30 Years...And Still Counting

It has been thirty years since the horse racing industry and the entire world has witnessed a Triple Crown winner. And, rest assured, you can bet on that number increasing to thirty-one years after Saturday's running of the Preakness Stakes.

A couple of weeks ago, Mine That Bird pulled off one of the greatest upsets in thoroughbred racing history by winning the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs. He didn't necesarily dominate the competition, but he turned on the jets coming down the stretch and won the Kentucky Derby by several lengths. At a near 50-1 odds when the starting gate opened, Calvin Borel rode Mine That Bird just as perfectly as he did Street Sense two years ago. He waited until the time was right and chose the right openings in between horses late in the race to steal the garland of roses. Today, people are comparing Calvin Borel to the legendary Pat Day. Now winning aside, I never recalled Pat Day celebrating after a victory the way Borel did when he pulled off the upset of upsets on May 2nd. I will give him credit where credit is due, as he knows the track at Churchill Downs probably better than he knows himself. But just like any good athlete, Borel has his weaknesses. It's certainly no secret that his strategy is to hug the rail whenever possible and, if he hasn't found it by the time he hits the home stretch, he goes hunting for it if it's the last thing he does. How the other trainers do not relay the message to colse off the rail before these races even begin is beyond me. Given the fact Borel has proved himself to be deadly when given an opening on the rail, you would think it would be priority number one for trainers and jockeys to close that gap whenever they are the opposition. My point here is that if there was no room on the inside rail at the Derby in 2007 and 2009, Borel would never have won.

Let's shift to the Preakness. Unfortuantely, I'm going to have to put blame on Borel right here, right now for choosing to ride aboard Rachel Alexandra instead of Mine That Bird. Of course having a filly beat the boys in the Preakness would be great headlines, but wouldn't winning the second leg of the Triple Crown be even greater? If Mine That Bird were to win at Pimlico on Saturday it would do nothing short of enhancing his underdog status and establish him as one of the craziest and astounding stories in horse racing.

Instead, Mine That Bird will be ridden by veteran Mike Smith. This move alone almost seals the fate of the current Derby winner to finish middle of the pack at best. Calvin Borel is looking for the money on Saturday and that's clearly why he's taking the irons with Kentucky Oaks winner Rachel Alexandra. Borel knows he can be successful with just about any horse at Churchille Downs, but anywhere else he'd rather increase his chances at winning by riding the FASTER horse. Without saying it, Borel knows in his mind that Mine That Bird has no chance at all at pulling the upset twice.

As for me, I'm sticking with my pick from two weeks ago in Musket Man followed by Pioneer of the Nile and Rachel Alexandra finishing a close third. Our fearless Mine That Bird, as much as I hate to say it, will hardly be mentioned when it comes to the high class finishers on Saturday. Is there anyone left, trainer or jockey, who is afraid to turn away the cash in return for some Triple Crown gold? I can only hope we as fans do not have to wait another grueling thirty years to find out.

NBA Playoff Predictions

So, as we are already several weeks into the 2009 NBA playoffs, and some teams have been eliminated, I thought I would use this post to shed some light on my predictions.

First and foremost, the Cleveland Cavaliers are my pick to run the table and be crowned this year's champs. Why you ask? Lebron James of course. Why Lebron over Kobe you ask? Time. Meaning it's King James' TIME to shine. Kobe has clearly had his time to shine when Shaq was in LA, but now it's time for a new breed. I'm not saying that in a game of 1-on-1 Lebron could shut down Kobe and take him to the cleaners or vice versa. This post isn't about who could beat who in a game of 21 on the blacktop. Rather it's about which player does more for their team and gives them a better chance to win on the hardwood. The Cavs have yet to lose a playoff game and are on the verge of sweeping their second straight team in the Atlanta Hawks. In fact, last night, Lebron went for 47, almost half of the team's points. In my opinion, he is the most athletic and gifted athlete on the court. Kobe only had 15, in the Lakers 12 point loss to the Rockets. That type of performance is unacceptable when you're an all-star who has clearly shown you can produce during the regular season. Now is not the time to fizzle out. So my position here is that Kobe is showing some inconsistency while Lebron still has the pedal to the metal and the trophy in sight. Not to mention Kobe has much better role players on his squad than Lebron does which makes James more of a standout. #23 has to bring it every night because he knows if he doesn't, that's all she wrote and the Cavs will be wondering if LBJ is headed to the Knicks next season!

Needless to say I'm picking the Cavs to come out of the East and play the Nuggets in the Finals come next month. Denver is much like the Cavs minus Lebron. They are a team that is peaking at the perfect time and playing great basketball out west. Sure they have Carmelo Anthony, but these guys play as a team and don't let one player be the focal point. I said in a previous post that Chauncey Billups would do nothing but make this team better, and it turns out I was right. He has been racking up the points, minutes and assists and has been a very important piece to this team's success. If the Nuggets and Lakers were to hold a series right now, my money would definitely be on Denver.

There is still much to be determined in these playoffs. But I think it's safe to say the Cavs and the Nuggets in the championship would make for some good matchups and would, quite frankly, be an NBA Finals that no one expected.