2024 PREAKNESS STAKES

[Flanders]

Anytime I hear Flying Paster, I think first of his grand daughter Flying In The Lane, always liked her.

[Curtis]

Anytime I hear Flying Paster, I think first of his grand daughter Flying In The Lane, always liked her.

Flying Paster should be on Jay Hovdey’s shortlist. The interesting thing is, Spectacular Bid’s dam—Spectacular—and Flying Paster’s dam—Procne—were rivals and met multiple times in stake races in no. CA. I think Procne finished in front of her rival most if not every time they met. Their more famous sons looked much like their dams. Procne raced for the same owner as Flying Paster as I believe he bred them both. Once blinkers were removed from Flying Paster’s equipment, it was uncanny how much they looked alike in action.

[brunanas]

can't believe it's been "that long" since Border Run passed, dang...

[Flanders]

Anytime I hear Flying Paster, I think first of his grand daughter Flying In The Lane, always liked her.

Flying Paster should be on Jay Hovdey’s shortlist. The interesting thing is, Spectacular Bid’s dam—Spectacular—and Flying Paster’s dam—Procne—were rivals and met multiple times in stake races in no. CA. I think Procne finished in front of her rival most if not every time they met. Their more famous sons looked much like their dams. Procne raced for the same owner as Flying Paster as I believe he bred them both. Once blinkers were removed from Flying Paster’s equipment, it was uncanny how much they looked alike in action.

Yeah his next one should be out soon. I've checked a couple times. I always enjoy his stories and anytime the CA based(or former) members talk about horses before my time. Always a good read.

[Curtis]

can't believe it's been "that long" since Border Run passed, dang...

Yeah, he and Anniversary Year, my other OTTB, greeted me every morning. I still expect to see them. Now we’ve got a couple of retired QH’s. Both were show horses, one of them was our daughter’s HS 4-H horse, the other a Reiner. They’re good boys too. I still miss the TB’s though. There’s nothing like a Thoroughbred.

[MySaladDays]

BTW, absolutely disgraceful editing by NBC early during the Preakness telecast. They took Larry Collmus' awful Derby call and severely manipulated it to make it sound like Collmus was quickly on top of Mystik Dan cutting the rail into the lead. I picked up on it immediately. Go watch for yourself.

During the live Derby call Collmus matter of factly mentioned Mystik Dan midway around the turn when he was still a few lengths behind. Collmus then starts blabbing about other horses like Stronghold and Fierceness. But during the Preakess telecast NBC totally altered two critical aspects. They pushed the Collmus mention of Mystik Dan much later around the turn. They use the overhead view and have Collmus calling Mystik Dan just as he squeezes through into the lead. The reality was Collmus was totally oblivious to that move.

To make matters even more shady, NBC edited the audio. Instead of using Collmus' mention of Mystik Dan the way he actually said it, with references to Stronghold and Fierceness, NBC cut out those words completely. They were desperate to make it sound like Collmus saw Mystik Dan into the lead followed immediately by emphasizing that Sierra Leone and Forever Young still had work to do.

In other words, all the principals. This was early during the Preakness telecast today, during a segment with Chad Brown and Ken McPeek looking back at the Derby and what they were thinking at various stages of the race, and likewise the two jockeys doing the same. I can't link to that segment but it's easy to find if you have access to the full telecast. I can link to the Derby and the way Collmus actually called it:

https://youtu.be/C5Yb-2xEMzg?si=W2AAUkPfjwLnUDDz&t=86

Sadly this is nothing new for NBC. They altered track calls numerous times, especially when Tom Hammond was late in his career and not as sharp as previously. During the Rio 2016 men's 100 meter final Hammond got stuck on Asafa Powell even though he was well back and doing nothing. Hammond found Usain Bolt just before he crossed the line. But in the packaged highlight versions NBC chopped out the reference to Asafa Powell and had Hammond emphasizing Usain Bolt 20 meters earlier than it actually happened.

I really want to thank you for posting this. Many will just shrug it off like "oh well that's the way it is" but I think it's important to hold feet to fire, ask for transparency and honorable representation of a race and the race call.

So, it was nice of you to take the time to write out a detailed post.

NBC didn't "fix" Durkin's sorta kinda missed call on Mine That Bird, so why are they doing it here?

[MySaladDays]

it's pretty much undeniable that Lukas has left a long trail of sore and sour horses in his wake. Winning a Classic with a longshot on the front end while a second horse emerges injured from that same race is pretty much the perfect microcosm of his career.

Succinctly expressed career indeed.

But many think that winning is all that matters.

And tracks will always be busy congratulating themselves that no horses "broke down" during a televised race at their track..

[Mylute]

Seize the Grey was run back in two weeks, he won so nobody complained about it.

Just Steel was run back in two weeks, he got injured so now running them back in two weeks is bad.

Same song...different day. Ultimately, this is subjective. We could come up with hundreds of examples of horses that raced maybe 5 times over two years that broke down, and horses that ran consistently for several years before also breaking down. Materiality and Magnum Moon are horses that come to mind as examples of the former, and both of those are Pletchers. Army Mule is another. I often see the "fun fact" shared that Pletcher has the most former trainees standing as stallions of any trainer; that's because he's got a plethora of horses that win like one G1 before retiring due to injury after short careers. And breeders seem to think we need more horses like that in the pool.

I don't think anyone is exactly denying that DWL has a long history of """"chewing up horses"""" but we probably wouldn't be having this debate if it were another trainer, or if Just Steel hadn't been injured. What if he ran 1-2?

[Northport]

Between this G1 win and being by the late Arrogate, StG should be set up pretty well for a stallion career.

I've heard people say there were offers floated to mrh after the pat day win

I would wonder who would be putting in offers. Myracehorse is a Spendthrift entity. Now that STG has G1 and G2 wins, there is only one place he will be standing at stud.

[brunanas]

Between this G1 win and being by the late Arrogate, StG should be set up pretty well for a stallion career.

I've heard people say there were offers floated to mrh after the pat day win

I would wonder who would be putting in offers. Myracehorse is a Spendthrift entity. Now that STG has G1 and G2 wins, there is only one place he will be standing at stud.

well, two places. Spendthrift and (insert regional farm here) if he doesn't sire a superstar by his 2nd crop

[CoronadosQuest]

Between this G1 win and being by the late Arrogate, StG should be set up pretty well for a stallion career.

I've heard people say there were offers floated to mrh after the pat day win

I would wonder who would be putting in offers. Myracehorse is a Spendthrift entity. Now that STG has G1 and G2 wins, there is only one place he will be standing at stud.

and Spendthrift was checking him out yesterday so I would not be shocked at all if he is standing there in 2025

[Tessablue]

Seize the Grey was run back in two weeks, he won so nobody complained about it.

Just Steel was run back in two weeks, he got injured so now running them back in two weeks is bad.

Same song...different day. Ultimately, this is subjective. We could come up with hundreds of examples of horses that raced maybe 5 times over two years that broke down, and horses that ran consistently for several years before also breaking down. Materiality and Magnum Moon are horses that come to mind as examples of the former, and both of those are Pletchers. Army Mule is another. I often see the "fun fact" shared that Pletcher has the most former trainees standing as stallions of any trainer; that's because he's got a plethora of horses that win like one G1 before retiring due to injury after short careers. And breeders seem to think we need more horses like that in the pool.

I don't think anyone is exactly denying that DWL has a long history of """"chewing up horses"""" but we probably wouldn't be having this debate if it were another trainer, or if Just Steel hadn't been injured. What if he ran 1-2?

There were plenty of people protesting against Just Steel running in the Preakness. I wasn't one of them, but I also wasn't one of the people celebrating Lukas's win. Just Steel is a good horse who could have conceivably run better in the Preakness, but Lukas also has a long history of running no-hopers through the ringer, and clearly the difference between Just Steel and Seize the Grey is that one horse was sound enough to emerge uninjured and the other wasn't. I'm not saying that he knowingly ran an unsound horse, just that it isn't at all surprising that the horse ended up injured, because this is an approach to racing that has fallen out of favor for a reason. Again, if Charismatic had broken down on national television while making his 17th start in under 12 months five years ago, I think the tenor would be very different today.

I've always thought it was very interesting that Pletcher learned from DWL but runs his horses completely differently. Pletcher is wildly over-cautious and caters to owners who want a single G1 win and a stallion. Those owners don't want to race their horses, they just want an excuse to retire them and take the money. They aren't going to lay off a horse for half a year and then bring him back at 5, so they send the trainer out to deliver the excuses. I don't think anything about his program leads to more injured horses, it's just a program that largely isn't concerned with actually racing them.

Ideally, we'd settle somewhere in between: owners would race their horses instead of keeping them in the barn until they get a minor injury, miss their target race, and retire for stud money. But they also wouldn't repeatedly throw them into spots they aren't competitive in just to see if something sticks. Unfortunately, I think that ship has sailed after Flightline.

[Squeaky]

I think some of this has to do with Lukas always liking the action and limelight -always has been this way but maybe a bit more now as he is “running out of time”- only so many more triple crowns and big races when you are nearly 90. He has said he has no other interests and racing is 100% his life. So I think he just wants to be in these big races. Sometimes it works out, sometimes the horses pay the price eventually. Agree he seems to run no hopers a lot-occasionally he gets lucky and he is often optimistic about their chances despite them being in a down form cycle. If Grey runs in Belmont- Haskell- Travers-some other fall race- BC and stays sound and runs well in all he will be a true horse of steel. I hope he holds together as I really like the horse.

[Northport]

I've heard people say there were offers floated to mrh after the pat day win

I would wonder who would be putting in offers. Myracehorse is a Spendthrift entity. Now that STG has G1 and G2 wins, there is only one place he will be standing at stud.

and Spendthrift was checking him out yesterday so I would not be shocked at all if he is standing there in 2025

The Spendthrift gang were also at McPeek's barn the day after the Derby, so I would say we know where Mystik Dan is going to end up too. Hopefully Mystik Dan gets another season or two of racing. However, considering Spendthrift already has a stake in Seize the Gray, I would be shocked if he races on in 2025.

[djnorth]

I have mixed feelings about this as well. I bought a share in STG but was a little nervous about DWL. I have to respect him as a trainer and don't try to tell him what to do. FWIW, I'm no Baffert fan and wouldn't be posting instructions to him on social media either! However, I think DWL's getting a pass due to his age; I guess I hope he's learning. That never stops.

I guess I thought that the Arrogate in him would get him through as he seemed to be a sound horse. Although the end of his career was really weird, and I don't blame BB for the way he ran in his last few races. I need to believe that they checked everything when he faded around the turn in those last few starts, but everything seemed like it was normal with him. (If I'm being naive, I'm too old to do that so feel free to criticize.)

STG looked good and I wondered about the two-week turnaround. If I had to vote, I probably would have voted No on the Preakness because of that. (Shows you what I know! That's why I don't post instructions for the trainers!)

[MySaladDays]

For me it is not really about running them back in 2 weeks.
Im fine with that.

But Just Steel hasn't had time off at farm to refresh since December '23.

I guess some people dont think that is important but it is. he ran every single prep at OP as well. Never won a race past 6f.

[Flanders]

For me it is not really about running them back in 2 weeks.
Im fine with that.

But Just Steel hasn't had time off at farm to refresh since December '23.

I guess some people dont think that is important but it is. he ran every single prep at OP as well. Never won a race past 6f.

There isn't time for him to have ever had a break, he's been in training for over a year straight. He ran on November 25th and on January 1st. There are no breaks in his workouts since May 2023. Add to that, he'd have been in training before his first workout for awhile to build up to that work. I also think breaks are important for a horse to just mentally refresh. But its also on the owner, they can say hey we want the horse to have a break. Myracehorse did for Seize The Grey, otherwise I guarantee he wouldn't have gotten one either.

[Squeaky]

I doubt JS makes it back to racing-likely will be retired. Neither Bob nor Coach seem to believe in breaks at the farm unless they are forced to due to injury or owner insists ( which they rarely do). I remember Bob saying once that he worries about horses losing their competitive edge and not coming back the same after a farm break. My experience has been the opposite. I truly feel that if Arrogate had been given 2-3 months of pasture time after Dubai things might have been different- but we’ll never know. The ulcers and minor strains/ soreness heals, coat gets better, and they can relax mentally-so many benefits to fresh air, grazing and sunshine! ( not a small dry lot as I have seen some horses out west in during their “ farm time”. )

[CoronadosQuest]

I doubt JS makes it back to racing-likely will be retired. Neither Bob nor Coach seem to believe in breaks at the farm unless they are forced to due to injury or owner insists ( which they rarely do). I remember Bob saying once that he worries about horses losing their competitive edge and not coming back the same after a farm break. My experience has been the opposite. I truly feel that if Arrogate had been given 2-3 months of pasture time after Dubai things might have been different- but we’ll never know. The ulcers and minor strains/ soreness heals, coat gets better, and they can relax mentally-so many benefits to fresh air, grazing and sunshine! ( not a small dry lot as I have seen some horses out west in during their “ farm time”. )

I think Heartland spent time at a farm but maybe Winstar demanded it. I have a filly training with Baffert and she was at a farm in California (Rowland Heights) while she recovered from chip surgery too.

[Curtis]

I doubt JS makes it back to racing-likely will be retired. Neither Bob nor Coach seem to believe in breaks at the farm unless they are forced to due to injury or owner insists ( which they rarely do). I remember Bob saying once that he worries about horses losing their competitive edge and not coming back the same after a farm break. My experience has been the opposite. I truly feel that if Arrogate had been given 2-3 months of pasture time after Dubai things might have been different- but we’ll never know. The ulcers and minor strains/ soreness heals, coat gets better, and they can relax mentally-so many benefits to fresh air, grazing and sunshine! ( not a small dry lot as I have seen some horses out west in during their “ farm time”. )

I think Heartland spent time at a farm but maybe Winstar demanded it. I have a filly training with Baffert and she was at a farm in California (Rowland Heights) while she recovered from chip surgery too.

Doug O’Neill will tell you the same thing in terms of farm time. He fought sending Lava Man to the farm when his form declined. I think it depends on the horse. I’ve heard stories that Masochistic was only happy training at the track. He got to the point in which he took care of himself in races when he bled through Lasix one, two, three, etc. too many times, but he loved being at the track. It worked reasonably well for California Chrome, but before someone latches on to the Art Sherman is a superior horseman narrative, it wasn’t his idea to give him a farm break after the Belmont, that was the Dumb A$$es.