RISK TAKING with Jose Ortiz a go..

Lukas confirms RAM for Preakness..

5/15 (PIM): Preakness

Medina Spirit (Baffert/Velazquez)
Concert Tour (Baffert/Smith)
Midnight Bourbon (Asmussen/I. Ortiz)
Crowded Trade (Brown/Castellano)
Rombauer (McCarthy/Prat)
Unbridled Honor (Pletcher/Saez)
France Go De Ina (Mori/Rosario)
Keepmeinmind (Diodoro/Cohen)
Risk Taking (Brown/J. Ortiz)
Ram (Lukas/TBA)

Send me the info. Although......an argument can be made that I was correct that he wouldn't run.

The NY division of the Racetrack Chaplaincy is a great way to give to the backstretch workers.

https://www.rtcany.org/

Thanks!

MALATHAAT bypassing Belmont.. CCAOaks/Alabama..

6/5 (BEL): Belmont Stakes

1. Rombauer (McCarthy/J. Velazquez)
2. Hot Rod Charlie (O'Neill/Prat)
3. Rock Your World (Sadler/Rosario)
4. Known Agenda (Pletcher/I. Ortiz)
5. Bourbonic (Pletcher/Carmouche)
6. Overtook (Pletcher/Franco)
7. Rebel’s Romance-IRE (Appleby)
8. Brooklyn Strong (D. Velazquez)
9. Essential Quality (Cox/Saez)
10. France Go de Ina (Mori)
11. Get Her Number (Miller) ~ TX Derby
12. Midnight Bourbon (Asmussen)

Keepmeinmind (Diodoro) ~ OH Derby
Promise Keeper (Pletcher) ~ OH Derby
Weyburn (Jerkens)
Dynamic One (Pletcher)

This is a nice race if it holds together

Yep, they really like the 12 week off(CCA), 4 week off(Alabama), 10 week off(Distaff) pattern going into the Breeders Cup apparently.


https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-rac...t-for-saratoga

Supposedly Flavien Prat is taking the mount on Hot Rod Charlie over Preakness winner Rombauer...at least, according to Doug O'Neill.

I'm a bit surprised at that. Interestingly, both horses have had a new rider for nearly every start.

I think the last time a jockey got off a classic winner in its next start was when Calvin Borel wisely got off Derby winner Mine That Bird to ride Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness.

That also might be the last time a jockey with a choice in a big race picked the right horse to ride, too...

The musical riders thing is pretty annoying. Although, sometimes we get some karmic gems, like in 2007 when geniuses Larry Jones and Rick Porter dumped Mario Pino for not being able to make the confirmed frontrunner Hard Spun morph into a late-running closer in the Preakness, just 2 weeks after setting a fast pace in the Derby. They had decided (without consulting the horse) that Hard Spun should be "several lengths" off the pace in the Preakness and Pino couldn't get it done. So they hired Garrett Gomez to ride him back in the Belmont.

At the eleventh hour, Todd Pletcher tossed Kentucky Oaks winner, Rags To Riches--also a half sister to the previous Belmont winner, the mighty Jazil--into the Belmont, much to the chagrin of Gomez, who was her regular rider. Jones wouldn't let him out of his commitment to Hard Spun (another genius move by Jones), leaving the mount on the eventual winner open for Pletcher's main rider John Velazquez. Gomez dutifully took Hard Spun off the pace in the Belmont (by strangling him throughout), even though the race is often kind to front-running types under the right conditions. He was a distant 4th, after placing in the other 2 classics under Pino.

Of course, after the Belmont Jones and Porter cried relentlessly, claiming that they had wanted Hard Spun on the lead all along. Once they stopped being clever, they gave the mount back to Pino and the colt won the only Grade 1 of his career (in a sprint no less) and finished second in the BC Classic.

I saw that too. I’m not sure I believe it but it was interesting.

Very nice betting race.

ROCK YOUR WORLD (Rosario) looks a go for Belmont..

1. Rombauer (McCarthy/J. Velazquez)
2. Hot Rod Charlie (O'Neill/Prat)
3. Rock Your World (Sadler/Rosario)
4. Known Agenda (Pletcher/I. Ortiz)
5. Bourbonic (Pletcher/Carmouche)
6. Overtook (Pletcher/Franco)
7. Essential Quality (Cox/Saez)
8. France Go de Ina (Mori/Santana)

This is more surprising than Prat getting off Rombauer.

Horse is tailor made for the Haskell. The Los Al Derby is the perfect opportunity to work him during the races to get back on track after that disastrous Derby.

Despite his equipment and gate woes, it's not like he wasn't a question mark beforehand with only 3 starts under his belt. And now he's going to try 12 furlongs?

That said, Commendable won the Belmont so there's always hope...

With Prat on Rock Your World, Velazquez gets Rombauer..

Midnight Bourbon is out.

Asmussen says since there are no "big races" after the Belmont until the Jim Dandy and Haskell, he probably won't reappear until then.

Didn't know Le Comte winners were so highly valued that they couldn't possibly start in races like the Dwyer, Pegasus, Long Branch, Matt Winn, or Los Alamitos Derby.

No Belmont for Brooklyn Strong..

Don't know if it's because the connections wisened up or the horse is injured or the recent Parx barn raids, but this can only be counted as a blessing.

Wasn't sure how long they were going to lean on that overblown Remsen win as their passport to being an also-ran in the top 3yo stakes races. If he's still in training hopefully he gets a rerouted into a campaign that focuses on actually trying to win races.

I guess it's too late to cutback in the Mike Lee but there's always the NY Derby at Finger Lakes...

REBEL'S ROMANCE out with infection in hind leg..

It was the logical progression to his Belmont odd-yssey.

Wintered in Dubai...

Worked 3 times in the span of a week leading up to the race...

Mike Smith named as rider...

OUT

All in on EQ.


and what a beauty...HOLY SHlT!... may have to draw that Fkr now...

Blackthroatedwind, I completely forgot about this. I'm so sorry. As a result, I added $50 on top of the original bet.

That's nice, but I forgot too, and never considered you wouldn't be a man of your word. Thanks, it's such a good cause.

7/17 (MTH): HASKELL



7/31 (SAR): JIM DANDY



7/31 (MNR): WEST VIRGINIA DERBY