FROM THE OBS - Misty Hollow Farm’s Drafted came from off the pace and closed with a rush to get up late and take the $300,000, Gr. III Mahab Al Shimaal Stakes by a neck at Meydan on Saturday. It’s the second straight graded stakes victory for the 5-year-old Florida-bred son of Field Commission, trained by Doug Watson, now 6-1-0 in 12 starts with earnings of $551,633.

    Drafted was the first horse to come out of a 2016 two-year-old in training sale and break his maiden, setting a track record in his debut at Keeneland. A two-time OBS graduate, he first went through the ring at the 2015 August Sale before he was purchased for $35,000 out of the Kim Harrison consignment at the 2016 March Sale after turning in an Under Tack eighth in :10 1/5.

    HARD TO BELIEVE - The crowd at Tampa Bay Downs Saturday for  Derby day was listed as 10,000-plus but that doesn't come close to the actual number. The horsemen's parking lot takes in owners, trainers, jockeys, the media and people who are smart enough to walk into it from the street. There's a gate that's open, with no turnstile to go through, and everybody gets in free. The lot must hold 400 cars or so, and if there's an average of two people per car, plus the walk-ins, that's somewhere around 1,000 attendees who aren't included in the attendance count.

   The handle for the big day was nearly $14 million, second highest day in the track's history. So what kind of coverage does my old newspaper provide? The Tampa Bay Times, formerly the St. Pete Times when I made selections for 22 years, DID NOT HAVE ONE WORD ABOUT IT ANYWHERE IN THE PAPER!!! 

    But  they'll write reams about auto races or human races anywhere within hailing distance. What a disgrace. 

    LOVE NO. ONE - The number of times a TVG analyst will wonder about a horses's chances because he or she has drawn the No.1 post, is countless. Ditto for the trainers they interview in the paddock.

    I have cashed countless numbers of tickets on horses who left from No.1. 

    Here's the breakdown of the winners from each post at Tampa up to a few days ago. No. 1 - 81; No. 2 - 63; No. 3 - 75; No. 4 - 62; No. 5 - 60; No. 6 - 63; No. 7 - 64; No. 8 - 46. Of course, as the numbers go up, there are less chances because of short fields. However, in this instance, posts 1-5 all had 144 starters, while No. 6 had 143, No. 7 - 141 and No. 8 - 46, so only No. 8 is compromised by numbers. 

    If No. 1 is a problem, it's the rider, not the post.

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