No, the "meeting" was through email and telephone conversations. Pretty much what can now he called the "old fashioned" way. What brought the quartet together Saturday was the 11th race at Gulfstream Park, a $100,000 Black Type ungraded stakes race called the 'The Cutler Bay' run at one mile over the turf course.
Within that race, the attention was directed at Step Dancer, a 3-year-old making his sophomore debut after having the winter off after three races in 2020. Trained by the nearly Hall of Fame trainer Barclay Tagg and ridden now by Jose Ortiz, a perpetually leading jockey, Step Dancer's chances were rated a fair 5-1 on the morning line behind the favorite Annex, an undefeated Bill Mott colt who was now 2-for-2, not having raced as a 2-year-old.
Step Dancer got our attention and loyalty because of the Bobby G. connection. Bobby's buddy Richie Pressman co-owns the horse, and Richie's horses have often returned some hefty mutuels.
A hefty mutuel would not be today's result, but a win is always appreciated at the window, and at the racing secretary's office when the check is cut for the winner's share of a $100,000 purse. Money won is twice as nice as money earned.
Richie advance forwarded to Bob, and Bob forwarded to Johnny D. a PDF of the race's Classic pps. Johnny D. in turn forwarded them to Jose. Johnny M. with no computer, just listened on the phone.
Johnny D. did his analysis and number thing, not particularly loving Step Dancer's chances, but did consider them good enough to make some small wagers around and hook him with the favorite in a $2 exacta box.
Additionally, Johnny D. thought enough of Fulmini's chances to cover his chances with a $2 win bet at his expected long odds, which got to nearly 30-1.
So how did Step Dancer do? He hardly danced at all. Didn't seem to pick up his feet after falling out of the gate at the start, passing one horse on the backstretch, but then settling for the rear dog view of watching the field race in front of him, finishing 8th, and last.
The only solace Johnny D. got was that Fulmini didn't take the lead as expected, but did race very competitively and got beat at the wire by Annex by a neck. Annex, thus just barely kept his undefeated record intact, and was now 3-for-3. Not bad, but the water's getting much deeper for the horse, but nevertheless, still an accomplishment.
When the dust settled, Jose of The Assembled reported that he had the exacta of Annex and Fulmini that paid $44 for $1. Leave it to Jose. He seems to find sunny skies when the rest of us are enduring thunderstorms.
It is not known what Jose had on the exacta, or how much he cleared, since he tends to put together a fistful of numbers per race, resembling a Rubik's Cube of possibilities, but a payout is a payout, and certainly beats a zero return, which is what Johnny D., Johnny M. and Bobby G. suffered.
It was nice to have a race to handicap, and it was nice to once again have the chance of winning. But it's never nice to lose. However, it's not over till it's over, and the weekend is coming up with some good races.
Plus, I'm getting my first Covid shot at Aqueduct on Friday at 11:00. I've already dreamed that a nurse with a Russian accent contacted me and confirmed. Maybe the next person I hear from will give me the winner of a race on Friday.
I'll be there.
http://www.onofframp.blogspot.com
As always John an awesome blog. I broke even with that exacta...
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