First Post: Saturday, March 5, 2011

Words to live by: “It’s with much joy that I hand over command of this city to King Momo.”

Welcome to your 2011 carnival season. Whether you’re singing “Brasil, Brasil, meu Brasil brasileiro” in Rio, screaming “Throw me sumthin’, Mistah!” in New Orleans or checking out the scenery in Sydney (if that’s how you swing), let’s party! We should all be King Momo for a day. Maybe even several days, at least ’til Tuesday.

Here’s the free ones…

Rundown
Aqueduct 7, 9, 10
Gulfstream 5, 7, 10
Santa Anita 7, 10, 11

Better than usual from Aqueduct and Santa Anita. Continued excellence at the ’Gulf.

On the pay side…

Rundown
Laurel 5, 7, 8
Tampa 4, 8, 10
Hawthorne 4, 7, 9
Fair Grounds 6, 8, 12
Oaklawn 2, 5, 6
Turfway 3, 6, 9

Terrific stuff all afternoon from Tampa, as is frequently the case. Not bad early on at Oaklawn. If it’s not past your bedtime, Turfway can produce some reasonable chances. As for the rest, it’s likely a case of making rainy-day lemonade out of rainy-day lemons. Ah, well.

WMF Report: Back to speed-only status over at the Chas. Town at 4½f, WMF 481. …zOMG at Golden Gate and its synth-defying WMF 152 at 6f. …Hawthorne, Sam Houston, Laurel and Pharx all have good 6f speed-trips. …Patience pays at 1m (T) at Santa Anita, WMF 5 (not a typo). …Ditto the 1m (T) at Tampa, WMF 15. …Turf Paradise has two up-front sprint distances: 6f (WMF 150) and 6½f (WMF 172). …

Take care now! Happy f-ing Mardi Gras!