Day 1

Saturday December 6

Opening Day

It's always a highlight of not only my racing adventures, but of the entire year's adventures both on and off track, when it's Opening Day at Gulfstream Park.  As has become the tradition, it was "Claiming Crown Day," the first of several "Super Saturday" cards featuring multiple stakes action.  Today it was eight added money features.  It has become a tradition to enjoy Opening Day with Kim, dating back several years to when Gulfstream used to open the first week of January and it was almost always on our wedding anniversary.  Because Kim was along I was very selective with my handicapping on the four other cards I looked at:  Tampa, the Fair Grounds, Aqueduct, and Laurel.  The weather, as it nearly always is at Gulfstream during the winter, was spectacular, and the racing was simply great.  We could not have had a better day - although I would have liked to have won just one or two more races to show a flat-bet profit for the day.  The first race on my sheet was the opener at Aqueduct, where unlike sunny South Florida it was gloomy, cold and raining!  The odds-on choice in the opener looked like a slam dunk to me.  Midnight Citra was coming off a best-of-the-rest second behind a lone front-runner.  The figure he earned that day when eight clear of the show horse was clearly the best number in the field.  And, it was Dave Liftin's "BEST" of the day.  I tripled the bet and as they hit the far turn Midnight Citra was in hand, about to run by the long-shot leader.  I was already thinking how I would describe this on my highlight video when I saw the horse coming on the outside with all the momentum.  Certainly Midnight Citra was about to lengthen stride and put him away, right?  Nope, ran flat through the stretch like he was tied to the rail and was outdistanced badly while second best, again.  Well, that's not what I'd had in mind to start the day!  But it wasn't long before I would start cashing tickets!  The opener here at Gulfstream was an entry level allowance on the lush turf course and my top choice was Costenia.  How appropriate, I thought after I'd handicapped the race, that eleven-time training king Todd Pletcher would send out the winner in the first race of the meet.  As they swung through the far turn Costenia was saving all the ground, but was about five off the leaders.  Top New York rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. moved off the rail and asked for him to run.  He was four wide as heads turned for home and then he BURST to the front with lightning acceleration and was quickly clear by daylight!  He won in a romp!  WHOOOO HOOOO! 

He had been bet down to 6/5 favoritism, but still, who's arguing with cashing for nearly $25 on a Pletcher runner?  In my next race I was at Laurel, where like New York it was sloppy going.  This was an allowance test going a mile and a sixteenth and I was on board with trainer David Jacobson's Wealth To Me.  Jacobson is one of the top New York trainers, especially in the claiming ranks, and I'd made several winning investments on his runners when he'd shipped to Monmouth this summer.  At this meet in Maryland he'd only sent out nine runners to date, but get this.....SIX had won!  The rider had won with both mounts and it looked like a solid play.  As they hit the far turn Wealth To Me was saving ground and looked ready to rally, but once they hit the stretch she seemed stuck in one gear.  Even the announcer noted she was spinning her wheels.  But then she was swung off the rail and in the clear three wide.  She seemed to enjoy seeing daylight and blew by the top two to win going away!  Two in a row!  Back at Gulfstream I thought maybe it was too much to ask, but still.....the second was another turf affair, but this was a MSW for two-year-olds.  And yes, there was a Pletcher colt, Confidant.  He was debuting today and was a huge 9/1 as they left the gate.  He was in good position to the turn and I thought, maybe I had a big score, but then he dropped out of the running and was a well beaten 8th.  At Tampa I was torn on Al Khazaaliya.  I'd scored with him at a juicy 4/1 in his debut at GPW, and he too was a Pletcher turf runner.  But why wasn't he running here today?  Why ship across the state to Tampa?  For softer company?  THAT would not be a good sign. But, I considered that there was only one allowance race at Gulfstream today, and Pletcher already had Costenia in that one.  The crowd sent him off at 3/5 and he was right there through the turn, but he didn't corner well and was fanned VERY wide into the lane losing valuable lengths.  He was closing fast, but the wire came up too quickly and he was second :(  The third race at Gulfstream was the first of the Claiming Crown Stakes.  I originally had another on top, but when I noted that trainer Jorge Navarro is a Gulfstream 40% Club member with runners in the first 20 days of the meet I elevated JB's Unc to my top choice.  He tracked the 5/2 favorite, my original choice into the lane, but was two back and seemed to be struggling to make up ground.  Jockey Paco Lopez worked him hard and moved him three off the rail.  Within a few strides he'd caught him and the two dueled to the wire at the first finish line right where I was standing......PHOTO FINISH! 

But from where I stood, I thought he was clearly the winner and said so as I filmed the finish.  And he was!  Through the first fifteen minutes of betting he'd been hammered down to 8/5 and was the chalk.  He had floated up to 2/1 as they approached the gate and I'd lost track of his post-time odds.  I was delighted at the nice $8.40 payoff which led to my collecting $42.00!  Very nice! 

Less than fifteen minutes later I was right back in the winner's circle, and this time in New York.  Son of Dixie had run in allowance company, and even a couple of stakes starts last winter - and competitively.  Today he was in a mid-level non-winners of two lifetime claiming event.  He was second off the shelf after a barn change.  He had sprinted in his last and was troubled at the start, but was flying late to be second while nearly five clear of the show horse.  The stretch to two turns looked to be perfect for today.  As they hit the far turn he moved handily to the lead, but a 12/1 longshot went right with him.  They battled through the turn but in spite of having the inside path the longshot would not go away as they straightened for the sprint for home.  It was a stirring stretch battle that Son of Dixie only was able to win in the final strides.  But, I'd doubled the bet and cashed for another $20 and change!  The fourth at Gulfstream was my "Best" on the Claiming Crown card.  Ribo Bobo had dominated this race and then two more stakes last winter.  He was coming in today off a series of races that were not at all like last year and on paper looked to have declining form.  But, his three starts before today this year were against far superior runners than he'd faced last year.  I thought he'd wake up in a big way today with the return to one of his favorite surfaces.  AND, trainer Jason Servis was a Gulfstream 40% Club member with dirt sprinters over the last two winters.  The crowd did not send in any early money, and it was the first bad sign when he was the third choice at 4/1 with ten minutes to post.  But "reason was restored" by post time and Ribo Bobo was the 8/5 favorite.  He pressed and was right there when they turned for home.....but had nothing for the stretch and was an even fourth :(  But I recovered quickly by winning my FIFTH of the day with my "BEST" of the day in New Orleans at the Fair Grounds.  Kim and I will be there this February for their Risen Star Day card - the equivalent to Fountain of Youth Day here - on the final day of prep races before the Louisiana Derby.  In their opener I liked The Sandman.  He figured to be odds-on here.  He'd debuted for Chad Brown in New York and broke behind the field.  He was FLYING late and was second just in front of Big Beast.  This is significant as that colt came back to win next out; then won an allowance and THEN won the Grade 1 King's Bishop Stakes.  Granted this was many, many months ago, but new trainer Larry Jones was 40% with runners making their first start for him and nearly 25% with runners off a long layoff.  The works were sharp and the crowd bet accordingly, sending him off at 3/5.  I thought this was a VERY fair price (considering he was at 1/5 for much of the betting especially!).  He stalked inside to the stretch, then dueled to the furlong pole before running away to a big win!  WHOOOOO HOOOOO!   This was my fifth win in just nine selections.  I LOVE GULFSTREAM!  But unfortunately this was not to be the way the rest of the day went. I was third in the Claiming Crown Tiara with Wild Swava when my third choice won easily at a huge 13/1!  I knew The Marylander for 2-year-olds at Laurel would come down to either Golden Years or Hear The Chatter and I went with the better price, only to see 4/5 Golden Years romp.  Courtney Ryan was a well-beaten 10th at 9/1 in the Glass Slipper at GP as my third choice won again (at 2/1).  In Laurel's Willa On The Move Stakes my 15/1 choice Unbound was sitting as the 9/5 favorite with ten minutes to post!  He was 7/1 at post time and ran to those odds, sixth.  Mr. Online was graded stakes placed on the turf and was the CLEAR class of the field in Gulfstream's Canterbury Stakes going five furlongs on the inner course.  He rallied strongly and was an oh-so-close second.  There was a trainer's objection for interference.......no.  At Aqueduct Willet was the 6/5 favorite in their feature, the Garland of Roses.  She came running and had all the momentum to sweep by, but hung late.  Then at Tampa I went with former student, now jockey Rosemary Homeister, Jr. on Got Winged in the Inaugural Stakes.  He was the 5/2 second choice but trailed throughout.  WOW.

I have to give myself credit however.  The next race on my sheet was my "BET OF THE DAY."  It was the Jennings Handicap from Laurel.  My pick, and the one who figured to be absolutely hammered at the windows was EIghttofasttocatch who was closing out his career today.  He had an excellent 16-for-48 overall record but was a sensational 14-or-27 locally - including the last THREE runnings of this race.  Of the 80 Beyers showing for the others, 79 were below all three of his last figures.  As if all this wasn't enough, he was THE LONE SPEED!  I went $50 to win!  One nice thing about today, which had come about this summer when Calder and Gulfstream came to their agreement, was that I could now connect to the TwinSpires web site.  This enabled me to watch simulcast races at my seat (instead of leaving Kim every fifteen minutes or so).  Eighttofasttocatch glided easily to the front as they ran down the long backstretch in Maryland going a one-turn mile.  As they moved mid-way on the turn the third choice was swooping up on the outside and then.......and then......and then.......the signal froze on my phone!  REALLY?  My BET OF THE DAY and the video freezes?  Finally I went down to bet the next race at Gulfstream and as I walked in I saw the rider turning Eighttofasttocatch around and his name listed as the unofficial winner!  Brief panic averted! 

His payoff of $2.60 was fair considering how much better he was than his rivals, and I was delighted to have a $65 winning ticket in my hands.  The 8th at Gulfstream was the Rapid Transit and it would be the last race we'd watch live before heading over to the Yardhouse (our favorite restaurant, even more so because it overlooks the paddock here at Gulfstream).  I liked Goodtimehadbyall who'd won this last year.  He sat off the pace, made his move, was clear at the 16th pole and was nailed in the final fifty yards.  GRRRRRRRR.  I watched The Emerald from the restaurant on my phone and saw Dreams Cut Short trail throughout, eighth, at 9/2.  Once we were home I watched the replays of my last four picks.  Viramundo was bet down from 20/1 to 6/1 in the finale at Gulfstream, the $200K Jewel but showed nothing - 12th. 

At the Fair Grounds I had three final selections.  Billy Two Hats was a big 9/1 and was right there from the start to deep stretch, a solid third.  That would have been nice.  Grand Isle was third as the 4/5 favorite in the eighth, a turf allowance.  But in the New Orleans finale I was able to get a score to close out the day when Contrarian Bet went to the front, dueled, was headed, but came back again driving between horses in deep stretch to score at a generous 7/2.  The $9.60 payoff was the biggest of the day, if only I'd had more than the minimum on him!  The good news for the day as I added up the totals was that I'd cashed on seven-of-twenty-three selections, a click over 30%.  The bad news was that five of them had been odds on winners.  I've found that to make money on any given day I have to have at least two nice prices or I need to win close to 40%.  I know it's easy to say, but over the 15,000 races I've handicapped over the last ten plus years I've come to be "ok" with the day if I can say one or two second place finishes would have made me a winner on the day.  And so it was today.  If Mr. Online wins and Goodtimehadbyall wins I cash for an additional $75 and it's a glorious day!  But, so it goes......it was a great day to be at the races; I enjoyed being back at Gulfstream, being with my honey, and was rewarded by hitting my "BET of the Day!"  I'll be back tomorrow, well virtually, for the Sunday card and my "BET OF THE WEEKEND" in the Adventura Stakes!