What about the Derby? Barbaro looked awesome.

[Sir Richard F. Burton]

I am not a horse racing expert to say the least but Barbaro looked very impressive. What did everyone else think.

[Ralph Cramden]

Barbaro looked very convincing by taking control of the field that led to a convincing win. If he can keep this up we could have a Triple Crown Winner this year. I had Bluegrass Cat to win and he placed so I'm happy. :) Barbaro is a beautiful horse and I wish him luck the rest of the way. :thumbup

[gerntz]

I'm no expert either since I lost a fair bit today w/o a winner. Accepting that, yes, Barbara looked very good.

[BigBlueAngus]

Hard to figure he sure looked head and shoulders above the field, But that time of 2:01.36 who knows?

[DenCat]

Barbaro ran a great race today. It will be interesting to see what kind of race is run in 2 weeks at Pimlico. The field will be considerably smaller and his tougher competitors will have an easier go at it. All in all a great day as I won over $100!

[TrueblueCATfan]

I bet Bluegrasscat across the board..........won a nice little chunk of change

[BOURBON TOWN CAT FAN]

TrueblueCATfan wrote: I bet Bluegrasscat across the board..........won a nice little chunk of change
Same here, I went to Keeneland and enjoyed the race.

[UedK]

BigBlueAngus wrote: Hard to figure he sure looked head and shoulders above the field, But that time of 2:01.36 who knows?


Lucky me had Barbaro and BluegrassCat boxed for an exacta.

Putting BGCat in was a 100% "Got to put some $$$$ on a horse with that name" bet.

And BigBlue, You are correct, the 2:01.36 is a total tossup. He had not run for five weeks, since he won the Florida Derby. How will he do with two weeks rest/training? Or How will he do in having to only run twice in seven weeks? No doubt that me and a million others will have him some 'exotic' bet.

Iv'e not yet thought about the Preekness field but it will be interesting to start trying to figure it out.

[Jeff Craddock]

BigBlueAngus wrote: Hard to figure he sure looked head and shoulders above the field, But that time of 2:01.36 who knows?

This is a very good time, under the circumstances. He stumbled at the start and wasn't pushed at the end. Had the race been closer, Prado might have knocked a couple ticks off the time with a few flicks of the whip. But as it was, he still ran a time good enough to be 14th best in the 130+ year history of the race.

What was most impressive to me was how easily he made his move. He appears to have "push-button" speed, meaning he'll run when asked and is easy to rate. Looks like another fun Triple Crown. :thumbup

I think Sweetnorthernsaint will be back--he's a Maryland horse--as will Brother Derek. Brother Derek would have placed, but for a terrible trip. Maybe Sinister Minister will give it shot, though he faded badly at the top of the stretch. And maybe Bluegrass Cat is running back to form. But the way it looked today, Barbaro may well be too much horse for them. He could have won by more, but Prado spared the whip, leaving a little in his tank for next time.

[capcat]

Not to take anything away from Barbaro...I loved it that he won, but speaking of Triple Crowns,here's a video of Secretariat's Triple Crown run that was posted on another board: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CX9SIwYVcg
This brought tears to my eyes, he was such a horse.
I visited Claiborne the year after he won it, and the groom brought him out for me to have my picture taken with him, on the condition that I only hold the lead and not touch him....of course, I couldn't resist :blush:, but I'm glad that I did.
Here's hoping Barbaro will bring us the long-awaited Triple Crown like Secretariat did.

[gerntz]

Great analysis IMO - for what that's worth - JC. I thought that time was very good.

Read that inside track was "dead". If so, that plus the presence of Keyed Entry may have shot Sinister Minister's chances more than "normal". Thus could see him trying the PRE also.


Jeff Craddock wrote: BigBlueAngus wrote: Hard to figure he sure looked head and shoulders above the field, But that time of 2:01.36 who knows?

This is a very good time, under the circumstances. He stumbled at the start and wasn't pushed at the end. Had the race been closer, Prado might have knocked a couple ticks off the time with a few flicks of the whip. But as it was, he still ran a time good enough to be 14th best in the 130+ year history of the race.

What was most impressive to me was how easily he made his move. He appears to have "push-button" speed, meaning he'll run when asked and is easy to rate. Looks like another fun Triple Crown. :thumbup

I think Sweetnorthernsaint will be back--he's a Maryland horse--as will Brother Derek. Brother Derek would have placed, but for a terrible trip. Maybe Sinister Minister will give it shot, though he faded badly at the top of the stretch. And maybe Bluegrass Cat is running back to form. But the way it looked today, Barbaro may well be too much horse for them. He could have won by more, but Prado spared the whip, leaving a little in his tank for next time.

[freethrow]

Thanks for sharing that. You're right, he was one very awesome horse. He just seemed to get stronger as the race went on. I watched all 3 races of that triple crown and they were amazing to watch..

capcat wrote: Not to take anything away from Barbaro...I loved it that he won, but speaking of Triple Crowns,here's a video of Secretariat's Triple Crown run that was posted on another board: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CX9SIwYVcg
This brought tears to my eyes, he was such a horse.
I visited Claiborne the year after he won it, and the groom brought him out for me to have my picture taken with him, on the condition that I only hold the lead and not touch him....of course, I couldn't resist :blush:, but I'm glad that I did.
Here's hoping Barbaro will bring us the long-awaited Triple Crown like Secretariat did.

[zonetoncatfan]

capcat wrote: Not to take anything away from Barbaro...I loved it that he won, but speaking of Triple Crowns,here's a video of Secretariat's Triple Crown run that was posted on another board: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CX9SIwYVcg
This brought tears to my eyes, he was such a horse.
I visited Claiborne the year after he won it, and the groom brought him out for me to have my picture taken with him, on the condition that I only hold the lead and not touch him....of course, I couldn't resist :blush:, but I'm glad that I did.
Here's hoping Barbaro will bring us the long-awaited Triple Crown like Secretariat did.
Good for you capcat, what a sweet story! He's the first horse I remember and what a horse he was. That youtube video brought tears to my eyes, thanks for sharing! :)

[Terry L. Wildcat]

:XSir Richard, I'm sorry you had such bad weather for your Colorado trip.

[BOURBON TOWN CAT FAN]

I have one gripe, and would be interested in anybody else's opinionon this issue, I believe if you didn't run in the Derby you shouldn't be allowed to run in the other two legs of the triple crown. Ijustsaw on ESPNabout some other horses than plan to run in the next race, and it makes it even harder to win the triple crown if theDerby winner is going against fresh horses each race.

[DenCat]

I agree. I also think they should cut the derby field. 20 horse is just way too many. I thinkk some good horses get caught upin the crush coming out of the gate and never recover. I would like to see it limited to 15, with a special gate made just for theDerby. I don't think it is a problem at the Preakness or the Belmount. I don't want to take any thing from Barbaro, he ran a great race. I just think we wouldsee a better race with a smaller field.

[CATHYnKY]

BOURBON TOWN CAT FAN wrote: TrueblueCATfan wrote: I bet Bluegrasscat across the board..........won a nice little chunk of change
Same here, I went to Keeneland and enjoyed the race.
I had the Cat across the board and drew him to place in a jackpot at work. Not a bad chunk of change for an $8 investment :)

[UedK]

CATHYnKY wrote: Ihad the Cat across the board and drew him to place in a jackpot at work. Not a bad chunk of change for an $8 investment :)

Hey Cathy, we went to the Mint Jubilee again this year. Lee Greenwood opened it by singing 'God Bless the USA'.

I talked to Tara Conner, Kentucky's own Miss USA and to Ron Turcotte who rode Secretariat to the Triple Crown in 73. Turcotte appeared on stage along with other Triple Crown riders Steve Cauthen (Affirmed) and Jean Cruguet (Seatle Slew). All of this years Derby jockeys also made an appearance.

Itmay have beenthe best party I have ever been to. We won a great piece of yard art named "HoundDog" in the silent auction. And we danced our buns off to an unbelievable band from NYC. (They even had two guys and two gals parading around with nothing on but g-strings and body paint)

I know that last year we talked about getting together for the Jubilee but I guess we forgot.

(Bluegreass Cat helped me win the Derby Exacta!!!!)

[UedK]

Jeff Craddock wrote: BigBlueAngus wrote: Hard to figure he sure looked head and shoulders above the field, But that time of 2:01.36 who knows?

This is a very good time, under the circumstances. He stumbled at the start and wasn't pushed at the end. Had the race been closer, Prado might have knocked a couple ticks off the time with a few flicks of the whip. But as it was, he still ran a time good enough to be 14th best in the 130+ year history of the race.

What was most impressive to me was how easily he made his move. He appears to have "push-button" speed, meaning he'll run when asked and is easy to rate. Looks like another fun Triple Crown. :thumbup

I think Sweetnorthernsaint will be back--he's a Maryland horse--as will Brother Derek. Brother Derek would have placed, but for a terrible trip. Maybe Sinister Minister will give it shot, though he faded badly at the top of the stretch. And maybe Bluegrass Cat is running back to form. But the way it looked today, Barbaro may well be too much horse for them. He could have won by more, but Prado spared the whip, leaving a little in his tank for next time.

Very good take JC. I did not realize it until I heard it this morning, but Barbaro had the fastest last quarter time in the Derby since guess who? Yep, since Secretariat in 1973. had he come out a little quicker/ smoother his time may have challenged the great one.

[trublu]

Capcat, thank you for posting the Secretariat link. I saw him once too. He was so big and beautiful, and had a big personality too. They say that he was the perfect freak of nature. I believe that.
In a way, I don't ever want another horse to break his record; but I'm sure it will happen one day.

[trublu]

BTW, if anyone is interested; today at 5pm EST ESPN Classic will be showing the movie 'Let It Ride'. If you like playing the ponies, you might enjoy this one.

[capcat]

trublu wrote:
In a way, I don't ever want another horse to break his record; but I'm sure it will happen one day.
I don't either. I want another Triple Crown horse, but it will be sad when or if Secretariat's track records are broken. I guess there wasn't an officialtime for the Preakness, but in my mind it'ssafe to saythat he set one.

[KY Native in IN]

TrueblueCATfan wrote:
I bet Bluegrasscat across the board..........won a nice little chunk of change

they were betting and talking about it at work, i told them Bluegrass Cat was my pick....but i didn't bet a dime, should have maybe...:shrug: