Posts Tagged ‘kentucky oaks’

By Ray Paulick
Jess Jackson could have waited until Friday night at 9 o’clock or so to send out a press release anouncing his regrets for not pointing Rachel Alexandra to the April 3 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park. Oaklawn owner Charles Cella had proposed increasing the Apple Blossom’s purse to $5 million if Jackson’s 2009 Horse of the Year and the unbeaten two-time champion mare Zenyatta were both in the starting lineup for the race.

That’s what the president of Toyota did—schedule a press conference for 9 p.m. on a Friday night–to respond to mounting public outrage over safety problems with cars produced by the world’s leading automotive manufacturer. Spin doctors always advise their clients to put bad news out late on a Friday to get the lowest possible publicity and media coverage.

But not Jess Jackson. He had the courage to send out a press release at the end of the business day on a Wednesday, when most racetracks East of the Mississippi were closed due to blizzard conditions. His press release was very clever, too, utilizing an old-fashioned smokescreen—a grand proposal for a three-race series between the two distaffers—to obscure the fact Rachel Alexandra would skip the Apple Blossom. To make matters worse, he made trainer Steve Asmussen the fall guy who had to deliver the bad news: ““Out of respect for the level of competition and the importance of this race, I have told Mr. Jackson it was not in the best interest of the horse to race on April 3,” Asmussen was quoted as saying in the press release. “Getting to this level of fitness after a six-month layoff takes time.  If all goes according to schedule, and we do not have any further weather delays, the earliest we could have a prep race would be the middle of March. It is then not fair to Rachel to ask her to race again three weeks later.”

I could be wrong, but I think that’s the most Jackson has allowed Asmussen to say since the California winemaker bought Rachel Alexandra after her victory in the Kentucky Oaks last spring.

But the confusing part of the release was Jackson’s statement that the proposed racing series between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta has been “in the works for several weeks.” If that’s the case, why did Jackson indicate even the slightest bit of interest when Cella proposed the Apple Blossom purse increase?

Also, why is Jackson suddenly relying on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association to put something together? The NTRA owns no racetracks, has no authority over tracks, stakes schedules or race conditions, and doesn’t even have any juice left with television networks.

If anything, Jackson should be asking the Breeders’ Cup—not the NTRA–for assistance in putting the series together and promoting it, since racing fans hope the two fillies will remain sound throughout 2010 and eventually go head-to-head in either the Breeders’ Cup Classic or Ladies’ Classic this fall at Churchill Downs. A series of races betweem the two leading up to the Breeders’ Cup would be in that organization’s best interests, and the Breeders’ Cup does have stronger ties to ESPN for broadcast opportunities.
 
Finally, if the proposal by Jackson was genuine, why on earth were Jerry and Ann Moss not even mentioned in the press release. As Zenyatta’s owners, I think they might want to have some say in this proposed series.

Sorry, Jess, but I’m calling your bluff.

Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report

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ONLINE KENTUCKY DERBY, OAKS TICKET SALE
RESCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY, JAN. 6 AT 12 P.M. EST

Churchill Downs’ online sale of limited two-day Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks ticket packages, which was delayed Wednesday by a potential data error with its new online box office, has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 6 at noon EST. A total of 3,000 seats have been allocated for this online exclusive at http://tickets.churchilldowns.com.
 
“Our concern regarding a potential data error that temporarily delayed our online sale of Kentucky Derby and Oaks tickets has been erased, and we’re pleased to announce that those coveted tickets will go on sale shortly after the holidays on Wednesday, Jan. 6 at noon,” Churchill Downs Racetrack President Kevin Flanery said. “The customer experience with this first-of-its-kind online offering is paramount, and we truly appreciate our patrons’ patience as we worked through this process.”
 
As promised, reserved seating packages to be sold, which include tickets to both the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, April 30 and Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands on Saturday, May 1, include:
 

• Third-floor clubhouse box seats in sections 312-314 and access to the Secretariat Lounge, an exclusive, upscale, indoor hospitality area that will feature premium gourmet food, an open bar, televisions, betting kiosks and live music between races (50 boxes or 300 seats which range from $6,132-$6,390 per six-seat box);
• First-floor clubhouse box seats in section 111 (166 boxes or 996 seats which cost $1,500 per six-seat box);
• Second-floor grandstand bleacher seats in sections 222-225 (300 seats which range from $214-$225 per seat); and
• First-floor grandstand bleacher seats in sections 121-128 (1,404 seats which range from $172-$207 per seat).
  

Ticket prices vary based on location. There is a purchase limit of six seats or one box per order. Those who want to purchase box seats must purchase the entire box, which includes seats for six. Tickets must be purchased with a Visa credit or debit card. Minimal ticket processing charges will apply.
 
This offer is exclusive to http://tickets.churchilldowns.com; no sales will be made in person or by submitting letters, e-mail or telephone calls to Churchill Downs.
 
Already available for purchase on the Website are advance general admission tickets to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, which cost $40 and $25, respectively, as well as reserved seat packages to other 2010 events, including six “Downs After Dark” nighttime racing events scheduled for June 11, June 18, June 25, July 2, Oct. 31 and Nov. 19.
 
Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will host the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands on Saturday, May 1 and the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, April 30. The track will conduct its 2010 Spring Meet from Saturday, April 24 through Sunday, July 5. Churchill Downs is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for a record seventh time on Nov. 5 and 6, 2010. Churchill Downs tickets are available at tickets.churchilldowns.com or by calling (502) 636-4400. Additional information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

While Ray is traveling back from Osaka (hopefully we won’t have to hear too much about jet lag once he returns to the United States), he wanted to reignite the debate over Horse of the Year. The following piece was submitted by Jeff Shapes, a marketing communications consultant, freelance writer and horse racing enthusiast, not necessarily in that order.

By Jeff Shapes
There’s one overriding reason Zenyatta should win the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year over Rachel Alexandra, and it has nothing to do with their comparative records on the racetrack. No, Zenyatta has earned the honor because her electrifying performance in the Breeders’ Cup Classic flew in the face of the general negative assessment of her chances to win the event, while at the same time capping off a brilliant, undefeated career that put her into the discussion of who is history’s greatest female race horse. Now, if that doesn’t make her Horse of the Year, they might as well retire the award.
 
Yes there had been speculation that if Zenyatta ran in the Classic and won, there’d be a Horse of the Year debate. But in their heart of hearts, not to mention their racing opinions, those speculators, whether in public or not, didn’t believe Zenyatta had what it took to beat the “big” boys in the big race. Indeed, there were some who said she shouldn’t even run in the Classic, since there wasn’t really anything to gain. Better to protect her legacy as an undefeated champion with another romp in the Ladies’ Classic, than to go out with a loss chasing an unattainable goal.
 
Need some proof of how little regard the experts had for Zenyatta in the run up to the Classic? Despite being tabbed the pre-race wagering favorite, not one of the 11 media members whose selections were published by USA Today in its Breeders’ Cup preview picked Zenyatta to win. And east coast bias wasn’t in play. Joining writers from the New York Daily News, New York Post, Lexington Herald-Leader and Albany Times-Union in giving Zenyatta the thumbs down were the national correspondent of the Daily Racing Form, horse racing writers from the Associated Press and USA Today, an editor of the Thoroughbred Times, an on-air personality from HRTV and racing writers from the Los Angeles Daily News and San Diego Union-Tribune, in whose backyard Zenyatta ran all except one of her career races.
 
Want to bring in some more exulted names? Joe Drape of the New York Times did not pick Zenyatta, and neither did Steven Crist of the Daily Racing Form. The Washington Post’s Andy Beyer, inventor of the Beyer Speed Figure, the acknowledged statistical method for comparing racetrack performances under different race conditions? He labeled Zenyatta a throw out.

Luckily, Zenyatta’s connections had much greater faith in their magnificent mare than the experts.  Questioned for not shipping Zenyatta to a traditional dirt track to take on Rachel Alexandra head-to-head, team Zenyatta stuck to their guns of getting her ready for the Breeders’ Cup the best way they thought how. If that meant staying in Southern California and competing exclusively on synthetic surfaces, well that’s how it would be done. And though they never stated it, the guess here is that winning the Classic as a finishing touch on a Hall of Fame career, not to mention the historical achievement such a win would represent, was probably the long-range goal of those who guided Zenyatta’s career.
 
Of course, Rachel Alexandra’s connections, like most others in the racing world, assumed their filly had a stranglehold on Horse of the Year when she concluded her 2009 season with a win in the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga in early September. It was Rachel’s eighth victory in eight races, accomplished at seven racetracks in six states, with three coming over male competitors. Her campaign encompassed eye popping performances in such keystone events as the Kentucky Oaks, Preakness Stakes, Mother Goose Stakes, Haskell Invitational and the aforementioned Woodward, and was highlighted by either record breaking victory margins or historical firsts just about every time she left the starting gate.
 
With such a resumé, who could blame Jess Jackson for putting Rachel away for the winter, especially since she probably needed a rest after an exhausting year (visible in the Woodward). But, had the Breeders’ Cup Classic not been held on a synthetic surface, there’s little doubt Rachel would have continued her season and run at least one more race to conclude a campaign for the ages. After all, it was Jackson himself who announced his intention to run Rachel in next year’s Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs at the same time he said he would not run her this year on Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride because of his distaste for synthetic surfaces (or plastic as he labeled them).
 
Can we know how a Zenyatta-Rachel Alexandra showdown in the Breeders’ Cup Classic would have played out? Is there a certainty that had Rachel been entered in the race, Team Zenyatta would have taken her on? Would Rachel have performed as poorly on the synthetics as last year’s Horse of the Year, Curlin, and as other “dirt” horses seem to? These questions can never be answered. But what is fact is that Zenyatta showed up on Championship Saturday and won the most important North American race that’s open to all Thoroughbreds regardless of age or sex. This was no Raven’s Pass swooping in and leaving nothing behind but a few footprints.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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Unless you live in a cave without an internet connection, you know that this weekend (Friday and Saturday) is the 26th Breeders’ Cup Championships which are being held at Santa Anita Park in Southern California. There’s plenty to be said about the Breeders’ Cup’s 14 races with a total purse value of $25.5 million but we’d like to mention the other graded stakes that are being run around the country.

Aqueduct features the G2 Red Smith Handicap as Saturday’s sixth race. Grand Couturier heads up the field in this 1 3/8-mile turf contest for 3-year-olds and up. He has just one win this year which came in the G2 Bowling Green Handicap but has been facing much stiffer competition. Another interesting prospect is 2007 Arlington Million winner Jambalaya. Sidelined for two years, the 7-year-old gelding won his comeback race, an optional claimer at Woodbine. Is he ready to return to his former glory? Also on Saturday, Aqueduct will spotlight juveniles in the G3 Tempted (7th race) for fillies, and the G2 Nashua (4th race) for colts and geldings, both run at one mile on the dirt.

A contentious field is slated to run in the G3 Ack Ack Handicap on Friday’s Churchill Downs card. Ones to watch in the one-mile dirt feature are Riley Tucker (2-1), Jonesboro (5-2) and Greeley’s Conquest (3-1). On Saturday, it’s the fillies’ turn in the G2 Chilukki. Two very talented runners here–One Caroline, who was 5-for-5 before her last out, a narrow loss in the Louisville Distaff on the Kentucky Oaks undercard, and the amazingly consistent Swift Temper who hit the board seven times before her most recent start, a puzzling 10th-place finish in the Spinster (G1). Also entered is Dubai Majesty, coming off a stakes win at Keeneland.

The Meadowlands will present the G3 Pegasus on Friday night. Kiaran McLaughlin may have a rising star in the Shadwell-owned Iqbaal. The 3-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro has only raced twice, but he won both races convincingly as favorite.

Oak Tree has carded supporting Grade 2 stakes on both Breeders’ Cup days. The ninth and final race on Friday is the Las Palmas Handicap for distaffers going a mile on the turf. On Saturday, the Oak Tree Derby, run at 1 1/8 miles on grass, will follow the Classic. Battle of Hastings is hoping to conquer here; the versatile gelding has over $1 million in earnings.

For further information about the Breeders’ Cup entries click here.

I knew about Calvin Borel the rider but not Calvin Borel the writer. Borel, the winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby aboard Mine That Bird and the Kentucky Oaks and Preakness aboard the filly Rachel Alexandra, has come out in support of video lottery terminal legislation (VLTs, or slots) that is being considered at the special session of the Kentucky legislature called by Gov. Steve Beshear. The special session begins next Monday.

The following op-ed, signed by Borel, is being distributed by the public relations firm hired by the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP). – Ray Paulick

Justwhistledixie has been scratched from today’s Kentucky Oaks because of a stone bruise in a foot. The daughter of Dixie Union was the 5-2 second choice on the morning line.

By Ray Paulick

Click here to link to Kentucky Oaks day charts.

So many questions about today’s Kentucky Oaks program. Will Rachel Alexandra continue to dominate her division without breaking a sweat in the Oaks? Who will benefit from the scratch due to the wet track conditions of champion Zenyatta in the Louisville Stakes? How will the track (labeled sloppy early in the card) affect the day’s racing? And why on earth is HRTV’s Carolyn Conley wearing a potted plant on her head?

I hope to have those answers and more as I live blog the 12-race marathon Kentucky Oaks day program from Churchill Downs. I’ll be back shortly after 1 p.m. (Eastern) to cover the rich stakes program, culminating with the Kentucky Oaks.

1:10 p.m. … Well, we have a muddy, sealed racetrack for the Oaks card, which means the track superintendant rolled it tight to keep as much moisture from seeping in to the surface as possible. What often happens with a sealed track are speed biases early in the day and a more tiring track as the day wears on–provided there’s not a lot more rain that falls. Times can vary, but I’ve seen sealed racetracks rated sloppy that were faster than a dry and fast racing strip.

The early races yielded slow fractional times, with the winners either racing on the early lead or pressing the pace. The first race, a 1 1/16-mile allowance race, was won by Luna Vega and Shaun Bridgomohan, coming from just off the pace (fractions were creepy crawly :26.11, :51.23, :1:15.45, 1:39.30 and a final time of 1:45.64).Susies Gal, the early leader, finished second. 

The second race, a starter allowance, was won by pace-presser Multipass, who drew off from Lokomamma to win by four under Julien Leparoux (fractions were quicker, :23.93, :46.83, 1:24.65 and a final time for the mile of 1:38.12). The speed in the race, Lost Village fell back to last.

In the third, the A.P. Indy filly On a Roll broke her maiden under Rafael Bejarano going wire to wire to win by a half-length while setting moderate fractions of :24.11, :48.34, 1:13.60 and 1:40.29 en route to a final clocking for 1 1/16 miles of 1:47.27.

1:22 p.m. … Here’s a news flash. Friesan Fire is the early betting favorite for the Kentucky Derby at 4-1, with morning line favorite I Want Revenge second choice at 5-1, Pioneerof the Nile and (get this) General Quarters co-third choices at 8-1, and Dunkirk and Chocolate Candy next at 9-1 each. The Louisville bettors are obviously smitten by the Tom McCarthy saga, the story of the former hometown school teacher and principal with a horse stable and a Derby dream. I’m guessing the early play on Friesan Fire is based on his superior off-track form in the Louisiana Derby.

1:25 p.m. … Stlil catching up on the early part of the card. Senor Fuego charged from far off the pace to take the fourth race, a maiden sprint, but the fast  fractions set by Mighty Score (under that great judge of pace, Stewart Elliott) set it up for the John Velazquez ridden, Todd Pletcher-trained first-time starter by Speightstown. The fractions were :21.45, :44.96, and :57.76 en route to a six-furlong clocking of 1:11.03. 

1:35 p.m. … What happened to the racetrack after the third? All of a sudden, the fractions are ultra-fast.  Calvin Borel rallied up the rail from last place to win the fifth under Warrior’s Reward, closing fast under fractions of :21.93, :44.10 and 1:08.92 to beat the Grade 1-placed Munnings in 1:21.60 for seven furlongs, just 1 1/5 seconds off the track record. Fufty Too set the pace at 17-1 and beat just one horse.

1:55 p.m. … Apparently track superintendent Butch Lehr "opened up" the track after the third race, which allowed it to dry out and apparently quickened the track up almost immediately. As the day goes on, however, the track could become sticky and tiring, one horsemen told me. He also said the rail has been the ideal place to be so far, and that might not change.

One word of caution about track biases. Jockeys see horses winning on the lead, and all of sudden several of them will  gun for the front. That leads to faster fractions and completely different pace scenario, resulting in more winners coming from off the pace. Biases may not always  be what they seem.

2:00 p.m. … This isn’t Kentucky Oaks related, but until we get a chance to post it elsewhere, I thought I would pass on word that stewards at Delaware Park have decided to scratch the two horses formerly owned by Paraneck Stable, the operation run by Ernie Paragallo, that were entered to race on Monday in the name of Nob Hill Stable. Paraneck’s horses have been banned from racing in New York until a new authorized agent has been approved by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board to replace Paragallo.

2:02 p.m. … Is there a method to Butch Lehr’s madness? After opening the main track for races four and five (the sixth, the Aegeon Turf Sprint was on grass),  he’s  floated it again, sealing it back up. Should we look for a frontrunner to win this next race, the 1 1/6-mile Louisville Stakes (the race from which Zenyatta scratched)?

2:05 p.m. … Catching up on the sixth race, the Aegon Turf Sprint went to course specialst Chamberlain Bridge,  a War Chant gelding winning for the third time in as many starts on the Churchill Downs turf.  Garrett Gomez rode for trainer Bret Calhoun. Cannonball finished second, with Smart Enough third. 

2:10 p.m. … Are we going to have an inquiry after Miss Isella and Calvin Borel bulled their way through a narrow opening on the rail and past unbeaten One Caroline to win the Louisville Stakes? She clearly leaned out and into One Caroline and Edgar Prado near the eighth pole. The two fillies appeared to bump solidly,  then Miss Isella drew off to win by three-quarters of a length on the same track on which she won the Fall City Handicap last fall. Ian Wilkes trains Miss Isella for Domino Stud of Lexington. One Caroline was losing for the first time in six starts for  G. Watts Humphrey Jr. and trainer Rusty Arnold.  Swift Temper finished third.

There was no inquiry.

"The other filly didn’t give me much of a fight. It looks like she fell to pieces," Borel said of One Caroline. "She hung in with me for six or seven strides  and  run out of horse. My filly loves this track, though, you couldn’t imagine. She just glides on it." The winner is a daughter of Silver Charm, who showed a lot of heart throughout his career, including the 1997 Kentucky Derby, which he won by a head. She was bred by her owners.

Borel, the regular rider of Oaks favorite Rachel Alexandra, said he thinks that filly will just love the track condition.

Miss Isella paid $19.40 after completing the mile in 1:36.68.  One Caroline went right to the front and set fractions of :23.96, :47.65 and 1:11.72 before being hooked first by Swift Temper on the turn for home and then by the winner.

3:10 p.m. … Last year’s 2-year-old filly champ Stardom Bound may be on the sidelines for now,  but IEAH Stables and their partners have another star filly on their hands in Laragh, who wired the field in the 1 1/16-mile Edgewood Stakes, the eighth race on the Oaks Day program. Ridden by Edgar Prado and trained by John Terranova, Laragh was never seriously threatened as she rolled to her fourth win in eight lifetime starts, winning by about 1 1/4 lengths over the fast-closing Magical Affair. Banker’s Choice was third. 

Laragh showed good early speed to get the lead, then relaxed beautifully, setting fractions of :23.57, :48.43, 1:13.04 and 1:37.32, with a final time of 1:43.88. Prado used the whip twice in deep stretch to keep Laragh’s mind on business. Laragh was coming off a fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 Comely at Aqueduct on a sloppy track, her worst career performance. She, along with Stardom Bound, is a gray daughter of Tapit, the Pulpit stallion standing at Gainesway Farm. Mike Ryan bred Laragh, who was produced from the El Prado mare, Rose of Summer.

3:30 p.m. … Scratch Justwhistledixie from the Kentucky Oaks…apparently a stone bruise that isn’t serious but enough to take her out of the race.

3:55 p.m. … Another rallying winner up the rail, as Bullsbay under Jeremy Rose got up in the final sixteenth of a mile to defeat Cool Coal Man in the Alysheba Stakes. The 5-year-old son of Tiznow was winning at Churchill Downs for the third time in as many starts for trainer Graham Motion. He covered the 1 1/16-miles in 1:44.29. Informed and Garrett Gomez set the early fractions (:24.55, :48.72, and 1:13.57) and was tackled by Cool Coal Man and John Velazquez on the turn for home. Cool Coal Man appeared headed to victory, but Rose shot up the rail after racing in mid-pack to the stretch and got the narrow victory. Cool Coal Man was second, with Star Guitar third and Informed fourth. The winner paid $8.40.

4:40 p.m. …. After a brief (if late)  lunch interlude, I realized that the 10th at Churchill Downs, the American Turf Handicap, may be the only good betting race left on the card. Rachel Alexandra will be 1-9 to win the Kentucky Oaks and the 12th race of the day, a maiden race scheduled on turf, has been scratched down to four horses as a main track event. Tough to make much money or "get out" under those conditions.

The American Turf has a field of nine 3-year-olds, with the rail horse, Stormalory, coming off a narrow win at Keeneland in the Transylvania Stakes, the 2-1 favorite. I think a better alternative in the race will be Battle of Hastings, trained by Jeff Mullins and going for his third win in a row after running poorly in his U.S. debut.  The Royal Applause gelding won two of five in England last year at 2. Skipadate, a Mark Casse-trained colt by Skip Away, took some early money in the wagering, perhaps because of the troubled trip he had in the Transylvania when lacking room at the three-eighths pole and going very wide into the stretch.

4:55 p.m. … The American Turf  was a "get out" race for whoever had the 45-1 shot Orthodox, who tracked the early pace of Turfiste, then grabbed the lead in the final furlong and held Battle of Hastings at bay to win by three-quarters of a length. Stormalory was pulled up on the backstretch of the 1 1/16-mile race.

The winner, a 3-year-old by Pulpit, was ridden by Jon Court and is trained by John Glenney. He was winning for the third time in nine starts and this was his first stakes victory. Jockey Tyler Baze had to fight to keep Battle of Hastings from lugging in down the stretch, compromising his chances after getting a good early trip in third position as Turfiste set fractions of :24.23, :48.86, and 1:13.86 for the opening six furlongs. Orthodox covered the distance in 1:44.17 after a mile split of 1:38.15. The turf course was rated good by Equibase.

We’ll try to get an update on Stormalory as soon as possible.

We’re going to see if we can the Bravo channel to watch the Kentucky Oaks, which it’s been rumored will be shown between features on lifestyles of the housewives of Jefferson County (Ky), reruns of Make Me a Supermodel, and the debut of I’m a Horseplayer: Get me Outta Here.

5:00 p.m. … Seems like a regular horse racing show for the first minute, with NBC’s Bob Costas setting the scene…then it’s on to the fashion….Nancy O’Dell wearing a silly hat and promising to tell us all about the fashion and food (hot dogs?) of Oaks Day. Then a quick shift to NBC’s Donna Brothers and Bethany Frankel (who seems like a perfectly awful person and is one of the Housewives of New York). Back to Nancy O’Dell again, this time with NBC’s Bob Neumier (nice pink tie, Bob!). Nancy O’Dell says she looks at the horse’s asses for her handicapping. Neumier seems rightly stunned.

I may have to switch back to HRTV.

5:05 p.m. … I’m a glutton for punishment. Bravo now has ex-footballer Tiki Barber (nice pink tie, Tiki!) interviewing a top chef (I guess that’s another Bravo show), who is explaining  how to make bread pudding…a racetrack staple if I ever heard of one. Goes down really well after a dog.

5:07 p.m. …  A serious note: the switch to Bravo was a good fit for this year’s Kentucky Oaks and the emphasis on breast cancer awareness by Churchill Downs. Many of the sporting world’s biggest events involve charities, and this year’s Oaks is a fund-raiser for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the leading breast cancer education and  research organization. (Click here to read Brad Cummings’ Paulick Report Good News Friday article sponsored by Liberation Farm on this issue.) A parade of cancer survivors around the track has the Churchill Downs crowd cheering, and Donna Barton does an interview on horseback with breast cancer survivor  and retired jockey Patti Cooksey, who now works for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. It’s all good.

5:15 p.m. … Bethany Frankel ("I don’t mind being judgmental," she says…so she really is trainer Bobby Frankel’s daughter!) picks the winner of a hat contest that is part of the show. HRTV’s Carolyn Conley didn’t make it to the finals with her potted plant hat. Haven’t seen a horse yet on the Bravo telecast, but I’m sure we will sooner or later.

5:20 p.m. … It’s the dynamic handicapping duo of Neumier and Mike  Battaglia (nice pink tie, Mike!), who’d have a hard time picking winners in a walkover. Battaglia tells people not to bet on the race…just watch it and enjoy. Let’s hope Bob Evans, the Churchill Downs chairman, isn’t watching. CDI doesn’t make money by having people just watch a race.

5:25 p.m. … Tom Hammond and retired Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens make their first appearance on the show and start talking about the horse race to come. (NIce pink ties, fellas!) And there are the horses in the paddock.

Another serious note: the Make a Wish Foundation has a young girl, Rachel Mattson, the filly’s namesake, brought next to Rachel Alexandra and she’s given a souvenir pink halter with the filly’s name on it, and jockey Calvin Borel goes out of his way to greet Miss Mattson.

5:35 p.m. … There’s a lot of talk about Rachel Alexandra being nearly unbeatable, but we’ve yet to see any of her dominating performances via videotape on the telecast….just lots of voiceovers by Stevens and Hammonds as they show the paddock scene. I’d love them to show the replay of the Fair Grounds Oaks, where Borel spent most of the final sixteenth of a mile celebrating, doing everything but flipping the bird to the jockeys who were racing behind him that day. He was told to tone it down a bit for the Medaglia d’Oro filly’s next winning start, the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

Rachel Alexandra comes into the race off a four-race winning streak that began last November in the Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs. Prior to that, she’d won 2-of-5 starts for trainer Hal Wiggins and her owners, L and M Partners. The Kentucky Oaks is Rachel Alexandra’s first Grade 1 race.

5:45 p.m. … I’d guess 18 lengths (it was 20 1/4, officially). Rachel Alexandra just destroyed her opposition in the Oaks. Calvin Borel actually gets paid for that ride? Other than a few looks back to his inside and outside, Borel sat chilly as a statue down the stretch after Rachel Alexandra took the lead from pacesetter Gabby’s Golden Gal inside the five-sixteenths pole. "It’s the greatest horse I’ve ever been on in my life," an emotional Borel said of the long-bodied filly in a post-race interview with Donna Brothers. of NBC.

"Tremendous," Hal Wiggins said to NBC’s Kenny Rice. "More than what I thought I had to tell you the truth." He was asked about running the filly in the Kentucky Derby and said it "never entered my mind," though added he might think about it as he soaks in the victory.

Rachel Alexandra covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48 4/5, following early fractions of :23 3/5, :47 2/5 and 1:11 4/5, but it wasn’t the time that she posted as much as the manner of this victory. I’ve only seen one filly win by a bigger margin, and that was Landaluce winning the six-furlong Hollywood Park Lassie Stakes  (since renamed the Landaluce) by 21 lengths. The quality of Landaluce’s competition in that Grade 2 race wasn’t that strong, and neither was this year’s Kentucky Oaks, but when you put that much daylight between yourself and your foes, it is spectacular, no matter who you beat. Only Secretariat’s 1973 Belmont Stakes victory by 31 lengths was more dominating, at least in my memory.

Stone Legacy, one of three fillies entries from the barn of D. Wayne Lukas (trainer of Landaluce), finished second, with Flying Spur third.

Dolphus Morrison, the breeder and co-owner of Rachel Alexandra, said he has no regrets not running his filly in the Kentucky Derby. "No sir," he told Bob Costas. "The Triple Crown races are a showcase for the future stallions of our industry and fillies should run with fillies and stallions with stallions."

I’ve got a feeling the connections of the 20 colts scheduled to run in the Derby aren’t regretting his decision, either.

That’s it from Ray Paulick

Postscript: Stormalory, who pulled up as the favorite in the American Turf, was euthanized because of multiple fractures to his left front leg.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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