First Post: Saturday, January 26, 2013

The manhole-cover thief in Florida, they caught him.

As much as a thief can be admired, the manhole-cover thief had to be it. Better than the white-collar types, at least by us.

Free ones: Rundown…

Aqueduct 5, 6
Gulf 6, 9, 10
Santa Anita 6, 10

Pay-side: Today…

Fair Grounds 5, 7, 9, 11, 12
Oaklawn 3, 6, 9
Turfway 2, 3, 4, 6, 10
Tampa 7, 8, 9, 11
Golden Gate 1, 8
Sam Houston 3
Sunland 8, 11

Today’s Stakes Pageantry:

Free page includes GP 10 and SA 6.

Pay-side includes FG 7, 9.

Mild upset for Aqu 8, the Affectionately: #2 Withgreatpleasure.

But in FG 8, the Gaudin Mem., it’s the chalky #1 Delaunay.

Better upset in store for Hou 6, the Allen’s Landing, in which the returning #2 Desert Ransom has the bona fides.

The old warrior #1A Chamberlain Bridge is a turf-sprint legend contesting the Energy Services, Hou 7.

#7 Halo Dolly can take the SA 5, Valentine Dancer.

Tampa 10 is the Lightning City, another turf sprint, but minus the usual craziness: #5 Madame Giry.

Yesterday’s Activity: Atrocious programming (read: race-construction) of the Thoroughbreds in North America yesterday. Maybe a single, solitary handful of opportunities among all the operating hippodromes. That left the other fist free to shake at The Establishment for trotting out such a shambolic product. It would not have been entirely incorrect to prefer the chariot racing last night. However, it shall never be enough to consider laying down even a penny on the Quarters. The Wild West has the wrong variant on the flats. Steeplechasing and hunt meetings and even point-to-point marathons are superior to 50-yard Quarters. Keep that in mind. Aristocratsz over cowpokesz. Jodhpurs over jeans. Jonathan Sheppard over Wayne D. Lukasz.

Anyway, it was obviously a slow day, but one nearly quickened by the runner-up performance in Sunland’s 10th, in which the touted (!) You Follow Me was indeed followed, at a lusty 33-1, by every horse in the field bar one; yup, that one was the 13-10 fave. So if you liked playing the saver perfactor, the 33-1 outsider to the romping public-choice, it came back a healthy $118 for $2. That’s the kind of consolation payoff worth the bother, just about 6X better than the $20.80 place payoff.

But, hey, it’s your choice. We are not ashamed to tout. Somebody’s got to do it. As long as it’s done with reasonable honour and modesty (yea, verily, where has all the modesty gone from this world?), so be it. Amen. Shantih, shantih, shantih.

WMF Report:

Early
Aqueduct 6f
Gulf 6f
PennNat 6f, 1m (WMF 250)
Keystone 6f, 1m

Rally
Santa Anita 1m (T) (WMF 15)
Tampa 1 1/16m (T)

Nocturnal Submission: Night off…

Thank you. Best wishes. Goodbye. So long.