Thursday May 14
This morning I began my Preakness weekend adventure. My plan was a simple one for the first day.....the flight out of Fort Lauderdale was leaving at 10:35 and was a direct flight to Baltimore, landing at 1:15. I had looked up on mapquest the travel times, and saw that it was about 25 minutes to my hotel, and another 30 minutes to Pimlico. So, with a 3 pm check-in time I decided it made the most sense to drive directly to the races, check out the facility and buy my Preakness "stuff," then head to the hotel. Seemed like a good plan, but like all good plans, that wasn't what happened. I arrived at the gate and had just taken a seat when the guy at the counter announces, "Passengers at Gate 9 for the flight to Baltimore....we have just now received word that your plane is delayed due to a repair issue. We anticipate a departure at 11:35." Ugh....an hour. But, it's not like I have any big plans, so I waited. About 11 am the followed this with an announcement that now the flight was anticipated to leave a noon; and then it became 12:30. The plane was here, at the gate and you could see the guy "working" on the underside of the wing. Now I don't pretend to know anything about mechanical repairs but I CAN tell you he did a LOT of looking at the wing, cocking his head to one side or the other, reaching for a tool, fiddling for less than 30 seconds and looking again. That cannot be a good sign! Finally about noon he appeared to be done. We began boarding about 12:25 and were in the air around 12:45. The landing came at 3:45. I quickly checked post times for the Thursday card and saw that the last race went off at 4:55; then I checked the directions & time to travel - a little over an hour to get to the races. So, by the time I got my luggage and the car I'll miss the last race. No need to rush to the track. So happy I did not handicap for the day! It's now well past check-in time so I changed plans - hotel first (only a 25 minute drive) and then the races. I arrived at the hotel and I would describe it as "fine." Was not all that inspired by the surrounding area, and like I'd discovered online, there appeared to be very little restaurants around. As I checked in I asked about this and two fellas in the lobby both highly recommended a place called Rosarios which was less than 10 minutes away. PERFECT. It was now close to 5 pm so I called Kim and said I was heading to dinner and then maybe I'd visit the track. The meal was superb - a nice steak with a crab cake (have to have crab if you are in Baltimore!) on top! It was a little after 6 pm so I headed to the races. The traffic was slow and I began to become concerned about running out of battery for my GPS to get back to the hotel, so I switched it off. When I arrived at Pimlico it became very quickly apparent that there was no simulcasting going on as the facility seemed closed as they prepped for the weekend's big event. But the Clubhouse parking lot was open and the doors were open so I went out to the track and took a look and a photo.
I was struck by (a) how narrow the track appeared and (b) how crowded the infield looked. It seemed like there was hardly any room for the racing to take place! The stands were also right on top of the track as you can tell (count the rows of chairs on the apron, only about a dozen rows from the bottom of the grandstand to the rail). Looks like even if you could get down to the rail there would be no room to stand without having front row seats. I headed back to the room - the battery lasted! And settled in for the evening - tomorrow is the first big day of racing!
Friday May 15: Black-Eyed Susan Day
Honestly, it was a slow morning. I was struck with the thought that I'd so much more enjoyed the morning if I were in a nice bed & breakfast, like for the Arkansas Derby adventure. But I made do by looking at the races, checking out online analysis and finally getting ready for the day. The first race was at noon, and I figured there would be a good crowd, not a gigantic one. And since I had not been able to buy anything yesterday (which would have enabled me to be package-free on the racing day) I planned to buy my stuff and take it to the car. This would take up some of the early time while I beat the crowd to the track. I'd then check out the facility as I had not been able to do that yesterday. All went to the plan at first. Traffic was not bad, and the GPS going directly from the hotel was a better route than the one I took from the restaurant the previous day. I had pre-paid for parking in the Clubhouse lot and it was a nice spot - also nice to not have to worry about paying for parking today. As I went in I asked the guy who scanned my ticket if it would be ok to take my packages back to the car. He replied, "Sure, but double-check inside." Who to ask I inquired. He pointed to the program counter. So I bought my program and asked. Her reply, "Sure, just be sure to tell them at the gate you are returning." So I walked in and began looking over what they had to offer. I asked the girl if there were other sales booths with shirts, etc. today and she said they were all over. Which has the best selection I asked and she said that by far they had the most to offer. So I bought a shirt, hat, and pin and headed to the car. I stopped as I started out the gate and told the security woman that I was taking this to the car and had been told to check in with her. She replied she was sorry, but there was NO RE-ENTRY! But.....she apologized for the bad information I'd been given, but if I left I would have to buy a new ticket, to the tune of $10! No thanks, I'll carry the bag for ten dollars! I headed for the door to the apron and was going to ask someone to take my photo on the rail. But security stopped me. I showed them my ticket and said I was only wanting a quick picture, but she said they could not allow anyone out on the apron without the proper ticket. So I headed to my area, on the second level and when I got there I asked a security guy if it would be ok to step out on the balcony level and have a photo taken, and would he take it. He was more than happy to take my photo (at right). Well as it turned out my seat was in a box and it appeared the package would be safe. The usher assured me it would be. And the view from my seat - could not have asked for a better spot!
I then went first down a level and then up a level to check out the area around me. As I wandered around the second level I found the "Female Handicapper's Challenge - Bet Like A Girl" Seminar about to start. I "know" all these gals and took a snapshot of the best ladies in the biz at making picks:
From left to right: Donna Baron (NBC Sports), Christina Bossinakis (Gulfstream), Jill Byrne (Churchill Downs), Jeannine Edwards (ESPN), Maggy Wolfendale (NYRA), Caton Bredar (HRTV), and Gabby Gaudet (Pimlico). Their selections and how they were playing their mythical $1000 bankroll for the day was in the program, and I checked out their selections prior to the day's racing - and I was especially intrigued by their "BEST" bets of the day. More on that below. I was sharing my box seats with a fella from New York - can't remember his name - and he and I hit it off right away. We had four seats in our box, and a private TV. The other two people did not show today so we had plenty of room to enjoy the day. And finally, it was time for the actual racing! The opener was a five furlong turf sprint, a maiden special event for three-year-olds and up. Last time out the three top fillies had all seen each other: Dunne Hall, Pool Winner, and Spring Equinox. Dunne Hall had been in her first turf event AND had broken last, then just failed to catch Pool Winner, who had been the favorite. I went with her. Pool Winner was again the chalk and she went right to the front and never looked back as Dunne Hall stalked the pace and was a clear best-of-the-rest second. The next race was an 8 1/2 furlong entry level allowance and all the main contenders were exiting recent maiden wins. Samantha Nicole was a $700K purchase and had nothing but trouble early in her career. She had scored with authority last time out and appeared to have turned the corner. She was the 9/5 favorite, but passed tiring horses with a belated rally to be third. The third race was another entry level allowance, a turf sprint for 3-year-olds. My pick was Conscience. His turf try down the hill at Santa Anita and his Del Mar synthetic win were double-digit figures better than his dirt efforts. He was sent out by trainer Tom Proctor for Glen Hill Farms - always a good combo, and I planned to double the bet. I was encouraged that of the ten races the ladies were picking, this was Jill Byrne's BEST. He pressed the leader to midstretch and then drew off handily - my first win live at Pimlico! 
The fourth was another MSW, a dirt route and the likely winner looked to be Tiz Emily and Jill, the favorite. But the rider was 0-for-32 at the meet. I can't take that. Wired the field at 3/2. A good "no bet." The fifth was the first of the many stakes races over the weekend, The Hilltop for 3-year-old fillies going 8 1/2 furlongs on the turf. I really liked Miss Temple City. First she'd debuted with a turf sprint win. Then she'd won a turf route off a layoff at Gulfstream. She made her next start in the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant and was a game third behind a next-out stakes winner. In her most recent, the Grade 3 Appalachian at Keeneland she beat the other five fillies home, but was second best behind what most believe to be the most talented 3yo filly in the country, Lady Eli. All of that made her solid in my eyes. But what really caught my eye was local 23-year-old Gabby Gaudet (who is very attractive by the way) named her as the "BEST" on her handicapping challenge picks. Most interesting was how she structured her $1000 bets. While the other gals were laying down $20-to-$100 per race, Gabby bet only $2 on seven of the ten races. In two races she bet $100 and $143 to win, but on Miss Temple City she bet $550 to win! Talk about your "BEST" of the day! As the field moved down the backstretch the 4/1 third choice opened up nearly six lengths while running way too fast. Miss Temple City was in second, biding her time. The field closed the gap as they approached the far turn and then Miss Temple City just blew by and drew off as MUCH the best! WHOOO HOOOOO. My second win in a row!
She paid $4.40 and I had tripled the bet, cashing for over $30. I did a quick calculation and I thought this win might just seal the deal for Miss Gabby to take down the handicapping prize! When you watch the recap video below you'll note the few clips of me post-race and they are all in different spots. I found it very difficult to find a place to take a video clip or a still photo....unless I was willing to ask someone to do it for me. The sixth race was another allowance, this one a sprint. There appeared to be several who wanted the front, so it SHOULD set up for a closer. But I could not rule out one of the speedsters would be the speed of the speed. Too many questions, passed. Sure enough one of the price horses stole it to the tune of a $27 mutual. Good decision to pass. The seventh was an allowance going a route of ground over the turf. One thing that struck me in the handicapping of this race was that nearly every one of the horses had run multiple times in nw2L company. A pretty weak allowance field. But Charm City Girl was NOT like this. She had started her career with three non-descript dirt tries, all earned upper 40 Beyers. Then she was moved to the turf where she exploded to win her maiden with a big leap on the speed figure scale to 75!. I love horses like this when they move to the turf. She was a good second in her first try against winners, rally 4-wide to be second with another big Beyer of 76. Then she was sent to stakes company in the Desert Vixen at Monmouth where she was second beaten only 1/2 length with a career best 80 Beyer. On class she towered over this field. The problem was she had not been out since that stakes try, and that was last July! But I had confidence in trainer Graham Motion - he had trained Animal Kingdome to nearly beat two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan in the Breeders' Cup Mile off a nearly 8 month layoff. So I knew Charm City Girl would be ready, and I figured she'd be a fair price. I doubled the bet. She sat mid-pack to the turn, made her bid and was immediately collared by the 9/5 favorite who had dominated a maiden special field last out, HERE. It was a stirring stretch duel with heads bobbing on every stride! PHOTO FINISH! I thought from where I stood, and watching the slow-motion replay that Charm City Girl, on the inside, had gotten her nose down on the wire. The result came up, I WIN! And the price was a generous $6.00 - I'm cashing for $30 on my third win in a row!
The 8th was one of my best bets, in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness. I really liked Miss Ella, but she scratched. Sigh. Looked over the field and it seemed like another spot where a closer SHOULD win, but again I was unsure so I passed. The one horse, a closer, who I was very close to betting, ran by the field and won at a nice $12 - wish I would have bet that one.
The ninth was the race I was most excited to watch. For many years I have been a HUGE fan of the now-nine-year-old Ben's Cat. He had compiled an amazing 28 wins from 46 starts, with over 20 of these being stakes wins! He loves the Pimlico course where he is 9/5-1--0. AND fourteen of his 28 wins have come at this distance. He so dominates Maryland turf sprints that he has won fourteen of his 28 races at this distance. On this day last year he was my "BET of the Day" and I wagered $100 on him. The winning mutual was a paltry $2.80. But today was going to be different. Though he had won this race, The Jim McKay Turf Sprint three times already, this season he had come off the layoff and LOST last time out. To many it appeared he had lost a step. But I had read prior to that race that his trainer felt he was a work or two short of his best.......he still felt he'd win, but that day they were facing a LONE speed rival and he might not be fit enough to run that one down. I also noted, that day, that he had made his seasonal debut the past two years in state-bred company but that day he was in OPEN company. All of that worked against him and he was second best behind that lone speed winner. So I thought he had multiple excuses to dismiss that result and anticipate a big effort today. And IF I were right and the crowd was wrong, I might get a nice price. I planned to go "prime time" on him. I was disappointed in the early betting as the field made their way to the gate he was the 3/2 favorite. But then the late money came in on the front runner who had beat him last time. I knew this guy and he was not only far from consistent, but also looked to have company on the lead today. Ben's Cat broke sharply but his rider took him back to come from off the pace, where he does his best running. As they field hit the far turn that front-runner looked to be long gone, but Ben's Cat was moving on the outside! As they straightened away it looked to me from where I was standing (on the outside balcony) that he didn't have that late kick today. But then the leader veered out and the rail opened up. Luckily I had NOT filming and you could see the heart of a winning horse burst open as Ben's Cat dove inside and surged to the wire JUST IN TIME! I turned to a guy standing next to me with the video rolling and asked him to just hold it while I commented on the win - I wasn't going to miss this moment! He was more than happy to oblige and I got my video clip for a nice score on one of my very favorite runners. 
Then I noted the price - somehow the crowd had allowed Ben's Cat to float to an incredible 2/1! Instead of last year's $2.80 I was going to get a juicy $6.20. And because I had gone "prime time," I had just made the score of the day as I cashed for $62! WHOOOO HOOOOOO! And that runs my winning streak to FOUR in a row after losing the first two races. Man, what a great day.....and in my first visit to Pimlico! Next up was the Grade 3 DuPont Distaff. Last year in the Black-Eyed Susan I had made a nice score on Todd Pletcher's Stopchargingmaria who did not look to be the fastest filly, but had the class over the field. Well, she looked MUCH the same here. The field had a combined two graded wins - a Grade 2 and a Grade 3 while 'Maria had five graded wins - THREE in GRADE 1 races! Her speed figures were not the best, but she towered over her rivals in class. And I loved the fact that she was 4/3-1-0 at this nine furlong distance. My plan was to double the bet. She was hammered in the early betting, so I tripled the bet. Her price floated from 1/5 to 3/5 at post time. She sat comfortably just off the pace and then blew by as TONS the best - my FIFTH win in a row. WOW what a day! I was cashing for nearly $25. I did a quick calculation and determined I would win for the day no matter what and I still had my two "best" bets to go! Next up was the featured, Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. I thought it was a wide-open race, but on speed figures Bob Baffert's Luminance was a standout. She'd run second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks, but had tired in that, her first route try. I did not like that, but I did like that Baffert was quoted as saying he was pointing her for the Grade 1 Mother Goose. That and the speed figure edge made me plan a $20 win bet. But two days before the race I got a bad feeling when I read that Baffert said, "we are going to TRY her in a route again......" Not the kind of confidence I am looking for, but I thought she'd get an easy lead and be long gone. Sadly the rider tried to rate her and she ran evenly at 6/5 to finish fifth. The 12th was my BET of the Day in the Skipat Stakes. Lady Sabelia had rattled off five straight wins prior to trying Grade 1 company last out. She set the pace for a half mile in the Gr 1 Madison at Keeneland before tiring. Two bullet works, the early speed/class drop from Grade 1 to listed stakes and a 9/5-1-2 record at the distance made her a standout. Right to the front, EASILY. She looked a certain easy winner turning for home on a daylight lead. But that was the way the rider apparently saw it as he was not pushing her to the wire. The second choice was flying on the outside and he didn't see her until she was right at his filly's neck....too late to re-rally and she was second best on the wire - sigh. That win would have been a nice profit boost. The 13th was a turf sprint with no speed and I thought 12/1 Velvet Tie would have a chance to steal it. She was bet down to 9/2 at post time. The crowd had thinned out so I went to the private boxes area and took a seat. Who was sitting two rows in front of me? None other than Bob Baffert - trainer of American Pharoah with his wife Jill and their son Bode! 
Velvet Tie, like Luminance, didn't try for the lead and was an even fifth. I took it as an omen of good luck that I was right behind Baffert as I liked his Cat Burglar in the finale of the day, the Grade 3 Pimlico Special. The favorite was certain to be Todd Pletcher's Commissioner, but I have just never been a fan and all his wins have been photo finishes. It was not meant to be - Commissioner won and Cat Burglar was a rallying third. For the day I was 5-for-11, an excellent day of handicapping and showed a flat-bet profit. Here's hoping this was just a good warm-up for a big day tomorrow! Below the video recap for today, check out the fashion photos from Black-Eyed Susan Day!
Black-Eyed Susan Day Video Recap
Black-Eyed Susan Day Fashion
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