ZATT Comes Alive!

Fresh off a turkey trifecta box, the best looking South African in Hollywood since Charlize Theron, and Successful Dan playing pinball like a wizard until the stewards flashed the Tilt sign, I have decided to try something completely different.  Frampton did it, why not ZATT?  Drum roll please … I give you the first ever live version of Zipse at the Track.  Live updates all day long.  Let’s go interactive.  Join in and tell me what you think. 9:55 AM - Currently getting all the homework done for a huge day of racing. Selections will come as we near the races, but here is a quick preview of what I will have my eyes on … Race of the day is the Cigar Mile at the Big A, with a side of Gazelle, more turf racing from Hollywood, but most of all, today has me stoked to see all the promising juveniles. Not limited to juvi stakes in New York and Louisville, there are excellent two-year-olds running all over the nation. Who’s with me? 10:55 AM - Starting things off early with the turf opener at Aqueduct. It looks like the #10 Gimme Credit and the #4 Midnight Billy are the class of the race. I'll box them in an exacta. 11:05 AM - 3rd & 4th. That's what I was afraid of ... lack of pace killed my chances. 11:14 AM - Not too much going on in the early races, and I need to save some money for my best bet of the day, Violon Sacre in the Citation at Hollywood ... still more than 7 hours away ;-) 11:42 AM - Back on the grass for the 3rd at Aqueduct. The #8 Westside Corral could be a standout, but I love the turf breeding of first time starter #7 Boat for trainer Thomas Bush. At 9-1, I'll place a little WPS action. 11:45 AM - Looks like Switching Gears appreciated the return to maiden company at Churchill ... impressive win. 12:00 PM - Ugly spill at Aqueduct, I hope everyone is OK. First timer, Boat rallies mildy for 4th, while the winner Westside Corral looks like a runner. 12:14 PM - It appears the word is out big time on the #1 Crossbow in the 4th at Aqueduct. Steve Haskin first told me me about this juvenile making his debut for McLaughlin. Anything above even money might be worth a win bet. 12:34 PM - Did you see that pace at Aqueduct ... why??? I'll rebound with #6 My Shepherd Girls as the play in the next at Churchill. 12:48 PM - Slow start on my first live blog ... let's turn it around with a live longshot in the 5th at Aqueduct. My buddy Bill and I both love the turf breeding of the #9 Hothersal. He's 10-1 for hot trainer Seth Benzel, play him to win and see what he can do. 1:00 PM - Uggh 1:07 PM - Getting some big help on the comment section ... special thanks to Joe Depaolo live from Aqueduct! 1:20 PM - Four betting interests in the Demoiselle ... time to jump on the pick-3. I'm using the 1,5 / 3,4,5 / 6,8. 1:30PM - Nice win for Dixie City. Prayers go out to Jason Gracia. 1:38 PM - My first impression is that there will be no Kentucky Oaks winners coming out of this year's Demoiselle. 1:43 PM - Huge exacta at Churchill. I didn't bet the race, but if I did, I do not think I would have had that one ... balloons! 1:47 PM - I'll be sitting back watching the Remsen, hoping one of the two longer ones in my live pick-3 get home first. 1:58 PM - Some early trouble there in the Remsen, but surely the best horse won. Moderately impressive win for To Honor and Serve ... methinks he would have trouble with Mo. 2:05 PM - Alive with the #6 Joanie's Catch and the #8 No Such Word in the pick-3 at Aqueduct ... One is balloons and one is peanuts. C'mon everybody root home this 6 for me in the Gazelle! 2:26 PM - No Such Word has become one of the best 3-year-old fillies in the country ... It was the small one, but at least it was a cash in the pick-3. No betting for me in the next at Churchill, but it will be interesting to see how Hailey d'Oro returns off an impressive maiden score. 2:33 PM - The Cigar Mile is next in New York. Early money is all on Musket Man ... I am liking Bribon more and more if he stays anywhere near the current 7-1. I'll play an exacta box with #3 Bribon and #7 Musket Man. 2:46 PM - Hailey d'Oro goes down in flames. 2:55PM - Jersey Town??? Oy vay!!! 3:01 PM - Well, that was certainly a shocker. Right back to work ... at Churchill I will be playing daily doubles with the #10 Disfraz / and the 1,4,5,6 in the Golden Rod. 3:08 PM - A juvenile that I am high on, Cool Blue Red Hot is running in a maiden race next at Calder. Unfortunately, he is currently at 3-5. By the way, I wasn't the only one surprised by Jersey Town ... he was the only horse on my latest poll to not receive a single vote. 3:29 PM - Easy win for Cool Blue Red Hot against Calder maidens. In the Golden Rod at Churchill, I will give big longshot #5 Suave Voir Faire a shot at 25-1. At those odds, win, place, and show will be the bet. 3:50 PM - Wow! I guess Kathmanblu likes dirt. That was the performance of the day so far, on the switch back to dirt. My longshot ambles up for a non-threatening 3rd ... the show price gets me slightly ahead for the race;-) 4:24PM - Nice win by Super Saver's little brother, Brethren in the 10th at Churchill. 4:31PM - I am taking a stand against the heavy favorite Astrology in the Kentucky Jockey Club. #3 Cane Garden Bay is the play, with #2 Santiva, #4 Major Gain, and #7 Halo's Thunder completing my main exacta bets. 4:49 PM - I knew it was a five horse race and go figure, my top pick came in 5th, but I do have a saver bet on the 10 cent superfecta ... would have been more if Major Gain could have beaten Astrology for 2nd. 5:14PM - In the Generous Stakes at Hollywood, I will use the two favorites Comma to the Top and Surrey Star to get my pick-3 rolling. My play will be 4,8/4/6 5:42 PM - Comma to the Top keeps it rolling with another easy win in the Generous. 6:22PM - Whewww, got that photo by a nose. My pick-3 remains alive to my best bet of the day. No need to bet the Citation. After all this, I will either lose for the day ($30), or if Violon Sacre comes through I will collect $294.60, and come out $264 ahead for the day. 6:46 PM - Well Violon Sacre did not have it today, nor did my picks :( If you were playing, I hope you did better than me. Thank you to everyone for visiting today ... it was great fun. Special thanks to Joe Depaolo and William McCabe for extra participation today. See you all at the track real soon.

Lookin at Lucky Poised to Join Elite Company

1905 - Sysonby 1908 - Colin 1910 - Sweep 1920 - Man O’ War 1923 - Zev 1928 - Reigh Count 1934 - Cavalcade 1940 - Bimelech 1942 - Alsab 1943 - Count Fleet 1948 - Citation 1950 - Hill Prince 1953 - Native Dancer 1955 - Nashua 1956 - Needles 1966 - Buckpasser 1973 - Secretariat 1977 - Seattle Slew 1978 - Affirmed 1979 - Spectacular Bid 20 Impressive horses. Soon you can add the name of Lookin at Lucky to that esteemed list. His accomplishments of 2010 have all but made him a shoo-in for his second Eclipse Award, thus becoming the first horse in 31 years to parlay a juvenile championship with a repeat award at three-years-old. Hard to believe, but no horse since Spectacular Bid has been able to turn the trick … until Lookin at Lucky that is. Further investigation into this list of horses who were able to wrap up the double, displays a veritable who’s who of American racing. From Man O’ War to Secretariat, from Citation to Seattle Slew, this is an accomplished group. In fact, 19 of these 20 stars also found there way into racing’s Hall of Fame, with only Sweep being denied.  In becoming lucky number 21 to complete the deal, Lookin at Lucky has carved out a place for himself in the record books, but how will he be remembered? I believe his legacy will be one that improves over time. He was unlucky often, and he ran into a couple of older buzz saws in Blame and Zenyatta in his finale, but he proved as consistent as they come. It is hard not to like a horse who fires every shot. Did the winner of eight grade 1 or grade 2 stakes races in only 13 lifetime starts retire before his time? Yes, but that is an article for another day. For now, I will send off the son of Smart Strike to retirement with this singular thought ... Is he Hall of Fame material? Lookin at History, I say Yes to Lookin at Lucky.

Extraordinary Thoroughbred Crops

I started a poll, there on the left, a few days ago and the more I considered the votes coming in, the more I realized it required a little write-up. These are the ten crops that I have identified as the best in American racing history. To qualify, the horses did not need to be bred in America, but they did need to have made a name for themselves on American racetracks. I highlighted each year by listing the top five runners (not an easy task in many cases) of each year. The year represents the standouts' three-year-old season. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did researching it, and please let me know what you think…which year did I leave out? What horse should I have included in my top fives? 1948 - You do not need to look much farther than the roster at Calumet Farm to realize the excellence of this crop. Citation, Coaltown, and Bewitch were all Calumet runners. Throw in handicap star Noor, and the filly Miss Request, to complete a special crop. 1955 - Swaps and Nashua were true superstars of 1955. Summer Tan, Dedicate, and High Voltage round out this year’s top five. 1957 - Round Table, Bold Ruler, and Gallant Man were all Hall of Fame runners and great sires. Gen. Duke was a star before injury and Clem became a top handicap horse, making this class possibly the greatest of all time. 1967 - Dr. Fager and Damascus were two all-time greats. Include Gamely, Fort Marcy, and In Reality and you have one of the greatest crops in American history. 1969 - An underrated crop…Everyone remembers the Triple Crown match-up between Majestic Prince and Arts and Letters, but do not underestimate the greatness of a couple of fillies Gallant Bloom and Shuvee. Ack Ack gets the five spot by a whisker over Ta Wee. 1973 - Secretariat, Forego, Sham, Dahlia, and Desert Vixen…enough said. 1978 - Affirmed and Alydar will be remembered forever, but speed merchants Sensitive Prince and Dave’s Friend were members of this crop, and oh yeah, a plucky gelding named John Henry. 1987 - Depth was the word for the word this top class crop. Narrowing it to five is not easy; I will go with Alysheba, Personal Ensign, Bet Twice, Miesque, and Java Gold. 1997 - See 1987. Forced to narrow this crop down to five, I went with Silver Charm, Free House, Touch Gold, Awesome Again, and Kona Gold. Captain Bodgit loses the photo one last time. 2007 - Led by sure to be Hall of Fame runners Curlin and Zenyatta, 2007 was the best crop of the young century. Street Sense, Hard Spun, and Rags to Riches cement that standing.

ZATT’s Top 10 All-Time Greats

The Top 10 Horses to run on American soil according to ZATT. Let’s count it down… 10) Native Dancer - The Gray Ghost was racing’s first television star and so dominated his peers of 1952 through 1954, that he came a desperate photo away from being a perfect 22 wins in 22 starts. Unfortunately the loss came in the Kentucky Derby, as the gray hero gained with every stride, but came up just short to longshot, speed horse, Dark Star. One jump away from an undefeated Triple Crown champion, but alas, it was not to be for one of America‘s favorite horses. At stud, Native Dancer became a prolific sire, and his sire line proved to be one of the most influential in modern American racing. 9) Forego - Forego was a late developing son of Argentine great, Forli, and did not race as a two-year-old. At three, he was no match for the king of his generation, Secretariat, but he continued improving through a busy campaign and by that Winter was a major player. As an older horse, he became an all-time great, highlighted by four consecutive wins in the Woodward. Seeing Forego’s stretch run was like watching a force of nature. The gelding won 34 of his 57 career starts while running against the top competition in his era and consistently carrying hefty weight handicaps. He was named Horse of the Year three consecutive times from 1974 through 1976. 8) Seattle Slew - In a matter of weeks, Seattle Slew went from an inexpensive unknown to a juvenile champion and early Kentucky Derby favorite. In 1977, Slew did not disappoint his legions of fans as he steamrolled through derby preps in Florida and New York. The ultimate test of the Triple Crown turned into nothing more than a coronation for him as the dark bay speedster easily cantered into immortality. At four, Slew showed his tremendous talent and will to win as he handled the superb three-year-old, Affirmed, twice in the Fall. A true rags to riches story Seattle Slew remains the only horse to win the Triple Crown while still undefeated. 7) Kelso - If dominating the Horse of the Year voting year after year, was the top criteria, Kelso would be number one with a bullet. King Kelly amazingly was named America’s best horse five consecutive seasons, from 1960 to 1964. The great gelding made it to the racetrack in eight different years, won 39 times and is still the benchmark for durability at the highest level. Kelso carried great weights and won at all distances. He was probably best on dirt, but some still consider his romping win on turf, over rival Gun Bow in the 1964 D.C. International to be his finest performance. Kelly’s feat of winning five straight Jockey Club Gold Cups will never be matched. 6) Dr. Fager - No other horse was quite like the Good Doctor. He was a wild child with his flowing mane and go for broke running style. Irresistible speed and undeniable heart carried Dr. Fager to finish first in 19 out of his 22 starts between 1966 and 1968. He did not have it easy as he had a super rival in Damascus, a champion older horse to contend with in Buckpasser, rabbits to pressure his awesome speed, and great weights to carry. In 1968, Dr. Fager pulled off the unprecedented feat of being named Horse of the Year, Champion Older Horse, Champion Grass Horse, and Champion Sprinter. He set a world record for a mile of 1:32 1/5 while toting 134 pounds in Chicago and finished his career by winning the Vosburgh in 1:20 1/5 (only one fifth off another world record) while carrying 139 pounds. 5) Count Fleet - Did Count Fleet go out in style? How does winning the Triple Crown with a 25 length runaway in the 1943 Belmont Stakes sound? Count Fleet was not perfect early on, as it took him awhile to discover his best running. When he did 6 furlongs in 1:08 1/5 in a workout as a juvenile, it was clear that legendary jockey Johnny Longdon had been right. Longdon had urged his owner not to sell Count Fleet when he was still winless. Together him and The Fleet would roll to 10 wins as a juvenile and the best was yet to come. When Count Fleet arrived in Louisville, it was clear that he was the best and was sent off at 2-5. The rest is history as The Fleet rolled through the Triple Crown with amazing ease. He threw in a romp in the prestigious Withers Stakes during the Crown for good measure. Count Fleet was undefeated in six starts at three and never broke a sweat. 4) Spectacular Bid - Oh, if not for a safety pin. The Bid was a great two-year-old, a greater three-year-old, and a supreme example of the excellence of a thoroughbred at four. The Bid set multiple track records in his championship season at two. At three, he was so dominant in the lead up to the Derby, that the world thought it a foregone conclusion that he would become the third consecutive Triple Crown champion. Things were going swimmingly until the morning of the Belmont. The Bid stepped on a safety pin and lost the Belmont, finishing 3rd and having a 12 race win streak snapped. At four. Spectacular Bid trumped his first two marvelous seasons by completing one of the greatest seasons ever. He finished his career with an unbeaten season in nine starts, setting four track records, and set a career earnings record. In an ultimate sign of respect, not one horse would line up against The Bid in one of the biggest races of the year, the 1980 Woodward. It was Spectacular Bid’s final race and it was a walkover. 3) Citation - Big Cy had two separate racing careers. The first was a testament to his incredible ability and consistency, and the second to his heart and courage. In 1947 he was the top juvenile in the nation with only one loss and in 1948 he incredibly won 19 out of 20 starts in his Horse of the Year season. His Triple Crown run was a tour-de-force as he won each race easier than the previous, culminating with an eight length romp in the Belmont. The Calumet runner missed his four-year-old season due to arthritis in his fetlock joint, but in his first two remarkable seasons, Citation had 27 wins and two 2nd place finishes in 29 starts. Not the same after his arthritis problems and layoff, Citation still proved to be one of the finest handicap horses of his time in 1950 & 1951. 2) Secretariat - When Big Red was at his best, I believe he was the greatest horse that ever looked through a bridle. His win in the Belmont Stakes has never and may never be equaled. Secretariat fell short in a troubled trip in his first start of his career and thrice was stymied by his W curse in the Wood, Whitney, and Woodward as a three year old, but the sheer brilliance he displayed in the rest of his 17 races is enough to consider Secretariat one of the two greatest horses in American history. Secretariat not only ran the greatest 12 furlongs ever in the Belmont, he had already set records in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. For one horse to be so sensational in each leg of the grueling Triple Crown series is truly unbelievable. Despite a few losses after the Triple Crown, his powerhouse wins in the Marlboro Cup, Man O’ War, and Canadian International were more than enough to cement his place in racing lore. Drum roll please, and the number one race horse of all-time is… 1) Man O’ War - The original Big Red had it all, consistency and greatness. In only two seasons of racing, the great horse won 20 out of 21 races. His only loss was as a juvenile, when he finished 2nd to Upset in the 1919 Sanford Stakes when he gave the winner 15 pounds and was said to be the victim of a horrible trip. The son of Fair Play dominated the rest of the year and was named champion juvenile. As a three-year-old Man o' War won all of his 11 races. In eight of those races he broke track records. He carried up to 138 pounds in the , he won the Belmont Stakes by 20 lengths and Man O’ War won the Lawrence Realization by an unbelievable 100 lengths breaking the track record by more than four seconds in the 1 5/8 mile race. In a match -up of stars Man o' War defeated the previous year’s Triple Crown winner Sir Barton by seventeen lengths in a match race at Kenilworth Park. At stud, Man O’ War was one of the best sires of the first half of the twentieth century.