look for deeper waters, saying that there's plenty of money for them in their own backyard. Hamblen investigated the Lone Star Park stakes schedule online Thursday afternoon and liked what he saw, adding that the competition will know where to find them. The place to look after this month, apparently, will be wherever we're running here in Texas.

Weekend 'capping: Walker the Stalker

2007-01-17T23:08:00.000-06:00

What's going on with the stakes at Sam Houston? One week after the Cy-Fair was cancelled due to lack of competition for Wrenice, the scheduled stakes event for Jan. 20, the Spindletop for 3-year-olds at six furlongs, didn't make the overnight.

Not that this should stop us from watching and wagering on this weekend's action. There's plenty of other racing at Sam, and here's my advice based on the past performances for Friday and Saturday--bet Bobby Walker Jr. and bet him until either you're broke or the weekend's over and you can go spend your winnings.

Walker the Stalker has several good chances, including a few that should go favored. The most exciting is in Friday's feature (there is confusion sometimes over what is meant by "feature," but I was taught that is should refer to the race with the biggest purse, regardless of what is carded second to last, and that's what we will abide by in this blog), a first-level allowance for females at 8.5 furlongs. Walker Texas Ranger rides La Raine of Terror, who finished second to Sweet Idea in last month's Martanza Stakes. It was the 4-year-old's first start in her native state, after seven tries up north that included a maiden win at Mountaineer and two respectable efforts against winners at Delaware, in races where the "a other than" purse was worth a sweet $42,900.

La Raine should handle these easily with Walker up for George Northrop, who also trains the likely second choice.

Walker will offer better value Friday and Saturday on live ones for Calhoun, Schultz, and others. Walker has only half the mounts as the leaders, but I predict he'll be in the top five by the end of the month, if not by the end of this weekend.

More props

2007-01-17T00:15:00.000-06:00

First, America's Turf Authority helped rocket this blog from obscurity to semi-obscurity with a plug in the drf.com monthly e-newsletter.

Now, Texas' turf authority, the Texas Thoroughbred Association, has also voiced its unofficial support by recognizing Jim's Orbit in an e-newsletter.

In his weekly "Letter from the Executive Director," the Grand Poobah of this state's racing and breeding organization, Dave Hooper, introduces this blog to his readers, and even mentions my "engaging entries."

Update from Dave Hooper - January 12

Hooper seems to have his priorities out of whack, not placing the Jim's Orbit item first, but we'll take whatever publicity we can get!

Pesos in the pools: a loco idea?

2007-01-16T22:52:00.000-06:00

A post from last week about the great weather in Houston (sorry I jinxed it) inspired this unexpected response from an anonymous reader: "Alright, you sold me on the weather ... but are they accepting pesos at the windows yet? Might not be a bad idea considering the ton of backstretch help that hail from south of the border."

I thought that was pretty interesting. Then the next day I came across this article in the Houston Chronicle...

Pizza parlor takes pesos--and flak

It's about Pizza Patron, the Dallas-based Pizza chain that recently began accepting pesos, a logical business move that provoked outrage from all corners of our prejudiced nation. The story quotes several letters from angry Americans who find this development threatening and even unpatriotic. But I haven't seen any outrage over all the northern border cities that accept Canadian dollars, like Niagara Falls, which must be as unpatriotic as a town can be, what with its decades-long tradition of accepting the currency of two different nations.

(By the way, I want to point out that the article says the angry letters to Pizza Patron were not coming from Texans, but from states less familiar with Mexican citizens).

In any case, as I read this depressing Chronicle article I thought back to that message on this blog and wondered, hmm, why not accept pesos at Texas tracks? Our neighbors to the south have a huge passion for racehorses, and they make up a significant portion of the fanbase, not to mention the backstretch workforce. As the Pizza Patron customer in the Chronicle says, a lot of Mexicans (and, I imagine, a lot of Mexican-Americans, and Americans) cross the border with pesos they never bother to exchange. Seeing as I've yet to find a racetrack that doesn't like to increase their handle, how about a window where you can wager with pesos, or at least change your currency?

In Vegas you can exchange just about any currency known to man. Texas, of all places, especially in international cities like Houston and Dallas, should lead the way in accommodating foreign fans and foreign currency.

I realize the whole idea is little more than wishful thinking in today's climate (not sure the Dallas suburb of Famers Branch would care for it much), but like Jeff Tweedy would say, where would we be without wishful thinking?

Saturday night fever

2007-01-12T17:37:00.000-06:00

As much as I would love to handicap this weekend's races, I've come into a ticket to Saturday's Saints-Eagles game in New Orleans, so you'll forgive me if I'm absent the next few days.

But before I hit the road, I thought I should at least weigh in on Saturday night's feature at Sam Houston. Here's my forecast...

1. General Charley
2. Guacomole
3. Praisemeister

OK, so I know it's kinda chalky. I didn't expect Guacomole to be second choice on the morning line, but that's what he is.

General Charley is the lukewarm 4-1 morning line favorite, but I suspect it'll be a lot shorter than that. Trainer Michael Stidham is having a great season, and that New Year's Eve bullet workout showed his ability on the main track, followed with another eye-opener on Sunday. I think it's safe to say the last race was meant as a tuneup all along, and I would expect a big race tonight.

Guacomole has had talent as far back as when Danny Pish first had him, but he's never really broken through to realize his potential. But this is his kind of spot, and Michelle Lovell is another trainer to always respect.

Praisemeister had a decent fall in Oklahoma, where the competition is getting stiffer all the time. He won here last time out and could offer some value for throwing in with your exactas and trifectas, if you're into those kinds of wagers. John Long's got two wins at the meet, and while I have no idea who he is, that's enough to give me some confidence that this spot represents more than just wishful thinking.

Jim's Orbit (The Horse) in Texas Thoroughbred

2007-01-12T14:07:00.000-06:00

The Texas Thoroughbred graciously pointed me to a link for the article they had about the original Jim's Orbit, which you can access via the link on the right. It's a great story so check it out when you have a chance!

Dean: Wrenice scares 'em off

2007-01-12T13:44:00.000-06:00

Richard Dean has a very good piece in the Houston Chronicle's weekly horseracing notebook about the cancellation of Saturday's $25,000 Cy-Fair Stakes at Sam Houston. Apparently, only one brave soul entered to take on Wrenice, winner of five in a row and the 2006 Texas Champion 2-Year-Old Filly.

Houston Chronicle Notebook Jan. 18

I can't blame anybody for thinking they don't have much of a shot to beat her, especially when Randy Mayfield's talking about how she's peaking right now. But man, how many times have we seen heavy favorites get beat, even ones that are doing great and don't really have an excuse? And heck, for the local trainers, even if Wrenice runs the way she's supposed to, second place is worth $5,000 in your own backyard, you get to be stakes placed, and you don't lose any conditions. Why not take a shot?

If anyone knows who the other entrant was, please let me know so we can recognize them here.

72 degrees in Houston

2007-01-11T13:08:00.000-06:00

Any horseman reading this who might be thinking about sending a string to Texas, let me tell you that right now I’m blogging during my lunch hour from a bench under a tree in the middle of Houston’s beautiful and green Museum District, where it’s 72 degrees with a light breeze. These are January conditions that any creature would be crazy not to love.

Check back Friday for some weekend handicapping information on Sam Houston.

Hoffman: Let's take a gamble on casinos

2007-01-11T12:37:00.000-06:00

One thing I certainly never expected to do on this blog is link to a column by Ken Hoffman of the Houston Chronicle. And yet, this city’s King of Inanity took a break from reviewing fast food specials (that’s a real weekly feature he does) today to comment on the proposed expansion of legalized gambling in Texas. It’s kind of funny, but more importantly, it says to his many readers in Houston, in plain speak, why it only makes sense to pass proposed gambling expansion and stop this nonsense of Texans giving away gazillions of dollars to neighboring states.

Let’s take a gamble on casinos

Since moving to Houston this summer, I have not met many people my age who frequent the racetrack. I have, however, met several who routinely drive two hours to Lake Charles, La., so they can play blackjack or slots on one of those “riverboats.” If people are going to waste their money on that stuff, it would be nice if they could at least do it here and indirectly help improve our schools or roads or something.

Who the heck are you people?

2007-01-10T23:33:00.000-06:00

Well, today I quit my job so I can devote more time to Jim's Orbit.

Just kidding, but I wish I could give more of my life to this. Especially after the overwhelming response I’ve had from people all over the country.

In the past 36 hours or so, basically since the drf.com e-newsletter that flattered us by mentioning Jim’s Orbit went out, this site has received more than 400 hits! On top of that, many of you took the time to write me, to say thanks, to wish me good luck, or just to sign up for the e-mail list. I’ve heard from horse owners in Texas, simulcast players in Virginia, track announcers in Louisiana, old friends in Kentucky. More people than I’ve even had time to respond to.

A big thank you to everyone who has offered encouragement, either directly or just by taking a few minutes to read any of this. I am in awe. I knew a lot of people liked to bet on Texas racing, and a lot of people liked to go to the races now and then to socialize or get away from the house, but I never expected so many people to give a darn what some hack in Houston was writing about it all.

So this is how word spreads in the 21st century. I started this thing early in the morning on New Year’s Eve when I couldn’t sleep. A few days later, after I had three or four posts completed, I told a few friends, no more than 10 people. And that’s all I did. Next thing I know there’s a link on drf.com, there’s a link at texasthoroughbred.com, and this page is on its way to being viewed 500 times within one week of the day I first told anyone about it.

Who the heck are you people and where did you all come from?

While I’m shocked by the response, it does reinforce the simple thought that spawned this in the first place. Namely, that fans of Texas racing are in need of more outlets for original coverage.

I hope more of you will take time to add comments at the end of the posts, too. Let me and other readers know what you think about what’s going on in the sport. I don’t want this to be too much of a one-way conversation.

Anyway, thanks again for checking this out. You make me want to be a better blogger!

Stanton retires

2007-01-10T13:05:00.000-06:00

The big news out of Sam Houston this week, first reported in the track's weekly notes, is that jockey Terry Stanton has retired.

This is sad news because Terry is a solid rider, but an even better person. He was always one of the most well-liked guys in the room around Texas thanks to his unassuming manner and quick, often self-deprecating, wit. In a profession filled with inflated egos and quick tempers, Terry was a breath of fresh air, the kind of guy you'd love to have as your next-door neighbor.

My favorite Stanton ride was one that he probably hated, but the fact that he held on at all was a testament to his nerve and skill. It was Independence Day of 2003, when Stanton guided (or, perhaps more accurately, followed) longshot filly Petionville Indeed, a mere maiden winner, to a 22-1 score in the $100,000 Lone Star Oaks, bolting in and out the whole way down the stretch of the turf course.

You can read the original Lone Star stakes recap here...

Lone Star Park Press Release July 4, 2003

This release includes a great explanation from trainer Dallas Keen on how Terry ended up with the mount. “I’ve never really ridden him before,” Keen said of Stanton. “But I wanted somebody that I knew had a little cowboy in him and Terry has that.”

It was the first Lone Star stakes win for Terry, and I don't recall fellow horsemen and the track staff ever being so happy to see a particular rider win a big race.

Here's to a real Texas gentleman. Terry, you will be missed!

Sign up for e-mail notices

2007-01-08T21:27:00.000-06:00

Sign up to receive extremely occasional e-mails from Jim's Orbit by e-mailing yourfriendjimbo@gmail.com.

I won't bother you in your sacred inbox with anything less than my most important and/or entertaining posts. Maybe once a month, at best, if I've got something I really want to show off. For regular day-to-day news and yuks, I will trust you to visit when you can and enjoy what you find. But if you want to be among the first to see something that people might be talking about, sign up and you'll always be in the know.

I promise not to sell or trade your e-mail address with anyone under any circumstances.

Want to read my privacy policy? You already have. I promise not to sell or trade your e-mail address with anyone under any circumstances.

drf.com recognizes us!

2007-01-07T13:10:00.000-06:00

Here we are, barely one week into our existence, and already Jim's Orbit is being recognized by the national racing establishment. America's Turf Authority, the Daily Racing Form, has posted a link to this blog from their select list of regional sites.

Not that you really need to see it, but just so you know I'm being honest here's where you can witness a link that leads right back to here...

drf.com regional racing links

We're on our way!

Now that I know the public can find me so easily, I better get out there and find some stories!

Why?

2007-01-04T21:44:00.000-06:00

Whenever people hear I'm launching a Texas racing blog, the response is always the same.

Why?

Actually, racetrackers have a tendency to be longwinded, not to mention foul-mouthed, so the real response is more like, "Why the f would you want to waste your time doing that?"

Or, even more insultingly, "Who the f is gonna read that?"

These are legitimate questions, and ones that have even crossed my mind a few times.

The truth is, there is a two-fold answer to why I want to do this.

First of all, I just miss covering horseracing. I always loved my job in the Lone Star Park press box, even if I never really loved the hours that came with it. But covering horses and horsepeople never gets old. The people are interesting, almost all of them are friendly, and there's always something to write about.

I won't get into all the cliches about why the racetrack is great. Although maybe at some point I'll do a post about how a lot of those cliches are just kind of sad (why do we like to celebrate addicts and degenerates?). But if you're reading this, chances are you already understand the allure of horseracing and I don't need to tell you why I love it.

Of course, to be totally honest, another aspect of this is that not only do I miss writing about horseracing, I also miss having a media credential! After several years of going to the races for free all over the country, I forgot how frustrating it is to be one of the average fans who gets nickled and dimed to death every time they go to the track.

Speaking of which, I'm not sure what annoys me more, the fact that a track like Sam Houston, which is in the middle of nowhere and surronded by nothing except warehouses and empty lots, charges $4 for a place to park, or the fact that all the lazy fans willingly fork over the money.

In any case, after a few years as a member of the media you get used to such casino-like ammenities as free parking and free admission. Once I started thinking about this blog, someone pointed out to me that maybe I could get credentialed at the Texas tracks and I liked the sound of that!

The second reason I'm doing this blog is to help fill the massive void in coverage of Texas racing. The people who currently cover Texas racing professionally are very, very good, and a few of them I would go so far as to say I admire greatly. My problem is that there are too few outlets covering Texas racing, especially when you look at how many people participate in this sport and its related industries. Further, the few outlets that do create original racing coverage allot very little time or space to it, meaning many of our best reporters rarely get to tell more than the basic facts.

I'm not going to complain about the lack of attention paid to racing by the mainstream media, since it's obvious that horseracing holds little mainstream appeal these days. What is shocking, though, is how underutilized the Internet has been as a place for distributing racing news in this state.

Again, I don't blame the racing establishment, since that's not where the best Internet content comes from. I blame fan apathy. I never would have created this blog if I had been able to find another one like it when I started searching. I mean, there is a blog for practically everything in Texas these days (a search of Texas blogs revealed far more blogs by crossdressers than horseracing fans). But when I couldn't find ANYTHING worth reading on the opening of the Sam Houston season, it really upset me. The Houston Chronicle had a few articles and advertisements, which was more than you could expect from a big-city daily, but you look for more information online and it's like the meet doesn't really exist.

(The one big exception is the Texas Thoroughbred Association's online forums, which can be awfully entertaining).

So that's why I'm here, for my own enjoyment, and also to offer whatever Texas racing fans are out there a place to find more than the basic headline news.

I can't promise I'll have something new every day, or even every week, especially when the racing goes away from Houston, where I live, and Grand Prairie, where I handicap every card. But considering what's NOT out there already, it feels like anything I produce will make a difference.

Ultimately, I want to help get important information and entertaining stories out there. I don't want to be one of those overly critical blogs by some dude who sits around and complains. We all already know racing has problems. My vision is for a positive place to promote Texas racing.

If you have a comment, suggestion, tip (be it news to report or a live horse to bet), or anything else to communicate, please let me know by e-mailing yourfriendjimbo@gmail.com. Tell me what you want to read here and help me make this a better blog.

You can also help by letting your friends know about this blog. You must have friends who enjoy reading about Texas racing, so send them an e-mail with a link to http://jimsorbit.blogspot.com and tell them to bookmark the address.

Thanks for visiting.

Props to Calhoun

2007-01-04T20:44:00.000-06:00

Let's give credit where credit's due. Bret Calhoun is kicking some major butt at Sam Houston this season, having won with 21 of 49 starters through the most recent day of racing (which was five nights ago, on Saturday), giving him a stellar win clip of 42.9 percent.

I mention this because a major media outlet wrote glowingly today of Michael Stidham's "meet-best winning percentage of 30 percent," with nary a mention of leading trainer Calhoun's incredible run.

Not only is Calhoun leading the standings, by wins AND earnings AND percentage, but he has totally "opened a can," as the youngsters would say, on his competition. On top of being a very good trainer, right now he simply has far superior stock to his opposition. He is already leading the standings by seven wins over Scott Blasi, who has 14. Tied for third at 13 wins are John Locke and Danny Pish, each of whom have had significantly more starters than Calhoun.

Winning as often as Bret is, and especially at such a high success rate, it is hard to believe that his accomplishments were completely overlooked. I mean, hitting at 40 percent is a rare feat even in a 10-race sample. To do it over seven weeks and still be riding that high after almost 50 races, that is freakin' amazing!

I won't link to the article I speak of since, having done several stints as a print journalist myself, I know how easy it is to slip up or miss something obvious. But I have seen so many errors in horseracing coverage since moving to Houston that I feel a need to at least help set the record straight.

The Calhoun snub was actually not the worst oversight this season. That would have to be the preview that profiled Steve Asmussen in its "Trainers to Watch This Season" section without any mention of the widely reported six-month suspension that has prevented him from actually starting any horses at the meet thus far. Meanwhile, the same section failed to include Blasi, who at that point had been officially training the Asmussen string for about four months and was a sure thing to be a major force at Sam Houston.

Riding the Broke Bus

2007-01-02T22:30:00.000-06:00

Did you see this note (scroll down to the third item) in DRF about Gulfstream offering a shuttle to the nearest bank, since they're no longer allowed to offer on-site ATMs?

I get that the state is trying to keep gambling addicts from losing all of their money (by the way, problem gamblers in Texas can find help here), but I just don't understand how the government can limit access to our own money.

I remember in college being at Suffolk Downs and tapping out when Commendable won the Belmont. It was a miserable day, and it only got worse when I learned that Massachusetts has a law that forbids ATMs at racetracks. I didn't even have enough change in my pocket to catch the train back to Cambridge (back then I think it cost all of 85 cents). My options were to get one of those ridiculous cash advances against my credit card from a phone in the grandstand, which I refused to do, either on moral grounds, or maybe because the one credit card I had in college was alread maxed out from Red Sox tickets, I don't know. But anyway, I had no choice but to walk a mile in the pouring rain, away from the train station and the track, to find an ATM at a neighborhood grocery. Not having a cash machine at the track sure didn't keep me from gambling any more, it just left me stranded and pissed off.

Here in Texas we have a similar, though not quite as dire, situation with the law that limits ATM withdrawals at the track to $300 per day. Again, a well-intentioned but stupid law that doesn't help problem gamblers and serves only to annoy good customers. I mean, to a lot of the high-rollers at the races $300 isn't even a lot of money, so why should someone be forbidden from taking that out if they show a six-figure balance in their checking account?

At least in Texas everyone drives and there are always ATMs nearby. If you ever tap out at Lone Star and can't hit up the track ATM again, you barely have to leave the grounds to visit the drive-thru Bank One ATM in the parking lot near the Grand Prairie Visitors Center (across from the Skate Park, which is adjacent to the top-of-the-stretch chute where a 550-yard Quarter Horse race would start).

Also, I'm not certain that taking out $300 from one ATM on-track necessarily prevents you from visiting another one, say, on another floor, or in the other building. I would like to say I've researched this, but I've never been rich enough to lose $300 in a day and go back for more punishment.

At Sam Houston, you can visit the Texaco at 8110 North Sam Houston Parkway, along the feeder road, the closest off-track ATM that I'm aware of. This is also your place to pick up some really great beer coozies and trucker hats.

Perhaps one day these silly restrictions will be repealed. I can take out $500 to purchase a gun at Wal-Mart anytime I want, but I can't take out $500 to bet on sanctioned horseracing that benefits the state? Damn I love Texas.

The Walk of Shame to get cash is never fun (especially when they've yet to run the second half of the early double!), but let's at least be thankful that here in Texas we don't have to ride a "Broke Bus" to the bank with a bunch of other losers.

Advertise On Jim's Orbit

2007-01-01T18:48:00.000-06:00

Wondering how you could reach the same audience of 10 or 12 people that read this blog?

Advertise on Jim's Orbit and have your message seen by people who know and love Texas racing. We're brand new, but our audience is growing steadily. You can get in on the ground floor and lock in a rate while we're still unknown (think of it like a Kentucky Derby Future Wager).

You could purchase a banner ad on top of the homepage, or let me profile you in a blog entry (sponsored articles will be designated as such in the headline, but will maintain the same tone and look as regular editorial content).

Contact me at yourfriendjimbo@gmail.com and we can work out a rate.

I'm also open to any new ideas and freelance projects. Let me know if you're interested and we'll see what we can do to promote our interests while increasing awareness of Texas racing!

Autrey Articles

2006-12-31T06:27:00.000-06:00

Texas native Cody Autrey, currently leading the Fair Grounds trainer standings, was profiled twice in major publications this week, first by Marcus Hersh in Daily Racing Form (read it here), then by Bob Fortus in the New Orleans Times-Picayune (read it here).

Yours truly may have been the first writer to ever quote young Cody, back in 2002 when he was Bubba Cascio's assistant and I was just a few weeks into my first real job. Cascio's gelding Lights On Broadway, the 2001 Texas Horse of the Year, was preparing to run on opening day of the Lone Star meet with Jerry Bailey set to ride...

Lone Star Park Press Notes April 2, 2002

I've written about Cody for the Lone Star press notes many times since. Here's an article from 2004, when Cody first started to really turn heads...

Lone Star Park Press Notes June 12, 2004

And another from this year, when he undoubtedly secured his place as one of Lone Star's premier conditioners...

Lone Star Park Press Notes April 19, 2006

Every time I interview Cody he gives me way more material than I can ever fit into one piece. Ambition and enthusiasm just pour out of him, like he couldn't stop talking about racehorses if he tried. As early as 2003 people were calling him things like "D. Wayne Autrey" and "Little Baff." Even then I remember thinking that this guy is going to win a Derby someday, and I still believe that.

One aspect of Cody that I never got around to writing about is the steel trap that is his mind. In 2004 when he was telling me about how he remembers every horse we got onto the topic of memory. When Cody spots a nice horse in the morning, he identifies some marking or other trait and commits it to memory until he can eventually find out its name. At any given time Cody can recognize hundreds of horses on the backstretch. Even if he doesn't know them by name, he has a mental file on all of them and will take the time to learn more if he thinks he might want a particular one in his barn.

The crazy thing is, Cody doesn't take notes on anything. He told me excitedly about how most people aren't using anywhere near their brain's potential. Growing up Cody taught himself to remember phone numbers by heart and to this day he only has to hear one once and he'll never forget. That is, if you're a potential owner or somebody else he can do business with.

In addition to being a solid horseman, Cody plays the game better than anyone in Texas. By that I mean he understands the condition book and spots his horses with far more confidence than his competition. While most trainers are thinking about the next few races for each horse, Cody seems to operate in accordance with a year-long strategy mapped out in his mind that will maximize both his profits and publicity.

Like the card shark he is, rival trainers never know if he's dropping for an easy win or trying to get rid of a cripple. Unfortunately, neither do handicappers.

Have you noticed that his best streaks always come early in a meet? I think he figured out long ago that if he loads up for the first condition book, he can lead the standings with a high percentage and people will talk about him. The more articles and buzz, the more likely a new owner will contact him and help finance the continuous upgrade of his stock.

You really get the feeling that Cody owns the other Texas trainers. With the exception, of course, of the ones that he has either a friendship or an arrangement with. It might be too late for Fair Grounds horsemen, but as Cody tries new tracks in the future, my advice to other trainers would be to make friends with him quick, so you can agree not to claim off each other.

Anyway, the dude's a genius and he fully deserves whatever success he finds. It's awesome to watch a person focus on his passion and reap the rewards of such unwavering commitment.

About the Namesake

2006-12-31T05:13:00.000-06:00

Jim's Orbit, the last Texas-bred to race in the Kentucky Derby, was the Texas Champion 2-Year-Old of 1987 and the Texas Champion 3-Year-Old of 1988. The chestnut son of Orbit Dancer won his first stakes in the In Memoriam, now known as the Kentucky Cup Juvenile, at Turfway Park. The following year, he won the Ohio Derby and the Derby Trial to earn a place in the 114th Kentucky Derby, where he finished 10th in a stellar field that included Winning Colors, Forty Niner, Risen Star, Proper Reality, Seeking the Gold, and Private Terms. Jim's Orbit was trained by Clarence Picou for this blog's namesake's namesake, owner/breeder James Cottrell.

Last year Denise Steffanus wrote an excellent piece for the Texas Thoroughbred on the Derby campaign of Jim's Orbit, which I will try to link to or publish here in the coming weeks.

About the Author

2006-12-31T03:58:00.000-06:00

Jim Mulvihill has contributed to numerous Thoroughbred racing publications, including Thoroughbred Times, The Texas Thoroughbred, and The Saratoga Special. He has served as a public handicapper in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for the past three North Texas thoroughbred seasons, dating to the 2004 Breeders' Cup Meeting. As Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie's staff writer and media relations associate from 2002 to 2005, he penned the daily press notes and, in the Breeders' Cup year of 2004, produced the Inside Lone Star Park radio show on 103.3 FM ESPN Radio. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program and Emerson College. He became an avid fan of Thoroughbred racing upon cashing his first Fair Grounds winner in his native New Orleans at age 15.

As a freelance journalist, Jim has contributed to a number of newspapers and magazines, from the Houston Chronicle to the Fort Worth Weekly to the Williams College Alumni Review. He was a featured weekly columnist in the North Adams Transcript in 2005 and 2006, while also contributing news and sports to the Western Massachusetts daily.

Nowadays Jim is the communications and marketing associate at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.