This column is for me and couple of guys from Brooklyn. If anyone wishes to relive it with us you can continue to the reprint of my 2017 Derby recap below....
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It was nine months ago, following a contentious Kentucky Derby trail, that it seemed the name Always Dreaming would be rolling off our tongues for years to come. At least we had the Triple Crown and beyond to look forward to, although the length of his racing career was questionable, as is the case with all 3-year-old superstars. It doesn't take long for breeding farms to attach themselves to a hotshot 3-year-old like a barnacle to a ship, getting into the fray early, usually with the intention of securing an early retirement. But no one thinks of such things during the frenzy that is the Kentucky Derby trail. It's all about now....
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Ulcers, good news? Most definitely when it not only provided an explanation for Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming's abrupt form reversal, it virtually plucked him out of retirement and put him on the path for a 4-year-old campaign.
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In racing, like most everything in life, people like clearly defined lines. For handicappers reading the past performances or their preferred speed figures, they want those lines sharp enough where they can see a race unfold before their eyes. Who is going to set the pace. Who is is going to lay off the pace. Who is going to come with a late run. And most important, who is going to win...and finish...
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While it is still too early to get a clear picture of who is going where, one thing is for certain: the Haskell, Jim Dandy, and Travers are going to be extremely competitive and entertaining events...
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So, here we are at the end of the road--the often unpredictable Belmont Stakes, without the Kentucky Derby or Preakness winner, without the favorite Classic Empire, a late defection; and with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the head of the Japanese invader Epicharis, the morning line second choice. The favorite is a horse who was beaten 16 1/2 lengths in the Kentucky Derby and who wasn't even going to run in the Belmont until his trainer had a change of heart....
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If you enjoyed the Kentucky Derby dream, no sense waking up now. You might as well keep dreaming until you are jolted back to reality, if and when that ever occurs....
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Todd Pletcher and old-school training have never exactly been synonymous. Pletcher is known for being a conservative trainer, preferring long periods of time between races. Pletcher has been known to run impressive maiden winners right back in graded stakes, even in grade 1s, and not using their allowance conditions. Since 2007, Pletcher has not run any of his Kentucky Derby starters back in the Preakness...
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As I have done the past several years, I thought it would be interesting to go back week by week and re-live the observations, race reports, workout reports, and any news regarding the eventual Kentucky Derby winner, who in this case first appeared in the Knocking at the Door section on February 28....
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Looking back, Brooklyn in the 1950s and ‘60s was a concrete and asphalt Wonderland, a constant whirlwind of activity, a time when sports were born of the imagination, not just on the ball fields and basketball courts. The streets were the arena where stickball, punchball, Johnny on the pony, kick the can, ring-a-levio, and stoopball ruled, and where a kid's place in the pecking order depended on how...
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Steve announces his final selections and wagers for the 2017 Kentucky Derby....
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