I’ve Been Watching Racing All Afternoon and Catching Up on News, So …

Lawyer Ron was euthanized on July 10 after complications from colic surgery. This bums the hell out of me; he was 6, and to this day I remember listening to the 2003 Arkansas Derby in Scott’s car during a rainstorm. I don’t remember where we were going, but Ron won, and we were hot on [...]

With I Want Revenge Scratched …

I’ve had to completely reevaluate my Derby lineup. It’s now:
$1 Trifecta
Friesan Fire, Dunkirk, Pioneerof The Nile
WITH
Those 3 plus General Quarters, Desert Party
WITH
Those 5 plus Mr. Hot Stuff, Hold Me Back, Papa Clem, Chocolate Candy
Cost= $84
Instead of playing the Flying Private exactas, I’m doubling down and boxing all the horses I still have live futures bets [...]

Vinegar Tween

I realize this is lazy, but below is the full text of the horse-by-horse analysis I wrote along with Justin Dew for the official Kentucky Derby site. You can also read it here. (If you haven’t been following Justin’s blog all Derby season, but you’ve been reading this site, you’ve truly been missing out.) Tomorrow [...]

It’s Derby Week!

This will change once post positions are decided on Wednesday, but here’s my current Top 10 list. I’m likely going to play a couple big exactas with a mix of my own personal favorites and my under-the-radar picks — like I Want Revenge + Chocolate Candy or Friesan Fire + Mr. Hot Stuff, but deciding [...]

And Let’s Not Forget General Quarters, at 80-1

There won’t be a Triple Crown winner this year.
That feels like a bold prediction to make – it’s certainly in complete opposition to what I’d like to see – but, obviously, from a historical perspective it’s not that far-fetched of a prediction.
And, while I don’t think we’ll see a Derby, Preakness, Belmont sweep for at [...]

Thoroughbred Racing and Me, One Year Later

As of today, it’s exactly two weeks away from the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby, and I can’t help but reflect on what happened at, or after, the 134th running. Being present at Churchill Downs on the day thoroughbred racing’s most visible tragedy (yes, I think, bigger than Barbaro) threw me (and Scott) into [...]

If You Sliced Off the Top of My Head and Looked at My Brain, I Think It Would Be 25% Equally Divided Between These 4 Things Right Now

This Is What We Call Being ‘Self-Served’

Me: You know, I’m not sure where Gulfstream Park is. For some reason, I want to say it’s in Arkans–
Him: For the love of God, do not finish that sentence.
Me: Why not?
Him: Why just watched the Florida Derby.
Yes, sometimes, I am that dumb.

All I Want for Christmas Is Ten Million Dollars

One of the first things I did when we got back to Virginia was sift through the mail. The highlight, for me, was the arrival of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, which is always uber-ridiculous.
Imagine my surprise, when on page 82, I saw this:
“Three Chimneys will build you a stable of 12-15 thoroughbreds and with [...]

Sweetheart, What’s Another Word for Murderous?

So, we are in Lexington. We leave tomorrow morning but I thought perhaps, seeing as we have, in two days, exhausted every possible avenue of fun in Lexington, I would spend this night filling everyone in on what we have been doing on vacation (because we are just sitting in the hotel room drinking and [...]