my handle, my choice

[unusualpete]

this player won't be betting pimlico/preakness weekend.  why?  they're allowing baffert and his charges to compete.  therefore they lose my handle and the 50 to 100 bucks of rake i'd contribute to their coffers.  individually that's not much.  think if there's 100k players like me.  they'd feel it.  not gonna organize the cause.  but it's my money and i don't wanna contribute to a sham. 

[quickcall]

Same here. I will take a stand and do my part.

[mysaladdays]

Looks like Phipps Stable is boycotting Pimlico

And, IMHO, Its not just the drugs. We need to quit souping up the tracks a ridiculous amount on big race days. Every track should not play like Santa Anita.

[quickcall]

I hope more owners do the same. Send the message. If people don’t bet, that would help.

[ozzy]

The fields after the draw today don’t look that exciting....

[forego]

I'll be passing on Pimlico this Friday and Saturday. It'll be Belmont if anything at all.

[unusualpete]

a pal mentioned to me that it's not enough as a player to simply pass the pimlico cards this weekend. i should switch adw's from xpressbet to nyrabets since xpressbet is owned by stronach as are pimlico and santa anita. cdi is entity who's banned baffert. wouldn't it therefore make the most sense to switch to twin spires?

[elkurzhal]

twinspires is on the shit list for pushing Arlington into the grave.

[gam]

Has anyone signed up with Keeneland's ADW? Maybe that's an acceptable alternative.

[elkurzhal]

Keeneland select is operated by twinspires. they change the name, & I'm sure the $ gets chopped up differently, but the wagering platform is the one used by twinspires.

[forego]

I'm in NJ and am blocked by the state from using anything other than njbets through tvg to wager.

And I have to be in state to place a wager, really f-ing ridiculous.

[1hooper]

Can you use a VPN to skirt the NJ laws?

[tex]

Try being in Texas and wagering horses online.

On to the Preakness - if one is inclined to wager and not boycott.
How do you treat Baffert runners? Historically his charges have done well at Pimlico. If you think that is due to substances, does he typically give it again after the Derby? If so what does that mean for Medina since no second dose is coming - or is it?
Does it last long enough to carry through the Preakness and therefore Medina is good to go without fear of failing again?
Is this all a non-issue with regards to performance enhancement and race shape determines the outcome?
What about Concert Tour? Are they administering it to him in California and learned what they didn’t know after a failed test for Medina and now they can go undetected? Is he the one that romps? Was he backed off on after securing the Rebel and is now recharged or does the Arkansas Derby point to his abilities?
So many questions and angles to consider - and it’s a shame some of them are even having to be considered at all!
Which is most likely to play out Saturday?

[forego]

Medina Spirit doesn't win. Concert Tour certainly looked distance challenged last out. I 'd take Midnight Bourbon from just off the pace.

[quickcall]

tex, if you’re betting the preakness, why wouldn’t you bet the Baffert runners? He wins these races consistently.

And don’t forget to play the Baffert/Lukas exacta!

No need to waste time handicapping.

In my opinion, Baffert horses being allowed on any track right now is a lose-lose situation for everyone but he and his legal team. It’s really disgusting. The bettors and horse owners can change it if they worked together appropriately.

[unusualpete]

i should admit a healthy dose of hypocrisy. day in and out i'll bet into races that have doped horses in them. i do so because it's fiscally responsible and i don't think twice about it. it's contradictory to the decision to not play pimlico this weekend. i feel no shame about it and possibly i should. it's a devil's bargain. there's no logic to it. i just genuinely dislike to watch the sport's biggest prize go to a drugged horse. to play pimlico's cards feels like lending endorsement to something i hate. semantic as all get out as emotion driven choices sometimes are.

[mysaladdays]

May 12, 2021 10:06:29 GMT -5 tex said:

does he typically give it again after the Derby? If so what does that mean for Medina since no second dose is coming - or is it?

Oh, I wouldn't worry about it since MS will be retired to the breeding shed, if he wins this, before you have a chance to even ask that question again, or consider the answers   LOL.   LOL  

I made a decision this week to play out the rest of the TC races because I got to know the horses, their pedigrees, their running styles, etc.  Last year I was sure it was my last one, but for some reason I was more hopeful this year.   (bad guess huh?)  

Anyway, for me, either you boycott the race and if you do not, then you play it JUST as you would any other Preakness.  


THere are other more pressing matters in my life on which I am called on to "make a stand" and the Preakness and Belmont of 2021 aren't the hills I'm going to die on.      

But I most likely will follow thru with my thoughts last year about patroniizing over-the-pond races, ascot, etc. and skipping the US TC races until I see some changes.  Hong Kong and Japan feel pretty honest to me as well.   


It's not because I have great ethics........it's more because I simply don't ENJOY U.S. racing when I see all this stuff going on that upsets me.   I don't have another 50 years left on the planet, so I wish to truly love and enjoy the things I choose to particpate in.   Hope that makes sense to others who are not spring chickens anymore  LOL 

[cherokeescot]

I’m giving this weekend a miss.

If enough people do it maybe the powers that be will realize that the betting public are not willing to put up with this crap anymore.

[goldandmyrrh]

I'm passing on this weekend betting at Pimlico. I won't even be investing 2.95 in a form sheet. I might watch the "big" race out of curiosity to see if Medina has his preak on. Also, more interested how the tv commentators comment on the whole situation since the KD.

.

[jolyb]

Not planning on betting the Preakness.  As for viewing the races, I'm of two minds.  In the past my wife and I would watch the full afternoon's races with a big bowl of popcorn and perhaps a cold beverage.  The undercard was often just as good as the Preakness itself.  This year I'm afraid that the discussion will be all about Baffert and medication issues rather than an enjoyable afternoon of racing.  There has been more than enough of that already.

[spiderjohn]

I get your initial and last message, Pete....a one track one day boycott will be lost a few hours after the fact. We don't make the rules, though we take the biggest hit for handicapping it all.
Can't drive yourself crazy trying to figure out who is legit and who is not. As always, the animal is the biggest loser.
At the poker room you have more control.

[5wide]

I'll be playing Belmont and SA , pass on Pimlico,but rooting for Rombauer. Also not betting any races with a Baffert entry.

[gam]

Pimlico site says they had record handle for BES Day.

[UpInClass]

[unusualpete]

Didn't get the mass exodus we were hoping for. Record handle both days. Players play.

[tc]

May 16, 2021 11:31:54 GMT -5 unusualpete said:

Didn't get the mass exodus we were hoping for. Record handle both days. Players play.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

[shoes]

Well fading Baffert was a good thing, he had 4 very short priced horses over the 2 days and got one 3rd out of it plus a 2nd in a 5 horse field.

[mysaladdays]

May 12, 2021 23:18:30 GMT -5 cherokeescot said:

If enough people do it maybe the powers that be will realize that the betting public are not willing to put up with this crap anymore.

The sheer number of apologists for racing's crookedness by the fans themselves is baffling, yet there it is, I read it every day on different platforms. 

Since they don't seem to want to "get it" then we will have to wait for Travis Tygart to make it clearer for them. 

And my sense about him is that he is going to make it VERY CLEAR. 


But that's just the drug part.  We have racing boards hiding drug positives, racing secretaries and gate assistants taking bribes from trainers who should know better, lying veterinarians  or those who just keep quiet when they have a duty to report.   (the day Dr. Arthur found out CHRB was meeting behind closed doors over Justifies positive was the day he should have picked up a telephone, IMHO). 


.    Maybe they need to do what they did at Penn Nat'l 2x and bring the Feds in.    (it's business as usual there, but they are a rather unique case). 

I'm done trying to handicap drugs, cheaters, racketeers, and abusers.  

[cherokeescot]

Have not made a bet since the Derby . Not missing it . Will see if I can make it through the Belmont !

[mysaladdays]

May 22, 2021 0:33:06 GMT -5 cherokeescot said:

Have not made a bet since the Derby . Not missing it . Will see if I can make it through the Belmont 

I'm having delayed reaction sort of like delayed grief. I will probably not wager the Belmont.

Plus how can I wager into a race where I can't even find videos of the horses in it. on the track they will actually be racing on? I saw ONE work and that was by RYW and it was at SA cement fast track which couldn't be more different than Big Sandy.

Where are the videos, I don't even care if they are just breezing, galloping, walking........something?


OR am I just supposed to trust the TAlking Heads......which I don't watch, listen to, tune in to, etc.  ?   I don't need anyone else's eyes, I have my own.