Ok, time to take some Pictures

The 2010 Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance Photo Contest is now accepting Submissions.

You can find all the contest information over on the TBA website.

Entries can be a professional or amateur photograph. I submitted a photograph last year and finished well behind the field. The competitive bastard that I am, I once again submit an entry for 2010.

My photograph (see below, double click to enlarge) was taken at Saratoga Race Course on 8/29/10 during the The Personal Ensign Stakes. The photo features Rachel Alexandra and Persistently during the stretch run of the race ultimately won by Persistently. As the voting is open to the public, I unabashedly ask for your vote, with my reasons why I deserve to win as follows:

My photograph does not feature Zenyatta, the most over photographed horse of the 21st century and for that reason alone my photo deserves your vote.

My photograph was taken with a $39.99 dollar point & shoot camera. I am competing against people with high resolution cameras with lens attachments. I deserve your vote for having the courage to compete with such poor equipment.

Unlike the professional photos that will be submitted, this photograph was taken among the masses in the grandstand who cannot afford the clubhouse or special access granted to those with connections. Imagine how much better the photo would be if I was given a cushy position near the finish line, are at least a little bit closer to the actual race I photographed.

Although Rachel Alexandra finished second in the Personal Ensign Stakes, my shot features Rachel Alexandra when she was still in the lead, at the 1 1/8 mile mark of this 1 1/4 mile race. This photo features the last time ever in her career she was in the lead before being passed by the winner. Some credit must come my way for the timing in taking the photo of Rachel in the lead for the last time ever.

My fiancé was with me that day, and I always seem to get great shots when she is with me at the track, probably because I love her so much. This proves I am a romantic, and horse racing is a game of romance -yet another reason deserving of your vote.

Check back with me on Wednesday

With Eskendereya now out of the Kentucky Derby, the Wednesday Derby Day Post Draw becomes particularly intriguing. Don't expect any announcement on if the filly Devil May Care will definitely run until after the Draw.

I suspect Todd Pletcher will enter Devil May Care in both the Oaks and the Derby, see what type of post position she gets in both and than go from there. With Eskendereya out, value goes down on everyone else. I was looking for some really nice horses at between 8-1 and 12-1. There will still be some value for Horse Racing Betting on the Derby, it will just take more work to find it with Esky now out.

Who will be in the final 20? Basically if Devil May Care is in, Jackson Bend is out. This of course assumes no other defections such as another Pletcher horse Interactiff. On the bench behind Jackson Bend if others defect are Backtalk followed by Make Music for Me.

The Derby has reverted to its traditional "blind draw" format and will be conducted at noon (EDT) on Wednesday, April 28, at Churchill Downs. It used to be covered live on ESPN, but in their quest to cover less and less racing each year, they dropped the coverage in 2009. For the best coverage of the Derby Draw coverage on Wednesday count on the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance homepage at tbablogs.com

Survive and Advance

I'll never understand the logic of playing slots or the lottery as oppossed to sports gambling and gambling on the ponies-to me the latter is much more engaging, is a game of skill (with luck thrown in) and entertaining.

Yesterday was opening day at the Meadowlands Racetrack in Jersey and I survived Day one of the Meadowlands Survival Challenge. The premise is simple, pick one horse in each of pre-selected 3 races per race day, and you advance if you pick up a 1st, 2nd or 3rd in any race. If no one falls in the money, you are out.

Playing under the moniker of SaratogaSpa, I stand 1842 out of 4825 players. When it comes to betting, I pretty much play the NYRA tracks only, save for the Breeders Cup, the Triple Crown Series and an occasional odd bet thrown down once in a blue moon at other tracks. So, this contest will be a real challenge.

I love games like the Meadowlands Survival Challenge. and believe all racetracks should set up these "Survival" type games on their respective websites. It creates interest, draws people to the website everyday, and I am sure increases handle with real bets thrown in.

Between playing the challenge and playing/watching the great 11 race card at Belmont on Saturday, this will be a full horseplaying weekend. Head over to out TBA home page for all the Belmont entries, picks and PP information.

Young and Old

In the 3rd race at Belmont today, New York Bred and fan favorite Naughty New Yorker finished 6th and last in a New York Bred $65,000 race. It was his 50th start. We last saw him run at Saratoga in the Funny Cide Stakes on August 28th when he rallied for 2nd place. His 3 races before that in '09 have been clunkers. Maybe the 2nd place finish at the Spa, where he made his patented stretch run was his last hurrah??

On the younger front, while watching Jockey's last night on Animal Planet, they focused on the filly Stardom Bound, showing her win in the Santa Anita Oaks and than her 3rd place finish in the Ashland at Keeneland on April 4th. Well, she hasn't raced since. It's funny how horses like that, so promising, often fall off the radar and out of our racing memory. But she has had 4 workouts at Aqueduct and apparently is a possibility for the Breeders Cup Ladies Classic.

Speaking of the Breeders Cup, for news on who's running, and who's not, check out the Breeders Cup Divisional Blogs on NTRA.com written exclusively for the NTRA by my fellow members of the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance.

Positive Praise

As a Time Warner Cable Subscriber I don't have access to TVG or HRTV but I do have Capital OTB on my cable system. It actually serves my purposes pretty well with simulcasts of the NYRA tracks as well as all the other big tracks. Yesterday I was able to watch the Aqueduct card as well as see the Fountain of Youth from Gulfstream and the Sham Stakes from Santa Anita. Unlike the NYC OTB Channel it does not share air space with other programs and seems to be relatively free of the technical problems often seen on the NYC OTB channel.

I like “Trackfacts Live” seen on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 9:30-11 am. The production valves are minimal but hosts Nick Kling (turf writer for the Troy Record) and Tom Amello more than make up for the low budget set and production valves with expert analysis and tons of information. I always pick up tidbits of information, especially on betting angles and different ways to handicap. The show is simple in format. The 2 hosts sit behind a table and take questions from callers and read e-mails off laptops placed on the table. Nothing fancy, just tons of information and commentary.

On This Sunday’s program Tom Amello read an e-mail from a fan asking about the Host’s feelings on blogging. Nick Kling was positive, citing the blogger's ability to write about angles not always written about in the mainstream media.

He specifically mentioned 3 blogs he particularly liked and they were all once or current members of Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance They were ex-TBA’ers (or is it former TBA’ers, or TBA alumni, or no longer TBA’ers?) Jessica from Railbird, Brooklyn Backstretch and current TBA blog Colin’s Ghost.

If you have any interest at all in Thoroughbred racing history, and appreciate fine writing and research may I point you to this recent piece written over at Colin’s Ghost.

What's New

Eureka-I have found it!- Archimedes

If you have not been to the Thorougbred Bloggers Alliance homepage lately, check it out. It includes a running feed of the TBA Blogs, news feeds and FREE Past Performances for upcoming races.

You want Calder Charts, Fair Grounds, or Aqueduct past performances? You can get them all at the TBA Homepage.

Wanna know who is saying what about Curlin, Winter Racing, upcoming 2 year olds? Than check out the TBA Homepage.

Also, if you want a cool feed for your own browser home page (I think that is what it is called?) this link will take you to a list of recently-updated Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance sites, providing the title, author, and first few sentences of the post.