2016 Kentucky Derby & Oaks . . .

[CVPeg]

Congrats to Nyquist. Agree not crazy about his connections, but as long as the horse is taken care of. Cashed a couple of small tickets. Happier to see a very good horse win.

Another horse that is just total class, no matter what they ask of him.
Will be interesting to see the Triple Crown possibilities.

(And yuck - also can’t stand Johnny whats-his-stupid-wacko-fashion/hat name-Weir. Liked him as a skater. Fine. Should horses be brought to observe skating competitions?
But that’s what I get for not paying for a decent satellite subscription… :rolleyes:)

And I guess The Wood really did stink this year. Outwork and Trojan Nation nowhere.

[Howlin_Wolf]

[QUOTE=mommy peanut;8653346]
I had noticed a horse being pulled up, but couldn’t make out who it was.
Hope all is well with him.[/QUOTE]
Wait what happened?? i didn’t see this!

[Where_sMyWhite]

I guess I’m still not on the Nyquist bus… sigh. Does he have it in him for the Belmont distance or will Exaggerator take that?

Shagaf is shown as the only DNF. Whitmore was 38 lengths back. To me, Creator was the biggest disappointment.

Very scary during the Woodland Reserve (race before the Derby) with the sudden downpour and wind, Grand Tito rearing up, going over on his side and hitting his head followed by the horse clipping heels, going down and a second horse falling over him. Hope that all are still ok (not just the post-race initial check).

It worked to watch TVG (who wasn’t able to broadcast anything from CD) up until just before post time and then switch to NBCSN/NBC for the actual race. Johhny Weir might be a heck of a figure skater but he’s a bit too fashionably over the edge for my taste.

[findeight]

Mentioned earlier, Shagaf, just plain tired and beat. No point beating him to rally when he was done. That’s something only recently acceptable. Used to be if they eased them, jocks could be accused of throwing race or not really trying. Now they accept its in the best interests of the horse to realize it can’t and ease up instead of whipping it to stagger home.

I don’t care about liking connections or not. Horse didnt pick them. That’s a really nice horse. He ran a very good race. He’s never lost. Congrats to all. Cant help it…maybe we can get another in two weeks.

Oh, I only watched NBC. They toned down fashionistas and did a much better job covering human and equine athletes including the Woodford incidents and a really honest feature on the Desormeaux brothers,warts and all. They seem to be trying and it was better then it has been.

[Madeline]

[QUOTE=Howlin’Wolf;8653380]
Wait what happened?? i didn’t see this! :([/QUOTE]

It was Shagaf. But that’s all I know. Listed as a DNF.

[mommy_peanut]

[QUOTE=findeight;8653404]
Mentioned earlier, Shagaf, just plain tired and beat. No point beating him to rally when he was done. That’s something only recently acceptable. Used to be if they eased them, jocks could be accused of throwing race or not really trying. Now they accept its in the best interests of the horse to realize it can’t and ease up instead of whipping it to stagger home.

I don’t care about liking connections or not. Horse didnt pick them. That’s a really nice horse. He ran a very good race. He’s never lost. Congrats to all. Cant help it…maybe we can get another in two weeks.[/QUOTE]

yep, no sense in beating a done horse. That only leads to injury.

[RhythmNCruise]

Nyquist ran a beautiful race. He seems like another cool customer, much like AP. I think that’s such a plus.
Not sure how he’ll do at a longer distance. Exaggerator sure was pouring it on there at the end!
Great race.
Glad the horses and jockeys from the turf race seemed okay. That was scary as heck!
I missed the horses flipping and hitting his head on the flower bed. Hope he’s okay.
Loved how nonchalant Baffert and Espinoza were. Just there having fun, nothing to prove.
Love the two big appies
Don’t get me started on the pink pony tail.

[Howlin_Wolf]

So Shammy Davis?

[QUOTE=Howlin’Wolf;8653121]
FWIW, I’m sticking and going with Nyquist:
That is NOT to say I don’t have other picks; I like several.
I do: My longshot is Trojan Nation.
But as I only pretend bet - picking the winner; that’s reward enough!
~ 2014 & '15 I was ALL about AP
I don’t know if you can even see; or have seen this before (offline for several days.)
A short vid on the Nyquist team.
http://www.nbcsports.com/kentucky-derby-all-access/?cid=derby-mc[/QUOTE]
My longshots didn’t even come in the money <thhhwwpuup!>

[findeight]

You know, just a thought, but seems it’s now OK to publically admit you overfaced a race horse or it just was not ready to answer what you asked of them. Ideally because of horsemanship, realistically because of the court of public opinion with a boost from the two edged sword of social media.

Probably a good thing for racing in the long run. No pun intended.

[Shammy_Davis]

[QUOTE=Howlin’Wolf;8653419]
So Shammy Davis?[/QUOTE]

I am so proud of you. I just don’t seem to get right.

Nyquist is proof that calculating dosage is a waste of time. With a 7.00 he should burn out at 6f.

[SLW]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;8653372]
He “had his feet on the dash” which means he was using his whole body to steady him until he got him into a stalking position.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for the details. It was fascinating to watch but I had no idea what was happening.

[rascalpony]

Loved how nonchalant Baffert and Espinoza were. Just there having fun, nothing to prove.

I enjoyed seeing Baffert and Espinoza - I wish Baffert’s horse had done better, for both him and Gary Stevens, who was so close last year with Firing Line. Victor was having fun with the cameras, which was amusing, but it was clear he was there for the atmosphere and the cameras and not the horse. It sounded to me from prior statements as if he pretty much wrote off the race before it began.

Exaggerator’s stretch drive was something! Going to have to keep an eye out for that one in the Belmont.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

@Where'sMyWhite;8653397

I guess I’m still not on the Nyquist bus… sigh. Does he have it in him for the Belmont distance or will Exaggerator take that?

[QUOTE=rascalpony;8653451]
Exaggerator’s stretch drive was something! Going to have to keep an eye out for that one in the Belmont.[/QUOTE]

There seems to be a common misconception that a deep closer will have an advantage in the Belmont Stakes. While it may seem counter-intuitive, history suggests they don’t.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

The first 4 home in the Derby were in the first 4 in the betting, in exact order.

That may be the most formful Derby ever.

[Howlin_Wolf]

[QUOTE=Shammy Davis;8653428]
I am so proud of you. I just don’t seem to get right.
Nyquist is proof that calculating dosage is a waste of time. With a 7.00 he should burn out at 6f.[/QUOTE]
I hope it’s a ‘true’ comment, and you are not being sarcastic, Mr. S.Davis.
I looked at his eyes <please stop laughing!> and saw it. That thing in some eyes. Nyquist had it.
e,g. AP wasn’t tired or anything like that in his KY Derby - I think he was simply uncertain whether or not to pass a horse he deemed … more ‘alpha’ at that time. Look at the pix & body -language)
I’m pretty not right in the head or body. But I dialed-in on TB racing in 1967 - long before I got my first horse.
I was kind of “rain-man” on pedigrees, races etc as a child/preteen/young adult.

[rascalpony]

There seems to be a common misconception that a deep closer will have an advantage in the Belmont Stakes. While it may seem counter-intuitive, history suggests they don’t.

Now that I think about it, that’s true. A lot of the winners (particularly TC winners) have won as the front runner. I suppose being the pace setter could actually be an advantage in that race provided you aren’t pushed the entire way. I think Exaggerator’s stretch drive was something, but there’s no guarantee it will look the same in the Belmont. I would think that he would prefer the Belmont to the Preakness as he still looked like he had run in him, but I’m just watching on TV and pretending I know something about racehorses

[Shammy_Davis]

[QUOTE=Howlin’Wolf;8653466]
I hope it’s a ‘true’ comment, and you are not being sarcastic, Mr. S.Davis.
I looked at his eyes <please stop laughing!> and saw it. That thing in some eyes. Nyquist had it.
e,g. AP wasn’t tired or anything like that in his KY Derby - I think he was simply uncertain whether or not to pass a horse he deemed … more ‘alpha’ at that time. Look at the pix & body -language)
I’m pretty not right in the head or body. But I dialed-in on TB racing in 1967 - long before I got my first horse.
I was kind of “rain-man” on pedigrees, races etc as a child/preteen/young adult.[/QUOTE]

I wasn’t being sarcastic. Good for you.

[furlong47]

[QUOTE=wireweiners;8653290]
He might be a great skater but he knows zip about racing and adds nothing to the coverage. Neither does his female cohort. I like some coverage of the Derby culture but they are ridiculous.[/QUOTE]

Johnny Weir did ride as a child (including at Devon). So although he wasn’t involved in racing specifically, it’s not like he knows nothing about horses.

[FatDinah]

Nyquist is proving to be the can" horse - every time the “experts” say he can’t (win the Juvenile, improve as a 3 yr old, get the distance) he just goes out and does it.
Love Mario, too, such a cool smart rider.
Rest of them, meh … but that’s racing.

[shiningwizard255]

I’ve been firmly on the Nyquist bandwagon since the BC. I’m actually more excited for this year than last, and I thoroughly enjoyed AP’s ride. Hoping all the best for Nyquist, I think he’s a good horse. Regardless of what happens it’ll be good for the sport to have another good horse like this right after AP’s run…keep folks interested.