Just saw it after all the payouts...

I am not sure if that was the right call as well, the contact was slight, and did not seem to make a difference in the finish...

Churchill 8

$25 wp 1

Last week I had a choice. Go with Gus at Gulfstream or keeneland? I choose Gulfstream. Gulfstream did not work out and at the same time Gus had a nice Pick 4 at Keeneland.

Anyway, this week I'm going with Gus at Calder and added just a few.
Pick 4 @ .50 = $40
7th - 4,5 - (Didn't need that 5)
8th - 1,2,6,7
9th - 1,2,6,10,12
10th - 6,8

More like Unbridled Unexpress

21 flat. "Safe track"


Derby day could be a disaster.

Hollywood 3
1,3,6 ex box $12
$20 win/place 1

Understanding the 3 was down at the wire, but seemed everybody backed off except the favorite.

CD Late P3

1,2,6/1,3,7/1,5,6,8,11

lone star pic 5

7-8-11/1/1-2-5-11/1-5-6/1-8

4-7-8-9-11/1-4/1-2-5-9-11/1/1-4

Haw 6

7,9,10

$1 Ex Box

Aqueduct 9
$20 win 2

Nice ride there Ramon.

Mr. Serious already entered Friday May 1 at Belmont in the 2nd with Studart named to ride.

Churchill 10
$30 wp 1

Gato go Win looked like he had some gas.. Bad trip

Now here is an example of where the foul did have a clear effect on the progress of the the horse interfered with.

The NYRA stewards are laughable to me today. Less contact at the wire where the horse interfered with did not have enough ground to get by warrants a disqualification, but bumping a horse very hard and then cutting into his lane forcing to check and taking away his lane does not warrant a disqualificaion. :zz: :wf

Hol R8 Pk 3

5-6
1-6-9
9

`````gl

and good night

Sorry Charlie, we couldn't get Dream Maestro up to bail us out on the day. We'll get 'em next time.

Churchill has weird fractions a lot on 1 turn races. Very fast first quarters and slowing up quickly. My only explanation is the first quarter isn't measured correctly as the full 440 yards because you would be able to see horses slow up noticably on that kind of change in velocity.

Today:
2nd race, 21 4/5->1:12 6F
3rd race, 22 3/5->1:37 4/5 mile
4th race, 21 4/5->1:12 1/5 6F
5th race, 22 4/5->1:18 1/5 6.5F
6th race, 22->1:11 4/5 6F
8th race, 21->1:09 1/5 6F
9th race, 23 1/5->1:23 4/5 7F
10th race, 21 3/5->1:30 1/5 7.5F
11th race, 21 4/5->1:12 6F

That 8th race is going to be a monster figure.

Spoke at length with Margolis and Richard Klien after the race. Needless to say, they are very excited. They are going to stick around Churchill for the Matt Winn rather than try the more experienced runners expected for the Woody Stephens (Riva Ridge). As a side note, Cash Refund was listed as a colt but is in fact gelded. They will get him some added experience now and face the more seasoned types in the Amsterdam and Kings Bishop. Nice and promising addition to the three year old scene.

I ran the Beyers just for kicks, here's what I got:
R2 Queen Rolex 68
R3 Nick's Girl 75
R4 Foxey Bailey 66
R5 Elusive Sparkle 72
R6 It's a Rap 72
R8 Cash Refund 109
R9 Nadeshiko 84
R10 Hull 87
R11 Betty's Champ 66

Let's see how they butcher up these numbers, it could not have been more straightforward today but I'm 100% sure we will see something like 103 for Cash Refund and 93 for Hull.

Maybe it's a good omen if they do, the last time Margolis had a crack 3YO sprinter with underrated performances I made a lot of money on racing's (2nd) biggest day.

Gus, fine work as usual. Just curious, what did Wesley pay?

Thanks HH, Wesley paid $6.80 to win and really improved with the addition of blinkers. I'm glad to see him back on the lawn and believe he could really make some noise in the mile turf division this year. That was a solid group he beat yesterday and he earned a 101 BSF for the effort. Definitely worth following.

There were strong winds that were behind the horses early and dead into them in the stretch. Would this have made a difference?

Very much so. Would explain the quicker than average first quarters followed by slow final times (though the first quarters are always very quick at CD.) That is the typical summer wind at Churchill, from the southwest, and it's pretty strong with that huge parking lot surrounding the mile chute.

I told some friends I thought the early fractions were a little quick for this early in the meet. Then once I thought about the wind, it started to make sense, but I wasn't for sure.