Does anybody else besides me think that the 2012 Preakness Stakes stunk on ice?
Why didn't Bode go out and set insane fractions like he did in the Kentucky Derby and run them off their feet
in a shorter race? Remember Shackleford just last year? A far lesser mammal compared to Bodemeister. You would have thought that Baffert would have employed the same tactic, but strangly did nothing of the sort.
Where was the whip at the top of the stretch, Mike Smith? You give Bode several smart whacks in the Derby when you were five lengths in front! Here, when you were being pressed, nothing.
To me, this race looked like something you would see at Penn National back in the day. When the races were not run, they were scripted. I have witnessed WWE matches more genuine. I was waiting for Mike Battaglia to hit Bob Neumeier with a metal folding chair. I would hate to think that horse racing has de-evolved from The Sport of Kings to bad Reality TV.
And WTF was with Bob Baffert's reaction just after the wire? The footage is available on YouTube. It looks like he lost a $10,000 maiden claimer at Hollywood Park, not the second jewel of the triple crown. I was expecting another heart attack not complete indifference. Oh, BREAKING NEWS: Bode is not running in the Belmont. What a shock. Expect other quality horses to withdraw as well. I expect Union Rags will develop a case of the Siberian Itch and will have to scratch (Get it?). Remember in 2008 when the Belmont had Big Brown in against a bunch of trotters and went "no mas" in the backstretch. I was surprised that Tom Durkin did not jump out of the announcers booth and carry him across the finish line to victory. Everyone (including me) wanted it so badly. They had it all set up for a big party, and all we got in the end was a "Big Brown in the Punch Bowl". I had substantial Lettuce on him that day, so I am allowed that bad pun. Luckily, I did not have a penny on Bodemeister, which makes these charges far more genuine.
But wait, we have a chance to see history, right? Horse racing couldn't be happier. However, they are delusional in their thinking that a triple crown winner will be good for the sport and people will come back to the track. Hardly. The rabble will care (barely) for a couple of hours and then watch "Dancing With The Stars" and forget all about it. They will continue to stay away in droves.
The only people IHN's win is good for is NBC Sports, The Belmont Stakes, its sponsors and Doug O'Neill. Hey Doug, this sure beats sending out lame horses to run in $2500 claimers at Los Al, doesn't it. And BTW, good luck with that upcoming drug suspension.
Of course all of the above is fiction, just a senseless rant ... or is it?
Last edited by fthack; 05-22-2012 at 01:21 PM.