Mr Lexis Goes Postward in Our First Run at Arlington

Mr. Lexis, the horse we manage for CAC Racing LLC,  heads postward this afternoon versus eight foes and while he was installed as the tepid 3-1 morning line favorite, this race did not come up easy.  Here’s a look at the field:

1 MR LEXIS (BRINSON/EMIGH)

2 Five Green Stars (Block/Esquivel) – State bred allowance winner had a real tough time against open company at the Fairgrounds.  While he’s back home and dropping into claiming company, he may need to face lower.

3 Top Gato (Mason/Felix) – He ran a very professional race last out over the Oaklawn Park dirt track in his first race off the claim for the new connections. This is a pretty good step up but he has 2 wins in only 5 lifetime starts.

4 Love you Mon (Williamson/Geroux) – Emigh came off of this one to ride us but Geroux is no slouch.  He’s won a few times here at Arlington, albeit at lower levels.  He did show speed before fading 1^st off the layoff and could be in line to step up a bit here.

5 Kitten’s Song (Haran/Murrilo) – Well bred colt won at this level before on this track, though over a yielding strip.  Firing first off the layoff is tough.

6 Armature (Rousell/Gudiel) – I actually like this one’s chances.  He hasn’t run too badly recently and the score at the Fairgrounds two back was nice.  Our saving grace may be that he doesn’t seem to like the Arlington track, though those races were all in maidens before he had a chance to figure things out.

7 Poker Player (Catalano/Hill) – Won the Grade 3 Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland and ran in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf that same year.  Now he is a couple of seasons removed from that but as recently as December 27 he was still thought highly enough to run in a stake.  He didn’t fare well in a Turfway optional claimer so now he heads into straight claimers to try and get a win out of him. Either he is the class of the field or completely washed up.

8 Brim (Rodriguez/Homeister Jr.) – You can probably draw a line through that last dirt debacle – this one clearly belongs on the turf.  Last competitive race was a win at the Fairgrounds in a $15,000 conditioned claimer.

9 Badger Bay (Williamson/Perez) – This one is entered for the main track only and with the weather the next two days predicted to be sunny and dry, don’t expect to see him.

So we’re looking at a probable field of 8 and I have two concerns: a complete lack of any pace in the race and I don’t know what to make of Poker Player.

On pace, maybe Top Gato or Kitten’s Song could cut the fractions but if you look back at our boy’s races 3 and 4 back, he was mighty close to the lead.  A good break and the inside post and we could find ourselves on the lead and hope that Emigh can ration his speed.  With a field full of closers if he can crawl the fractions without frustrating the horse we could be looking good.

As for Poker Player, my guess is that he’s done. As a colt, I would think if he doesn’t win here and turn things around he may be retired.  He is a graded stakes winner from Harlan’s Holiday out of a mare by Preakness and Gotham winner Red Bullet.  He may try stud duty before they totally collapse the value on him by running in low level claiming races.  Then again this kind of company may be just what he needs but his BrisNet speed figures say that while he may belong in here, he doesn’t tower over.

Good luck everyone!!

Midwest Paddock Report

I had teased a few posts back about a new venture we were working on and now we're ready to unveil it.

The Midwest Paddock Report is a combined effort of my photographer better half, Heather Frisbie, and I to bring a spotlight on racing here in the Heartland.  I can't guarantee a lot of things in life, but one thing I can guarantee is that we will have growing pains.  As painstaking as it was for two non-techies to build this site, I can absolutely guarantee that once we get rolling we're going to find all kinds of things we wished we would have done differently.

Ideally we would launch with comprehensive coverage of the entire Midwest from Ohio to the Dakotas and down to Oklahoma.  Ideally.  However since we are a two-person operation working on a limited (read: "no") budget, we are starting with a still ambitious, but much more doable, agenda of covering Minnesota and Iowa. 

While our focus in owning and breeding has been in Thoroughbreds, we are going to try and include our Standardbred cousins as well.  I don't know if that's going work but we'll see.  My roots in harness racing go back to college and trips to now defunct Lewiston Raceway in Maine which was my first continuous exposure to live horse racing (after an amazing Preakness experience in 1985) with college classmate and lifelong friend Paul Mooney.  I really enjoyed harness racing, have owned small pieces of pacers in the past and have included Scarborough, Dover and Pocono Downs, the Meadowlands and Pompano Park in my travels over the decades.  Admittedly the popularity isn't the same as Thoroughbreds and if the interest isn't there we will pare back to "the Flats", but we're going to give it a go.  Where we have dual meets going we will also cover the major stories in regional Quarter Horse racing with the same caveat.

We have a section that we call "Around the Region" where we will preview and recap stakes races around the Midwest and performances that should be highlighted.  We're hoping to rely on readers to pass along story ideas and horses to watch to help us bring those stories to the people.

Speaking of people, we will be spotlighting folks in racing from time to time in our "In the Paddock" section.  We'll take movers, shakers and all around interesting people and ask them 5 questions.  A quick look at what they do and how they affect the game.

We'll also touch base on the bigger picture in our "National Scene" section.  Admittedly I'm not altogether sure how we're going to do that and it's really not going to be our focus, but it's important to give some regional perspective to the Triple Crown Trail and the Breeders' Cup.

Currently we're relatively advertising free with the exception of a couple of spots for Google AdSense, but that will change - mostly as I get adept at creating advertising and working with the widgets to be able to place the ads where I want to so they look good and deliver value without detracting from the site.  While we may be a labor of love right now, we don't intend on it being that way forever so feel free to inquire since this will get some priority in our development queue.

We're going to be looking to inject personality into our coverage.  We'd like to be a place where you come for your Midwest racing news as if you'd be sitting down with coffee with your neighbor and discussing the last night's race.  We'd like to entertain as well as inform and generate discussion.

Before I wrap, I'd like to thank family and friends that have reviewed and critiqued the birth process.  You've all be indispensable.  Truly indispensable was Frank Vespe, founder of the wonderful Mid-Atlantic on-line magazine, The Racing Biz, who provided us with advice and continues to be an inspiration.

We invite you take a look and let us know what you think.  While you're there, follow the Midwest Paddock Report on Twitter and you'll soon be able to "like" our Facebook page as well. We look forward to hearing from you!

Welcome to Bourbonology

Bourbonology (Gulch-Ciencia-El Gran Senor)

I kind of feel like Gerald Ford when he said, “…our long national nightmare is over.”  Of course in our case it would be that our long spring nightmare of losing shakes and failed vet checks is over.  The claiming group has a horse – ironically she came via private purchase and not the claiming box.

Bourbonology, one of the last of Gulch’s progeny to the races, came to our stable on Friday and shipped in on Sunday.  For those of you that wonder how these things come about, I got a phone call on Thursday afternoon from our trainer, Bernell Rhone.   

“I need you to look up this horse right now,” he said to me.

Usually he’s not that insistent but there was a time crunch involved.  Bourbonology (Gulch-Ciencia-El Gran Senor) had just raced at Arlington Park but was not stabled there, she shipped in from Kentucky to race and was heading back.  Fortunately I wasn’t on the road at the time – which is highly unusual for me – and also happened to be on my computer at the time.  I dug in and looked her up.

She made her debut as a two year old for Bourbon Lane Stables and trainer Joan Scott at Aqueduct, running 5^th and 6^th in Maiden Special Weights.  She was given a few months off and came back at Saratoga where she finished 4^th three consecutive times in Maiden Specials.  She headed down to Tampa Bay Downs where she ran another 4^th in another Maiden Special before her latest in Arlington, a 3^rd in a $25,000 Maiden Claiming race.  Every race but her secnid was over the turf and she was competitive in every race – except her second.  Needless to say she will head out over the turf when the time comes that she heads out for us.

We went back and forth for a bit and Bernell secured her for us at a fair price.  A vet gave her the once over, I overnighted a check and she came up to Canterbury to join Ellie.

She settled in nicely and ate well from day one.  She was going to be walked a few days to get accustomed to the sights, sounds and routines of a new barn and a new racetrack before heading over to the track to get ready for her GRS debut and so we can see what’s under the hood.

She’s a beautiful looking filly and put together real solidly.  She almost looks male in her stockiness and she has dinner plates for hooves.  Though taller, I believe, she is very Gulch-y.  Let’s hope she has more than just his looks going for her!

Interesting Attendance Figures

Here are some interesting attendance figures from Father’s Day. I’m not sure if I was more surprised by the results or by the number of tracks that either do not report or track attendance numbers! All this information is easily gathered by the perusing the DRF Charts.

First, the list of “Not Available”:

Arlington
Calder
Churchill
Emerald
Louisiana
Philadelphia
Sam Houston
Woodbine (it was NOT Father’s Day in Canada, by the way)

Here are the tracks that DID report attendance figures – at least early enough to be included in the DRF Charts for the day’s races – in descending order of attendance:

Monmouth – 54,262
CANTERBURY – 12,129
Belmont – 11,304
Hollywood – 5,911
Lone Star – 5,337
Ruidoso – 2,571

I found it interesting that in our little corner of heaven we were able to get over twice the number of bodies through the turnstiles than Southern California and even a smidgen more than a legendary racetrack in the most populous metropolitan area of the country.

I’m no statistician, nor do I play one on TV (though I AM open to offers) so before you folks out there that are start to pummel me on poor methodology, ask about handle etc., my only point is to illustrate that racing CAN hold appeal to folks. They will come out and watch if you make it exciting and affordable. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day here in Minnesota on Father’s Day. Temps were in the low 80’s, the sun was shining and there was a slight breeze blowing. I know, I know – but Ted, you ask, there is nothing else to do in Minnesota, right? Nay, nay, I say. Days like that is when Minnesotans head outside and ride bikes, hike, fish, camp and head north to some of our over 10,000 lakes. Father’s Day is also a great day for cookouts (or bar-b-ques depending on your part of the country) and, obviously, family time.

Canterbury was loaded with families on Sunday. There were plenty of strollers and the playground area was packed with kids. Youngsters were giving mom and dad tips and more than one child was thrilled when the “horsies” came tearing past the stands in a mile plus race. The track was giving away a “Man Cave Makeover”, free admission and the elimination heats of the wiener dog races which will culminate in the wiener dog championships 4th of July weekend. Wagering wasn’t spectacular, but the crowd was. The enthusiasm in each and every race as the horses thundered through the stretch run was exhilarating. Folks were excited and people cared. Hell, I even brought our 25-year old nephew to the track for the first time and even he wagered a dollar or two! Yes, we’ll need to be able to foster these fans and turn them into bettors to keep the lifeblood of the sport alive. But isn’t getting potential new fans interested and through the door half the battle and an important first step?

Focus

We've been all over the map in recent months getting the next group lined up and ready to go. This was mainly because interest has come from all over the country, though not enough in any one spot to make that one place a gimme for buying a horse. I think that one of the main reasons to get into a partnership is to see your horse race live, visit the barn, be in the paddock before a race. To me, all that is priceless - plus the works on the backside in the morning. That's just a slice of heaven.

However, you can't be all things to all people, so there needs to be a focus and if that keeps some folks from joining us along the way for right now, then so be it. I've decided that we're going to focus on Canterbury Park next summer and drill our focus down to a horse that can run there as well as either Tampa and Remington (if we race with Bernell) or Chicagoland (if we race with Tammy). Heck, if there is enough interest, we'll do both, but the focus is on racing in Minnesota next summer.

There are several reasons for this focus and, obviously, none of them are purse related. Of course just throwing that out there makes it seem like we race for scraps up here and that is not true. I would call our purse structure lower mid-level. We're certainly not rock bottom, but our allowances top out in the mid-twenties. As we proved with Fizzy Pop, though, you can make some money up here if you race where you belong.

Here are the reasons in no particular order:

- You have to start somewhere and rather than be scattered all over, I'd like to start building off of Fizzy with a group nearby. It's easier for me to control the day-to-day here.

- Canterbury Park itself. As many of you already know, I think Canterbury runs one of the most inventive and fun racing meets in the country. Partners that race with us here are going to have a fun summer.

- It's home. There is something about racing at home in front of family and friends that is just over the top. I've been in the paddock at Santa Anita and it's marvelous, but it's not home. Not saying I don't want to do it again, however, because I do!

- Costs. Costs are very manageable here. Training fees are fair and, more importantly, vet fees are fair. I've seen vet bills from racing in NY, NJ and CA and for the same services, you can't beat the Midwest/Florida. It simply makes fiscal sense.

There you have it. My two main requirements are that we run here in the summer and that whatever horse we claim or private purchase can compete elsewhere. I may be cutting off some folks in other locations and to them I say, thank you so very much for your interest. I hope that we'll be racing your way soon, but right now we're going to focus on methodical growth and that starts at right here at home. It's important to do things right and you can only do that if you are focused, not scattered. HBT9WWH64CZH

If you're interested, please drop us a line, I'd like to finalize the group and have a horse in training in January. It takes a while to rev up and get ready to race and trying to get something going three weeks before the meet starts is about three months too late!

Farewell Chicago!

It's official. Balmoral and Maywood are both part of I Am Woman's past. While looking forward to what Tioga and, possibly later on Pennsylvania, may bring, there will be a fond spot for Chicago - Balmoral in particular, that will remain in my heart.

As she ships off for Tioga, the memory of her three straight wins to lead off 2009 still brings a smile to my face. I was fortunate enough to be at one of those wins. In fact it remains her lifetime best mark. I wish I had a chance to get to Maywood. The experience at Balmoral, the swirling snow notwithstanding, was excellent. The physical plant was large and comfortable and the place had a welcoming racing 'feel' to it. It would have been nice to get a sense of Maywood.

It also would have been nice to get to know the Thoroughbred side of Chicago. A friend of mine runs there and loves it. So, I teed it up with trainer at the ready (Tammy Domenosky - tearing things up at Hawthorne at the moment: 24 starts - 30% winners and 19 in the money finishes), but the bottom dropped out of the economy and partners were tough to come by. It happens. I don't know if Tammy is going to come back to Canterbury or stay for Arlington, but I think that's the plan for the summer and we'll touch base again to see if she'd be willing to train for us in the Fall back at Hawthorne.

I'd like to race in Chicago and would love to have an excuse to visit more often. Those of you folks that jumped on for the ride here, thanks for your support and I hope you continue to follow our progress. Anyone that wants to get more involved - drop me a line, we'd love to have you on board.

Thanks for the memories and here's to the future: Cheers!