Andre Agassi is the perfect poster boy for image trumping reality. He was the rock star of tennis from the moment he set foot on the court in 1986, but he didn't win his first Grand Slam event until 1992. Anna Kournikova might be example #2 as she did the same thing in 1999, being the #1 searched item on Google, but only reaching #12 as a singles player that year.

Once I get a cup of coffee in me and the family is off into the world, I usually make my way out to Arlington to watch the morning workouts. I bring a set of binoculars but they are more of an affectation because I have no idea what I am looking at; it's just a lot closer.

Back in September, Gathering the Wind had an excellent post titled with another word I had to look up (stochastics) regarding horse racing stewards and how they are simply out of the public eye. This being unlike the big four, wherein the referees or umpires must make a call in plain view and in the case of hockey and football are miked to explain the foul or decision at hand.

Presidents are given 100 days to set the tone and get the ball rolling on fixing the problems of America. The industry must take the same initiative, and go big to solve current problems.

I live in a city that takes unabashed glee in the evisceration of its physical history. Tourist and natives alike are hard-pressed to discover any remnants of the Dutch and British settlements that settled Manhattan; little is left of the glory of the Gilded Age; and even the more recent bohemian period is barely discernible in Greenwich Village.

It's a busy week among the bloggers of the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance, what with important stories developing both nationally and internationally.

Fall racing for 2008 was missing what historically had been one of the marquee races for 2-year-olds. For only the fourth time since 1921, Maryland went without the Laurel Futurity.

This is a story about a horse whose retirement won't be generating any headlines, just a tough, hard knocking type that races everyday across North America with little fanfare but carries on his back the hopes and dreams of small time owners.

Ran into my pal the usher the other day at Laurel. That is, the ex-usher. Because Laurel -- besieged by nearby tracks with slots-infused purses and battling the collapsing national economy -- no longer needs ushers on normal days.