Prehistory of the "Daily Racing Form" · 12.08.10

There’s an interesting article currently up on the Daily Racing Form website. Titled Frank H. Brunell: The father of form, it tells the story of the founder of the DRF. Frank Brunell was originally not a fan of Thoroughbred racing — his forte was harness racing. As a sports reporter for the Chicago Tribune, in 1889 he was assigned to cover the Thoroughbreds. Losing hundreds of dollars over the next three years, he threw himself into the study of handicapping.

Out of Brunell’s studies arose the two tools which would revolutionize both racing and handicapping: race charts and past performances. Charts made their debut in the first issue of the DRF: November 17, 1894. Past performances (PPs) would appear eleven years later. As an example, the article reprints the PPs for the 1906 Kentucky Derby. Apart from the antique typeface, and minus some modern statistics such as track variants and speed figures, they appear practically identical to the PPs published for the 2010 Derby. A classic example of the old adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

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Recognition · 12.08.10

Just giving some belated recognition to Hastings General Manager Raj Mutti, whose placement on the Thoroughbred Times 40 Under 40 List earned him a feature story in the Vancouver Sun. Congrats, Raj — they even spelled your name right, this time!

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Stayers' Watch: summer omnibus · 8.08.10

Greenwood Cup (Philadelphia Park, 17 July)

  1. A.U. Miner
  2. Alcomo
  3. Jade’s Revenge

Time: 2:29.97 (12f, fast dirt)

Sunset Handicap (gr. IIT) (Hollywood Park, 18 July)

  1. Marlang
  2. Champ Pegasus
  3. Unusual Suspect

Time: 2:25.45 (12f, firm turf)

Cougar II Handicap (gr. III) (Del Mar, 30 July)

  1. Temple City
  2. Unusual Suspect
  3. Richard’s Kid

Time: 2:30.46 (12f, fast synthetic)

John’s Call Stakes (Saratoga, 6 August)

  1. Always First
  2. Perfect Shower
  3. Coolcullen Times

Time: 2:41.47 (13f, good turf)

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Under-rated and over-rated? · 4.08.10

It’s reader participation time again, folks. This time, name your favourite under-rated horse, and/or your (least) favourite over-rated horse. Here, I’ll start:

Under-rated: Fit to Fight — Last winner of the Handicap Triple Crown in 1984, and considering the current status of those three races (the Met Mile still carries hella prestige, but the Suburban saw a decrease in grade and distance this year, while the Brooklyn is now basically a Breeders’ Cup Marathon prep), he will probably go down as the last ever. He probably would have won champion older horse honours that year if Slew O’Gold hadn’t gone on a tear late in the year. Along with Gallant Man and Alydar, Fit to Fight was arguably one of the best horses never to win a championship.

Over-rated: Dr. Fager — I expect a lot of arguments on this. I know, world-record mile, four championships in one year, only defeated by other champions, yadda-yadda. My two knocks against him:

  1. He never learned to rate off the lead, making him a sucker for a rabbit/closer combination like Hedevar and Damascus. Oh, stop whining that it was “unfair” — Frank Whiteley recognized Dr. Fager’s weakness, and as an opposing trainer it would have been a professional failure not to take advantage of it. And you don’t think, if the situation was reversed, that John Nerud wouldn’t have done the same thing?
  2. He never raced beyond 1 1/4 miles. Yes, that distance is considered the North American “classic” distance. But there’s a reason why the 1 1/2 mile Belmont Stakes is still called “The Test of the Champion” — and Dr. Fager never took that, or any similar test.

Give your arguments, or your own selections, using the comment form below.

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The future of racing? · 22.07.10

First they came for the 12 furlong races, and I said nothing, for my horses were bred for 10 furlongs.

Then they came for the 10 furlong races, and I said nothing, for the purses were bigger for 9 furlong races.

Then they came for the 9 furlong races, and I said nothing, for breeders prefered horses that could win going a flat mile.

Then they came for the mile races, and I said nothing, for everybody said that sprints were more exciting.

Then they came for me, and there was nobody to save me, for there were no Thoroughbreds left, only quarter horses.

(Originally posted to Twitter — with apologies to the memory of Pastor Martin Niemoller…).

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