Sal says that the old saying that time flies when you’re having fun is only half true. This being the last weekend of the Del Mar and Saratoga summer boutique meets seems to Sal that time flies even when you’re not having fun.
Sal says that the moments when time stands still while your tiring front runner is searching for the wire are equaled by those when its supersonic as your closer needs a couple more jumps to catch the front runner.
Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.
Albert Einstein
This is Horse Racing – The Inside Rail – Tom Clancy – Goodbye
NY Times – HSU – Pumpkin Spice Glut Arrives Earlier Than Ever
Meanwhile, details of future plans for the racetrack will be unveiled in the coming months.
“What we have planned is very exciting,” said Morrison.
The Stettler Independent – Central Alberta entrepreneurs purchase Alberta Downs race track
The city is still negotiating what to do with the Coliseum and Northlands Park, where horse racing is scheduled to continue at least until a new race track is built outside the city. Council expects another report on the future of the Coliseum Sept. 12.
Edmonton Journal – Stolte – Council votes to forgive Northlands’ $47M debt, take over Expo Centre
Sal says that one of his astute sources wants to know where the $8.1 million in tourism grants will go now that the city is operating the Expo Centre.
Sal says that Stolte’s report does not sound like a 7 year extension for horse racing has been granted to Northlands Park.
Horse racing will be gone by this time next year.
Edmonton Sun – Hicks: Northlands empire has fallen
Sal says that Sal keeps checking the comments for Buzzy Burke’s comment about Tim Reid heading back to his Zamboni driving job in Fort McMurray.
Time Flies Like an Arrow; Fruit Flies Like a Banana
Groucho Marx
The 2017 Bird of Pay Stakes at Northlands Park was not much more than a jog in the park for Don B. Danard and Brad Auger’s Suzette. The Kentucky bred daughter of Overanalyze out of the Sharp Humor mare Anna Bird Rulez took over from the early pace setters and just kept opening up with ease to a 14 1/4 length victory covering the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:19.76 for leading Northlands conditioner Greg Tracy with leading Northlands rider Rico Walcott aboard. Dazzling Chic rallied for second with Uliftmeoffmyfeet closing for third but neither threatened the winner.
Astute handicappers listening to the jockey change when Quincy Welch booked off and Rico Walcott took the mount in the last race cashed the $18.20 late Daily Double.
Brad Auger may not be a name familiar to the Alberta race scene, but he’s not a rookie as he’s been in partnerships with Glen Todd and Kendall Hansen and as Rick said I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Sal says that Sal’s surprised that the Lloydminster connections who won the 2007 Canadian Derby with Footprint didn’t step up for the daughter of Footprint’s half sister Anna Bird Rulez.
Sal says Sal’s certain that Suzette’s current owners are quite pleased with their purchase. Especially since her time for the 6 1/2 furlongs was 1 second faster than the boys in the Birdcatcher on Saturday.
Same Mr. Prospector line mare with a different Northern Dancer branch on top
Sal says to check out Hip 52 at the 2017 CTHS Alberta Sale if you’re looking for an Overanalyze yearling.
Gone West branch of Mr. Prospector line mare with same Northern Dancer branch on top as Suzette.
Too Tall Tony latest winner for Overanalyze
Overanalyze is currently leading the 2017 First Crop Sire list.
Bloodhorse – 2017 First Crop Sires
Sal says that speaking of over analyze that’s something that we handicappers do far too often. We spend so much time pouring over the form and replays that we suffer paralysis by analysis and can’t make a decision on who or what to bet. Sal’s best handicapping is usually done when Sal starts to look at the P4 with 2 minutes to post in the first race.
Sal’s Updated 2017 CTHS Alberta Sale Preview
2017 CTHS Alberta Sale Catalogue
“With a jockey on a horse, if he comes off, there’s a high chance of getting a concussion, but he’s not impacting the brain hundreds of times in a race,” said Dr. Willie Stewart, a neuropathologist at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. “If you have a rugby player, perhaps there’s a lower instance of concussion, but there’s a difference in brain impacts that are causing the repetitive subconcussive insults hundreds, maybe thousands of times a season.”
ESPN – Fainaru-Wada and Fainaru – NFL retakes control of brain research as touted alliance ends
The Globe and Mail – Alphonso – Primary numbers
Sal says I’d be more concerned to find a teacher who can teach more arithmetic than counting the number of kids in the class to report to the union.
The Globe and Mail – Quiz: Can you pass the Grade 6 math test?
Math is made of 50 percent formulas, 50 percent proofs and 50 percent imagination.
There are three types of people in the world, those who can count and those who can’t.
The Globe and Mail – How well do you know Canada’s history?
Bloodhorse – Bernard Baruch Steppingstone for Heart to Heart
TDN – DeBernardis – Options Abound in Wide Open Prioress
Bloodhorse – Wincze Hughes – Gun Runner Much the Best in Woodward
ESPN – DRF – Grening – Gun Runner romps in Woodward, eyes showdown with Arrogate
TDN – Gun Runner Puts on a Show in Woodward
Bloodhorse – Gun Runner in Great Shape After Woodward Romp
Paulick Report – Gun Runner Camp ‘On A Fun Ride’; Colt Targets Breeders’ Cup Classic
TDN – DeBernardis – Two-Time Champion Songbird Retired
Bloodhorse – Wincze Highes – Champion Songbird Retired
TDN – Unified Retired, to Stand at Lane’s End
Paulick Report – Bowman ‘Lost For Words’ As Winx Ties Zenyatta’s 19-Race Win Streak
TDN – Winx Equals Zenyatta Streak
Brisnet – Reilly – Excitement flies high as Winx makes it 19 in a row in Chelmsford
National Post – McConnell – The important questions: Is frozen pizza really a crime?
National Post – Thomson – Pizza pan helps save endangered piping plover eggs on Prince Edward Island
NY Times – Rabin – Does Cooking Boost Nutrients in Tomatoes and Spinach?
White Pine Ranch’s Shimshine, an astute claim earlier this meet, sat just off the early pace took over down the lane and slowly edged clear to win the Birdcatcher Stake at Northlands Park for conditioner Elige Bourne with leading Northlands Park rider Rico Walcott aboard. Shimshine got the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:20.78. Regal Max sat behind the pace and ran into a bit of traffic trouble before closing for second. Kirwan’s Mountain closed well for third after he decided it was time to race.
Sal says that bettors paying attention to Rico Walcott would have noticed that Rico had ridden the 4 horse before but took the winner on Saturday.
Shimshine was bred in Alberta by Wally Pugh and Andy Stronach by Wilko out of the Menifee Mare Shimmery.
Sal says that there are a couple of Wilko’s available in the 2017 CTHS Alberta sale:
.Sal says only in America.
Bloodhorse – Eric Mitchell – Voodoo Song Makes It Four in a Row With Saranac Win
Paulick Report – Voodoo Song Takes Saranac For Record-Equaling Fourth Win Of Saratoga Meeting
Sal says that the Saratoga stewards blew this race. Voodoo Song took out 3 horses at the start and the inquiry sign never lit up. Maybe like the Northlands Park stewards they wanted to be home in time for supper.
TDN – Berry – Derby Dream For €500,000 Soldier Hollow Colt
Horse Race Insider – Jicha – In This Game, One Must Keep Learning
NY Times – No Madonna. No Geena Davis. But Still in a League of Their Own.
Bloodhorse – Rain Forces Schedule Changes at Kentucky Downs, Ellis
TwinSpires Blog – Road to the Kentucky Derby extends reach into Europe
Sal says that before CDI goes all blither blathery about extending the points to foreign races where the horses seldom arrive in Louisville it needs to find the way to Illinois and add Hawthorne’s Illinois Derby to the points program.
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is
Sal says that the moments when time stands still while your tiring front runner is searching for the wire are equaled by those when its supersonic as your closer needs a couple more jumps to catch the front runner.
Just ask the bridgejumpers who wagered over $22,000 to win on Killin Me Smalls and the Nicholson fans who had their shekels on Royal Warrior’s nose as Killin Me Smalls was searching for the wire and Royal Warrior need just one more jump in the Speed to Spare Stake at Northlands Park on Saturday. Ed Welsh and Deltin Stables Killin Me Smalls just held on for the win over the late closing Royal Warrior for conditioner Ernie Keller with Keishan Balgobin in the irons. Ready Intaglio had to do nothing other than show up for third place money in the field of three.
Royal Warrior’s closing rush was far more difficult as Killin Me Smalls jogged unpressured for the first mile plus and lone speed unchallenged is tough to reel in.
You have to go way back in the Past Performances to find that Killin Me Smalls was another astute claim by Ernie Keller and his connections.
Bloodhorse – Angst – California Takeout Increase Falls Short
TDN – Chaplain Chavez Honored as 2017 NYTHA Equistar Award
TDN – Bill Finley – Pennsylvania to Begin Suspending Horses for Positive Tests
TDN – Towers – This Time, Horse Racing’s Aging Demographic Problem Is Very Real
TDN – Letter to the Editor: John Chambers
It seems to me that at this time we need education in the obvious more than investigation of the obscure.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
TDN – Towers – Three Strategies to Attract the Millennial Gambler
TDN – Letter to the Editor – Re: Attracting the Millennial Gambler
TDN – ‘Tastings & Trivia’ to Benefit Farm Workers
TDN – Maryland Breeders Announce New Bonus Program
Horse Racing Nation – Kentucky Downs to debut Jockey7 wager on Saturday
Brisnet – DeRosa – How to Bet the Jockey Wager at Kentucky Downs
Sal says that a bet similar to a fantasy sports league will be readily understood by all sports bettors, casual or hooked.
DRF – Rampellini – Three tracks in Texas to cease live racing
Bloodhorse – LaRue – Vertical Oak Splashes Home in Prioress
TDN – Duckworth -Kentucky Kids ‘Keene’ on Field Trip
TDN – Duckworth – ‘Our Gates Are Open’
DRF – Grening – Paolucci’s rabbit barred from Woodward Stakes
Sal says that with a name like Paolucci he should understand omerta.
Horse Race Insider – Pricci – Fifty Years Later, No Rabbit Redux in This Woodward
Music is the silence between the notes.
Claude Debussy
TDN – Carasso – Record Turnover at HK Season Opener
Paulick Report – Pletcher Keeping Keen Ice ‘Turning Over’ On The Road To Jockey Club Gold Cup
Thoroughbred Racing Commentary – The race that had three winners
Bloodhorse – Trio of Colts Pace CTHS Ontario Sale
TDN –Victor’s Cry Colt Leads Way at CTHS Sale
Pedigree Notes:
Canadian stakes winner Secret Wish is a half-sister to the filly Academic (Henny Hughes), who won the 2015 Woodbine Oaks prior to besting males in the GIII Canadian Derby and GIII British Columbia Derby. Secret Wish is also kin to Awesome Fire (Strong Contender), winner of the grassy 2012 Wonder Where S. and third in that year’s Woodbine Oaks.
Sharp Samurai is the last of two listed foals for his dam.
TDN – ‘Samurai’ Stays ‘Sharp’ in Del Mar Derby
ESPN – Forsberg – Celtics’ focus shifts to a solving a revamped roster puzzle
ESPN – Forsberg – With blockbuster deal, Danny Ainge takes shot at greatness
Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
Warren Buffett
NY Times – Senior – ‘Cuz’ Mourns a Loss and Denounces a System
Racing Post – Forristal – Two grooms should be employed for each horse – Labour Court
Horse Race Insider – Berner – The More Things Change…
Garden and Gun – The Supreme Court’s Groundbreaking Southerner
Goop – McCann – A Guide To Spirit Animals
Bloodhorse – Balan – Moonshine Memories Speeds to Del Mar Debutante Win
ESPN – DRF – Privman – Moonshine Memories scores game Del Mar Debutante win
Bloodhorse – Balan – Encumbered Continues Callaghan’s Hot Streak at Del Mar
TDN – Violence Colt Keeps Callaghan Rolling in DMR Juvy Turf
TDN – Caulfield -Pedigree Insights: Practical Joke
TDN – Martini – Inside the Winner’s Circle: West Coast
TDN – WinStar Acquires Always Dreaming Breeding Rights
DRF – Hovdey – Hovdey: 3-year-old ponies go up and down in circle game
Paulick Report – Classic Empire ‘Not Going To Make The Pennsylvania Derby’
NY Times – Jones – 10 New Books We Recommend This Week
Brisnet – Caldwell – Lady Ivanka trumps Separationofpowers in Spinaway
Sal says that Caldwell just jumped to No 1 
in the Pun Headline Top Ten.
TDN – Lady Ivanka Trumps the field in Spinaway
Bloodhorse – Novak – Lady Ivanka Charges to Spinaway Score
TDN – Oppenheim – September: The Big Picture and the Second Week
LA Times – Lazarus – Phone industry turns to James Bond for answer to robocall villainy
Thoroughbred Racing Commentary – King – A day Brenton Avdulla will never forget
The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Bloodhorse – Wince Hughes – Cambodia Gets the Jump in John C. Mabee
ESPN – DRF – Andersen – Cambodia gets Mabee win
Sal says that sometimes you gotta stoop down and pick up the apple that fell off the tree.
Bloodhorse – Eric Mitchell – Harmonize Prevails in a Tight Glens Falls Finish
TDN – DiDonato – Davis Not Looking to be ‘Cheap Speed’
TDN – Martini – Bodemeister Filly Tops Barretts Yearling Sale
TDN – Duckworth – Aftercare Initiatives Bolstered by Equestricon
National Post – Colby Cosh: Sure the Mayweather-McGregor match was a circus. Don’t we like circuses?
The Globe and Mail – Wente – I’ve had it with the monument wars
The Bitter Southerner – Evans – Woe is Houston? Aw, Hell, No.
The Bitter Southerner – Stevens – This Kitchen Ain’t A Men’s Club
The Bitter Southerner – Harris – Three Peauxdunquians Drive to Selma
TDN – Kentucky Cup Classic Returns to Turfway
TDN – Ward Wins With Another Scat Daddy Filly
Paulick Report – Jagow – California Chrome Makes ‘Verbal’ Return To The Races
Ranch House Designs – ERCEG – 10 Things Only Hereford People Understand
Paulick Report – Voss – Lost And Found Presented By Horseware: ‘Taxi’ Is All Grown Up
Bloodhorse – Soutache Sets Record in FSS Affirmed Division
Bloodhorse – Balan – St Patrick’s Day Breaks Maiden, FrontRunner Next
TDN – New Year’s Day Colt Graduates at the Spa
NY Times – A Crude Rant Gets Fognini Booted From the Open — and Good Riddance
Hawthorne Sal
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