The Belmont schedule is severely truncated this year due to the impending construction of the N.Y. Islander arena in the proximity. Space is need for the construction equipment, and Belmont will be out of commission after the Saratoga meeting. Aqueduct fills the dates.
Thus, after a Friday of heavy rain, thunder and lightning, Saturday at Belmont saw all but two of the two turf races moved to the dirt, and a track labeled fast that was quickly drying out further due to the wind, not due to Saturday's intermittent sun. The day was chilly, and we were committed to outside viewing only shorty before they went off. Before and after was spent on the park benches arranged in front of the TV monitors.
The Assembled achieved quorum status with the presence of Bobby G., Johnny D, and Jose. Johnny M. took off for spring fishing on an upstate reservoir. Johnny M. likes fishing, which I can't understand the appeal of. Bobby G. tells me he's fished all his life and was given a pole when he was three.
I remember a friend of my father's from his work, an older guy, Frank Testor, who have me a fishing pole when I was maybe five or six. It was metal, resembled a coat hanger in flexibility, and had string for the line. I don't know if they even had monofilament line in the '50s. Oh, and a bobbin and some sinkers. I'm not sure I ever used it.
The fifth member of The Assembled is in danger of not being considered part of The Assembled. Joe C. wasn't singing do-wop somewhere, but it was his 50th wedding anniversary weekend, so he was not with us. Joe has become that guy on the other side of the fence on that show 'Home Improvement.' He's not seen.
Arriving at Belmont at about 12:30 for a 1:30 post is a bit early, but not unnecessarily so, given the scratches and changes to take in. A walk out to the seats, 3rd Floor Clubhouse area, revealed no one to the right of me, no one to the left of me, as far as the eye cold see. I was the only one standing in a seated area on the third floor. Cannon to the left of me...cannon to the right of me, would hit only me.
Bobby G. and Johnny D. were sitting on bench discussing the first race. Johnny D.'s numbers were discussed, and a voice to his left, across the small aisle from another bench voiced affirmation that the No. 4 horse has the second number. Johnny D. looked over, nodded, and said yes, and then went back to the Form. Bobby G. kept his head down.
Minutes elapsed, and finally the voice could not hold it in any longer, Jose got up and said he's been sitting next to us for at least 10 minutes and no one noticed him. Well, he did have a cap on, and his jacket was zipped up to the top, but no, he wasn't recognized.
Later, Bobby G. said he did wonder why someone was discussing Johnny D,'s number, but never thought to look up. Thus, a quorum was achieved.
The first race always sets the tone for the afternoon. Will our selections at least do well? Will they win? The card wasn't really that bad for a non-stake card. Usually, there are an array of cheap races, low level claimers, then a few good allowance fields, maybe even some low-level stake horses trying the Listed feature, an L in the Form.
The first race, a $50,000 purse for state-bed $25,000 claimers, was a field of definite non-performers. Six horses going six furlongs on what is now a fast track, drying out from the wind.
Manifest Destiny is the second number, but is going to be steered by a jockey, Tzeonn Chang, who has one winner this year in six outings. He is probably an exercise rider who is being given a chance at a mount because he can make the weight. He is a complete unknown, but has pretty much been the horse's only jockey. Manifest Destiny, while having a great name and sprint breeding, is trained by William Youghan, a trainer who has won one race this year (with Manifest Destiny) with only six starts. Another unknown.
Past performance odds on Manifest are all double digits, the lowest being 15-1. The race two back is a win with Chang, but in even lower-level company, $14,000 NW3L (non-winners of three, lifetime). Manifest Destiny gets a pass on being seriously considered.
And the public agrees. He goes off at 31-1 and lights up the board with a $65.50 mutuel when Chang steers him down the middle of the stretch to a 1¾ length victory. The game only looks easy when you know the results.
Okay, second race. Bombs away. A 21-1 shot, Fotis, lights up the board, $45.20, with a five length victory under a double bug jockey, Joey Martinez, who is even coming in at two pounds over his assigned 111 pounds, The trainer, Naipaul Chatterapaul, while known on the circuit, has no wins so far this year, and only 15 starts. Obviously, others were inspiring more confidence.
What the fuck is going on? Are we going to be here all day and keep seeing this? I've never done the deep dive and looked to see if the horses that pay the long shot prices are from fields that are less than stellar. The second race a was a state-bred maiden claimer, for $40,000, generally considered a bad race,
Today is a 10 race card, so that means 10 sets of connections are going to get their picture taken in the winner's circle, no matter what level of racing their horse won from. And the second race, with ownership listed as Sotirios Sakatis could be especially happy since their long shot victory comes on the Saturday before Greek Easter. Obviously an overlooked angle. Kristos anestti! Sotirios.
Do not panic. There are eight more races, and things will change, And they do. The form becomes more formful, the results more predictable, or at least making some sense. A race card is like a golf course. Each race has a different degree of difficulty, and there are no two races, or golf holes, that are alike.
At least now, with the races underway, you can see who has come to the track because they've come outside to at least watch the race. In a front row, one section away, is a group of perhaps eight guys, young, perhaps in their mid-20s. Definitely Millennials, perhaps who've caught the racing bug by coming to the Belmont Stakes. I think there is one Racing Form amongst them, so these guys are definitely not handicappers, but they are enjoying the results, and perhaps have even had one of the first two winners. And what were there not be to enjoy about that?
The card proceeds, and The Assembled start clicking. Johnny D winds up with three winners, one in the last race, as usual, but three "split" exactas, 1-3 finishes that produce no return. The only exacta hit was an exacta dead heat for second in what turned out to be a three horse field after Manual Franco went over the top of his mount when Vincento stumbled badly and threw Manny over his head. Franco it turned out was only unseated, and returned to ride the rest of his assigned mounts,
Meanwhile, Vincento has joined the race riderless, and finishes "second." Of course it doesn't count when you cross the line without a jockey, but it does show you that perhaps with driverless cars making their inroads, we'll have riderless horses. At least then no one will be hitting them with a crop and maybe the animal-rights people will be happier.
There are those who will tell you nothing is certain in racing. But I'm here to tell you if Chad Brown has entrants in a turf race, he's going to win. And Saturday proved the rule. Chad had two in on the turf, one of which was scratched when the race moved to dist, leaving Value Proposition in the 8th race, a $80,000 Maiden Special Weight race at a mile and a sixteenth left on the grass.
Thus, Chad has only one starter on the card, a turfer in the 8th race that is a first time starter, bolstered by a ton of works, first-time Lasix, and coming from a top echelon barn in Klaravich stable
Unraced horses are the wild cards in the field. And when they have the look and the connections of Value Proposition, money is attracted to them. The 8/5 morning line favorite goes off at 75¢ to the dollar, The race unfolds with Joel Rosario keeping Value toward the back, unhurried through exceedingly soft fractions on a yielding turf course. But there is no doubt of Value Proposition's talent, as he circles the field and draws away easily down the stretch for fun, finishing first by 4¼ lengths. Rack house.
Considering Klaravich stable is owned by a partnership of hedge funds guys, the name Value Proposition is an apt one. If Bobby Axelrod in Showtime's 'Billions' were to get into racing (and I wish he would!) then he'd have a horse named Value something as well.
Thus, Chad has put another notch in his turf belt, adding to his 52 winners on the year for a 31% win rate. You can count on the sun coming up in the east again.
Belmont facilities present a threadbare appearance. The water fountain next to the third floor men's room had been left taken apart, clearly not in use. The bathroom are outdated with one hands-free faucet that doesn't work. The rest of the sinks do work, with ancient twist handles. There is a large circular bar in the middle of the cafeteria. School was never like that.
With no real crowd of patrons, there are no real concessions to speak of. The thirds floor is complete self-service wagering and voucher purchasing. The second floor has to be replied on to get there early if you want to cash out, otherwise, it's the first floor simulcasting area, (where you actually see some people) for cashing out.
The place has the look of Coney Island in the winter, empty and boarded up. The broadcasters are positioned on an outside wooden perch built between the Clubhouse and Grandstand on the third floor. We saw the FoxSports broadcasters, Gary Stevens and Greg Wolf, reporting for the afternoon show, They took their positions and never came down, even though it was cold and windy and they were seen in their overcoats. Thus, NYRA doesn't even provide the broadcasters a basic studio to yap from.
But the patrons are still the same, however fewer of them there are. Money and winners are always topics of conversation that are overheard. Even the current 'Jeopardy' champion made it into the overheard conversations.
For anyone from another planet, or just emerging from a coma, Jim Holzauer is the current 'Jeopardy' champion who is picking off answers like a tree-top sniper. He's setting a record for "earnings per start" and is over a $1 million won, third all-time high. And still going.
When it was mentioned to Bobby G. that I couldn't believe they pre-empted Friday's 'Jeopardy' for coverage of the NFL draft, Bobby G. was nonplussed. He remarked he's interested in it, has been watching, and will tonight watch the third installment. He's following the Jets' picks. He was a Jet season ticket holder until they started the seat license bit. Now, only goes to one game a year.
Surprise in Jets interest was registered. "Bob, the Jets haven't won a Super Bowl in 50 years. Can the draft matter?" "Yeah, I know. 1969." Bobby G. has the mark of an eternal optimist. A true horseplayer.
The track is still the track, and the turf courses look like the fairways at The Masters at Augusta, lush and green from all the rain we've been having.
As I always do when I step out onto the seated area of the third floor Clubhouse at Belmont, I look over to the last section where we secured free seats on Belmont Day in 1973 and saw history made. I still see myself standing on the seat and yelling at my friend to check out the board and look at the fractions. Yes, he was "moving like a tremendous machine" Those seats are my Secretariat pole.
At least there have been two Triple Crowns since then, so others have been able to acquire their own memories. (No free seats anymore, however.)
At some point, say around the 6th race, the phalanx of Millenial guys was seen leaving the track. They had enough for the day? They certainly weren't dressed for the weather, only shirts and jeans.
Oh no, no mater how the first two races turned out for us, it's never over until it's over.
http://www.onofframp.blogspot.com
I was going to say that Chang rode the horse like a Chinaman but he proved me wrong.
ReplyDeleteHe proved us all wrong.
DeleteLOL! Undetected! Reminded me of the old days of undercover with Empire BCBS. Great writing as usual John. Always a pleasure being with you guys! - Jose
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