Your right. Did not look close enough. He asked for a race, but this definately not the race he was hoping for.

I guess this is GP's roundabout way of admitting they should never have moved the Florida Derby from its mid-March spot.

Now that the Tampa Bay Derby has gobbled up prestige and significance with a bullet, GP is seeking to destroy it by throwing in this banana peel. Should be good for racing.

Santa Anita did the same thing in the mid '90s, when they made the restricted Santa Catalina an open (and eventually graded) race in mid-January.

They were tired of seeing already established horses like Gate Dancer, Snow Chief, Tabasco Cat, and Tank's Prospect ship up to San Francisco to run in the El Camino Real Derby, especially after all of those later won the Preakness Stakes.

That kept them in Broward county. The end of the chute is actually in Dade county. There were a few political issues to be settled before they could go to the full mile.

Not that Timely Writer isn't worthy of a race in his name but it isn't there another name they could have used?

The race was Timely Written just for these two horses, hence the name.

Vaht: The We Need You to Stay Here - Presented by Frankie's?

I was thinking "The Cupcake Classic"

right on.......They moved the fla derby which was another dumb mistake...now they want to mess with tampa because its in the right time frame for key runners. the management of that track is probably the worst in history.......look at that place...its the poster child of how not to run a race track. if it were not for the good winter weather........

Pletcher has better in his barn than Mo would face in this race at Gulfstream. He should just match them up and work them on his own. It's not like Repole needs the purse there anyway.

I forgot why I liked Repole, then I remembered he was a St. John's grad. That explains that.

If Mo runs at GP, they get the gate draw, but not a better race. Who the devil would show up to face him for $100k of ungraded money?
If I had a 3yo there is no way I'd want to take on the pro tem leader under those conditions. I want the $2m at Louisville in order to take on the top horse.

Exactly.

It would be him and 3 other hopeless claimers looking to battle it out for the 20k 2nd place money.

Of course, the TBD could be just the same, but with a $300k purse second is $60k in graded money.

Uncle Mo To The Timely Writer
 

Uncle Mo is quoted at the bottom...

Kentucky Derby Favorite Uncle Mo Targets Timely Writer

As First Choice For Three-Year-Old Debut

Whitestone, NY – February 22, 2011 - The connections of undefeated two-year-old champion Uncle Mo announced today that their first choice for the Kentucky Derby favorite's three-year-old debut will be the March 12 Timely Writer at Gulfstream Park.

Following a strong five-furlong breeze on Sunday at Palm Meadows, trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Repole said Uncle Mo would point toward the Timely Writer, with the second option being the Grade II Tampa Bay Derby on the same day if the former race failed to fill.

“The Gulfstream Park surface is very similar to the surface that Mo’s training on every day at Palm Meadows” Pletcher said. “There’s also the advantage of a twenty-minute van ride to Gulfstream as opposed to a four-hour ride to Tampa Bay. Mo’s been training exceptionally well since his return and I am very confident and comfortable with either the Timely Writer or the Tampa Bay Derby."

Prior to defeating a stellar field of 10 in the Nov. 6 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs, the talented colt captured the prestigious Grade l Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 9. That victory was preceded by an astonishing 14-length maiden win at Saratoga Race Course in August of 2010. His perfect three-for-three record (and a combined winning margin of 23 ¼ lengths) earned him a 2010 Eclipse Award for Champion Two-Year-Old Colt.

“Our number one goal and focus is to do what's best for Uncle Mo to have a very healthy and successful three-year-old campaign,” Repole said. “Mo has more than enough graded earnings to qualify for the Derby and we both feel that the Timely Writer will set him up perfectly for the April 9 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct en route to a start in the Kentucky Derby on May 7. In racing, there’s no one’s opinion I trust more than Todd Pletcher’s, and just knowing how excited he is about the way Mo’s training is very encouraging. With the race more than two and half weeks away, hopefully this will give Mo’s fans ample time to make arrangements to watch his three-year-old debut.”

When pressed for comments on the decision, Uncle Mo replied, “I just want to race. Either Gulfstream Park or Tampa Bay is fine with me. I hope my friends come out and support me.”

I wonder if the Timely Writer field will be as good as the one in the allowance race War Pass debuted in back in 2008. These were the horses he faced going in.

Web Gem


Chadwell


Jet Run


Dylan's Choice

I wonder how many horses Pletcher will have to enter to get the race to fill.

Will be epic

Feh.

Tampa just got a great betting race.

I'm thinking they aren't happy.