Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Dr Drunkinbum — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 15:03:40 GMT

Mike Relva

Fantastic. Thanks. Good job.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Mike Relva — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 02:18:03 GMT

DR DRUNKINBUM

Visited The Tin Man while in CA last week. He's doing well.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Linda in Texas — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:47:57 GMT

Steve, here is where i made my oops, i mis typed Morgan for Marvin. I know them both. But The Saratoga Race is named The James Marvin.

And Jackson Bend won it.

Thank you Steve.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Linda in Texas — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 23:34:59 GMT

OOPS, pardon me, i wrote The James Morgan, it was The James Marvin that Jackson Bend won nicely.

I know a James Morgan. But he does not have a race at Saratoga named after him. Heck he doesn't even have his name on his rural mailbox!

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Linda in Texas — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 21:10:52 GMT

:) yipper, wish i had a drone encircling the track! I ordered one and it must have gotten sidelined! Instead i have to rely on HRTV on my computer.

Just watched Jackson Bend win the James Morgan, super for him, i had hoped he would win and now it looks like he is a sprinter for sure. Congrats Nick Zito. Never ever ever give up. And you don't.

That was exciting.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Bob from Boston — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:49:01 GMT

Linda,

If you're going to be that far I strongly suggest binoculars.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Dr Drunkinbum — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:16:54 GMT

Mike Relva

Thank you. I'm not surprised that you agree as you do seem to really care about and love the horses. Bravo to the CHRB who lowered the bute threshold despite "Horsemen" objections. I'm not sure the term "horsemen" is appropriate. How about "winatallcostsmen?" Dr. Arthur quote that I love-"This action will do more to lower the fatality rate than anything else the board could have done. The horse won this time."

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Linda in Texas — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:55:43 GMT

Bumster, the NRHA just voted to also limit the meds and fines if not adhered to.

And Bo Derek wasn't on the board that did it. That is impressive to me. As Ms. Derek cannot possibly sit on every committee to be a voice for the equine population.

Thank You Ms. Derek and all who follow her way of thinking. The others in due time will follow once the fan base picks up and the purses quit decreasing.

Hail Saratoga, today starts their season of racing unless it is too hot to race.

I am off to the races 2,000 miles away.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Mike Relva — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:23:09 GMT

DR DRUNKINBUM

Your points are valid regarding the med issue. Bravo.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Deltalady — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:56:01 GMT

I commented earlier and admitted that I am a novice, willing to learn. I must say that the people who check in at Steve's blog are some of the most knowledgeable and for the most part courteous in discussing a subject such as this one tinged with controversy. I have read and re-read most of the comments, and have added to my knowledge base from so many of you. So, thank you, Steve, for always presenting any issue from a perspective and depth not found in most forums, and for attracting fans who add to the discussion, who have something of value to say.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Dr Drunkinbum — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 13:29:17 GMT

Slew

How true. Honesty is the best policy and leave the kid alone.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Dr Drunkinbum — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:57:54 GMT

Zookeeper

I love that BC took the lead with medications. Less medications will lead to less injuries in the long run. Like Steve Haskin said- we're more likely to see a Triple Crown winner again with less medications and no raceday meds also. I also think we're going to have happier horses. Who wants to be on Lasix? They'll still get meds for healing and aches and pains but they won't have to race on them. It's more risky to race on meds and the overuse of meds breaks down the body. No offense to us broken down old warriors but the thoroughbreds are often broken down old warriors by age three because of the chronic overuse of meds. It seems to me that better times are ahead in racing. We thought after the third Triple Crown in the 70's that we'd be seeing them all the time. Well, they're going to be coming back baby once they're off of those damn meds for awhile. It will be an adjustment but it will work.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Linda in Texas — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:52:11 GMT

I watched Pool Play and loved his strong win in his last race. Beside my notes on June 21 i wrote he was 36 to 1 and not heavily mentioned pre race. Those are the horses i admire. A shame for sure.

As for Awesome Maria, Zookeeper you know i am crushed. She is beautiful and so talented and had won her last 4 races and she is Gray. If she had to suffer the injury, to be honest, i would rather it happen the way it did rather than racing in The Ruffian at Saratoga. That would have been too much to handle for me as i watched Ruffian and prayed for her til they put her down and ceased all interest in Horse Racing for many many years. Just as many others have said on the blogs.

I love the Maria's Mon offspring.

Hope no more injuries for a while. Two is two too many.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Footlick — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:16:18 GMT

mz- the list would go on and on. Maybe I should move to Australia. They still believe in handicap races.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Slew — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:07:36 GMT

LINDA: I'm guessing you're just too much of a lady to pounce on Bob's remark. I'm not. He simply said you have bigger stones than he does? You go, Linda.

Dr. D: I just prefer when someone is open and honest. What I don't like is the media dissecting and rehashing every word in a single sentence for 2 weeks after. Some people are tactful; some are blunt.

You, however, are a treasure...still luv ya!

Face it everyone...this race would not have been the race of the year if these mares were not so evenly matched. Does 2 pounds make a difference? I think it depends on the distance a horse has to carry that extra weight. But I don't believe the impact is as great for 2 lbs. as it is for 10lbs, but in this case...it was a matter of inches, and both were so far ahead of the field. No way does this race deserve an asterisk except to denote it was almost a dead heat.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

JerseyBoy — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:23:08 GMT

Here is an example of how seriously weight concessions are taken in the UK.

"Silvestre de Sousa suffered a jolt in his quest to win the jockeys' championship when suspended four days at Epsom on Thursday evening.

De Sousa was banned after failing to draw the correct weight by more than 1lb when finishing third aboard Ryan Style in the five-furlong handicap".

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

DeadHeatDebates — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:47:40 GMT

Had the situation been the exact reverse and BL had been the loser by a whisker her connections and fans would be making the same stink.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

mz — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:57:31 GMT

Sorry Gun Bow! Forgot GunBow!

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

mz — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:56:51 GMT

Hey! Why should Handicaps be anachronisms? Cut out medications, bring back 1 1/2 mile races, bring back true handicap-setters, AND LET'S HAVE FUN IN RACING.

And BTW, let's make it NECESSARY for good horses to run against other good horses before they can be considered for HOY, champtions, etc.

(Am I an old fart? Of course I am. But I remember Forego and Kelso and Shuvee and Gallant Bloom and Native Diver and even Damascus and Dr. Fager and.......I will now stop. Sigh! for yesteryear)

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

calico cat — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 19:38:45 GMT

Bad news today, Pool Play and Awesome Maria are both injured and MAY not race again. It all depends on how they recover and what the owners decide. With Pool Play, I can understand, he's 6 yrs old, but I would love to see Awesome Maria race again, if she makes a complete recovery. But she is 4yrs old and out for the year. Will they be able to bring her back to top form when she is 5?

This has been a terrible year with so many serious injuries. :( We better appreciate the Energizer Bunnies we DO have. Let's hope they are not asked for more than they can safely give.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Mike Relva — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:46:49 GMT

MARY in VT

My point is there's too much being made of the two lb weight,mostly by the individuals who thought Grace would beat BL.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

chucky — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:45:36 GMT

FOOTLICK you are not a dying breed. There is still a few of us who knows what a great thoroughbred should be.

Today, what we have are mostly these frail, no stamina, fake routers.

They market horses like Quality Road and even Rachel Alexandra as great when in reality they are just so-so.

I like to see these horses run against Forego carrying the same weight at 12 furlongs.

The industry is just hyping horses today when their class just keeps going down and down.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Bill Two — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:26:49 GMT

Alex's Big Fan: All racing secretaries when weighting handicaps are trying to "bring them all together at the wire". The ideal is not frequently realized, but one example of this is the 1944 Carter Handicap where there was triple dead heat for win. The racing secretary was the legendary John Blanks Campbell {considered the gold standard by which racing secretaries are measured}. Personally, I think handicap races are an anachronism which really don't lend themselves to today's thoroughbreds who are not as tough as their forefathers. Witness the exploits of Kelso, TaWee, Forego, etc. Those horses carried a lot of weight and raced more frequently than horses do today. There is only one race today that approaches the handicaps of yesteryear and that is the Fall Highweight for sprinters held in the fall in New York.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

Mary in VT — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:33:33 GMT

Mike Relva ~

I am not aware of ANY actual track handicappers assigning weight based on one horse ships 648 miles and another horse ships 1147 miles and two others shipped in but have been there aclimating for several weeks and it is home track to another. Neither have you.

Some horses ship well. Some ship ok. Some fret and lose weight. Etc. My guess is that Blind Luck ships beautifully. She doesn't want to be smacked with a whip but it appears that she will ship every week if you want her to. I hope that trait is genetic, and dominant, and she breeds on. Call it the "real trooper" gene.

re: Del Cap One for the Ages and the Rages

barryaksarben — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:05:08 GMT

I loved the race and am so glad all the connections decided to run. back in the fabled glory days you just ran your race and were gracious in winning and losing. BTW I picked Blind Luck (her whole story is and awesome throwback to true racehorses) HDG is a good filly but BL will be a legend.