A Sad Day For Racing

[Dahoss]

Originally Posted by westcoastinvader

Yawn.

You seized and comprehended the thought.


Congrats.

Stick to redboards. No one cares how many tracks you have been to.

[letswastemoney]

The radical Zenyatta fanbase is a lot crazier than the most radical Smarty Jones and Barbaro fans. If only these 3 were on the ballot, Zenyatta would win in a landslide.

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by letswastemoney

The radical Zenyatta fanbase is a lot crazier than the most radical Smarty Jones and Barbaro fans. If only these 3 were on the ballot, Zenyatta would win in a landslide.

Smarty brought out the best in people!!!!

People around Philly really enjoyed the media attention on Smarty and had Smarty Parties!! Now those are the type of "fans" I like...

People willing to down lots of alcohol, and make side bets on the Belmont Stakes are more fun than Pink sign holders!

But then again Philly is so much better than Cali so its expected that we have better "fans".

[westcoastinvader]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

Stick to redboards. No one cares how many tracks you have been to.

Redboards?

Hey, I called a $5 win on a $70 bet at the inspiration of My Miss Storm Cat the other day here.

Not one of my best wagers.

I'd love to share my damn winning bets here but I just don't frickin' handicap and decide my final wagers until getting the look, feel and vibes from the paddock to the gate.



I know you don't care how many tracks I've been to "DaHoss." Your decision.

I've seen lots of horse racing in my 50+ years of gambling. And wagered often. Often.

And now have two kids through college, one going to graduate in April, and one now a freshman. And they all have/will graduated with no debt.

I have had two wives who have watched and experienced me gambling that have let me fire at will. My first wife and my second wife are friends, and of all they talk about me, gambling is NEVER a negative.

I enjoy my gambling, and I am good enough at it to have had fun and gained some nice things from it....for years and years.

Sorry you are hung up on this "redboarding" thing. Like others here.

I don't understand that "redboarding" disrespect at all. If someone drops in with short time and very limited posts I maybe get the sentiment.


I'm very happy that Zenyatta's connections won their prize of Horse of The The Year.


I never bet a dime on her. No souvenir tickets, or nothing.


(I do have a Mike Smith autographed photo)

[Dahoss]

Who cares?

[westcoastinvader]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

Who cares?

I know nothing about you, but I picture you as a pasty white, pudgy young man sitting alone in a disheveled apartment with two day old skid marks in your underwear.

I hope you gamble better than you humanly interact.

And I hope my vision is way more wrong than right.

[ateamstupid]

Later westcoast.

[notyep59]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

Later westcoast.

what does this mean? i hope it doesn't mean he got darted. just wondering

[dean smith]

Darted? For that? No, that can't be. That would be the worst flag of all-time.

[Dahoss]

Just so no one thinks I had anything to do with the penalty box, I didn't. I don't agree with it and don't really see why he was put there. I do think it's worth going back and getting it all out one last time, because this is going to be my last post on Zenyatta and HOY.

My biggest issue here is apparently logic has been thrown out the window. I understand we all view the game differently. Some are fans first and never bet, some bet sometimes, weekend warriors and people that make a living playing. There is room for all of us (and hopefully more), but I do think if you are going to have an opinion, you should at least be able to back it up somehow. Otherwise what is the point of having one? And by backing it up I mean supplying either facts or an arguement that makes sense.

One thing that has become apparent is somehow this became some kind of east vs west thing and it's totally not. Who cares where a horse is from? Another thing is no matter what a "Zenyatta hater" says, it always somehow gets distorted. We said we wanted to see her do more this year. That turned into she needed to face only males, ship multiple times and run in NY. It's just not true and further demonstrates that logic has been thrown out the window. Here's a good example....

Originally Posted by westcoastinvader

Blame paid about a nearly full $10 in his Stephen Foster win this year.

Pretty sure Secretariat, Seattle Slew.....or Zenyatta rarely returned same.


Then Blame won a race at Aqueduct, and another race in New York.


Then lost a race in New York.

Then, barely triumphed over the undefeated Zenyatta in The Classic.


This voting really isn't that complicated, folks.

Well, Blame never ran at Aqueduct. Not that it matters if he did, but the implication is that Aqueduct is somehow not good enough for a HOY candidate. Yet it's the people from the east coast that are arrogant. And if you notice in the post, running in NY seems to be some sort of negative. Well, like it or not the top races for handicap horses in the summer and fall are in NY. Blame was running in the top races for handicap horses. Blame paid $10 in the Foster. Is that a negative? He was 2nd choice in the race.

So when I bring it up, this is the answer...

Originally Posted by westcoastinvader

I've been to probably 30+ race tracks across America and Canada. I've never been to Aqueduct. It's not one I've ever wanted to check off my list.

Seriously, if there is something at Aqueduct I should see, let me know. I'll be sure to go. I'm a sucker for nostalgia and history, as any Hialeah fan in 2011 of course would be. I've made Belmont for several "Belmont Stakes," the first being Seattle Slew's win.

Okay, I'll admit in misreading something last night about Blame and Aqueduct.

I just don't see or buy that Garrett Gomez aboard Blame for a 4-1 record in his 2010 races was all that special.

Seriously, who cares how many tracks someone has been to? What does it have to do with the discussion or the obvious error in the post? but he's right, Blame's year wasn't all that special. Neither was Zenyatta's if you look at the races, who she faced and what they ended up doing. There is no way someone can be honest and say Zenyatta faced better competition than Blame did in 2010. There is no way someone can say Zenyatta beat better competition than Blame did. It's just not possible. The only arguement we hear is she did more for the game. That's a chickenshit cop out. I have yet to see someone put forth an arguement that what Zenyatta did on track was better than Blame...because you can't.

I think awarding Zenyatta HOY sets a bad precedent. Her connections knew that by running in the campaign they chose, they needed to win the Classic in order to be deserving of HOY. She didn't. She ran well, but in a game where inches separates millions of dollars, she fell inches short, to a horse that had a better year on track than she did. i don't like seeing the sport turn into a popularity contest. It isn't American Idol. it's better than that and we should expect better than that. It's not about who has more fans on Facebook. It's about what you do on the track.

She didn't have to travel or beat males every race. But there were races in her backyard that she was eligible for, that would have tested her and they avoided them. The funny thing is I'm almost positive she would have won them. But they didn't try. They avoided top competition to protect a streak and were rewarded for it. Had she just ran in one of those races against males during the year, I would think she is deserving. but she didn't.

If people think that she had was deserving of HOY based on what she did on track this year, fine. But I urge you to go through the history of the award and tell me how her year stacks up with other winners. I'll save you the time....it doesn't stack up well. She was a fantastic horse. She was an amazingly consistent horse. Her run in the BC this year was exciting and made for a great race. But she didn't deserve HOY. The horse that beat her...that beat better, that faced better deserved the award.

Originally Posted by westcoastinvader

I know nothing about you, but I picture you as a pasty white, pudgy young man sitting alone in a disheveled apartment with two day old skid marks in your underwear.

Is there something wrong with sitting alone in two day old skid marks? If there is, i don't ever want to be right.

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by Dahoss

Seriously, who cares how many tracks someone has been to? What does it have to do with the discussion or the obvious error in the post? but he's right, Blame's year wasn't all that special. Neither was Zenyatta's if you look at the races, who she faced and what they ended up doing. There is no way someone can be honest and say Zenyatta faced better competition than Blame did in 2010. There is no way someone can say Zenyatta beat better competition than Blame did. It's just not possible. The only arguement we hear is she did more for the game. That's a chickenshit cop out. I have yet to see someone put forth an arguement that what Zenyatta did on track was better than Blame...because you can't.

I think awarding Zenyatta HOY sets a bad precedent. Her connections knew that by running in the campaign they chose, they needed to win the Classic in order to be deserving of HOY. She didn't. She ran well, but in a game where inches separates millions of dollars, she fell inches short, to a horse that had a better year on track than she did. i don't like seeing the sport turn into a popularity contest. It isn't American Idol. it's better than that and we should expect better than that. It's not about who has more fans on Facebook. It's about what you do on the track.

She didn't have to travel or beat males every race. But there were races in her backyard that she was eligible for, that would have tested her and they avoided them. The funny thing is I'm almost positive she would have won them. But they didn't try. They avoided top competition to protect a streak and were rewarded for it. Had she just ran in one of those races against males during the year, I would think she is deserving. but she didn't.

If people think that she had was deserving of HOY based on what she did on track this year, fine. But I urge you to go through the history of the award and tell me how her year stacks up with other winners. I'll save you the time....it doesn't stack up well. She was a fantastic horse. She was an amazingly consistent horse. Her run in the BC this year was exciting and made for a great race. But she didn't deserve HOY. The horse that beat her...that beat better, that faced better deserved the award.

I agree with a lot of what you said here, and yet I'm still glad Zenyatta got HOY. I don't feel it's either sad or terrible to take "body of work" into consideration. There's plenty to NOT like about Zenyatta's 2010 campaign. But, Zenyatta's connections DID bring her back and they DID run in the Apple Blossom, announcing it early enough for any mare in the country to challenge her. They DID run in the BC Classic, finishing a close enough second to take nearly everyone's breath away who watched the race.

If Blame had run more than 5 races, I might feel differently. But his campaign did not not blow me away.

All this lamenting the future meaning of the awards is an over-reaction, IMO. The award was given to a charismatic 19-1 mare with a 1st and a (close) 2nd in successive BC Classics, I don't think we will have to face a similar situation again in our lifetime.

--Dunbar

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

I agree with a lot of what you said here, and yet I'm still glad Zenyatta got HOY. I don't feel it's either sad or terrible to take "body of work" into consideration. There's plenty to NOT like about Zenyatta's 2010 campaign. But, Zenyatta's connections DID bring her back and they DID run in the Apple Blossom, announcing it early enough for any mare in the country to challenge her. They DID run in the BC Classic, finishing a close enough second to take nearly everyone's breath away who watched the race.

If Blame had run more than 5 races, I might feel differently. But his campaign did not not blow me away.

All this lamenting the future meaning of the awards is an over-reaction, IMO. The award was given to a charismatic 19-1 mare with a 1st and a (close) 2nd in successive BC Classics, I don't think we will have to face a similar situation again in our lifetime.

--Dunbar

I feel the same way, especially the highlighted part.

[Handicappy]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

I agree with a lot of what you said here, and yet I'm still glad Zenyatta got HOY. I don't feel it's either sad or terrible to take "body of work" into consideration. There's plenty to NOT like about Zenyatta's 2010 campaign. But, Zenyatta's connections DID bring her back and they DID run in the Apple Blossom, announcing it early enough for any mare in the country to challenge her. They DID run in the BC Classic, finishing a close enough second to take nearly everyone's breath away who watched the race.

If Blame had run more than 5 races, I might feel differently. But his campaign did not not blow me away.

All this lamenting the future meaning of the awards is an over-reaction, IMO. The award was given to a charismatic 19-1 mare with a 1st and a (close) 2nd in successive BC Classics, I don't think we will have to face a similar situation again in our lifetime.

--Dunbar

Excellent balanced view. I hope that those that discredit Zenyatta have the opportunity to discuss their views with the Allan Jerkins', Bafferts etc. So many of the horseman who train and work with these athletes have been very open with their opinion on Zenyatta's greatness. We all have our opinions but ask those that are far more credible than most of the posters here. Some of the best minds in the sport are in the camp that she was deserving and was the best horse running last year.

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by westcoastinvader

(I do have a Mike Smith autographed photo)

But do you have a photo of yourself with Mike Smith like I do?