Who will be Horse of the Year?

Well, who will be Horse of the Year - Curlin or Zenyatta?

Both horses have shown greatness during the year however I favor Curlin because he faced more challenges. He shipped to Dubai and won and shipped back and didn't need months to recover - which might have ultimately got him beat on Breeders' Cup Day. However he campaigned like a champ throughout the year facing everyone and racing everywhere.

Zenyatta looked incredible in the Breeders' Cup. When she was aksed for run it looked like her rider just stepped on a gas peddle. I hadn't seen her race prior so now I realize why she is unbeaten. I just hope she runs back next year.

What are your thoughts on Horse of The Year?

Cup Thoughts...

As I was watching The Breeders' Cup Classic unfold I was tracking Curlin and when he made his move on the far turn I jumped and yelled "it's too soon"!

I felt that he was put into top gear way too soon. He would now have to hold the lead for the entire stretch. However I later realized that there was no way he was going to beat Raven's Pass this day.

I don't think the surface beat Curlin. I just think he hasn't been as strong or as sharp/fresh recently as he was say a few months ago when he got back from Dubai.

It's been a long campaign for Curlin with 2 races in Dubai, the travel involved and then there was the the turf experiment. So it was a long, hard fought campaign and I think that's at least one of the reasons as to why he got beat today.

Now I mean no disrespect to Raven's Pass who ran a great race. In fact, a lot of the European based horses did very well today as several Euro-based 3-year-olds took down the top prize.

And because of this new 3-year-old Euro-phenomena I have come to the conclusion that the Polytrack surface in California is more closely related to grass than it is a dirt surface.

California's Polytrack surface is more like a sun-baked dirt surface with a springy cushion.

This would also explain why so many career-grass Euro runners did so well this weekend on this surface. In fact many Euro's train on a very similar surface like Polytrack.

Thanksgiving Goodies

This year we are going to keep the site open till Thanksgiving weekend.

So keep Enjoying and Blogging and let's hope we can raise some Hioliday Money!

Breeders' Cup Weekend

Since The Breeders' Cup has now added a number of races to the event what are the odds they will go to a Saturday-Sunday racing weekend instead of a Friday-Saturday.

It used to be like an introduction of sorts on the Friday leading up to the big day on Saturday. However with the addition of races the Friday card is also now a huge event.

I think a lot of fans would welcome a move from a Friday-Saturday event to a Saturday-Sunday Breeders' Cup weekend. What do you guys think?

Bye Bye Big Brown

Well Big Brown has been retired and the saga now ends. I feel badly solely for the horse and not his shady (at best) connections.

Big Brown's success in The Derby and Preakness will always be tarnished due to his trainers shady background and bad reputation.

In his own words Rick Dutrow exclaimed "Yes, I give my horse steroids" and when asked why he said "I don't know".

Enough said.

Saturday's First Race at Belmont

Ok, it's that time of year when we have to start thinking about that "Holiday to do list".

So in true Holiday Spirit we are going to try and connect with all our followers and give out the winner of the first race .

Zip to the City looks to be rounding back to top form as he pressed quick early splits last time out but couldn't keep it going for 7 1/2 furlongs.

Today is 6-furlongs and he figures to be much tougher in this spot.

Holiday Bonus here we come!

Working Well

Keeping an eye on horses headed to the Breeders' Cup with the purpose of trying to get an idea of how they are working it sems that turfer Kip DeVille, a winner at last years BC, is working exceptionally well right now. He went 6-furlongs on turf in about 1:12 3/5 seconds. However his early interior fractions were quick as he opened in :12 3/5ths and got his first quarter in :24 2/5 seconds. So we know he is headed to California ready for his best effort!

Cashing In

Connecting on Yario this past Saturday ($21 Win - $115 Exacta) brought a lot of satisfaction because I felt he should have improved with a big race last time out and he didn't. He chased a very fast pace, as he did in his last couple of races while staying within striking distance but he just didn't finish.

So in searching for reasons for the poor finishes I was thinking the track surface had been too hard for his liking. So later he was entered at Belmont on Wednesday and I was ready to pounce however he got scratched when it got rained off.

Being entered right back on Saturday made me feel that I was on the same page as his trainer and was hoping for a softer surface and also trying to strike while Yario was in deceptively-good current condition.

Now we are watching Winloc's Big D who is entered at Belmont midweek hoping he also jumps up with a huge race.

Stay tuned!