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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 9, 2023 19:04:35 GMT -5
Day XX
I have been writing the Daily Recap for many years but I can honestly say that this is the biggest train wreck of a Saratoga meet in the history of this contest. To be fair after the horrific weekend I thought that in the words of that great Irish philosopher “Things can only get better” but boyo was I D-Reaming . In addition to all races being off the turf and the steeplechase race being postponed today we had a tree falling down , knocking out the power to the racetrack and causing the cancelation of race 5 as well as a delay in races 6 thru 10. To add insult to injury , news broke late in the day that local hero Chad Brown , who has had a stranglehold on the trainers title for several years , had been busted by HISA for a drug positive.
Despite all the negativity we still had some contestants playing today although no one was willing to extend their Carbon ($5.50) footprint in the “opening” second race. Tricky Temper ($4.40) also failed to amuse in the third while Classic Catch ($7.00) was dropped in the fourth before Turffan proudly got us off the mark with Jody’s Pride ($5.30) in the sixth . Goldandmyrrh comfortably watched Clubouse ($3.30) take the seventh while Doctor Disaster was once again refused entry. In the eighth 5 Wide, Triguy and Italian Stallion were walking Into Happiness ($10.60) but we saw no love for Venti Valentine ($12.40) in the ninth. The finale ended on a positive note with Goldandmyrrh , Triguy and Sounds of Saratoga getting to the halfway point of the contest with Morethanafeeling ($5.70) that things were indeed going to get better.
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 10, 2023 18:28:59 GMT -5
Day XXI
Another day off the turf at the Spa and although that deterred most contestants Onion was still as keen as mustard and was feeling saucy when Honey Dijon ($5.30) came out on top in the opener. Phinney’s Harbor ($16.60) wasn’t a port of call in the second while poor old Billy Joe was the only one to jump on (or should I say off ) Tallahatchie Bridge ($5.20) in the third which caused us to be even more Truculent ($7.00) than usual after the fourth.
Meanwhile Pedalcar got back on the gold standard in the fifth with Miss D’Or Cherie ($7.60) while Joly B reminded us of his lacrosse playing days when scoring with Le Dom Bro ($6.30) in the sixth. The seventh race ended up as a match between Pletcher and Brown and at the end of a rather disappointing contest it was the 5 Wide selected Alpha Bella ($4.30) who finished on her Todd. Goldandmyrrh has been in a rich vein of form recently and continued his Magical Ways ($9.70) in the eighth . 5 Wide may have been a bit confused with the race numbers today but his luck did not desert him in the ninth where Suerte ($27.20) was el pick del dia (translation available on request ). Finally JohnnyBatTBD ended the day in style for our group as he once again hit the Pay Zone ($5.10) in the tenth.
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 12, 2023 8:13:59 GMT -5
Day XXII
A beautiful Friday at the Spa is normally a cure for all ills but after yet another boat load of scratches the main topic of discussion for the day was how many giveaway T shirts did the UIC crew manage to snag ? Moose’s Law ($3.80) states that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles every two years, a fact no doubt known by all 31,000 spectators after the opening race. Timely Conquest ($5.70) was an untimely victor for our group in the third while the other Chad Brown strategy proved true again in the third where Kalifornia Queen ($10.80) ruled supreme. We all missed Granny’s Connection ($2.90) in the fourth while Gal in a Rush ($6.00) was too fast for our crowd in the fifth.
Nobody was blowing their own trumpet in the sixth when Marsalis ($7.50) hit all the right notes but MVerrone did manage to finally get us off the duck when adding to his Trust Fund ($8.50) . No Cinderella story for our group in the eighth when Carl Spackler ($6.70) loped home in the feature. Papa Bear didn’t need a second opinion as Dr Ardito ($15.20) made it a four timer on what may be dubbed as a successful day for the afore mentioned Chad Brown. Meanwhile Jacck8 was no doubt talking in a Magniloquent ($5.70) manner after kaching in the tenth. Sicilian Grandma ($12.00) completed the granny double for the day in the finale but that was an offer that we all refused.
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Post by tenfurlongs on Aug 12, 2023 8:58:36 GMT -5
We purchased four extra t-shirts (3 XL, 1 M- only sizes offered- 100% polyester) which will be given away by random drawing to contestants that finish outside of the money positions (top eight) at the conclusion of the tournament. TW
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 12, 2023 20:22:05 GMT -5
Day XXIII
It was definitely a four star Saturday at the Spa with all races on the turf and full fields for all eleven races. Having said that Tall Paul ($3.60) was too short for us in the first but Onion was heard to exclaim Good Lord Lorrie ($10.60) after the second. I’m unsure if Doctor D or SpiderJohn have ever eaten at Sa Foridada ($6.00) but they should be making reservations after the third. Ten Cent Town ($18.20) didn’t even get two bits of our action in the fourth while Deterministic ($9.10) went unnoticed , even by Clement fan boy Otis in the fifth.
In the sixth Italian Stallion and John Halvorsen were successful with Richie’s Princess ($5.30) but disappointingly that was our last winner of the day . I was expecting that several of us would be heading to the window with arms wide open after the feature but defending champion Casa Creed ( $5.70) got less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. We had several contestants with a gut feeling in the tenth but it was Chileno ($17.60) whose order of magnitude was first .
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Post by phlierfreak on Aug 12, 2023 20:58:17 GMT -5
maybe you could ask a horse or two to autograph some of those shirts?
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 14, 2023 10:04:37 GMT -5
Day XXIV
Sunday drew the curtain on week 5 with long time contest leader Maumeeriverangler still well ahead but the peloton are being to bunch up behind him. For those who played there were some good price winners available and Merasmag got the ball rolling nicely with a Wonder Ride ($22.40) in the opener. PonyGirl made it a nice early double for the ladies with Dancing Spirit ($18.00) showing a clean pair of heels in the second. We blanked out in the next six races though but I was particularly surprised that none of our Canadian contestants scored with Zadorsky ($11.80) in the sixth. You sometimes need a thick skin to participate in this contest andJohnnyBatTBD, Turbine and Italian Stallion were happy to display this when He’s My Honeybadger ($9.20) took the pot in the ninth.
Trainer Adam Rice now has the remarkable record of 6 wins from 9 lifetime starts at Saratoga after Close The Game Sugar ($41.00) won the feature and although it might not be a Derby winning name it certainly moved Grommet up the leaderboard in what was a sweet end to the day.
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 16, 2023 17:31:36 GMT -5
Day XXV
Week 6 of this Saratoga nightmare meet from hell got off to its customary start with several races off the turf and more scratches than you would encounter on a get together with Freddy Krueger.
In the opener we decided to just let Bernietakescharge ($18.00) while there are obviously no Harry Potter fans in our group as no cheers were heard when Thestral ($3.50) winged his way to victory in the second. On a day of missed opportunities Merasmag was one of only two winners and no doubt will be investing some of our proceeds on a VegasWeekend ($7.90) after sparing our blushes in the third. We all Need Some Money ($7.20) after missing out on the fourth and GhostlyPrince ($36.00) was a longshot that none of us even dreamt of having in the fifth. 5Wide got us back on stream with Three Rivers ($7.70) in the sixth but another long shot proved to be our Achilles Heal ($37.20) in the seventh. We couldn’t even come up with the recipe for success in the feature despite it being handed to us on a Silver Skillet ($8.50). Finally we were lost for words in the finale when Pauciloquent ($14.60) had us all going home in silence .
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Post by mysaladdays on Aug 16, 2023 18:35:24 GMT -5
We purchased four extra t-shirts (3XL, 1 M- only sizes offered- 100% polyester) which will be given away by random drawing to contestants that finish outside of the money positions (top eight) at the conclusion of the tournament. TW Love orange, I live close to a lot of places where people both hunt and hike, plus I do sometimes do my walking on smaller local roads w/no shoulder....so I often wear this color for safety/visibility. Hope I can win one.
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 16, 2023 18:57:11 GMT -5
I’m pretty sure that’s red . Maybe time for a PC upgrade 😉
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Post by phlierfreak on Aug 17, 2023 13:21:58 GMT -5
so if you do win one of those shirts, hiking and hunting aside you could try out for quarterback at the local community college with this NO CONTACT shirt.
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 17, 2023 18:09:15 GMT -5
Day XXVI
Day 26 ( in case Spanky is reading this ) of the contest and there hasn’t been much movement in the leaderboard with many contestants hoping for a long overdue break in the off turf weather pattern . Several of us were looking for More Than Luck in the first bit our hopes were dashed when Ride Up ($4.10) rode up. Only five runners in the second but we were Not So Close ($19.60) as the longest shot on the board prevailed. Despite a Barrage ($8.70) of picks in the third we were not even close there either. Did you know that Hank Williams Jr. gave Waylon Jennings the nickname Watasha ($6.10) ? I guess not as “old number one” ended up number one in the fourth. It was beginning to look like we were not going to have an eye for a winner today until Eye 123 got a large bouquet with Flowers For Me ($28.80).
Doctor Disaster also got his hat in the ring in the sixth when Sugar Gray Leonard ($4.40) gave a knock out performance . TC has been on the periphery for most of this contest but made a Tangential ($8.00) move in the seventh. After three in a row though we tapped out in the eighth when we couldn’t Win For Gold ($5.40). Pedalcar was looking to do a vacation dance in the ninth but sadly all we saw after the DQ was a Ramblin Wreck ($3.80). Lots of opportunities in the last but we couldn’t find the Locke and Key ($14.00) to come up with the winning combination .
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Post by mysaladdays on Aug 17, 2023 19:11:35 GMT -5
I’m pretty sure that’s red . Maybe time for a PC upgrade 😉 haha, you are right. I'm using a Dual Monitor setup, with a samsung TV monitor as my clone, and my (old) Dell laptop, the latter never expresses colors correctly. I was looking at the laptop screen (mistakenly) which shows it as a bright orange.
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 18, 2023 15:09:50 GMT -5
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Post by tenfurlongs on Aug 18, 2023 15:19:15 GMT -5
Nice!! Let's upsize the photo, like the shirt was... TW
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docd
UpInClass Member
"Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, and more money." -Tom T Hall
Posts: 1,697
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Post by docd on Aug 18, 2023 15:50:23 GMT -5
Nice!! Let's upsize the photo, like the shirt was... Atta boy TW
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 18, 2023 16:28:39 GMT -5
I love it . It’s like a Liverpool replica soccer shirt 😁
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 18, 2023 16:35:04 GMT -5
Will look good with my bucket hat 😜
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Post by tenfurlongs on Aug 18, 2023 17:15:22 GMT -5
Will look good with my bucket hat 😜 So, Gilligan, about the bucket hat... TW
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 18, 2023 18:19:53 GMT -5
Day XXVII
After 27 days it was bound to happen eventually. Friday at the Spa we all struck out. Number of winners for our group zero, zilch, nada , nothing, naught, zilch , goose egg. You get the picture . It wasn’t really all that surprising since it was another wet off the turf day with scratches galore and only one of the winners Blue Devil ($25.60) paid out double digits. Indeed the only item worthy of note is that Joly B may have already won the second place contest when Luna Loca I believe gave him his ninth second place finish so far. I hope he’s been betting the exactas 😁
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jolyb
UpInClass Member
Posts: 897
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Post by jolyb on Aug 19, 2023 9:02:40 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind words, but I think that you might have been just a tad premature in declaring a winner of the seconditis contest. Many of our players have a goodly number of picks remaining, and anyone could develop a severe case of seconditis in the remaining couple of weeks. Quite a few are not that far behind my total. After all, no one picks a horse to come in second - in my case, I suspect the large number of placings comes from picking what I think are legitimate contenders that are not the favorites - they will have a higher percentage of cases in which they run well, but are not quite good enough to win, as evidenced by the smaller number of winners than placings. And yes, I have cashed a couple of exacta tickets in my Twin Spires account, usually by finding a key horse and playing it over and under other contenders.
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 19, 2023 18:25:23 GMT -5
Day XXVIII
After Friday’s shut out UIC Saratoga Cup contestants came at Saturday’s card with all guns blazing and TimS70AR , Jacckk8 and Arsiggnman heard the kaching sound after they decided to Risk It ($5.30) in the hot opening MSW. Although I’m sure several of us will also Remember The Name of the horse that finished last. Dancing Groom ($11.40) sadly was left at the altar in the second while despite a number of bullets being fired we couldn’t Shoot Out The Lights ($7.30) . We got back on track in the fourth however when ironically Real Quiet and Sounds of Saratoga made some noise with Poppy’s Pride ($15.20). Meanwhile Durante ($6.80) won by more than a nose in the fifth but we didn’t pick it.
We may not be seeing much Leadership Ability ($5.40) in the US right now but TC from Canada was able to spot it in the sixth. It was fairly obvious that Chad Brown had a chokehold on the seventh but there were no tax implications for our group as Aspray ($8.70) proved to be the best of his foursome. It’s been a long time since SpiderJohn and Italian Stallion had a winner so they could be excused for getting all Nostalgic ($5.60) after the eighth. Randomized ($16.20) won the feature with a defining purpose ensuring that no earnings would be taxed for our group. For the second Saturday in a row bettors were Rick rolled by the prodigal Mr Dutrow as Duke of Hazzard ( $21.20) took the tenth while not even a muppet was willing to bet on odds on favorite Henson ($3.50) in the finale. So Maumeeriverangler maintains his lead but the chasing pack are not giving up yet.
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 21, 2023 12:29:05 GMT -5
Day XXIX
Week six is in the books and with no major moves on Sunday , Maumeeriverangler continues to lead but many contestants have not even used half their picks yet so I’m anticipating an exciting final two weeks. Nick Vito had not tested the scorer until Sunday but it was so good after his 30th pick Smokin’ Hot Kitty ($24.00) had him purring following the first , leaving Diablo at Ofer Thirty our leader in the doghouse. I thought there were several Seinfeld fans in the group so was surprised that no one plumped for Sue Ellen Mishkin ($7.80 ) in the second but yada , yada, yada. There was a Strong Odor ($14.00) at Saratoga on Sunday after the third much of which was traceable back to our selections for the day and we were also sunk Amidst Waves ($5.10) in the fourth and not sweet on Candied ($12.60) in the fifth.
However despite (our maybe because of ) a few beers Doctor Disaster was able to Memorialize ($14.00) the winner of the sixth. In the seventh we didn’t even manage to Mount Up ( $8.80) and you could still count our winners on one hand after Digitize ($8.30) had his finger on the pulse in race eight. Money Supply ($5.80) for our group ran even lower in the ninth although Joly B’s grasp on the “Saratoga Consolation Cup” was tightened when Gate Runner finished second with nearest challenger Phlier Freak now out of picks. In the finale it was only fitting that we struck out when Mudville Nine ($5.70) rounded the bases without being caught.
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 23, 2023 21:59:26 GMT -5
Day XXX
Thirty days into the tournament and just like our planet it’s beginning to warm up. The heat is not on Maumeeriverangler yet but Wednesday saw three contenders making big moves. Firstly Propro our resident jumps expert, Awakened ($14.40) from his slumbers to pick out the opening hurdle race winner. Short price favorites are not going to get the job done at this stage of the contest so no surprise that Perfect Munnings ($4.20) was ignored in the second. Coppola was very much the popular choice in the third but it was our very own Godfather , Hooper who ended up sitting at the top table as Arzak ($37.00) proved to be worthy of its Michelin star status. Laurel Valley ($7.60) was a hardy winner of the fourth as we got into another fine mess but Goldandmyrrh ensured a recovery with some April Antics ($6.50) in the fifth.
On the day that India’s starship landed on the moon it was sad that Skyler’s Starship ($16.80) did not curry any favor with our group in the sixth. Tawny Port ($7.50) went untouched in the ill fated John’s Call but last year’s champion Madame Blum showed that she is still Into It ($30.00) to move into the top ten after the eighth. Things went south after that with Amundsen ($8.00) winning by his customary pole in the ninth and Cherokee Cottage ($37.00) remained vacant in the finale.
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Post by merasmag on Aug 23, 2023 22:39:41 GMT -5
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 24, 2023 18:45:08 GMT -5
Day XXXI
The penultimate Thursday at the Spa and for the first time in a while we actually had something to write home about. Two of the nicer people in horse racing Mark Hennig and Katie Davis combined with Alterina ($10.60) in the opener but at this stage of the contest nice doesn’t count for much I guess as nobody had her. Detective Tom ($17.60) was on the case in the second but it sadly remained unsolved for our group . Turbine was in attendance today and no doubt will be performing a Grand Sonata ($24.60) to celebrate his success in the third. Classic Mark ($5.60) however made no impression in the fourth while Lady Arwen ($3.30) and Sousa Summer ($8.70 ) attracted no followers in the fifth and sixth .
It will remain a Sweet Mystery ($5.00) as to how we missed out in the seventh but Ozzy breathed a huge sigh of relief when getting off the mark with To a T ($7.00) in the eighth. As I’ve said a million times it only takes one long shot to get going in this contest and forum stalwart Ziggy proved my point when Evvie Jets ( $60.50) roared home in the ninth for the biggest priced winner to date . In the finale all our tickets went south when Toofareastiswest ($7.00) mapped his way to victory.
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Post by mverrone on Aug 25, 2023 9:11:18 GMT -5
Bev,. are you making the trip to the spa this weekend? Missing those kilts.,..
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 25, 2023 9:29:31 GMT -5
Sadly not . Have some huge racing trips planned for the rest of the year ..don’t want to burn out too early 😉
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 25, 2023 17:59:53 GMT -5
Day XXXII
It was a sloppy Saratoga on Friday but hopefully the weather conditions didn’t dampen the spirits of the large UIC group in attendance for the Travers weekend. I’ve heard it said that this has been a boring meet but at least today the female members of our forum gave us some excitement with three of the four winners selected by members of the fairer sex. Joly B may have been surprised that his selection in the opener finished first rather than second but I’m sure that from a Global Perspective ($3.50) he was satisfied. Nan 53 came into today with a 50% strike rate and improved that immediately when Vax ($5.30) gave her a welcome shot in the arm in the second. The chalk fest continued in the third with Roses For Debra ($2.70) too short a price for even the most ardent Christophe Clement fan ( that’s you , Otis) . Meanwhile , some of our contestants who gave Friday a miss were feeling Truculent ( $11.60) after the fourth . Last year’s champion Madame Blum is in a great position to retain her title after Major Blue ($18.20) took the fifth to move her into 3rd position with almost half her picks remaining.
We drew a blank in the next four races which proved to be rather Idiomatic ($10.00) particularly in the feature where the hot favorite Nest came up empty. However this Summers day ended on a sweet note as 2021 champion Salestopper got off the mark with White Chocolate ($8.10) winning the battle of the Chads in the finale.
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Post by cherokeescot on Aug 26, 2023 23:09:18 GMT -5
Day XXXIII
Saturday at the The Travers. The highlight of the summer racing calendar . It’s been a tough spell for horse racing enthusiasts but this was going to be the day that we could all celebrate what we love about our sport. A Travers for the ages with the Derby, Preakness and Belmont winners all taking part , even Scotland was joining in. What could go wrong ? Thankfully the race itself ended on a high note with a feel good story but the deaths on the track today of two more horses including one featured on network tv created another black cloud over Saratoga in a summer that has been full of them . Indeed as I write this NYRA are deliberating whether to go ahead with Sunday’s card as they try to come up with a rationale for the spate of fatalities , currently at fourteen , at this year’s meet. As someone who has been heavily involved in the game , particularly for the last sixteen years in breeding , owning and racing I’m not sure what the answer is but I’m hurting tonight , feeling that somebody has hit me with nine inch nails.
The day had started in its customary Travers Day way with Cruzan falling foul of the despotic rules of contest organizer Ten Furlongs by failing to get his pick of Feathers Road ($14.80) in before the adjusted time line . Joly B made it two winners in a row when Mistical Curlin ($5.10) took the third while Arsignman and John Halvorsen continued to pester us with Scocciatore ($6.90) after the fourth. Cruzan finally got legitimately off the mark in the fifth with Bear Oak ($37.20) and Bobtailnag was happy to celebrate with a bear hug too. Just F Y I ($9.50) I’m predicting that Madame Blum is going to retain her title this year and winning the sixth race only improved her chances.
I couldn’t have scripted it better myself but our very own Forego selected the winner of the Forego when Gunite ($4.60) displayed his elite power in the seventh. It was no soup for you in the eighth as Souper Quest ($4.30) added to a big day for the Casse family but the chances of us getting the winner of the ill fated ninth were One in Vermillion ($41.40) . Echo Zulu ($3.20) put Goodnight Olive to bed in the tenth and Bolshoi Ballet ($13.00) was an appropriately named winner of the Sword Dancer amid plaudits from Real Quiet, Salestopper and SpiderJohn. Arcangelo ($7.40) was a popular winner of the Travers with Bitowisdom, MVerrone, Pedalcar and Salestopper all participating in the celebrations. Finally NDSC 32 and Sounds of Saratoga grabbed a piece of the limelight when Arro Smash ($12.60) took the finale.
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