Thursday, February 11, 2010

Wow

I have my TV on the racing channel today, and about 2:45 I see the track announcer at Oaklawn announce that the Apple Blossom Stakes has been moved back. Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta will meet on Friday April 9th.

The weird thing was, I did not really believe it. There was no press release, no story up on any of the top websites, nothing. After about an hour, the DRF picked it up, and it appears to be true. It is a pretty good illustration that we do not need press releases much anymore. Word filters through.

Some folks are upset it is a Friday instead of a Saturday, but that is irrelevant to me. If people want to watch it, they will find a way to watch it. Seabiscuit versus War Admiral in 1938 was on a Tuesday, and they did not have what we have today: Cable racing channels, live video streaming, and all the rest.

Not to mention, they will probably run the race late in the card anyway. It will be an early evening affair.

Saturday appears to be a bad day to run it, because of competition. The FA Cup semi's are that day for our UK friends. It is also the day of the Grand National. Saturday as well has full coverage of the Masters on moving day. Friday's Masters coverage is somewhat abbreviated. It is also the only sporting event of any significance on that Friday, so people popping over for the race is not a stretch.

Regardless, this is good to see, if it happens. When betfair has the odds up, I wonder what they will be. If there is an option of "none of the above" it might be heavily underbet. That's my long-winded way of saying, I will believe this match up happens, when I see the entries.

3 comments:

The_Knight_Sky said...

Wow!

What track is that in your blog header?

Just wondering. ;-)

Pull the Pocket said...

Flamboro Downs near Hamilton Ontario. Head past the steel mills, hang a left at Clappison's Corners, and there you are :)

PTP

The_Knight_Sky said...

yes. tons of good shippers from Flamboro and Vernon Downs made good at The Big M in the late 80's and early 90's.

That's very clever photography.
For a moment there I thought that looked like the ye olde clubhouse section of The Meadowlands when I first started out.

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