First Post: Sunday, October 7, 2012

Catalunya!

If it’s Sunday, it’s football — but really today it’s fútbol! Sí, claro, tonight brings El Clásico in España, this time in the Catalunya region and Camp Nou, ancestral home of F.C. Barçelona. (What? You’d rather watch common molesters like MV7 & Big Ben? Even Brady v. P. Manning is not as compelling as seeing Lio Messi and CR7 matching kicks!)

Today more is at stake than just the result on the pitch. There will be an overt political display in the stands. Visually and audibly, the home supporters in attendance will make their case for independence from Spain. Some of this has to do with the current economic climate and its effects of austerity. But the political roots go back much farther, back to everybody’s favourite Generalissimo, Herr Franko. The meta-argument pervading all these Clasicos is fascism vs. freedom.

None other than Johan Cruyff, one of the top five footballers for all time, former Barça legend and manager and proponent of “total football” and inventor of his eponymous “turn”, said he could never sign for Real Madrid, owing to the club’s historical ties to Franko. How can you argue against that?

Kickoff is at 1:50 p.m. EDT / 10:50 a.m. PDT.

Free ones: Rundown…

Belmont 4, 5, 10
Calder 4, 8, 9
Santa Anita 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10

Pay-side: Today…

Keeneland 3, 4, 7, 9
Monmouth 4, 5, 8
Woodbine 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10
Hawthorne 7, 8, 9
Turf Paradise 5, 6, 9
Zia 6, 7, 8

Today’s Stakes Pageantry: Fort Erie today, Race 7, the Queen of FE S. In it, #1 Tree Pose gets the full endorsement.

WMF Report:

Speed
Belmont 6f
Calder 6½f, 1m
Fort Erie 6½f
Hastings 6½f
Mountain 6f
Monmouth 6f
Keystone 6f
Portland 6f
Zia 6f

Rally
Woodbine 1 1/16m (WMF 22)

Nocturnal Submission: Top action just a couple of minutes after 5 o’clock (in the East, anyway) in the fifth at Albuquerque (5:02 p.m. EDT / 2:02 p.m. PDT): #2 Valet M G has the speed. …

Thank you. Best wishes. Please join us again tomorrow for a special holiday Monday (thank you, Columbus!) edition of “First Post”, along with another crack at the weekly minor hit “Monday Boxing”. Until such time, it’s goodbye. Forza Barça!