TUCSON, Ariz. - Television's frenzied fortnight of deification and attempted resurrection of Michael Jackson has blurred the horizons of news this July.
Some significant stories have been underplayed, including one in racing. It would not have made television even if Jackson had not died, but it deserved far more play than it received in the racing press.
Trainers, quick, take a look down the shed row. Check out the grooms, those invaluable gatekeepers, and try to figure out which one just might be the next Marc Ferrell. Thank me later.
Ferrell was 17 when he was recruited out of a training course for stable help at Santa Anita Park by Don Ropp, Jack Van Berg's assistant at the time. It was 1987, and Alysheba had just won the Kentucky Derby, so you can say the energy was high around the Van Berg barn.
NEW YORK - The Breeders' Cup began what it considers a new era in transparency and accountability Friday with a national teleconference call summarizing the results of a long-range strategic-planning study that was presented to its newly configured board of trustees only a day earlier.
Some encouraging things were said that bode well for the future direction of the series, but as Cup officials acknowledged, the devil will be in the details of an as-yet undeveloped tactical plan to implement those strategic recommendations.
NEW YORK - Saturday's feature at Belmont Park is a Grade 1 race at 11 furlongs on the grass, the 51st running of a race named in honor of that noted turf marathoner Man o' War.
I kid. Man o' War, widely considered one of the three best American racehorses of the last century, is more than deserving of a Grade 1 race in his honor, but while winning 20 of 21 starts in 1919 and 1920, he never set foot on grass except to eat some.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Any sober analysis of the May 23 Milady Handicap at Hollywood Park would conclude that Life Is Sweet and Garrett Gomez tried every trick in the book to beat Zenyatta, short of calling a fake time-out around the turn. This is how you want a horse you backed to lose a race, without excuse or regret, honor intact, determined to fight another day.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Out West, the chatter this weekend is all about the $700,000 Hollywood Gold Cup, which will be run for the 70th time Saturday. But before too long, a visitor at the Old Friends equine retirement community in Lexington will be able to eavesdrop on the tall tales told by the celebrity pensioners and hear nothing but "Hollywood Gold Cup this" and "Hollywood Gold Cup that."
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Paperwork is part of being a trainer. They grit their teeth and live with it. So there he was, going on six years since he had run a horse at Hollywood Park, presenting himself at the California Horse Racing Board licensing office Friday morning to pay the fee and fill out a stack of forms. Insurance liability forms. Financial disclosure forms. Personal history forms, including brushes with the law.
NEW YORK - The Breeders' Cup's Win and You're In program, a series of 62 races whose winners earn guaranteed starting berths in the 14 Cup races Nov. 6 and 7, has been widely criticized in the past for inconsistencies in the quality of races chosen for inclusion. This year's program, which began domestically this weekend with two races at Monmouth, not only failed to address those flaws but also introduced a strong element of regional imbalance that further undermines its credibility.
Consider some of the following anomalies:
NEW YORK - It's one of those years when July 4th actually falls on a Saturday, yielding a massive national stakes schedule from sea to shining sea. There's everything from the $750,000 United Nations Handicap at Monmouth to the $4,700 Independence Day Handicap at Wyoming Downs.
