Who Am I ???

*I was beaten in my lifetime debut, and in my career finale, but never in between. *My first stakes victory came in California, but my biggest win came at the spacious surroundings of Belmont Park. *I gave it my all in my final career race, coming up just short, but I was still named champion. *If you are trying to think of the great colt that I might be, you are already on the wrong track. *I was an Eclipse Award winner in the only year that I had a chance. *Despite the shortness of my career, (only seven races) I was a grade 1 winner on both coasts. *I often received compliments on my name; I always liked it. *I was always happy to make beautiful music for my owner. *My only career losses came first when I got off to a slow start in a maiden and then when I was out battled in a Grade 1. *I only had two jockeys in my career, and both are stars. *All of my stakes wins came at different racetracks. You should know by now … Who Am I ???

Bold, if not Controversial, Predictions

Prediction #1 – The three-year-old male division remains undecided until the Eclipse Awards announcement in January. In the end, the winner of the race with the strongest field of the season, takes home the hardware. The race is the August 28 Travers, and the winner is Exhi. Prediction #2 – Rachel Alexandra will hustle out on the track and into the starting gate at the last second, before easily winning Saratoga‘s Ruffian Stakes. When her connections were asked why she almost missed the race, they explained that Jess Jackson had not decided where she would run until three minutes before post time. ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here

Martin Garcia is White Hot

Think back about a month and a half…Garret Gomez, two-time Eclipse Award winning jockey, was being pulled off Lookin at Lucky in favor of Martin Garcia. It was not a shock, as Gomez and Lucky had found themselves in the middle of rough trips every time they hit the track together this year. To many though, the rider who picked up the mount on the about-to-be Preakness winner, was a bit of a surprise. The casual race fan knew very little about this 25-year-old jockey from Mexico. Flash forward six weeks to present day, and Martin Garcia is a bona fide star. Winning the Preakness changed his national notoriety, but Garcia has been rising up the ranks for several years. Since emigrating to the United States in 2003 and taking a job at a deli in Pleasanton, California, Garcia has taken the fast track to the American success story. From slicing prosciutto, Garcia soon began working at the track as a stable hand and an exercise rider in Northern California. There he galloped horses for six months before starting to race ride at Golden Gate Fields. On August 17, 2005, Martin Garcia won his first race aboard Wild Daydreamer at the Bay Meadows Fair. Since then it has been a steady climb up the ranks. Now he may be America’s hottest rider, winning stakes at an alarming rate and traveling all over the nation to win them. A quick look of major stakes around the nation this year reads like a Martin Garcia highlight reel. Kinsale King wins the Palos Verdes, Jeranimo wins the Strub, Conveyance wins the Southwest, Game on Dude wins the Lone Star Derby, Champagne d’Oro wins the Acorn, Switch wins the Hollywood Oaks. Garcia was on them all. Throw in the Preakness, and you can see that Garcia is simply having a whale of a year. Each week brings another big win, and last night at Prairie Meadows, Garcia was at it again. Riding for his number one client, Bob Baffert, he blitzed the Iowa Derby field aboard the suddenly exciting prospect Concord Point. I am not sure who he will be on next week, but with Martin Garcia in the saddle, whoever it is, has a big chance to take home first money.

Betting Against the Favorites Hawkeye State Style

What a night to be in Iowa, and more specifically at Prairie Meadows. One night after the second biggest card of the year, in which we saw a new sprint star being born in Majesticperfection, (can’t wait to see the Beyer he gets in that one) the Midwestern track takes it up another notch. Their three biggest stakes of the year, and they will be run consecutively this evening. Starting with the Iowa Oaks and ending with the Cornhusker Handicap, Prairie Meadows will be teaming with excitement. I also see their excellent card as an opportunity to make a few dollars in the process, with vulnerable favorites throughout. ***The remainder of today's column can be found on Youbet.com*** Click Here Also, check out the latest poll on ZATT History ... Who is your Horse of the 1960's???

Season’s Second Half Begins Now for the Fillies

Blind Luck, as evidenced by the latest ZATT poll on the left, is the clear and present leader of the three-year-old filly division today. The Jerry Hollendorfer trained miss has been solid in all five starts this year. Running in only grade 1’s and grade 2’s, Blind Luck has three wins and two respectable losses with a 2nd in a paceless Hollywood Oaks, and a close 3rd in the Santa Anita Oaks. She also has the division’s most important win to date in the Kentucky Oaks. While I have the utmost respect for the daughter of Pollard’s Vision, in fact I had her rated as the best juvenile filly last year, I am here to tell you that her lead in the race for the Eclipse Award is far from a safe one. What is the reason that I feel her hold on the division is somewhat tenuous? I have two; two apples of my eye, that I feel may soon pass the top Californian filly by. In Devil May Care and Biofuel, I see two fillies with a world of talent just waiting to strike in the years biggest filly stakes. Adding to my interest, is their upcoming match up on Saturday in Belmont’s Grade 1 Mother Goose Stakes. Devil May Care will be making her first start since making a strong move on the Kentucky Derby turn to loom boldy before fading to finish in the middle of the pack. The daughter of one of my favorite current sires, Malibu Moon, has only won 3 of 6 lifetime starts, but I am a big believer in her overall talent and potential. She showed off her great ability by winning the Grade 1 Frizette in only her second career start last Fall, and underlined that talent with a strong win in Gulfstream’s Bonnie Miss Stakes this Spring. That win, coupled with his strong belief in her, prompted trainer Todd Pletcher to take the ultimate challenge, and place the lightly raced filly in the Run for the Roses. It did not happen that day, nor did it happen when she was shipped cross country to try the Breeders’ Cup in her third ever start. Bounced around as if in a mosh-pit, Devil May Care was left with no chance that day. With more time to develop, and more prudent race selection, I suspect the Devil will make a huge impact the rest of the season. So much so, that I consider her the horse to beat in not only the Mother Goose, but also the Coaching Club American Oaks and The Alabama. If Devil May Care is to somehow be beaten on Saturday, look for the Canadian Biofuel to be the one. Not only is Biofuel the best three-year-old filly in Canada, she is the best three-year-old period. As a Kentucky bred, Biofuel is not eligible for the Canadian Classic, the Queens’ Plate. That’s a shame, because she would have had her peers north of the border at her mercy. With no Queens’ Plate on her horizon, it was time for the Reade Baker filly to test the big girls in America again. When last seen in the States, Biofuel was robbed from a great chance to win the Breeders’ Cup, when she was sideswiped in the stretch. And sideswiped may be an understatement. After regaining her stride, Biofuel came flying again to be a fast closing 1 ½ length loser. She was the most impressive horse in the race. A minor setback delayed her return this year, but she picked up right where she left off last Fall with two impressive come-from-behind scores in stakes at Woodbine. This will be Biofuel’s first try on dirt, but the bay daughter of Stormin Fever is bred to handle the natural surface, and she should be able to give Devil May Care everything she wants. The Mother Goose should tell us a lot about each filly’s future in the big races coming up. Blind Luck is certainly the division leader to this point, but she better watch out. Devil May Care and Biofuel are primed and ready to challenge her position as Queen of the hill.

Horse Racing and Gambling

There are four types of racing fans. There is the fan who loves the horse and loves the thrill of the race foremost, but also enjoys to test their abilities to pick a winner and make a few bucks in the process. I happen to be that type of fan. Then there is the fan who loves the handicapping aspect, and is always looking for ways to make money betting the horses. They enjoy watching the racing, and it has proven to be their favorite form of gambling. The third type of fan, is the person who falls in love with the horses, and racing is a way to see them doing what they do so beautifully. They are only there to see their heroes, and betting is rarely, if ever, even considered. Finally the last fan is a gambler. Racing is one of a long list of ways to place a wager. This fan is more likely to know the number of a horse, rather than their name. I ask you is one fan better than another? My answer may surprise you. I say no. I say this because I recognize the importance of gambling to this wonderful game, and it has been this way since the beginning of the sport. In American racing history, it was not all that long ago when horse racing truly was the only game in town. Off track betting, and state lotteries were not yet with us. The only state with legal casino gambling was Nevada. Fans poured into racetracks around the country at record rates and track handles soared to never seen before numbers. The 1960’s were a golden age for Thoroughbred horse racing, and we would be naïve not to credit gambling in large part for the success seen for the business of racing. Things have obviously changed with so many more ways to gamble these days, but I still see racing as the greatest combination of beautiful sport, and gambling challenge that there can be found. Saying this, racing always needs to cater not only to fans of the sport, but also to the gambler. All four types of fans are vitally important to the health of the sport. By all means we should find new ways to promote our great game to the masses, but just as importantly we need to make racing a more attractive way for the gamblers to gamble. And speaking of gambling ... Handicapping extraordinaire, Nick Borg, offers some solid advice on how to narrow your betting choices and become a better handicapper over on ZATT Technical.