Miscellaneous Thoughts

Sharpening Focus

My last post was about where we want to run and the need for focus in making a decision in order to move forward. I've sharpened that up even more. When I spoke to Bernell this weekend, he was willing to go in on a horse with us. To me, that sealed the deal - we're going claiming and we're shopping at Tampa. There you have it, the first group of 2010 is going to be a claiming group. That doesn't mean if there is more interest we won't do another or private purchase a horse (maybe even a Minn bred) for Canterbury, but right now we're focusing on one and then we'll move to the next.

Blog Talk Radio

I hope you'll be able to join me live tomorrow night at 9 PM Central Time for "Owning Racehorses" on Blog Talk Radio. My guest will be St. Paul native Jolene Danner. Jolene spent some time last month working for ESPN at Breeder's Cup as a spotter and we'll get some insight from her on the Breeder's Cup and what it's like to work, rather than just be a spectator, at racing's biggest day. If you can't join us live, you can use the player, above, left, to listen in

Wagering

This time of year is always a bit of the doldrums when it comes to betting races. There's not a lot of truly compelling racing going on anywhere. My own online betting has taken a hit since the Breeder's Cup. I don't know if my confidence was shaken after my poor Cup performance or if I've just been too focused on getting the next partnership up and running. I kept my betting to only mine or my friend's horses - which has worked out well, though I did totally miss a $76 winner at Golden Gate the other day! However, I'm looking to delve back in this month. The winter months have always been kind to me, especially back east in Maryland and New York so I'm going to get back cautiously and start to build up the bankroll for the road to the Triple Crown this spring!

Ass-Whoopin'

It's either a case of the Saints being for real or the Pats not - most likely a combination of both. Congrads to the Saints for kicking the snot out of my Patriots last night. Granted, this wasn't the Super Bowl caliber teams of years past, but they were still 7-3 and could have been 9-1 with a little luck. With that secondary, it's hard to look back on Belicheck's 4th down call at Indianapolis now and not think it was the right thing to do. The C's and B's are still in action and Sox spring training is only a few months away!