The Rail at Aqueduct

[blackthroatedwind]

I'm not getting into the " juice " discussion...because I can't.

I found the feature race on Saturday to be highly questionable. There was a Barclay Tagg horse, Stormy Kiss maybe, who on paper was clear speed and pretty much a cinch. The second choice was trained by Gary Contessa, Magnolia Jackson, a horse of minor ability who while she could win, and deserved to be second choice, was no major threat to the favorite on paper. Now the betting opens, and Magnolia Jackson opens 1/9, and the obvious favorite is somewhere around 2:1. While Magnolia drifts to 2:5 a few minutes before post she still remarkably is ultimately favored while both horses are even money. The race didn't even need to be run.

Tagg's horse got the lead, but it was apparent to anyone watching that Magnolia Jackson, who was stalking, was going to eat her up at will. And she did, with the longest shot on the board sucking up for second. Now, I don't think anything went on with Magnolia Jackson, and her abhorant 75 Beyer fig backs that up, but how the hell did EVERYONE know that the Tagg horse was finished?

I cannot make my decisions based on the board but if I am finding situations like the one described above I simply cannot bet.