Psycodelic Boat Ride

Keeneland swings into action this weekend with the 79,238th running of the Blue Grass Stakes.The field is full of horses whose owners are looking for the golden ticket. Here's the field:

1. Patena 10/1
2. Join the Dance 10/1
3. Theregoesjojo 7/2
4. Cliffy's Future 20/1
5. Mafaaz 12/1
6. Terrain 6/1
7. Loch Dubin 50/1
8. General Quarters 15/1
9. Charitable Man 4/1
10. Hold Me Back 3/1
11. Massone 12/1

The pundits have no idea who will win this race. All but three of these horses have won stakes races in the past. A couple of them are coming back after steep lay-offs (Charitable Man). The second betting choice, Theregoesjojo, has never won a stakes race, but was caught up in the rarefied flux of Quality Road.

Selfishly, I'm hoping Theregoesjojo and Patena go 1/2. Realistically, I think the order of finish will be Theregoesjojo, Hold Me Back, Join the Dance, Patena.



In the Arkansas Derby, Old-Fashioned will try to put Win Willy back in his place. In his last outing, Old-fashioned got caught in a speed duel and had no answer for the hard charging Win Willy. They're both back along with a cast of hopefuls.

1. Captain Cherokee 20/1
2. Papa Clem 6/1
3. Flat Out 10/1
4. Poltergeist 20/1
5. Ziegfeld 12/1
6. Flying Private 6/1
7. Summer Bird 30/1
8. Old Fashioned 9/5
9. Win Willy 7/2
10. Danger to Society 6/1

I'm looking for Old Fashioned to bounce back from his startling defeat in the Rebel. Papa Clem should provide a challenge. Win Willy, if he's a horse to be reckoned with, will be hard charging again from the rear. I wouldn't discount Danger to Society, however.

Rank	Score	Stable	Player	Hometown
1	164	!Xabbu	Thomas Ryder	Roanoke
2	135	Antilles Stable	Elizabeth Ryder	Roanoke
3	130	Poop Man, Caped Crusader of Muck	John Wallace	Berryville
4	115	Schanuci	John Ryder	Blacksburg
5	107	Clifton Pond	Rebecca Ryder	Lexington
6	83	Driving in Circles	Joey Ryder	Blacksburg
7	40	Spontaneous Combustication	Andrew Ryder	Vienna

Don't forget to pick your two supplemental horses before Saturday.

Diving In

Diving In

The weekend will feature four exciting races in on the springboard to the Kentucky Derby. Here’s a look at the fields in the races along with selected odds. Click any hyperlink to learn more than you ever dreamed.

Santa Anita Derby I (Santa Anita)

· Chocolate Candy

· Z Day

· Unbridled Roman

· Pioneerof the Nile

· Mr. Hotstuff

· Feisty Suances

· Take the Points

· Cape Truth

· Gallant Son

· The Pamplemousse

Strong field. My favorite horse, Chocolate Candy, steps up to challenge the two clear favourites, The Pamplemousse and Pioneerof the Nile. Don’t discount Feisty Suances.

1. Pioneerof the Nile 2. Chocolate Candy 3. The Pamplemousse

Wood Memorial I (Aqueduct)

· I Want Revenge

· Lord Justice

· Cellar Dweller

· Atomic Rain

· West Side Bernie

· Imperial Council

· Just a Coincidence

· Lime Rickey

Is I Want Revenge for real? He should get a stiff challenge from Imperial Council and either West Side Bernie or Atomic Rain.

1. I Want Revenge 2. Imperial Council 3. West Side Bernie

Illinois Derby II (Hawthorne)

· Nowhere To Hide

· Giant Oak

· Lord Justice

· Toccet Rocket

· His Greatness

· Perfect Song

· Free Country

· Musket Man

· Al Khali

· II Postino

· Knight Shot

Early on, everyone was a Giant Oak fan, but he has disappointed. I’ve been hoping for Free Country to break out, but he’s been disappointing. Musket Man has looked promising.

1. Al Khali 2. Musket Man 3. Giant Oak

Bayshore III (Aqueduct)

· Hatfield

· Counter Move

· Lyin’ Heart

· Capt. Candyman Can

· Rocketing Return

· Not For Silver

· King Puma

· Gato Go Win

· Yano

· Taqarub

Capt. Candyman Can should have no reason to lose, and he won’t.

1. Capt. Candyman Can 2. Gato Go Win 3. Counter Move

In our little contest. !Xabbu still leads after a surprisingly strong weekend. With so many front-line races this weekend, more movement can be expected.

Rank	Score	Stable	Player	Hometown
1	109	!Xabbu	Thomas Ryder	Roanoke
2	83	Antilles Stable	Elizabeth Ryder	Roanoke
3	83	Poop Man, Caped Crusader of Muck	John Wallace	Berryville
4	83	Schanuci	John Ryder	Blacksburg
5	63	Clifton Pond	Rebecca Ryder	Lexington
6	67	Driving in Circles	Joey Ryder	Blacksburg
7	25	Spontaneous Combustication	Andrew Ryder	Vienna

Lambs

As we get hip deep in our little fantasy season, there are five races to consider this weekend. After going through and peeking at them, I’ve concluded that real movement in fantasy point totals is a distinct possibility. This is an unusual week. Not too many of the front-line horses are racing. Desert Party in Dubai is the most intriguing. Dunkirk and Quality Road get a lot of hype. Big Drama makes his much-anticipated return in The Swale. Aside from those four, the fields are quiet this weekend.

The real point movement will no doubt come in the trainer and jockey categories. Garrett Gomez is aboard two top contenders in the Florida Derby and Swale. Psst...Europe is a rabbit for Dunkirk. Here’s a McPeek. Click on the links and you may go somewhere.

Mar 28 2009 Florida Derby I

1 Toby the Coal Man (KY)

Julien R. Leparoux
Nicholas P. Zito

10/1

2 Quality Road (VA)

John R. Velazquez

James A. Jerkens

2/1

3 Casey's On Call (FL)

E. T. Baird

Alec Fehr

15/1

4 Dunkirk (KY)

Garrett K. Gomez

Todd A. Pletcher

9/5

5 Sincero (FL)

Elvis Trujillo

Manuel J. Azpurua

20/1

6 Theregoesjojo (KY)

Kent J. Desormeaux

Kenneth G. McPeek

5/1

7 Danger to Society (KY)

Mario Madrid

Richard E. Dutrow, Jr.

6/1

8 Europe (KY)

Christopher P. DeCarlo

Todd A. Pletcher

20/1

9 Stately Character (KY)

Rene R. Douglas

Gerald Procino

20/1

My Pick: Quality Road...Got to go with the VA horse. Plus, rabbits are tricky.

Mar 28 2009 Swale II

1 This Ones for Phil (FL)

Garrett K. Gomez

Richard E. Dutrow, Jr.

3/1

2 B Z Warrior (KY)

John R. Velazquez

Todd A. Pletcher

5/1

3 Sabi Sabi (FL)

Jose Lezcano

Edward Plesa, Jr.

8/1

4 Custom for Carlos (KY)

Kent J. Desormeaux

Eddie Kenneally

4/1

5 Brave Victory (KY)

Julien R. Leparoux

Nicholas P. Zito

4/1

6 Big Drama (FL)

Eibar Coa

David Fawkes

2/1

My Pick: This Ones For Phil...too much Drama for Big Drama

Mar 28 2009 UAE Derby II

1 Regal Ransom

Garcia Alan

bin Suroor Saeed

4-1

2 I Am The Best (GB)

French R L

Al Raihe Ali R

30-1

3 Lelah Dorak (KSA)

Prado E S

Resaque Badar

15-1

4 Muy Ponderado (ARG)

Smith W

Jbin Shafya Mubarak

50-1

5 Desert Party

Dettori L

bin Suroor Saeed

1-1

6 Redding Colliery

Egan J F

Brown Herman J

8-1

7 So Shiny (ARG)

Jara F

Barton Jerry

20-1

8 Ra Junior

Spencer J P

Meehan Brian

20-1

9 Balcarce Nov (ARG)

Marwing W

Brown Herman J

20-1

10 Jose Adan

Durcan T E

bin Suroor Saeed

12-1

11 Soy Libriano (ARG)

Ajtebi A

bin Shafya Mubarak

10-1

12 Naval Officer

Kinane M J

Barton Jerry

6-1

13 Paso de Gloria (ARG)

Supple W J

bin Shafya Mubarak

30-1

My Pick : Regal Ransom...too much hype for Desert Party

Mar 28 2009 San Miguel

1 Triumphant Flight

Espinoza V

2 Flashmans Papers (GB)

Bejarano R

3 Turk

Rosario J

4 Gotmymojoworkin

Garcia M

5 Reynaldothewizard

Flores D R

6 Charlie's Moment

Sorenson D

My Pick: Flashmans Papers

Mar 29 2009 Sunland Derby

1 Valid Stripes

Lanerie C J

2 Santamonicacanyon

Flores D

3 Advice

Velazquez J R

4 Dumar

Contreras L

5 Mayor Marv

Espinoza V

6 Scorewithcater

Baze M C

7 Mythical Power

Gomez G

8 Kelly Leak

Smith M E

9 Mine That Bird

Lambert C T

10 Infernal

Villa M A

11 Mark S the Cooler

Nakatani C S

12 Smokin' Legend

Espitia J

My Pick: Advice

In our contest, !Xabbu continues to lead the way, although his lead has gradually evaporated. Poop Man and Antilles are in hot pursuit. Clifton Pond is making a strong bid while Schanuci and Driving in Circles are spinning their heels. There is no reason for Spontaneous Combustication other than he may have thought this was some new form of SCRABBLE!

Rank	Score	Stable	Player	Hometown
1	90	!Xabbu	Thomas Ryder	Roanoke
2	79	Antilles Stable	Elizabeth Ryder	Roanoke
3	79	Poop Man, Caped Crusader of Muck	John Wallace	Berryville
4	67	Clifton Pond	Rebecca Ryder	Lexington
5	58	Driving in Circles	Joey Ryder	Blacksburg
6	57	Schanuci	John Ryder	Blacksburg
7	17	Spontaneous Combustication	Andrew Ryder	Vienna