Top 25 Most Overrated Performances of '06

[Gander]

Guidry was seen lighting up a cigarette before he even got back to the midget room. LOL!

[todko]

All of the Bernardini races were grossly overrated. And even Beyer is somewhat apologetic about Bernardini when he recently stated that, "Bernardini is no super horse". Somebody should ask Beyer how he popped those excessive speed figures for a horse that never broke 1:35 in a mile race or 1:50 in a 9 furlong race. Suddenly the horse is cranking 116s and such? And then Beyer comes up with the split variant on Breeders Cup day -- just some "cover your ass" to justify the earlier bloated hype figures for Bernardini. The track suddenly slowed on BC day? No -- the later races were just won by slow horses.

If Beyer and the other press that touted Bernardini worked in the financial services industry they would be on trial or perhaps be in jail for fraud.

Some other hyped performances this year were definitely Lava Man's races out west. Whether it was the proverbial "juice" in CA or beating up on weak fields in CA Lava Man didn't run on BC Classic Day. His connections shipped early, prepped at KEE, and the horse didn't offer much on the big day.

Another dog was Bob and John. How anybody -- be it Hank Goldberg -- or whoever could pick this dog to win the Derby or the Belmont is beyond me.

Some of the underrated performances of the year:

Jazil. This is a race horse. Solid fractions in the Belmont and solid final time. Would have beaten all of the previous Belmont winners in this decade including Afleet Alex. Look at the charts if you don't believe me. Would have beaten any other class of '06 3 year old at 12f with the exception of Barbaro. This horse can be 30 lengths back and charges unfazed through traffic. Dirt in his face, traffic, slop, you name it -- this horse is a charger. You might have missed the call in the Belmont. That's no reason to deny this horse the the accolades that are due. He's a credit to the class of '06 and a credit to horse racing. The only horse that hung with Barbaro's final fractions in the Derby was Jazil (2nd fastest final fractions -- only Secretariat closed better in Derby history).

Lost in the Fog. Foggy -- cancered up -- blistered Churchill Downs. A Soldier for sure.

From a kid who watched Secretariat to an adult who had a great time this year. 2006 -- despite the difficult times -- was definitely one of the greatest years I've ever seen in horse racing. This year was stunning.

[Gander]

Stunning? This year? Are you kidding? For me it was a year to forget. Worst year I have seen in some time. The big days like Travers Day and Jockey Club Gold Cup were all horrible betting cards. Belmont Stakes Day was a huge disappointment as well. So far the Aqu Inner has been a huge bore. People getting caught cheating all over the place.

Give me the Skip Away and Cigar days back! That was a glorious time.

Arromanches and Shoop on the Inner.

[todko]

Originally Posted by Gander

Stunning? This year? Are you kidding? For me it was a year to forget. Worst year I have seen in some time. The big days like Travers Day and Jockey Club Gold Cup were all horrible betting cards. Belmont Stakes Day was a huge disappointment as well. So far the Aqu Inner has been a hige bore. People getting caught cheating all over the place.

Give me the Skip Away and Cigar days back! That was a glorious time.

Arromanches and Shoop on the Inner.

New York graded stakes are the pits. But because the "old boy network" Graded Stakes Committee favors New York (and CA) you will always have 2nd or 3rd rate races listed as GI or GII.

Any GI race should have a purse of $1,000,000 and it should also have at least a field of 8 horses. Bring on the purse money and you'll get the field sizes. And some of those horses that win big against short fields of nobodys won't look so good.

It's the Graded Stakes Committee that has ruined the breed just as much as perhaps Lasix and other drugs. Mediocre horses win graded stakes in New York and California against allowance competition and short fields -- then those same horses go to the breeding shed and produce inferior offspring.

The real money is in the breeding shed and the Graded Stakes committee perpetuates the corruption by allowing New York and California races GI and GII status. Look at the GI winners in California who can't win outside the state. What does that tell you? They race the same old horses in short fields over and over again and yet they are graded stakes winners. Ship 'em and they lose by lengths. Face 2nd rate Euros on turf and our horses flounder (on turf -- most of "our" best horses are really Euros to begin with).