Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Last Saturday, unbeaten sensation Songbird was set to make her eighth start in the Gr. II Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita. Lo and behold, my favorite newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times, opted to go with a 12-paragraph story by dog-lover Don Jensen about a mutt named Highlyclassified whose career was coming to a close at Derby Lane. We also learned in the story, by the way, that this fabulous dog had won 32 of 142 lifetime starts, and that he weighed 76 pounds. I was overjoyed to discover this information.
Usually, in this shill's Saturday column, he closes his dog food with a final paragraph about thoroughbreds. This time it read: "Husker Magic of Abernathy kennel got her 104th career victory Thursday." (Personally, I would have thought that the dog winning 104 races was a better story).
Songbird may never reach the rare heights of a female like, say, Zenyatta, who won 19 in a row before losing the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic by a head to Blame. But, as she travels on that road, her story is 1,000 times more interesting and compelling than that of a dog whose sport may soon be the victim of decoupling.
IS THIS FAIR? - When TVG was invented, it was supposed to be this fair and impartial entity that gave both sides of the story in every case. Through the years, however, as Keeneland Sales became a major sponsor, the entire crew at TVG has been indoctrinated to mention it every time they recognize a Keeneland graduate winning a race.
OBS not only rarely gets a plug, but in many cases, Keeneland receives the air time even when a horse sold in Kentucky for $40,000 as a yearling, and was then pinhooked at OBS for $400,000 at two. Guys and gals, if you are obligated to mention the Keeneland connection, at least give OBS the credit it deserves, too. Remember the fair and impartial nature of the network.
OBS did get some unpaid-for publicity this week because TVG analyst Nick Hines, as agent, was the leading buyer with nine purchases for $878,000. Nick, a former trainer, also plucked the fourth-highest purchase, $370,000, for HIP No. 484, a Candy Ride colt consigned by Bobby Dodd. Nick had some good words for OBS.
ARE TROTTERS STRONGER? - Speaking of number of starts, and TVG, I watched a race at Yonkers and they mentioned that the winner had gone in with 144 starts under his belt. There were a few others in the race with 127, 117 and 57 and I didn't catch the rest. How is it that the trotters can run so much more often with nobody mentioning a bounce, sometimes in two or three heats the same day? And the clocking of the second heat is just as fast as the first.
Are the standardbred trainers better than the thoroughbreds? And I don't want to hear that they don't run as fast - their drivers are 50 pounds or more heavier than the jockeys, and they're pulling a sulky, for cryin' out loud!
Checking the American Racing Manual, the horse with the most wins in North American racing was Kingston, born in 1884. He won 89 times in 138 starts, adding 33 seconds and 12 thirds, and earning a rousing $138,917. A horse named Hiblaze, born in 1935, is the all-time starts leader, going to the post 406 times. Are American breeders raising a bunch of 97-pound weaklings who have to send away for Charles Atlas' free book?
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