The Queen is back

We've returned at last from our road trip to the Belmont via Baltimore, and as always, we had a wonderful time enjoying Maryland's hospitality. Sadly, after days of seafood and champagne drinks, it's time to return to the real world.

I've been trying to catch up with all of the racing world news that happened while I was computer-free, but this bit from the end of Steve Crist's "Grass sprints become tiring" (DRF+) caught my eye:

Speaking of too much of a good thing, is it possible that massive turnouts for the Triple Crown bids of Funny Cide and Smarty Jones a few years ago may have hurt rather than helped attendance at subsequent editions of the race?

This year's turnout of 46,870, the lowest in a decade, was surprisingly thin given perfect weather and the presence of Rags to Riches. This was bad for the house but good for those who did attend: You could get on line for a hot dog or an exacta with two minutes to post without getting shut out. The dominant chatter was about how surprisingly pleasant a day at the track it was for a major event.

Most of the hordes who turned out amid the six-digit crowds of 2003 and 2004 probably weren't coming back to Belmont until another Crown was on the line anyway, but the next person who says he had an enjoyable day at the track for those events will be the first. Horrific episodes of traffic and cargo-style train travel were enough to discourage almost anyone from returning, even though any other day of the year offers a far more appealing experience. (emphasis mine)

Crist is right that it was smaller crowds made the day more enjoyable for those at the track. But even with the "lowest attendance in a decade," there was one line that took forever:


Yup. That's the line for the ladies' room. Keep in mind that this is outside the ladies room. There are at least a dozen more women in line inside. Keep in mind there's a line of the same length at the other entrance to this restroom. If Crist thinks "cargo-style" train travel will discourage visitors, what do you think cargo-style restrooms will do?

While I hesitate to call this sexism, as Belmont is an old facility, the lack of adequate facilities for women does seem a mite short-sighted. If racing were serious about attracting female fans, it seems to me that they'd change a few signs on a few men's rooms for the day. But as Railbird recently pointed out, racing doesn't do a very good job at recognizing women in the industry or the stands.

Strangely, this sort of thing is apparently not a problem for casinos, as hard-core slots players have ways of dealing with this issue.

The poetry of the past performance lines

The King and I are off to Belmont today; we're taking a long route that should get us to the Big Sandy for the first race on Saturday. Belmont is where I discovered racing. It's where I cashed my very first ticket -- a quinella, of course -- with Madonna Lily and Judy Soda.

And it's where Ruffian is buried.

On Saturday, ABC will air Ruffian, having reached some sort of agreement with Frank Whiteley and Jacinto Vasquez, who filed suit to have the station show a disclaimer indicating that the movie is a fictionalized version of true events and that the depictions of trainer Whiteley and jockey Vasquez have not been approved by them.

Nonetheless, viewers will tune in, and DRF's Jay Hovdey reports they'll be treated to "an agonizingly accurate re-creation of the impact and subsequent compound fracture, not to mention a graphic depiction of the injury's immediate aftermath, courtesy of some inspired horse wrangling." (DRF+)

I'd suggest those who aren't fond of "agonizingly accurate" breakdowns pick up a book instead. Ruffian: A Racetrack Romance by William Nack, published by ESPN last month in connection with the film, is a quick read that captures the filly's charisma with lush prose, as when Nack enumerates some of his memories:

"I saw the way she came to the paddock for the Astoria, so clearly up to no good, moving into the walking ring as through a lobby bar, like some willowy hooker on the make, that black satin dress pulled tight around her full and nearly perfect derriere. And I saw her brilliant final quarter in the Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga that cloudy August afternoon, echoes from the ancient reaches of her pedigree, and heard and felt the electric exuberance of the clubhouse crowds, all those fancy breeders and owners, as it crackled like a blue spark up and down the rows of iron girders and box seats."

The book is as much about Nack as Ruffian, and I don't think that the subtitle, "A Racetrack Romance," is an accident; it sounds like he fell for that filly big time. Whether his memories are technically accurate or not doesn't seem to matter; it's clear that the emotion is true.

Of course, to me, the most moving description of Ruffian is undoubtly factual: row after row of 1's, and then, those final, heartbreaking dashes:

Am I reading this right? A Kentucky Derby winner at Mountaineer?

While browsing the entries for Mountaineer Race Track, I was delighted to see that Belmont will not be the only track with a 1-1/2 mile race on Saturday. The 8th race for 3 year olds and up is a starter allowance at 1-1/2 miles with a purse of $20,600. The race includes Decoy Dan, Revered Soldier, and Kanani Roy -- the top three finishers from a May 19 allowance race at 1-3/16 -- as well as the poetic Jeffrey's Cat.

But there's another entry that really caught my eye: Humble Chris who's being ridden by .... Calvin Borel!?! Calvin Borel, Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner? Calvin Borel, Kentucky Derby winner? That Calvin Borel?

It appears so. Borel seems to be the regular rider for Humble Chris; at least, he's ridden 6 year old to victory before. Borel is also slated to ride Trickeration in race 7 and Go Now in the ninth, the $75,000 Slipton Fell Handicap. Apparently, Borel and Go Now have been to Mountaineer before, as explained in this press release for the Mountaineer Mile in November, though Go Now was later scratched from that race.

All three of Borel's mounts are trained by Ron Moquett, who may be best known as the trainer of Seek Gold. You remember Seek Gold, who nipped past Pleasant Drift to win the Stephen Foster last year with -- of course -- Borel in the irons. So yes, I'm thinking that it really is that Calvin Borel coming to rural West Virginia on Belmont Stakes Day.

**start rant**
I'm wondering why the track hasn't advertised this better. There is nothing on the Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort website about this. The Clydesdales got more publicity for their 15-minute appearance. Surely, Mountaineer would like a few folks to visit the track and wager on the Belmont Stakes. The added benefit of hosting the most recent Kentucky Derby winning jockey might drag in more than a few fans from Pennsylvania and Ohio.

OK, I know advertising costs money, but surely the space on the Mountaineer homepage that's currently devoted to the "Taste of Italy" Tuesday specials (for $2.99) or the "Reggae Jammin' Fridays" (featuring 99-cent coconut shrimp) could be spared for a week. Heck, there's not even a press release about the race on the site; the most recent news is from February, when Humberto Soto and Humberto Toledo battled for the Super Featherweight Title. And the site doesn't even tell us who won that. Aaargh!
**end rant**

At any rate, it looks like a great day of racing in Hancock County on Saturday. If you're in that neck of the woods, why not stop by the track and cheer on that wonderful ambassador for racing, Calvin Borel? Parking's free, admission's free, beer's under $3, and you can get right up to the rail to see a great one pass by. And if anyone asks where you heard about it, tell 'em some librarian in Pittsburgh is outdoing the track's PR department.

The final foal - at Mountaineer

A comment from Michael reminded me that Mountaineer was recently graced by Maggie Slew, the last foal to be sired by Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. Michael's been a fan of Maggie for some time, so it is with a twinge of sadness that I offer these photos of her in what's been called "the ugliest paddock on earth." She had post position 9 in the Decoration Day Handicap (Race 3 on 5/28):

Above, you can see the satellite dishes that send the simulcast out to OTBs everywhere. Below, you can see the face of the 2006 Indiana Horse of the Year:


Maggie Slew went off as the favorite in the $75,000 mile turf race. It was her first outing on grass, and it looked to me as if she didn't really like the surface. She finished last in a field of 11. At least she's been the star of an Eclipse award-winning documentary.

Derby runner at Mountaineer

While the world seems full of commentary about a Kentucky Derby winner who's not running in the Belmont Stakes, last Monday the crowd at Mountaineer got to see a Derby winner make his turf debut in Mountaineer's Memorial Day Handicap.

OK, so it was the winner of the Tampa Derby. And the Ohio Derby. That's a G2 - bigger than anything run at Mountaineer; heck, even the wild and wonderful West Virginia Derby is only a G-3!

Of course the Quinella Castle contingent was on hand to cheer for the big-name horse, Deputy Glitters.


Deputy Glitters' connections tapped solid local jockey Scott Spieth for the 1-mile turf race. Even with my camera's snazzy telephoto lens, I couldn't make out what the trainer advised Spieth to do. (In fact, I couldn't even tell if this is Greg Fox, as the magnification seems to mainly magnify my unsteady hand on the shutter.)


While I wouldn't say the fifty or so folks at the paddock seemed unimpressed by him, the crowd was more familiar with Cherokee Prince, winner of last year's Independence Day Stakes at Mountaineer, sending the Prince off as the 2-1 favorite.

I, of course, found this a perfect opportunity to pull out my copy of Pedigree Handicapping by Lauren Stich. Though I yearn to be a true pedigree handicapper, because it appeals to my sentimental, family saga-reading side, in reality, I just don't have a handle on how sires, dams, lineage, stamina, and class all add up.

And apparently even Stich, whose pedigree columns frequently grace the pages of the Daily Racing Form can't help me.

Perhaps it is the lack of an index that makes this book hard for me to use. The entire section devoted to handicapping for 2-year old speed is organized by lineage: Mr. Prospector line, In Reality line, and the Bold Ruler line. An index of horses would guide me to Glitterman in the Bold Ruler line a lot faster than scanning page after page of sires and their offspring. But I suppose these are the kind of things that horseplayers with a lot more experience than me would know.

I was hopeful, though, that Chapter 4, "The Hidden Turf Factor" would come into play in the Mountaineer turf stakes races. Stich writes: "Pedigree handicapping encompasses a wide array of betting angles, but the most lucrative -- by far -- is what I call the hidden turf factor." Basically, a hidden turf sire is one who never raced on turf but was bred to love the grass. As the list of hidden turf sires is organized by stallion, I had no trouble at all learning that both Deputy Glitters' sire, Deputy Commander, and his damsire, Glitterman, are "hidden turf sires." So, of course, I expected Deputy Glitters to do pretty well on the grass, especially at the $75,000 ungraded stakes level.

As the chart says: "Deputy Glitters stalked the pace evenly to the half, abruptly flattened out on the far turn." The race was won by 7-year old Puppeteer. Deputy Glitters finished 9th out of 10 horses in the field. Sigh. I suppose there's something about distance I should know.

And, I'll give Deputy Glitters credit: he ran in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes last year. Didn't do too well, but he did run, unlike some horses I could name.