LAS VEGAS – One of the big questions heading into Selection Sunday was whether undefeated Wichita State deserved a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
The Shockers are the first team since the famed 1990-91 UNLV team to enter the tournament undefeated, and most people felt that was enough to warrant a No. 1 seed, while others said their schedule wasn’t strong enough, and surely they wouldn’t be undefeated if they were in one of the major conferences.
The last time Troy Bainum felt this bad was on a cold night at Hollywood Park in December 2004 when he watched helplessly as his stable star, Black Bart, tried to stand on a fatally shattered hind leg sustained while running in the Native Diver Handicap.
“He couldn’t put any weight on it,” Bainum said at the time. “There was no support from the ankle down. There was nothing you could do but give him a big hug and a kiss, and then go cry for about three days.”
This is a big week for Tom and Debi Stull of Tommy Town Thoroughbreds. Their investment is considerable. Their name is on the product, with a lot of talented people in the mix. And yet there is no guarantee of a happy ending. On the contrary, such endeavors fail miserably far more often than they succeed.
They are also running a horse in a Grade 1 race.
Ballots for this year’s nominees to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will be sent to the electorate this week, with four new inductees to be announced April 25.
While voters may vote yes or no on each of the 10 nominees, with the four top vote-getters winning election, this year’s lineup strikes me as lopsided. While all 10 finalists, winnowed by committee from more than 50 initial nominees, have their merits and none would darken the Hall by their inclusion, three of them have such overwhelming credentials that the only tight race should be for the fourth spot.
There are four jockeys nominated for the Hall of Fame this time around – Alex Solis, Chris Antley, Craig Perret, and Garrett Gomez – but first, a reminder that the Thoroughbred racing Hall of Fame is among a handful of such sporting institutions that honor their players while they are still playing. Last weekend, Hall of Famers were in action across the land.
Sometimes, you know in November. Many years, it is April, or even Kentucky Derby Week.
You see a horse and say, “That is the one.” Given that I am in the middle of chasing basketballs around the country, I will admit that I had not seen a single one of California Chrome’s races until I fired up my laptop to watch the San Felipe Stakes last Saturday.
Something was missing over the last six months on the Maryland circuit. Actually, someone was missing.
Abel Castellano, who won almost 700 races riding at Laurel Park and Pimlico since 2003, tried the New York circuit. He just returned to Maryland.
When Band of Joy was entered at Gulfstream Park last week, most bettors understood that his stamina was a crucial issue in handicapping the race. The horse’s best performances had come in five-furlong sprints on the grass, and now he would be trying to run a much more challenging distance, 7 1/2 furlongs.
They’re off and jumping again this coming week in Cheltenham, somewhere deep in the English countryside, which gives an American poser like yours truly a chance to flaunt his abject ignorance when it comes to the National Hunt world of top-class steeplechasing.
There are a lot of big sports weeks here.
We get big crowds that come here to watch the Super Bowl and the NCAA tournament. The Kentucky Derby is a big draw, as is the Breeders’ Cup. But for all of those events, visitors gather to watch them on big-screen TVs (and, of course, to wager on them). Vegas does host many live sporting events, though we’re best known for hosting major boxing matches and MMA fights and the National Finals Rodeo.
