Preakness Picks

[psprowler]

We used to get those errors on our satellite too. Switched to cable a couple of months ago.
Bad timing I guess.

What do you guys think about the Phillies (as in female horse, not the ones from Philadelphia)(sp?) being able to run 5 pounds lighter than their male horse counterparts? Big deal or not?

[RoadToad]

We used to get those errors on our satellite too. Switched to cable a couple of months ago.
Bad timing I guess.

What do you guys think about the Phillies (as in female horse, not the ones from Philadelphia)(sp?) being able to run 5 pounds lighter than their male horse counterparts? Big deal or not?

"Big deal?" Hmmmm I guess that depends on what you mean by big deal. The "conventional wisdom" is that one pound = one length. So, if that's true, then Rachel would have gotten beat without the five pound weight allowance. I'm not saying that it's true, it's just the "conventional wisdom." I don't think it's going to make a big difference in the Belmont. She's going to like that track a whole lot better than she did Pimlico. The surface is a lot kinder than Pimlico's, in fact it's quite similar to Churchill. And Pimlico has real sharp turns, and a short stretch compared to Churchill. Belmont, being a 1 1/2 mile oval, has nice wide, sweeping turns, and is one of the more "honest" tracks around, by which I mean that the surface itself is rarely what gets horses beat. Here's a little factoid for ya: Belmont's rail is DEAD if it's sloppy. So about the only thing I see getting Rachel beat is it's sloppy, and she gets stuck down there on the rail. Unless that happens, I don't think it matters if she carries 5 lbs MORE than the boys; she's just much the best.

[RoadToad]

Moot point now. Rachel is not running in the Belmont. They're giving her some time off. Can't wait to see her in the breeders' Cup!