Don Chavez

5 strides from the wire and you looked back to see who was coming? I mean isn’t this right up there with running out every ground ball, hitting until you hear the whistle, etc.?

The bloodhorse quoted Trainer Todd Pletcher saying “There is very little incentive for anybody besides the (Kentucky) Derby (gr.1) winner to run back in the Preakness (gr. 1).  The Triple Crown has to take a hard look at whats going on here.”

I decided to pull out the old Racing Almanac and see what the previous Triple Crown bonus structure had been.  From 1987-1993, a $1M bonus was paid to the horse with the best overall performance in all three of the Triple Crown races.  The bonus winner was determined through a point system that gave 10 pts for 1st, 5 pts for 2nd, 3 pts for 3rd, and 1 pt for 4th.  This bonus was originally sponsored by Chrysler, until they withdrew their spnsoreship in 1993.

In 1998, Visa stepped up to the plate and sponsored a $5M bonus for a Triple Crown sweep, until last year when they did not renew their sponsorship contract.  Obviously, nobody was able to cash in on this bonus.

The sweep bonus would have been great for the connections if their horse had accomplished it, but it didn’t offer any incentive.  The accomplishment of winning the Triple Crown offers enough incentive on it’s own for the Kentucky Derby winner to continue on to the Preakness, and then to the Belmont if they can complete the sweep.

So why not bring back the point system, but with a $5M bonus?  This truely gives incentive to every Kentucky Derby entrant to move onto the next leg.  Without it, the connections look towards a Summer campaign for their horse, and the public looks for a baseball game to watch.

Gleny.com visited the 2006 Preakness infield, and came up with some decent footage. Fast foward to 4:25 to see the end of a cat fight. I still can’t figure out why NBC referred to the infielders as “delinquents”.

It appears that Barbaro’s shattered ankle might not have been an act of the racing Gods, but a strategic take out by Brother Derek.  According to DRF.com…

“Lou Raffetto, the president and chief executive officer of the Maryland Jockey Club, which runs Pimlico, on Tuesday said a review of stewards’ patrol films and corresponding still photos has led him to theorize that inadvertent contact between Brother Derek’s right front leg and Barbaro’s right rear leg contributed to Barbaro taking an awkward step and suffering the fracture.”

I tried to get a hold of Brother Derek for a comment, but apparently he’s on the lam.

Personally, I have reason to believe that Barbaro was the victim of a viscious sniper located in a neighborhood apartment.  What kind of pussy would do such a thing?  This pussy…

A close look at the 23 screws that are now holding Barbaro’s leg together…

In case you missed it, here is the 2006 Preakness Stakes replay.  It’s not pretty, so I’d skip it if you have a weak stomach.

2006 Preakness Stakes Video

Barbaro breaks through the gate

Hank Goldberg Expert Handicrapper

• Artie Schiller finished third in the Dixie behind winner Better Talk Now and Dreadnaught.  Artie once again showed that he struggles to win off the New York turf, and at a distance greater than a mile
• Funny Cide’s woes continued as he finished third behind winner Master Command and Andromeda’s Hero, in the Schaefer Hanidcap
• Todd Pletcher had victories in the Dixie, Schaefer, Sir Barton, and Peter Pan Stakes
• The Preakness Day attendance record was broken yesterday with 118,402 people coming out to Pimlico Race Course
• Garrett Gomez had 4 wins on the Pimlico card

This morning I awoke to an inbox full of emails from people I have never met before, all with the same theme…”I can’t believe that happened yesterday”.  Most of these people are horse racing fans, but some were not followers of racing but watched only because I told them they could see something special and a part of history.

This wasn’t the type of “special” I was hyping though.

I’ve been reading board after board on the Internet, and almost everyone is talking about Barbaro.  In my 27 year lifetime, I have never seen an animal have such a huge impact on peoples lives.  I have never seen so many people talk about how much they have been crying because of an injury to a horse.

These people are right for their sympathy.  We just watched an tremendous athlete in his prime, end his career with an injury on a nationally televised event.  But it could have been worse, it could have been much worse…

Barbaro could have gone down on the track and caused a multiple horse spill, and possibly the injury or death of a jockey.  Had it not have been for Edgar Prado, who knows what would have happened? 

Jockey Alex Solis was aboard Brother Derek behind Barbaro.  He heard the noise that indicated something had fractured, and quickly moved his horse outside of Barbaro, to give Prado room to pull up.  If not for this, Solis and Prado probably would have been tossed from their mounts.

Now the question is what effect will this have on the racing industry?  The horse racing fans will not go away, they are too strong for that.  But the “would have been fans”  might be gone now.  The people who were starting to become fans after watching the Kentucky Derby, who expected to be watching a Triple Crown champion, might turn their backs.

As a regular horse player, you are able to look past this event, you know it’s part of the sport.  Any horse can break down at any time.  Nature doesn’t pick and choose between $12,000 Maiden Claimers and Kentucky Derby winner.  As an “outsider” it’s harder to look past this.

So now what happens.  The Belmont Stakes will be televised on June 10th, and there is no chance of a Triple Crown champion.  It will be interesting to see how many people tune in.  Will the magnitude of the injured Barbaro spark an interest, or will the Belmont Stakes just fall to wayside.

After the Belmont, racing will fall out of the spotlight until the Fall, when the Breeders’ Cup is held.  Let’s just hope that a new star rises over the next 5 months, and shows the world something special.

So what do you think about this year’s Preakness?  Let me know in the comment box below.

After a Joe Namath like interview, Brother Derek did not come through on his prediction that he would win the Preakness Stakes.  So what’s his excuse…  tossed a shoe? wanted to stay back and help out Barbaro?  finally had a late night with a filly?

If anyone hears from him let me know.