Strike averted: NYRA, union reach agreement on three-year contract
[QUOTE=Xctrygirl;6361835]
OK folks, you’re all a bunch of (actual or self appointed [this is a joke btw…]) racing experts here…
Can you notice whats “interesting” about the last 3 gallop’s of IHA’s that you can see online?
Let me help:
June 6th: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rek-mINSTv8&list=UUxRmRUB3kX-X-_9YsNFhq3g&index=4&feature=plcp
June 4th: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi6Z4Aof5K0&list=UUxRmRUB3kX-X-_9YsNFhq3g&index=6&feature=plcp
June 3rd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCsMU78HAek&list=UUxRmRUB3kX-X-_9YsNFhq3g&index=3&feature=plcp
Lets just say that based off of these, even if I am wrong, I am lowering my amount bet.
~Emily[/QUOTE]
What, he stays on his right lead and doesn’t switch?
It seems like every time anything is written about Union Rags its followed by the wishes for a “clean trip”. Since when is anything assured of going as planned? Can there not be a plan B and C if indeed there is traffic? Times Union 6-6-12 “Matz, Union Rags looking for clean trip in Belmont”
Matz’s biggest worry Wednesday was getting Union Rags settled in his new surroundings. Union Rags went for a morning gallop at Fair Hill, cooled down and was fed, and then was loaded into a horse van for the trip to Belmont Park. Arrival time was about 11 a.m., and Matz was just relieved to get the travel day behind him. He passed up the post-position draw, with Union Rags owner Phyllis Wyeth subbing for her trainer.
[QUOTE=danceronice;6361589]
So we can expect the nightcap race on the card (is there one?) to be pushed back an hour or two so Guyana Star Dweej has time to finish?[/QUOTE]
:lol::lol:
[QUOTE=Xctrygirl;6361835]OK folks, you’re all a bunch of (actual or self appointed [this is a joke btw…]) racing experts here…
Can you notice whats “interesting” about the last 3 gallop’s of IHA’s that you can see online?
Lets just say that based off of these, even if I am wrong, I am lowering my amount bet.
~Emily[/QUOTE]
Makes me tired just watching it!
Glad to see that Phyllis Wyeth was feeling well enough to travel! Yeah!!!
And let the silly things begin with too much inspection at Belmont:
Security staff initially wouldn’t let IHA, Union Rags have cooked oats Wed. O’Neill said IHA needs oats cooked to avoid colic. Staff yielded
… and the follow up tweet:
Previous [tweet] sent as example of type of “horsemen” comprising security staff overseeing Belmont horses in detention barn.
Assorted tweets from DRF’s Jay Privman from the trainers with the security barn arrangement Thurs morning:
Lukas on security barn: “What happens if a horse gets stirred up in there for 2-3 days? … How is that protecting the public?
Security barn was chaotic Thursday morning during training time. “It was like traffic going into New York City,” Baffert said
Matz: "They didn’t have this for the Derby. They didn’t have this for the Preakness. Why are they making a big deal here?”
Wasn’t there a story once a long time ago about a trainer who gave his jockey a sandwich and a flashlight in the paddock before a race? Seems like I remember reading that somewhere.
Actually, it was a quote attributed to Alfred Vanderbuilt in Bill Nack’s Secretariat:
[I]
One year, prior to the running of a race in which his horse appeared to have no chance, Vanderbuilt gave jokey Ted Atkinson a sandwich, a wristwatch, and a flashlight, advising him, “It may be dark before you get back.” He never took himself too seriously, not even as a breeder.
[/I]
Also heard that Mario was not allowed into the detention barn: Only 4 visitors allowed; he was #5.
This is going to turn into a colossal farce and Belmont Park is going to look like it is being run by a bunch of dweebs.
That atmosphere, trainer D. Wayne Lukas said, is the biggest drawback to the detention barn.
“If a horse next to you is raising hell, what can you do?” said Lukas, who has Optimizer in the Belmont. "They could have put a security guard in front of every horse at his own stall and accomplished the same thing. It’s all perception. It’s not an ideal situation for a security barn.
“What happens if a horse gets stirred up in there for two or three days? A guy is betting his money believing a horse will run like he did in the past out of his own barn, so how is that protecting the public?”
[b]Lukas said having the Belmont horses, and only the Belmont horses, go to a detention barn was hypocritical in that no other races Saturday, or even this year in New York, are subject to that requirement.
“I’ve got Hamazing Destiny running in a $400,000 race Saturday,” he said, referring to the True North for older sprinters. “So that’s not important?”[/b]
It’s worth reiterating that the detention rules were set by The New York State Racing and Wagering Board - which is run directly by Andy Cuomo in Albany - and not NYRA.
Good for D. Wayne. Give 'em hell.
Nice pics by Barbara Livingston of the Belmont Stakes contenders - note the nasty kick out in the shedrow by Ravelo’s Boy! His devilish face while doing it suggests he’s a troublemaker 
Guyana Star Dweej’s rather muscled up with his all-four off the ground pogo stick impression.
Does anyone know what Blemont Park will be playing for the post parade this year? Sidewalks of NY, New York/New York, or Empire State of Mind
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;6362340]
It seems like every time anything is written about Union Rags its followed by the wishes for a “clean trip”. Since when is anything assured of going as planned? Can there not be a plan B and C if indeed there is traffic? [/QUOTE]
And yet again today: DRF 6-7-12 "Matz seeking a ‘clean shot’ for Union Rags in Belmont Stakes
Maybe there is only plan A.
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;6363811]
Nice pics by Barbara Livingston of the Belmont Stakes contenders - note the nasty kick out in the shedrow by Ravelo’s Boy! His devilish face while doing it suggests he’s a troublemaker
Guyana Star Dweej’s rather muscled up with his all-four off the ground pogo stick impression.[/QUOTE]
Awesome pictures! She is truly an artist.
I didn’t know they had toy horses (a la Walmart take-a-ride style) on the backstretch at Belmont Park. See pics of Paynter.
Thanks. :yes: I knew I’d read it somewhere.
My favorite Vanderbilt quote I’ve ever heard is, “If I had gelded every horse I’ve ever owned, I only would have made one mistake.” :lol:
[QUOTE=dressagetraks;6364323]
I didn’t know they had toy horses (a la Walmart take-a-ride style) on the backstretch at Belmont Park. See pics of Paynter.[/QUOTE]
I noticed that too … maybe it was the original equicizer at Belmont
[QUOTE=dressagetraks;6364328]
My favorite Vanderbilt quote I’ve ever heard is, “If I had gelded every horse I’ve ever owned, I only would have made one mistake.” :lol:[/QUOTE]
And speaking of famed gelding quotes … after Sam Rubin was informed the horse he just bought was a gelding - ''that doesn’t matter. I don’t care what color he is". The horse was of course John Henry.
This other WSJ video has Doug O’Neill citing IHA’s stallion value as being (currently) between $10M and $20M. This is the first $$ I’ve seen cited anywhere.
Compared to the lofty $50M purported for Big Brown syndication rights - pre Preakness no less - at $20M that seems rather logical, no?
