Derick Giwner

Branch Rickey’s statement that “luck is the residue of design” is certainly true. If you prepare and develop a strong strategy, you are more likely to succeed. However, regardless of your skill and preparation, chance always has the final word in your final results.

As much as I believe that harness racing should be the dominant equine sport, even I have to yield when it comes to the Kentucky Derby. I’d like to say it is Graduate elimination night, but that just doesn’t have the same ring to it. A bunch of press releases hit my inbox yesterday and rather than just post stories that have at least as much fluff as practical content, I figured let’s cover it here with a bit of commentary. But before I get started one other item jumped off the page at me.

Clear skies may have been a deciding factor in Derick Giwner's winter success at New Meadowlands | Photo by Lisa Photo I did it!

Trainer Casie Coleman is one of many in racing using Twitter | Photo by Michael Burns Once a year I revive the column Clyde Hirt made famous in Sports Eye – Impertinent Questions. It gives me the chance to get a dozen or so thoughts off my chest with some quick shots.

The author driving trotter Christy Rae | (photo by Mike Lizzi) I will be on hand at Monticello Raceway this Thursday (April 12) for the 14th annual Passover Trot, a race for drivers of Jewish descent. Well, that is only a half truth. Typically the Passover get-together for us Matzoh-loving menschen is a Pace, but after 13 consecutive pace races, 2012 will feature the Passover Trot.