I told you here, Walt.

Nice work Rube. Don't quit JORR.

the same place JORR told me it wouldn't

_________________
I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

This fucking Servis is embarrassing the game. It's pissing me off.

_________________
General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!

Okay, I'm back. I don't get emotional about racing very often. I just think what happened yesterday was a travesty. And not just Maximum Security, but Restoring Hope as well. Anyway, I'm not sure what can be done about it unless guys just refuse to enter their horses in races with Servis/Navarro/Baffert. I think Monmouth is going to be a real shitshow.

Very disappointing race for Hidden Scroll. I understand the thinking that they wanted him to rate behind horses and if he can't do that, he probably can't win the Derby anyway. But from the rail in that race with the likely pace scenario and needing Derby points, I thought he had to be put on the engine. Whoever grabbed the lead was likely to win the race or minimally go a long way and be tough to pass. But whatever. Maybe the horse isn't as good as I thought. Or maybe he just had a bad day.

In the bigger picture, I'm not sure a square guy can win the Derby in 2019. But I think OTE may be correct about how good Bourbon War is. I'm rooting for Hennig in any case. That was a sneaky good race for BW in an impossible spot. If you noticed, Irad had him a little closer to the pace early than he had previously been. Of course, that rat was crawling up front. He was very willing in the stretch with minimal urging. Winning this race obviously wasn't paramount for them.

Finally, this shit with Servis reminds me of Oscar Barrera back in the 80s. I remember when Slew O' Gold was the best horse in training and Oscar nearly beat him with a cheap claimer. Here's an interesting read: https://www.pastthewire.com/the-greatest-show-on-dirt/

_________________
General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!

When you think about it, the race result was pretty incredible.

An allowance horse who never had gone farther than 7f stepping up to beat G2 stakes winners in a premier G1 at 1 1/8 mi. And then a maiden with only two races finishing place.

The question now is what are Maximum Securities Kentucky Derby chances, when he wasn't even tested? They have to be pretty good. I read something interesting in a post-race article about him. He has "undisclosed" injuries. Whatever pain meds they gave him obviously worked.

Once Maximum Security was on the lead by himself and they flashed the 1/4 time I knew he would be difficult to beat. I realize that the rail and likely race shape was a conundrum for Hidden Scroll's connections. They wanted to try to get the horse to rate, but they also needed to get some Derby points. I think they made the wrong call, but hindsight is always 20/20.

I've watched the race countless times and I have no doubt that Hidden Scroll was dispirited by Castellano grabbing him and forcing him in behind. I think the problem really goes back to the Fountain of Youth when he got hooked by that cheap Mejia horse. That was two races in a row where he was just allowed to go. I've trained enough horses to know that a lot of times when you let a horse just run away a couple times, that becomes all he wants to do. And my horses were standardbreds that are generally much calmer and less high strung than thoroughbreds. I hope he hasn't been ruined because I know he has loads of talent.

_________________
General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!