A Saratoga wrap up, best and worst

This is one of the darkest days of the year for many. The meet we await all year is done. The thing that makes Saratoga special above the racing is the fact that its the only time all year long that everyone gathers in the same spot. The company is enjoyed as much as the races. Heres a personal wrap up of the meet.

Best Performance by a horse- Bernadini's Travers was the performance of the meet. It was one of those races that noone will ever forget where they were standing and watching when he turned the Travers into a personal romp. WIns this hands down.

Worst performance by a horse- Flower Alley's Woodward. After he returned to the races this year, many who thought he was HOY material were awaiting his Spa races. After failing in the WHitney, the Woodward was his chance to redeem himself and get back in the picture. To watch a horse who had battled so nicely in the BCC as a three year old run as horribly as he did officially burst his bubble and put him out of the picture.

Best single ride by a jockey- Johnny V's ride on Baymont in a 40 claimer for fillies and mares has to be seen to be appreciated. It was mind blowing.

Worst ride by a jockey- Garrett Gomez ride on Milwaukee early in the meet was as bad a ride as any I have ever seen. In trouble for a mile and 3/8th's of a mile and a half race. Has to be seen to be appreciated.

Best performance by a jockey at the meet- Julien leparoux may not be the best rider up here, but his meet was incredible. Not only did he smash the apprentice record up here, he won stakes and allowances and MSW's with very cool and competent rides. Its very hard for a bug boy to do well at the Spa. Its also very hard for a Kentucky rider to ship iin win a lot of races. As good as pat Day and Shane sellers ever were, neither one ever came here and set the place on fire. Its hard to hustle mounts from NY trainers when all your connections are KY guys. WIth the exception of Blasi(who leparoux rarely if ever rides for) the Ky contingent was awful up here and Leparoux had to build a client base of Ny trainers. he started slow but once he had the momentum and had won folks over, he rode extremely well.

WOrst performance by a jockey- I didn't really see any jock who rode poorly the whole meet. It was the deepest colony in history and even the guys who only eeked out a small number of wins actually rode well considering who they were up against.

Best performance by a trainer- Although Todd won more races and stakes races than anyone else, I also have to give Kudos to Scott Blasi who deserves one HELL of a lot of credit for his performance up here. He managed to win a high percentage number of races, two juvenile stakes races including the Spinaway, and accomplished this while on his own while Asmussen serves a suspension. His horses really fired, and it looks like his two year olds will be heard from throughout the fall. Especially that Tiznow freak.

Worst performance by a trainer- Its a tie for the Kentucky contingent of Dallas Stewart and Dale Romans. Both were hitting on all cylinders in KY all year long before coming to the Spa and going ice cold. Stewart never got a win, and Romans underperformed beneath his usually gaudy win percentage. ATM usage was at a record high this meet when those guys ran early in the meet before anyone figured out that they were cold. It just wasn't their meet.

Best performance by a host- Stevie fed literally hundreds of guests all meet long as well as hosting TG's seminar and and saving picnic tables so that friends of his could enjoy the races. On a scale of 1-10 as a host, Steve is a 50!!!

Best performance by a newspaper- When the Saratoga Special first started back after Sean Clancy was injured in a jump race and switched professions, it was a small paper that seemed like a passing fad. In its short history its become a saratoga tradition. Incredibly well written late into each night, it provides a vast array of current news and previous days happenings, interesting interviews with players in the game, hysterical quotes from the backside, and very good editorials. WHat these guys have done is incredible. They've taken a small paper written in a small office, and brought it to MUST READ status in a small amount of time. They work their butts off and know what they are talking about.

[Gander]

It was a good time and after all of the many bets and atm withdrawls, finished the meet pretty much okay. Cashed 4 meaningful tickets to offset about 50 losing bets. Enjoyed meeting Hooves, Ateam, Gales for the first time. Was pleasantly surprised when GolfproKev called me on Sat morning to tell me he was flying in for the last 2 days of the meet, although we got our butts kicked yesterday, we had a great time. Steve, as usual, was a gracious host and its always a pleasure to reaffirm my selections (Thanks by the way for agreeing that Galluscio's Honour Old Glory had a huge shot last Monday, that saved my meet). I missed Randall both times he was here but hopefully will see him and the NY gang at Belmont on Oct 7th for a reunion! Oracle kept the laughs flowing even when times got tough.

322 days left until next season. Can we make it without placing one single bet until then? Sure we can

Yes Tim there are truly some great folks on this board.
Enjoyed meeting Hooves, seeing Ateam again, meeting Billinct, Epburns, Brock, Hickory Hill Hoff, seeing randall again, seeing Kev again(if he lived here I would be in real trouble, we just click too well) and meeting so many others.
Wasn't anyone from here that I met that I didn't really like a lot. Great bunch of folks on this board, thats for sure.

[Gander]

Driving Kev to the airport at the crack of dawn was classic today. Picture 2 hungover and tired guys driving down the street each proclaiming that it was indeed time for a gambling break and both a little glad the meet was over. We drive 3/10ths of a mile and what do we see? Horses working out on the Oklahoma track, backdrop is the sun slowly rising. A little funny and sad.

Its refreshing to get back to normal life again. Feels like opening day was many months ago.

Oops, sorry to leave out meeting Dell on my first trip to the track this year, too many Saturdays ago to remember!

Originally Posted by Gander

Driving Kev to the airport at the crack of dawn was classic today. Picture 2 hungover and tired guys driving down the street each proclaiming that it was indeed time for a gambling break and both a little glad the meet was over. We drive 3/10ths of a mile and what do we see? Horses working out on the Oklahoma track, backdrop is the sun slowly rising. A little funny and sad.

Its refreshing to get back to normal life again. Feels like opening day was many months ago.

Oops, sorry to leave out meeting Dell on my first trip to the track this year, too many Saturdays ago to remember!

Oh those Chitown guys were awesome, what a group!! And Bold Brooklynite as well, can't forget him!

[2 Dollar Bill]

As the trees get ready to turn, the horse trailers are loaded up, and the quiet of Saratoga returns. Another summer is taken away from us, as your thoughts turn to the Breeders Cup, cutting and stacking firewood, Must winter be on its way ? Another long wait till the Magic of the Spa comes to life again next July. Wouldnt it be grand if I got one wish from the ""genie in the bottle""....and wished for a Breeders Cup @ the Spa ? Is it just me or do i need ONE more big weekend from the Spa ? Maybe if we all take a minute tonight and gaze upon the stars and just make One wish, the form will have entries for this weekend @ Saratoga !
I enjoyed everyones post and insight into the summer of saratoga, please keep up the good work & winning tips !!

Btw.... when does Toss the Feathers run again....LOL

Originally Posted by 2 Dollar Bill

As the trees get ready to turn, the horse trailers are loaded up, and the quiet of Saratoga returns. Another summer is taken away from us, as your thoughts turn to the Breeders Cup, cutting and stacking firewood, Must winter be on its way ? Another long wait till the Magic of the Spa comes to life again next July. Wouldnt it be grand if I got one wish from the ""genie in the bottle""....and wished for a Breeders Cup @ the Spa ? Is it just me or do i need ONE more big weekend from the Spa ? Maybe if we all take a minute tonight and gaze upon the stars and just make One wish, the form will have entries for this weekend @ Saratoga !
I enjoyed everyones post and insight into the summer of saratoga, please keep up the good work & winning tips !!

Btw.... when does Toss the Feathers run again....LOL

You know Bill,
The reasons they say they won't run the BC at the Spa are absolutely ridiculous. WIth the Oklahoma training track and its barns, and the cool weather that would make the Euros feel at home, and the fact that they would sell out to an incredible capacity crowd, it simply makes no sense not to have it here. I will never understand it. Airport is in close proximity for shippers, and obviously big days up here each year are the norm. A Wednesday- Saturday meet which ended in the BC would be a smashing success like none ever seen.
The reason I hear most often is tha lack of heat within the plant. I'm not quite sure that anyone would care. It gets cold in other places where they have the BC as well. I won't ever understand why they can't hold it here. I guess the juvenile races would have to lengthened like they did at Arlington, but other than that it would be a smooth fit.

[Siena 16]

You must of been sleeping on the few rides Ramon Dominguez layed down especially yesterday aboard Olaya. Talk about a career going in the wrong direction. A couple of years ago everybody was excited about the possibility of Ramon riding full time in New York. Now he couldn't bump Rudy Rodriguez off a mount

Originally Posted by Siena 16

You must of been sleeping on the few rides Ramon Dominguez layed down especially yesterday aboard Olaya. Talk about a career going in the wrong direction. A couple of years ago everybody was excited about the possibility of Ramon riding full time in New York. Now he couldn't bump Rudy Rodriguez off a mount

Had he ridden full time here he would get mention.
I agree with your asessment of him. How about that ride on Olaya? What the hell was he doing out there? I just can't believe he flew all the way up here for the privilege of grabbing a stalking horse VERY hard and strangling here way behind a soft pace being set by a one run closer.
He rides that way all the time at delaware but usually gets away with it because hes on 1-2 shots in each race.
He and his agent made a huge mistake going back to Delaware this spring. In order to be one of the best you have to ride against the best on a daily basis. There is always going to be a learning curve where you will struggle before becoming better. Gomez finally stopped making daily mistakes about half way through the meet after being in NY for 3 1/2 months. Looked like he finaly learned that the hole was rarely, if ever, gonna open up for him and if you watched his last three weeks he made wide moves or went to the lead.
He finally adjusted his style to fit the circuit he was riding on. His rides on that Violette turf maiden who got beat by Stag Dancer and his ride on Milwaukee earlier in the meet were two examples of him still refusing to understand that you can't wait for a hole to open in Ny, they aren't gonna give you one. To win in Ny you have to keep your horse in the clear.

[2 Dollar Bill]

If they can make it work @ Momouth Park along the seashore, Im sure they can do it @ saragota. Heck with the winters (global warm.) we been having it probably will not be that cold to start with & maybe no thunder showers...lol If somehow a ground swell could be started of racing fans and maybe for the Magic of Saratoga and the 25th anniversary of the Breeders Cup !

[Rupert Pupkin]

Gomez was the best jock of the meet by far. His numbers were incredible. He had the highest win percentage of any jock. He had the highest in the money percentage by far. Not only that, he was doing it on price horses. Look at the prices of some of his horses lately. Keen Lassie pays $12.80 to win, Corryville pays $10.20 to place, Second of June pays $19.00 to place, Tiz Wondeful pays $12.60 to win, Zanjero pays $6.50 to place, Sipsey pays $16.00 to win, On the Catwalk pays $15.20 to win. Those are just a few of the horses he rode the last 3 days. He's the only jockey you could bet on every race and make money. He is so far the best that it really isn't close. He will often times move a horse up by 3-4 lengths. I'm glad that most of you don't get it. I'm glad you think that Edgar Prado is just as good as Gomez. That's like thinking that David Toms is as good as Tiger Woods. It's absurd. They're not in the same league.

If anyone has the stats, I'd like to see the ROI on Gomez' horses at Saratoga compared to Prado and the other jocks.

[Gander]

I do agree Gomez is a great jockey and question his constant criticism, but I dont agree with your golf analogy. Thats insane. Saying that Prado is just as good as Gomez isnt even close to saying David Toms is as good as Tiger. David Toms isnt even the 2nd or 3rd best golfer. And in golf, the players are the ones who do all the work. While aided by very sharp caddies, they have to make every swing. They arent helped like jockeys are with brilliant horses, like Bailey, Prado and Johnny V have been.

And Tiger Woods is a once in a lifetime athlete. I dont think any jockey in the history of time is as good at his craft is Tiger is at golf.

Originally Posted by Gander

I do agree Gomez is a great jockey and question his constant criticism, but I dont agree with your golf analogy. Thats insane. Saying that Prado is just as good as Gomez isnt even close to saying David Toms is as good as Tiger. David Toms isnt even the 2nd or 3rd best golfer. And in golf, the players are the ones who do all the work. While aided by very sharp caddies, they have to make every swing. They arent helped like jockeys are with brilliant horses, like Bailey, Prado and Johnny V have been.

And Tiger Woods is a once in a lifetime athlete. I dont think any jockey in the history of time is as good at his craft is Tiger is at golf.

Prado is a proven star and he is consistent. Gomez needs to actually win a title here first, LOL! He then needs to even out his good week/bad week style. "I won the races I tried to win" are his words, not mine. And everything you need to know about him is summed up in that statement.
Professionals like Prado always show up and give you an effort. They don't pull Milwaukee's. Rupert, I know you can't do this, but go ahead an try. Find on ride by Prado or Johnny the whole meet that was 1/2 as horrible as Gomez's ride on Milwaukee. Good luck.
Thats what seperates the very best, the ability to not destroy a horse witha ride like that.

[Seattleallstar]

not winning a god damn cent saratoga was all the worst for me, ****in pure incentive costing me a few thousand dollars

[Gander]

Not to turn this into a golf thread, but Tiger just won his 5th tournament in a row, 1 short of his personal best 6 in a row which he did in 99-00.

Comparing Prado and Gomez is a very valid comparison. They are both great at what they do and both aided by the fact they ride the very best horses.

There are times Prado is better and there are times when Gomex is better. They both ride in streaks.

David Toms couldnt shine Tiger's shoes.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by Gander

Not to turn this into a golf thread, but Tiger just won his 5th tournament in a row, 1 short of his personal best 6 in a row which he did in 99-00.

Comparing Prado and Gomez is a very valid comparison. They are both great at what they do and both aided by the fact they ride the very best horses.

There are times Prado is better and there are times when Gomex is better. They both ride in streaks.

David Toms couldnt shine Tiger's shoes.

If you watch these two guys ride on a horse coming down the stretch, you can't compare the two. It's not close. Toms and Tiger are closer in ability than Gomez and Prado. It's just hard to prove because there is no way to prove how much is the jockey and how much is the horse. In addition, horses don't run the same every time, so even if a horse improves by 4 lengths the first time Gomez rides it, you can't say for sure that it was a result of the jock switch. The horse may have simply been feeling better that day.

I'm still not sold on Prado. Over the year, I've seen guys dominate in New York that can't ride a lick. I admit that Prado must be a smart rider. He's obviously doing something right but when you watch him coming down the lane, he really doesn't look like he can ride much. I would say the same for Ramon Dominguez. It's amazing that Dominguez could be the leading rider anywhere. He can't even ride and whip a horse at the same time.

Damn--made me wish that I had gone up there for a few.

Nice wrap-up,Oracle.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by oracle80

Prado is a proven star and he is consistent. Gomez needs to actually win a title here first, LOL! He then needs to even out his good week/bad week style. "I won the races I tried to win" are his words, not mine. And everything you need to know about him is summed up in that statement.
Professionals like Prado always show up and give you an effort. They don't pull Milwaukee's. Rupert, I know you can't do this, but go ahead an try. Find on ride by Prado or Johnny the whole meet that was 1/2 as horrible as Gomez's ride on Milwaukee. Good luck.
Thats what seperates the very best, the ability to not destroy a horse witha ride like that.

Milwaukee had nothing when she found room. I knew she wouldn't win when she came back unless she faced a really weak field. I hope you didn't bet her yesterday.

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

Gomez was the best jock of the meet by far. His numbers were incredible. He had the highest win percentage of any jock. He had the highest in the money percentage by far. Not only that, he was doing it on price horses. Look at the prices of some of his horses lately. Keen Lassie pays $12.80 to win, Corryville pays $10.20 to place, Second of June pays $19.00 to place, Tiz Wondeful pays $12.60 to win, Zanjero pays $6.50 to place, Sipsey pays $16.00 to win, On the Catwalk pays $15.20 to win. Those are just a few of the horses he rode the last 3 days. He's the only jockey you could bet on every race and make money. He is so far the best that it really isn't close. He will often times move a horse up by 3-4 lengths. I'm glad that most of you don't get it. I'm glad you think that Edgar Prado is just as good as Gomez. That's like thinking that David Toms is as good as Tiger Woods. It's absurd. They're not in the same league.

If anyone has the stats, I'd like to see the ROI on Gomez' horses at Saratoga compared to Prado and the other jocks.

I agree that it is laughable to argue about who was the best jockey at the recently concluded Saratoga Meet. Gomez was easily the best and the numbers dont lie. This is a jockey that was NEW to the toughest racing circuit in the country and still managed to lead in percentage and dollars won. Quite a feat.

I dont agree that he is that much better than Prado though. By the mere fact that he is Edgar Prado, the prices on his mounts will be shorter. I am more comfortable saying that they are equivalent and that Gomez outrode him a little bit this meet.

Originally Posted by jackofhearts

Damn--made me wish that I had gone up there for a few.

Nice wrap-up,Oracle.

Thanks jack. My real wrap up just occurred over on the Oracle or gander thread. If you really wanna know what it feels like when it closes, read that. Its the only time of the year when you get to see friends both near and far just about every day for 6 weeks. People put aside reality and whatever else to make sure that they are there. The rest of the year you may see friends at certain gatherings but its only once in a while and never in an atmosphere like that. Its pretty depressing. 5 1/2 weeks ago after the Jim Dandy I went out to dinner and then went swimming at a late night bbq party with friends at their house around the corner. The older you get the more you realize just how great a warm summer night like that is with the beer flowing and splashing around in a pool with friends after a great day of racing with another one on tap for the next day.
There will be football gatherings, baseball gatherings, and big race day gatherings still to come. But sitting in a house earing jeans and drinking beer watching tv while its cold outside and getting dark early can never in any way compare to what goes on here. Ask anyone who comes here or lives here, its not the races in the afternoon that matter. Its the warm and sunny mornings watching the horses workout, and the nights with friends. You can't get that at any other place.