It is "closing week" for my Winter Racing Season, culminated with the huge Florida Derby Day adventure, and this year was an AMAZING day! Maybe the best ever with all the great people that made up the 16-strong party of friends and family. Check out the Derby Day scrapbook HERE. The shortened racing week kicked off with three abbreviated cards on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The lone multiple win of the week (other than the big Saturday card) came on Wednesday. And the ironic part about the two wins was they were the first two bets, the smallest wagers of the day BUT I won enough to secure a profit for the day! In the second Air Invasion was taking a subtle drop from OPEN maiden specials to a Maiden Optional which is a MSW for state-breds. Tracked mid-pack to the lane, got through late on the rail to be just up in time at a nice $6.60 payoff.
Came right back in Race 3, a non-winners of two lifetime going the abbreviated five panels on the all weather. Power Attack had a lot of questions - never raced for a tag, never been on the synthetic, and had not been out since May.....AND was going for a new barn. But got leading rider Irad Ortiz. Easily at a generous $9.80. So for the two minimum plays I received $41.50 back. Bet $30 on the other two runners who didn't hit the board, so I'm a winner :)
Thursday I only had three selections and missed on the first two. But ironically - and I say this frequently - the BEST Bet of the Week came in the 6th race, an entry level allowance for 3yo. On Breeders' Cup weekend at Churchill Downs, Knightsbridge debuted going seven furlongs. The Godolphin home-bred tracked professionally to the stretch and blew by handily to draw off by ten widening lengths in a stellar 1:22.4 earning a huge 92 Beyer figure. Plenty of time to recover until today and he's been working bullets. Had planned to be $15 but doubled that to a full $30 WIN bet. Right to the front and drew off in hand, geared down. The next day the connections said he'd make his next start on Derby Day in the Grade 3 Pat Day Mile. He looks every bit the part of a star in the making.
Friday I went 1-for-5 and was "saved" when Floribunda went wire-to-wire, holding on for dear life to score in the sixth on the turf.
Saturday: Florida Derby Day
Kim and I left the house about 10am for the 11:30 early post - not only to be there on time, but I had all sixteen tickets for the group and no one could get to the seats without the tickets. AND, currently - go figure - Gulfstream is hosting a Cirque de Soleil show - located right off the turn AND have barricaded off a big chunk of the parking lot for guests to the show. On Florida Derby Day? WOW. Pulled up about 10:45 and as we rounded into the parking lot, when we arrived at Gulfstream - there just getting out of their car were our best buddies, the Nelsons! They had on their Derby best, but what made me happiest was their adorable daughter Chloe was along. Last year we'd had such a good time with Jeff & Gina, as always, and I'd exchanged messages with Chloe - who's a FB friend of mine ever since she graduated from Cypress Bay where I worked with her Dad and had first met her. I told her she should come to this year's Derby and she said she'd like to. So when I had an extra ticket available about a month ago I reached out to her and she was excited to join us. She looked every bit the part of a Derby lady in a quite fancy dress, with a oh-so-sneaky cut out in the front and a big Derby hat. Hugs were exchanged and we headed in together. As we were walking in I got a text from our other best pals, Kathy and Ron Solerno who'd just arrived and were at the rail on the finish line. BIG hugs all the way around to begin the day!
Right back to the winner's circle in Race 6, the first graded event of the day - the Grade 2 Pan American going three turns. Early in the betting I turned to Chloe - who was flanked by her parents - and explained to NOT get excited when they turned for home because they had to go around a second time. Chole then told her Dad she wanted to make a bet, how did you do that. I offered to take her down and her Mom and Dad both said, "Let Mr. Love show you, he's the expert!" So we walked down together and I explained and had her repeat it back to me how to bet..... "Gulfstream, Race 6, $2 to WIN-Place-and Show on #2" who was my first big bet of the day. Kertez was one of two in here for trainer Christophe Clement, and as a Euro import I thought he held a big class edge. I took Chloe to "my girl Kimberly" and explained it was her first bet. Then Chloe stepped up like a real pro and made her wager. I then made mine as well - though for ten times as much! As the field rounded the far turn jockey Joel Rosario swung wide into the lane and had dead aim on the leaders. Could he get there in time. Collared the leaders with about 50 yards to go and edged just clear on the wire, much to the delight of young Miss Chloe who was cashing her first ever bet. I'd told her in front of her parents that WHEN we won she would have to do a video together to document the event. And so we did, and if you watch the video highlights below you can tell just how very excited the girl was. Made me very happy since I'd been a big part of getting her here :)
Winner - winner, chicken dinner - with HER VERY first EVER bet Chloe WINS!
Was a tiring fifth in the next, and then in Race 8 it was my BEST of the Day on Christophe Clement's Ozara, already a 2x stakes winner over the course. Sent off as the 4/5 favorite she was in a perfect spot turning for home. But she had to steady briefly and lugged in briefly bumping with a rival before straightening and finishing with a rush.....second beaten less than a length. That hurts. Not to be dissuaded I came right back and won the Sir Shackleton Stakes going seven furlongs when Oscar Eclipse pressed a wicked pace, got to the front and just held on for the win. Was even money approaching the gate but the late money went elsewhere and somehow he paid $7.80 allowing me to cash for almost $40. When I returned to Kimberly's window to make the last sequence of bets, after cashing my three winning tickets the tote machine showed "$30" so I reached into my pocket for cash and Kimberly said, she owed me money. Well that's cool!
In the next, the Gr 3 Orchid I chased the winner into the lane and just couldn't get by.....2nd. Then in the Gr 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks my horse, Ways and Means made the lead was clear and couldn't hold off the winner....2nd again. Ran a disappointing favorite in the Sand Springs Stakes and then a non-threatening 7th in the Appleton. Ironically in the first three of those losses the winners were ALL my second choice in my analysis and they paid: $4.60, $24.00, and $9.80. Sigh..... Now it was time for the big one, the Grade 1 Florida Derby for $1 Million and 100 points towards a berth in the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. About ten minutes before post time my son Jeff said, "So you really like Todd Pletcher's Fierceness?" And I replied that in his first and third starts - a debut win and a dazzling score in the Grade 1 BC Juvenile, earning him 2yo Champion status - he'd been tons the best and if that version showed up he'd win by a pole. In his 2nd start and then last time out, here as the 1/5 favorite in the Gr 3 Holy Bull, he'd had some minor problems at the start and just ran poorly. Which one would we get I explained to Jeff. I said if he did NOT show up I didn't have a lot of confidence in any of the rest, but I felt from what I'd read he WOULD show up. Right before the race I saw Chloe with a ticket and I said, "I see you've made another bet, and if I'm seeing correctly it's a little more than the first one." She flashed her big, pretty smile and held up her ticket proudly, "Oh yes Mr. Love, $10 across the board - $30 bet!" Fierceness smoothly, cleared to the front by daylight. As they began their journey down the backstretch and I could see how comfortable he was, I turned to Kim and said, "He's the best horse in the field and the way he is running today, he IS going to win by a country mile!" The field was within 3-to-4 lengths midway on the turn but jockey John Velazquez had not moved a muscle. They turned for home and effortlessly he drew off, under wraps by a Florida Derby record margin of more than 13 lengths.
I had Kim film my jubilant celebration. Big congratulations amongst most the crowd who'd gone with my pick, including big hugs from all the Nelsons. We agreed we'd meet here next year AND would plan on a post-Derby Day dinner. Including Chloe who again couldn't say enough about what a great day she'd had. As we reached the top of the steps the guys from Jeff's FAU staff also gave big hearty thanks and their adorable wives gave hugs and said they too would like to return next year. Just love sharing what I am passionate about with others and then having them be excited about the experience!
I'd also played a few races at Oaklawn - betting the first few with my girl Kimberly and the last couple online. Militant won the seventh, a MSW going two turns. And in the big Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, Bob Baffert's Muth ran off with the win. Ironically in last November's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Fierceness had beaten Muth by about four lengths and he was a good half dozen clear of the rest of the field. Looks like the top two 2yo are among the best 3yo this spring. But because of Churchill Downs' misguided and spiteful banning of Bob Baffert - indefinitely, Muth will not be in the Derby. But he'll be in the Preakness - or his stablemate will be. And that colt, Maymum is actually regarded to be better than Muth!
Florida Derby Day Highlights
Derby Day 2024
Moving on to the Spring-Summer-Fall Racing Season, and if you're following along, we'll be posting all our selections, analysis, and journals HERE.
Social Media this week......
Lauren Pastrana led a "parade" of "conversations this week as I interacted with her six times. I have to say that truly the highlight of the week, other than Derby Day, came when she messaged me on Instagram that she had been reading my Viking TV script and was very much enjoying it....her exact quote as you'll see below was, "Love it!"
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