Just a quick update for today. The bulk of my Preakness posts will be coming later in the week as I attempt to attend the Alibi breakfast at Pimlico on Thursday, and then take in both the Black Eyed Susan and Preakness cards on Friday and Saturday. Once the post positions have been established on Wednesday night I’ll have a “meet the Preakness runners” post similar to the numerous Derby updates we had earlier in the year (pics, videos, bios, etc.)
Source: http://www.ntra.com/content.aspx?type=news&id=32431
Word is out that Harlem Rocker is not going to enter the Preakness. Harlem Rocker was thought to be one of the main contenders (assuming anyone can contend with Big Brown) had he drawn in, but the connections have decided to pass. I can’t say I blame them, no matter how badly I wanted him to run. Harlem Rocker will likely point to the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine later in June.
While the news of Harlem Rocker not entering the Preakness put a bit of a damper on the day, we also got word that Gayego may be coming after all. Many of you will remember my less-than-clairvoyant dream of Gayego winning the Kentucky Derby. Well, get ready, because now I can tease myself with the idea that perhaps I was mistaken about which race I dreamt of. It’s a long-shot, but I’ve got to be honest and say that I still am interested in Gayego and have got a bit of a soft spot for him in my heart.
It will take improvement, it goes without saying, for a horse that finished 17th in the Derby to turn the tables on Big Brown. I’m reminded of the daunting task Curlin had last year in the Preakness to make up a fraction of the ground that Gayego would have to close in order to prevail. Gayego certainly isn’t Curlin, but he does have a Graded Stakes win over the dirt in the Arkansas Derby. As much of a long-shot as it may be, it certainly isn’t impossible. I won’t call it “likely” by any stretch of the imagination, but this is horse racing and stranger things have happened.
I would have thought that Gayego may have pointed to the Belmont instead, in an effort to give the colt some needed rest. Steve Asmussen was on record as being a tad concerned about how much the Arkansas Derby took out of 2nd place finisher Z Fortune heading into the Derby, and certainly the trip that Gayego encountered two Saturday’s ago didn’t leave many with the idea that a trip to Baltimore was in order.
Still, can’t argue with the prospects of a practically full Preakness field - especially since just a week ago it seemed as if Big Brown had scared everyone off. If nothing else, a full field will ensure there’s some money on the other horses, which could boost the Pick 4 and Pick 6 tickets that are likely to be singled on Big Brown in the feature race. That’s going to be my hope, at least. Hopefully we can catch some value in the previous races and look to what appears to be a “sure thing” lock to help keep the overall ticket cost down. Not only that, but consider that the more horses who enter, the better the potential exacta/trifecta payouts can be if you can find the right horses underneath.
You should try to take some pics of Pimlico and post them here for us. I recently went to Laurel Park, and they have a beautiful track (even though they wouldn’t allow us to take pictures indoors). I imagine that Pimlico is ten times nicer.
Also, in my blogging circle, Gayego is one of the most divisive horses. If that horse wins the Preakness, I guarantee there’ll be hell to pay.
Guess I will just single Big Brown in a pic-something! 2-5 is my guess for postime and doubt I will be even to dig anything up longshot wise.
I’ll definitely post some Pimlico pics. I should hopefully have some good ones on Thursday evening from the Alibi breakfast if all goes to plan.
Glenvargas, Pimlico is a dump. Laurel Park is quite nice now since they’ve renovated, but Pimlico on the other hand is a complete embarassment. Maryland has everybody over for this big party but we’re constantly having to apologize for how shitty the place looks. The only thing good about the Pimlico is they sell Bud Light in those 23 degree aluminum bottles.
Stinko. How expensive are those 16 oz. Buds? Beer was $4 a pop at Laurel, quite a departure from the $1.75 Tecates all day, every day at Sunland.
Even worse - they won’t let you bring beer to the track on Friday or Saturday! Madness!!! What an outrage! The hooligans in the infield can wheel in kegs, but the folks who paid over $100 for their seat can’t bring a six-pack? Madness I tell you.
I bet you were planning on taking cooler full of Yuengling, Kevin! Oh well, that sucks. I don’t remember how much those 16 ounce Buds cost, but they were worth it.
Kevin, I was hoping you would have unveiled your Prekness picks by now. I might not have anymore time to visit the blog before Saturday, so here’s what I’m betting… an $80 exacta 7-8, Big Brown over Kentucky Bear, and $20 win on 8, Kentucky Bear. Gayego got unlucky with the post draw yet again. I only bet against Big Brown in the Derby because he broke from the #20 hole. You learned a race earlier that he could overcome that. I’m a bit slow. The win bet on my key horse Kentucky Bear is in case a scenario develops where the best horse doesn’t win -like Curlin in the Belmont. I’ve been touting Kentucky Bear since he broke his maiden. I guess we’ll find out if he’s the second best three year old or not.
I’m using Big Brown in all my exotics - that’s for certain. Pick 4, Pick 6 will be keyed on Big Brown/built around him.
For the Preakness, I’m thinking Big Brown over Kentucky Bear and Hey Byrn, over those two and Gayego. I may toss in Yankee Bravo as well.
Edit: Still toying with Icabad Crane as well. I did like what I saw in him Tesio day.
Watch, Tres Borrachos will hang on and wind up in the money and kill my ticket.
Are you going to be at Preakness, Jerry? We should hook up if so. I’ll be at the track tomorrow for the Alibi breakfast, and if I can get there early I may try and take some photos of the AM workouts. I’ll be there Friday and Saturday as well all day.
I would have been able to go to Pimlico on Derby day, but unfotunately I won’t be there for Preakness. I’ll be watching from Ocean City with friends. I’m trying to finish my landscaping work in time to leave for the beach on Friday. My schedule is pretty chaotic with all the rain. It would have been cool to see the morning training of the contenders. I do some photography part time and could’ve gotten some nice pics. Hopefully you’ll get some nice ones to share.
BTW- is there a spell checker on your site? It seems no matter how much I proofread, there’s always a spelling error I don’t catch until after I hit “submit comment.”
I wish there was a spell check feature for comments. God knows I can’t spell without one. I can go in after the fact and edit using a spellchecker, but there’s not one available when you first leave a comment. Spelling isn’t my strongest point either.
Edit: Nope - just looked and there doesn’t appear to be any spell check feature - even when I edit comments.
My biggest pet peeve is that the word-wrap feature used in the template on this blog has a nasty habit of combining words when you hit save. I notice it in my posts, go in and edit them, and then new ones appear. For example, if I said “the Preakness looks wide open” - when I hit save, it would do something like this: “the Preakness lookswide open.” It drives me insane.
Edit: By the way - good luck on your landscaping project. I’ve got some serious work to do myself that I’ve been putting off for the TC races. Well, that and the fact that I’m a professional procrastinator.
I have a landscaping business. Work has been hectic with all the rain we’ve had. Believe me, I’d rather go to the Preakness than to the beach… I can do that anytime. A buddy of mine is moving to New York though, and a bunch of us are getting together to do some partying before he leaves. We’ll have to go to the track sometime soon. I’m usually off Friday - Sunday.