4/6 (SA): SANTA ANITA DERBY ~ 100-40-20-10

1. Roadster (Baffert/Smith)
2. More Ice (Hollendorfer/Franco)
3. Nolo Contesto (Sadler/Talamo)
4. Synthesis (Papaprodromou/Bejarano)
5. Instagrand (Hollendorfer/Prat)
6. Game Winner (Baffert/Rosario)

Oversubscribed
 

Yes and is wellposted in the 3 hole.

Anybody know whether the Arkansas Derby will be on Fox Sports channel or not and if so, will they also have the Oaklawn Handicap, Count Fleet and other races?

I think NBC Sports is going to have it. Not sure about including the other races.

Master Fencer from Japan is in and Anothertwistafate is ahead of Country House based on $$

We are covering it on FOX Sports Saturday at the Races on FOX Sports2. We will be broadcasting a show from Oaklawn on Friday ( the Fantasy ), Saturday, and Sunday ( the Apple Blossom ). I'll be there with Laffit Pincay and Tom Amoss.

Thanks

I’m thinking...

Vekoma in the Blue Grass
Outshine in the Wood
Instagrand in the Santa Anita

I’m thinking
Signalman or Dream Maker in the Blue Grass
Roadster in the Santa Anita Derby
Hoffa’s Union in the Wood
It looks like Hoffa’s Union opted for the softer spot in the Wood rather than tangle with that tough field in the Bluegrass .

I like Hoffa’s Union but it just seems like a lot to ask of him to win the Wood in his second start. I like the idea of betting against Game Winner. Roadster makes sense there too.

In the Blue Grass, I may not even wager. I like Vekoma a lot but 9/5 seems short for him there.

Vekoma
 

He'll be closer to 9-1 than 9-5

No he won't...and contrary to your insistent anti-NYRA stance, the Wood is a tougher race than the Blue Grass. The Blue Grass has three more starters but very little talent. It is completely up for grabs, unless Vekoma handles the 9 furlongs and runs his race....in which case he's a virtual cinch. I don't totally trust him at that distance either, but he's more talented than anyone in that weak field.

I highly doubt any reasonable person here thinks the Blue Grass is a tougher field than the Wood.

Im not even a reasonable person and the Wood is way stronger field than the Blue Grass. Very good betting race.

As for the Blue Grass I think Vekoma will run well and needed the last race. Win Win Win is another I want to see how the distance goes for him. That Tampa race wasnt the best trip. I think the horse could be factor in this race.

For the Wood, I am looking hard at Final Jeopardy to fit in my wagering, if he can tuck inside with Tax and just behind Overdeliver and NTB on the lead, then he might just pick up a piece or more. and having Franco up adds a lot...to me anyways

Outside of WinWinWins 99 at 7F he basically towers this field in figures and his last was a really good effort particularly when you consider the lay-off. He’s going to be a short price. I’ll be including a couple “clever” horses maybe but I think you’re way off here at least regarding odds.

Well Morning lines aren’t always accurate. In the Wood there is a maiden breaker who is 6-1 book in that supposedly stellar field. Or is that 6-1 another soft morning line that has been the norm since Donovan stopped making them. ? If Vekoma is 3-1 or less, he would be a strong bet against. I think the fave will be 4-1 or more in the Bluegrass.

Nobody said it was a "stellar field." It is a deeper/stronger field than the Blue Grass. That is what was said. That "maiden breaker" ran a huge figure, won by 15+ lengths, and would have been a shorter price in the Blue Grass. Nice shot at the ML, from NYRA of course, despite you saying Vekoma would be at least 5.5:1 ( i.e. closer to 9:1 than 9:5 ), which of course is idiotic. At least you only hedged a little with your new opinion.

Sorry I couldn't get those Phish tickets you asked for on Whitney afternoon a decade ago. I'm sorry for you that you have allowed this to morph into a tragic obsession against me and NYRA, and all associated people/things.

Stop it about phish. That’s bullshit and you know it. At Spac ? Capacity unlimited? When did I ever ask you to help me get a ticket for anything EVER ?

Who is a better morning line maker than Donovon ? And he stopped doing it why ? Because they wouldn’t pay him for doing it 6 days a week at Saratoga?

You just don’t like anybody who is the same age as you are who knows the difference between fact and fiction

Interesting horse. Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of Servis but...things could set up well for Final Jeopardy. For better or worse, I’m tossing Hoffa’s Union and Haikal and debating on how deep I want to go here, either 3 or 4 horses. If Not That Brady didn’t previously have the quartercrack issue, I’d consider him but got burnt in the Gotham and not ready to jump back on board.

#10 Outshine
#2 Tacitus
#1 Tax

And maybe...

#5 Final Jeopardy

For the Blue Grass, I swear I heard Mark Casse say that they’d be adding blinkers to Dream Maker. But the PPs don’t indicate that. Anyone hear anything about that? Did I hear things wrong?

Discussed on ATR. Casse tried them for a few days and horse hated it.

Thanks Steve.

It's all about the Phish tickets, and you even admitted it to me a few years ago at Saratoga when you were pretending that trashing me on the internet was just "kidding around." You have some warped idea on what constitutes friendship.

Eric has a completely different job now at NYRA than he did when he made the line, one that he is flourishing at, but also takes up a lot of his time, so he simply did not have the necessary time to make the line anymore. Everything isn't some conspiracy involving big bad NYRA.

You can make all the garbage up you want on this board, and on Twitter, but none of it changes the truth.

He wasn’t flourishing making the morning line? Was he the best morning line guy or not ? If so, shouldn’t he still be doing it ? Don’t they owe that the players ?

Stop with phish. It’s old ,lame, and not true.

Pretty sad when someone roots against people getting promoted. Really sad.

Where does it say anything like that ?
Still avoiding the question.....who makes a better morning line than Donovon ?

I'm not avoiding anything. I'm not here to answer your questions.

Here is where you said it...


Pretty scary when you can't even remember what you said from one post to the next. Do you have yourself on ignore? Not that I would blame you.

In fact, I'm putting you back there myself. I hope things get better for you.

After watching Hoffa's union drifting down the lane and on gallop out, I would need 15-1 to play.

Regarding Vekoma. If you watch the head on of the fountain of youth, maybe you could explain his action. To me his left front is like an egg beater. It goes way left before coming down . Like a left hook as opposed to a jab. He really had no excuse after a perfect trip and was life and death to nail Hidden Scroll for third in that 7 second last 1/16. My brother loves him too because of the way the track is playing . He says no more than 5/2, but with a 14 hoss field, I find it hard to believe that some crooked running guy is so low in price.

I think he’s just got a funky stride. The FOY was off the lay-off. He should be ready to go today.

Vekoma is just Ok. I'm 4 deep and didn't cover him today. I used 1 6 7 11.
Tacitus marches on as the Derby chalk.

4 Deep in what??? You had the 52-1 Horse???? Paco's Mom didn't even bet that one.

Is it me or was the 1 and 2 horses running sideways for a bit?

Good job Mo. you certainly were right on about Vekoma. It still looks to me like he’s about to fall over to me but he runs fast . Congratulations, hope you scored.

Vekoma was much the best. He was also 7:5.

Much the best? He was rumbling Stumbling home. I think Win Win Win ran the best race there and I think would have taken him given one more furlong. Did I not see something?

Lotta late money on Vekoma . 9/2...7/2 ......next thing you know he’s 7/5.

Tacitus needs to get keep better to win derby which he can but he’s not there yet. That wood wasn’t very fast and only tax showed up. Vekoma needs to run straight but that was good prep. Win Win Win ran pretty good and can improve next race. If game winner wins SA derby he will be chalk. Derby is still wide open and can’t wait to try to figure it out.

Vekoma has a weird stride ( to say the least ). He also likely doesn't want 9F. However, he was right on top of a fast pace and won comfortably. Win Win Win ran the best race? How? He was picking up pieces in a race that fell apart. This was a TERRIBLE field and under ideal circumstances he barely got second.

I know you like WWW, but like I said before the Tampa Bay Derby he feels like another one who needs 1 turn. That's where I would be pointing if he was mine.
I think things got pretty clear today. Bob has a power house 3. Mott has a monster who improves every race, and Vekoma ran better then I thought he would so he's a player, I guess. I'm really not sure he beat anything today. A few turf horses and Pletchers 4th string??

Tell me about it. I debated on putting a win bet on him. Saw him at 9-2 and couldn’t resist. I’ll take the win, just wish it was at better odds.