Friday, June 25, 2010

Silly Video Games

All right, this shouldn't come as a huge surprise to anyone, but I am a frequent player of horse racing games. Of course you go through some of these games and go, "Hey! That looks like...(some horse)" but of course, the do simply look like the real thing. In fact, these games come with a disclaimer:

Any resemblance to any human or animal, living or dead, is simply coincidental and unintentional.

Or something like that. You get the picture, they don't mean to have the horses be another horse. (Except in the NTRA published game, in which point you can race the legend, it's fun and an exception) But general game play horses are not meant to be anything but fictional.

However, I am currently playing GI Jockey 3...and they are doing a bad job of hiding these real life horse replicas. For example...so far I have come across:

Pint Given
Lemon Syrup Kid
Peripheral Ensign
Azel
The Min Man
Winning Honors
Street Ply
Go For Band
Sunday Science
DC Indy
Easy Grower

These horses are the same coat color, gender, and run under the same colors they did on the track. Yea, totally a coincidence. I'm just hoping I come across a super awesome bay named Cigarette or maybe a chestnut named Man O' Peace....War Sergeant vs SeaMuffin?

Don't get me wrong, I totally love this game! I just find it really find it funny that this is supposed to be merely a coincidence and totally unintentional. If you play this game, let me know what other horses are out there!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Nicanor!

First off, I am totally happy I finally got around to creating a virtual stable on Equibase! Updates on all my favorites e-mailed to me, such as Mine That Bird breezing 5 furlongs in 55 seconds at Churchill. Heck yea, run little dude.

But on another note, it has also allowed me to track Barbaro's littler brothers. Nicanor especially has been left out of much media attention due to his lack of a Derby bid, but I am glad to report that the little guy won one today at Delaware Park. Awesome Awesome!

Congrats Nicanor! Keep it going!

(Pic from the Blog CatsWorking)

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Love These Girls!


What a weekend!
Just wanted to send my congrats to Rachel Alexandra for making one hell of a comeback! We knew you would make it back to the top! And also to Zenyatta! Way to be girl! Congrats on yet another win and a record at that!

Keep it up girls! Show the nation what you got!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Belmont 142

And yet again, I am thinking wow! I do like it when a horse wins that got little attention from the press. I thought that stretch run was pretty fierce! But Drosselmeyer showed the most heart and determination and crossed the wire first!

Congrats to Drosslmeyer and double congrats to Mike Smith (I really do like him) and Bill Mott for their first Belmont wins!! And to WinStar Farm, winning two of the three Triple Crown Races. This Triple Crown season was filled with a lot of first, and wow it was fun!

And more good news, this is the first gem that I actually had a horse finish in the money!! Thanks to First Dude, I actually came away feeling almost ok about my handicapping skills. And for the record, I was also rooting for Game On Dude (Love Baffert and I Love geldings) as well as Stay Put (Like the name) who finished 4th and 6th respectively. Sorry Ice Box! Waiting to see what they think happened there, hope you're ok.

What fun! I hope all the horses come up healthy! Can;t wait to see what these colts will do for us in the future!

Changing the Triple Crown...Should They?

Should they change the format of the Triple Crown? People have been asking this for years, as after each season we go longer and longer without seeing a triple victory. So what to do?
Many people feel that with modern day race horses, it is simply not right to ask them to run that many races in that short of a time frame. And they make a point. Most of these modern-day, top level racehorses touch the track once every month or so, if you really have something special, you may be able to pop out a monthly race. But with so much invested in breeding, and the scary relaity that horses break down frequently, people run them less. And I feel it is true, these horses are not made the same as the older ones especially since we entered the new milenia. It's all about speed, so the horses require more time to recover after a race than their ancestors. What should be changed, if anything?

People argue to change the distance of the races...personally...erm why? That would definitely be changing too much, and I don't think the distances are THAT varying to affect a great horse.Yes, the Belmont is the longest race these horses may ever run, but it's the Triple Crown! Something has to distinguish greatness.

The other aspect of the Crown people are considering...is the time in between races. Again, seeing as theses horses don't run as often as the greats of the past, should be give them a Triple Crown series which is more realistic for the times? I will admit, if they are going to make a change, this is the one they should make. Perhaps we would get a more constant field, and a larger fan base around the horses, which would be great! It would make more of the top horses come to the tracks more frequently, Great! The best three-year olds would face off more often, Great!! Who knows, if the Crown was ran say, one race a month, perhaps Rachel (or less likely but more amazingly, Mine That Bird, sorry I love him) would have won it! Wouldn't that have been amazing? However, I can't lie, I would go completely crazy whenever they say "so and so won the Triple Crown," because they won the modified Triple Crown. Now, if they could bite their tongue and at the very least, not compare a modified Triple Crown to the current method, I would be ok. But comparing a modified Triple Crown winner to a traditional Triple Crown winner, would just be irritating.

I know people are really talking about making changes this year because this is the first time in a long time, that neither the Derby winner nor the Preakness winner are taking part in the Belmont. But...I don't think that is a huge deal, not this year. I remember very clearly they announcers talking rather lowly of the crop of three year-olds that showed up to the Derby. They were unhappy with the horses in the DERBY! Why would they think they field would be any better in the Belmont?

Personally, I don't think all hope is lost when it comes to a modern day colt winning the current Triple Crown grind. Since just 2000, two horses have shown, that if their Derby trip had gone better, they would have won the Triple. Point Given and Afleet Alex lost the Derby, but came back to win both the Preakness and Belmont. Not to mention Point Given's daddy, Thunder Gulch, who won the Derby and came back to win the Belmont in '95.

So what do you think? Should they change it to accommodate the new type of racehorse? Or should we be patient and wait for that special horse that is going to blow the nation away?
ESPN's poll (with 16,000+ voters so far) currently stands at:
Changing distance=6%
Adding more time in between=25%
Changing distance and adding time=18%
Leave it alone=51%

As much as I would LOVE to see a traditional Triple Crown winner, I am, and always will be what is best for helping the industry gain interest, and of course, what is best for the horses.


(Yes, it's Rock Hard Ten, he ran in the Gems, but well...we know how that turned out. But he is a favorite of mine! That horse was a monster! Anyway, this is from HorseHats.com, is for sale, and is beautiful!)

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Quality Road

Ok, so he was always in my picks when he raced, but never really for the top spot. Last I remember him, he was causing quite a fuss at the Breeder's Cup, such a fuss he was forced to scratch. But after three wins already this year, perhaps I should change my betting style!Quality Road is really starting to be a top top contender! After winning the Metropolitan this past weekend, he is right on track with the path Pletcher hopes will take him back to the Breeder's Cup. I can't wait to watch him continue his career! Stay Strong and Healthy! Best luck to you!