Preakness Thoughts

O.K. I will admit it that I was one of the many that thought the Derby victory of Mine That Bird was a total and complete fluke. Let me issue an apology to Bernie Wooley and the Owners of Mine That Bird, I thought the entry into the Derby was just an ego trip by owners and trainers bringing colts to the Derby who have no business being there. i.e Liquidity in the 2007 Derby. Rachel Alexandra aside, I think Mine That Bird was the story of the Preakness on Saturday. The betting public sent Mine That Bird off at $6.60 -$1, third choice behind Rachel and Pioneerof The Nile ( possibly more on Pioneerof the Nile in a later post, but can people please stop talking this horse up, average speed on synthetic tracks is all he has....and Bob Baffert, but enough of Pioneer). Back on track, Mine That Bird proved to the doubters, me included, that he is the best 3yr old colt in the country on Saturday. If someone would have told me on Derby Day the Mine That Bird would be the front runner for an Eclipse Award in two weeks I would have called to have them commited.

Even though I owe Bernie Wooley an apology regarding Mine That Bird, I still find something unlikeable about the guy, maybe it's me but I find him to be pompous and unrefined, not exactly the face that the NTRA wants in the lime light I feel.

I am a big Calvin Borel fan, I enjoy his unscripted enthusiasm when being interviewed after the Derby in 2007 and this year, some find it annoying I know. I find his "rags to ritches" story very inspiring in this day and age, however the finger waging and showboating even before crossing the finish line is getting on my nerves. Act like you've been there before Calvin because you have. To compare this to baseball the next time Calvin stepped in the batters box he would get drilled for sure.

And finally D. Wayne Lukas. One question D. Wayne, why bother. Seriously Luv Guv and Flying Private. First, Flying Private should not have even been in the Derby or The Preakness this year, see above D. Wayne. Secondly, Luv Guv, it took this guy ten tries to break his maiden, on Derby Day by the way, and now you expect him to beat the best three year old's in the country. D. Wayne I want to remember the glory days, I want to remember you as the trainer of four Derby Champions, five Preakness and four Belmont's, and to me the most impressive stat is six consecutive Triple Crown wins. That's the D. Wayne I want to remember not the currant one, it's like Willie Mays as a Met, Joe Montana as a Chief, O. J. Simpson in an orange jumper.