A Deer On The Racetrack, Bad News For Horseplayers And Saturday Spot Plays - At The Post With Mut
"Oh no! Oh my goodness."
Track announcer Peter Berry with a hell of a call. Yeah, this could have been bad.
We had a deer run across the track at Mountaineer in West Virginia this week. If I had a bet on the leader, it would have been a different outcome, based on my recent betting. What a comment in the Daily Racing Form 😂😂😂😂
Sure did! One of the wilder headlines of the racing week
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This? This was not a great headline.
Horse racing is the best game - and it's also the toughest game. Especially for horse players. Elio and I were just talking about this, maybe in Pittsburgh for Chasing Goals.
One of the tools that gave horse players a better chance to win is going away, and that's bad for everyone involved in racing.
XBTV provided a place to watch horses do their serious training before a race. It's especially useful for looking at first-time starters and horses coming off of long breaks. I'm not a workout expert by any means, but many players incorporate watching those workouts into their handicapping. And they're not going to the tracks each morning - they're watching them on video later thanks to this resource.
Because it wasn't just handicappers and tournament players who watched workouts on XBTV; many people who work in racing media and talk about these races on TV, YouTube, or podcasts did, too. It might influence who they tout, which impacts who people bet on.
In some cases, they're making the morning lines for tracks we're all betting on. A good workout might make a horse 5/2 vs. 7/2 on the line. But the access to those workouts is going away.
"We explored ways to share the cost across the industry, but we're unable to find a path forward."
This is the most discouraging part. This tool is going away because no one could figure out how to pay for it. An industry that wastes money on social media influencers and celebrity horse racing leagues couldn't come together to spend a few bucks on something their most hardcore players use.
This is the definition of going backward as a sport. For tracks without workout videos, players (and morning line makers like David Aragona) will be left to guess how a horse is training into their debuts. That's bad. This will only help the big CAW (Computer Assisted Wagering) groups that can afford to pay private clockers to be at all these tracks for them. Also, bad.
Because reminder - this is a gambling sport. We're betting our hard-earned money on these races. We should have access to as much information as possible.
How did it even get to this? Isn't this why the silly Jockey Club exists? The sports governing body should step in and make sure this access continues. One of their goals should be to make sure the people betting on their sport have access to important information.
It's already a very tough game - and this is only going to make it tougher - for everyone.
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"The 100 ways to lose a race and only one way to win."
That was the text I got from a fellow handicapper after Lovely Grey's disappointing 5th-place effort on Thursday at Churchill.
Her running line in the Daily Racing Form notes the trouble she got into heading in the far turn: "brief keen/took bck btw erly,2p,bmp/pinch/stdy hard btw3/8,ran on"
Bumped, pinched, steadied. Yep. You can see in the head-on I posted on X.com. It looks like the inside horse comes out right as Tyler Gaffalione was trying to make his move. Do I think this cost her the race? No, I don't think she was going to win. But I 100% believe it cost her a top-three finish. The winner got a great front-end ride from Luis Saez.
I watch a lot of replays - hundreds a week at this point. This is the kind of trouble that would make me want to bet her next time, knowing she did not have her best chance to win. Dave's horses always get bet, so she won't be a price, but I'll be betting.
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Friday afternoon, Naughty Nancy got back on track. This was the second straight turf race that got rained off, and they ran it on the new Tapeta surface at Belmont.
(Replay here ⬆️)
Nancy ran well - she just ran into a better horse on Friday. Her 60 Beyer Speed figure was a little faster than her last race.
That's back-to-back runner-up finishes - I hope we get to see her on the grass next time. I think the last turf races in New York are at the end of the month, and not sure if all the Go Go Greys will go to Florida for the winter or stay north.
Go Go Greys Stable is due for some racing luck, that's for sure.
Around the stable, 2-year-old Drake Graye had a fast work Thursday at Churchill. I'd like to watch it, but it's not online anywhere. It looks like he worked with an older horse who was an allowance winner, but again, I can't watch it. Coming off her third-place finish at Woodbine, Miss Watermelon joined Drake at Churchill and had a timed work on Wednesday. Envision worked at Turfway Saturday morning.
Fellow 2-year-old Boston Grey had a second work at Fair Grounds on Friday.
Any of these three could be the stable's next starter over the next few weeks.
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DraftKings Race Day
Eight stakes races today at Churchill, a Grade 2 at Woodbine - a lot of racing across the country. I'll be playing on DraftKings racing after some Honey-Do List items around the house. DK Racing has us all covered with Track Bet Bonuses at Laurel, Woodbine, and Charles Town. Make sure to OPT IN at the REWARDS/OFFERS tab to get involved. I will be.
Some Saturday spot plays for the people, after pushing a $20 winner, Major Bourbon, here last week.
Laurel Race 1
WIN/PLACE #2 Beautiful Quality
Belmont Race 3
WIN/PLACE #5 Furry Fox
Churchill Race 2
WIN/PLACE #2 Treat Yourself
Belmont Race 4
WIN/PLACE #2 Seeker's Hope
Churchill Race 3
WIN #6 Justinqueso
Belmont Race 7
WIN/PLACE #9 Vekomancer
Belmont 8
WIN/PLACE #6 Reza (look at that debut on synthetic back on it today…)
Good luck if you're playing today - and safe trips for all.
