Day 48

Happy Valentines Day!

WIN With One of Two BEST BETS

Overall disappointing with the racing today, despite only having three selections on the card.  Let's start with the Valentines Day info.....over the past several years Kim and I give each other an "experience" - we go to a Broadway Show or on a Get-Away weekend.  But this year we couldn't find either one of those that was to our liking.  So we decided to give each other a wall mural to hang above the new 65" big screen television.  We wanted a panoramic photo of from one of our trips and narrowed to either Australia or Alaska.  Finally we chose a breath-taking view of the mountains in Denali National Park where we had flown in a bi-plane and landed on a snow-covered glacier.  Here is a sequence of photos from our visit to the glacier......

And here is the mural we bought.....

On to the racing.....My first pick was in the 4th where I thought Goodtimehadbyall would rally into a speed duel to score late.  It all went according to play as my second choice, Bernie the Maestro surged to the front at the top of the lane with Goodtime flying late.....oh so close on the wire, but second :( 

The first of two "BEST BETS" came in the very next race, the fifth where we were going a mile on the turf in Starter Optional Claiming company.  My pick, Longhunter had scored for me wire-to-wire when stretched to this distance a few weeks ago and he looked like the lone speed again today for Javier Castellano.  The team of trainer Michael Maker and owners Ken & Sarah Ramsey has collected multiple wins at the meet and this was another decisive win......LONG GONE, just as expected! 

I was 4th in the 7th when Defiant set the pace, in much the same manner as Longhunter, to the top of the lane but he had no response when the closers came.  Then in the last bet of the day, the other "BEST," Calistoga was a HUGE disappointment.  She was everyone's best of the day and the key to nearly every multi-race wage.  She had won in her debut here and come right back to draw off against winners.  Then after a poor break she nearly won the Grade 3 Eight Belles on Derby Day.  Trainer Bill Mott had her geared up for today.  But jockey Joel Rosario sent her right to the front dueling through an insane :44.1 pace going seven furlongs with an obvious non-win candidate a nearly 12/1.  She survived the duel to forge to the lead as heads turned for home but she had nothing left - especially coming off a layoff - for the stretch and didn't even hit the board.  Seems like several times this meet Rosario has given my picks questionable rides that I my opinion cost me the win.  I'll be headed out to the races tomorrow for a full day of selections, both on track and around the country.