Miscellaneous Ramblings
February 6, 2008
I’d just like to make a quick point before I get on to the subject of this post. I really can’t believe all of these “expert” picks I have seen for the Kentucky Derby. I’m not going to say any names but Pyro seems to be the consensus pick at the moment. While I respect Pyro, War Pass is clearly the better horse at this point. He dictates the race as soon as it starts and has yet to show an ounce of vulnerability. People will point to his sire Cherokee Run being a champion sprinter, but he was on the Triple Crown trail prior to that. I absolutely love War Pass’s chances in this year’s Kentucky Derby and I encourage you to bet him at 12-1 in the future book.
My biggest gripe about horse racing at the moment is exclusivity. I can’t stand the fact that I cannot turn on TVG and watch Gulfstream and Fair Grounds. These are both top notch tracks that I have been fortunate enough to have a bit of success as far as handicapping goes. This really limits me on days when races such as the Donn Handicap or the Risen Star Stakes are going.
The competition between HRTV and TVG is intense. Unfortunately this is hurting the horse player. During a time when horse racing desperately needs fan this is the last thing I want to see. More exposure means more fans and if people can’t watch races they aren’t likely to become fans. Just being able to watch isn’t the only problem. Wagering is what drives the game and if you want to bet on Gulfstream or Fair Grounds you can only do so with Twin Spires. They believe that they are helping themselves by doing this, but in reality they are driving people away from the game in turn hurting their business in the long run.
This has really been bugging me and I will try and cover it more in depth soon. Please check back for selections in this week’s stakes races. One of these races will be the Risen Star which I won’t be able to watch unless I go to the track because of the reasons stated above. I haven’t given it the best of looks yet but it is shaping up to be a very good race.