I got back into the groove on Saturday and played the races for the first time seriously since December. I'd like to think I am responsible for the Meadowlands going over $4M in handle for the first time since 2009, but it might have been more than just me :). Great work by the crew there for doing many of the right things. Work to do, but it's a good accomplishment any way you want to slice it.
Harpoon was the most overbet horse on the planet this Saturday in the Gotham Stakes - Sid Fernando liked him, said so on twitter, and I didn't think he had that much pull, but apparently he does. Strangely enough, he was the most impressive horse in that race for me, from a Derby-type perspective. He looked beat, but didn't get tired. He kind of kept right on going.
I used TimeformUS on Saturday, along with my jcapper sheets. I was impressed with the changes they've made since the last time I did a deep dive with them.
Leslie Joyce has an interesting story, and it does make you think when you hear about a Class II positive. Hers is nowhere near as advertised. You can read that on page 3 in HRU here (pdf).
Jerod's piece on Horseplayers, the TV show, has elicited a ton of response on the Paulick Report. I know it's a free country, with free thought, but some of those comments are pretty wild.
The Rainbow Six keeps chugging. Word is that the mandatory payout day may be sometime in June if it's not hit. The thing is, I don't and many of you don't care much about Gulfstream after the regular meet closing of at or near Keeneland. I hope they change that, maybe to Florida Derby Day. As you may know following the blog, I wrote last year when the pot got big that "no one is going to hit it", and it went about a week later, so if GP needs someone to hit it, pay me a few bucks and I will write another blog piece.
I have not watched the Academy Awards in like 20 years. When they snubbed Uncle Buck in the "people we lost segment" that was it for me. Like really. However, since most of you (if I check my twitter feed; you were playing Mountaineer with me) missed the awards, here's the story.
12 Years a Slave won best picture. I'm pretty sure this wasn't considered an upset. The worst actor in the Hangover did not win for his role in some movie I have not seen, which was good news for Hangover fans of Todd Schrupp's twin brother, Ed Helms. Matthew - I can't spell his last name so lets call him Matthew Leroidesormeax - won for his role in a movie I have not seen where he lost twenty five pounds or something. Betting actors or actresses who lose or gain weight for a role provides profitable ROI, and it was only enhanced this year. Sean Penn's mid-show tribute to Hugo Chavez didn't go over as well as he thought, with only 8 of ten in the crowd in tears. Not sure about that one, but I think it happened. The Academy of People, or whomever does the voting went overboard by giving Gravity a lot of awards. Ever since they blew it by not letting Star Wars sweep the awards in like 1977, they've been trying to make up for it with space movie honors. Anyway, all in all, as Burton DeWitt said, I don't think we missed much.
I prefer the Eclipse Awards.
— Burton DeWitt (@bsd987) March 3, 2014
Have a great day everyone!
2 comments:
Perhaps what the Meadowlands "did right" on Saturday was the rain dance that left Los Alamitos underwater, and unable to race. If the bulk of that additional handle came from suddenly trackless TVG players, it's pretty safe to assume that the mini-explosion was just a one shot deal. I've been around long enough to have seen even lowly Monticello experience 50-100% boosts in handle when all the daytime flat tracks were forced to cancel (back in the old NY OTB days). I guess the next few weekends will paint a clearer picture, and help determine how much the quarter horse closure benefitted "The Swamp"!
A quick check of Saturday's handle at Delta Downs shows a sudden spike of about $600,000 (eerily similar to the gain at the Meadowlands that same night). This gives even more credence to the theory that the flood that closed Los Alamitos that night also "flooded" the pools at the other TVG tracks. Not looking a gift handle in the mouth, but a betting man might expect to see more "normal" handles back in play this coming week.
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