THE ASPIRING HORSEPLAYER

My apologies for just being able to post this.  Last weekend the Aspiring Horseplayer went multi-media with my first attempt at podcasting Florida Derby picks. 

The guys over at www.thesportsmafia.com were gracious enough to invite me on to discuss the Florida Derby last weekend.  I want to send a special thank you shout out to them, specifically Craig Lehman (a.k.a “Bacon”) and Adam Rosenberg (a.k.a “Scrappy”).  In keeping with the “a.k.a” theme, I’m identified by both my name and the handle I use on many Internet sites (Kevin Stafford a.k.a “kdawg”).

You can listen to the podcast by clicking here.

Craig and Adam were awesome to work with. It was an invigorating experience to be able to get to talk horses with them.  I get the feeling I could talk horses all day long with Adam and never get bored as he shares my passion for the sport. 

The conversation went very well. I felt like I had talked to these guys many times before even thought that was honestly our first phone conversation.  My picks didn’t turn out as planned, and it’s old news that Big Brown romped most impressively.  I would’ve preferred to give out a smashing winner, but I get the feeling I was already pressing my luck last weekend after literally praying on bended knee for Curlin to win.  

When asked about Derby contenders in May, Big Brown was the first name that came out of my mouth.  However I did play against him with Elysium Fields and Hey Byrn in the Florida Derby.  Elysium Fields obviously had some problems and finished next to last – something I doubt anyone was predicting including those that didn’t take him to win.  The real gem that I gave out was Tomcito running for third.  I mentioned him at the last second as a brother to Street Sense shipping in from Peru that looked like he could run as well.  He proved me right by getting up for show honors (I’ve got to hang my hat on something, right?).  Hey Byrn also didn’t disgrace himself as he ran on for 4th, which is respectable for an allowance winner in his first stakes try running in a field of 12.  

Anyhow, I’m constantly evaluating my handicapping, writing, and now I can add public speaking to that list as well.  I’d appreciate any feedback you may have as I’d love to get another shot at this sometime.  My first takeaway is something that I’ve heard my bosses at work caution for years already – which is to s-l-o-w down.   I  seem to talk at 100 M.P.H. when I get excited, which not surprisingly happens when I get to talk horses. 

So,  if you’re curious what the guy you’ve been reading sounds like, be sure to stop  over and  listen to the podcast.  I’d be especially grateful if you were to leave comments there if you thought I did a decent job. 

Thanks again to Craig and Adam for having me on.  Here’s hoping it was the first of many such conversations.

In other news…….

• My favorite horse racing photographer, Vanessa Ng, has returned from Dubai and her photos are up on the net. Click here to take a look at them.  Back when I first started gathering photos of Curlin and others to make my youtube videos, I noticed that her name was on most of my favorite pictures.  Now that I’ve had the chance to chat with her a bit over the Internet, I can safely say she’s one of the most passionate fans of the game I’ve ever met.  I’m a huge fan of hers and all the folks over at www.horse-races.net If you get a chance it’s well worth it to pay their site a visit.  You’ll probably end up staying for hours!  And don’t forget about their forums, as it’s a great place to “talk horses” with other fans of the sport.
• Georgie Boy is officially off the Derby trail after pulling a muscle in his back.  This takes one of my top 5 contenders from my most recent Derby rankings out of the picture.  He’ll miss both the Santa Anita Derby and the Kentucky Derby with the injury.  I really thought he could be a major player, but it looks like Colonel John and El Gato Malo are the tops out west now.  I still like Gayego and Bob Black Jack as well.
• Several fillies were nominated for the Triple Crown this week, including Proud Spell (who recently defeated the vaunted Indian Blessing), and Eight Belles.  This might be worth keeping an eye on as the fillies have been running somewhat faster than the boys throughout much of the season so far.   After Rags to Riches victory in the Belmont last year, I don’t think anyone will be discarding fillies based on sex alone.

More updates coming later in the week.  We’ve got a stacked weekend with the Illinois Derby, the Santa Anita Derby, and the Wood Memorial.  I’ll have a full look at each of those races as we head into the weekend.