Breeders' Cup Day 1 Diary

A strange and wonderful opening day for the Breeders' Cup, which went something like this for me:

1:30 PM - Arrive at my University of Louisville parking lot.  Walk to Churchill in brisk wind - real feel temperature = 46 degrees. 

2:00 PM - Arrive at press box, survey the beautiful surroundings from 6 floors above the track:




4:00 PM - The Marathon, the most boring race in the BC (or so I thought) goes off.

4:03 PM (or 7 years to a dog later) - Eldaafer streaks to the wire in front of Prince Will I Am.  I later learn that Eldaafer's trainer has been developing his "slow-twitch" muscle fibers to improve endurance, a nice piece of intel I would've preferred to have had at 3:55 pm.  At least I included him on my pick 3 ticket, which is still alive.

4:05 PM - Someone yells FIGHT! in the press box.  I thought two reporters were pummeling each other or something.  We all scurry to the terrace to discover that below us, Calvin Borel is attacking his fellow jockey, Javier Castellano for cutting him off during the race.  Borel gave new meaning to Ragin' Cajun.  Hey, world, this a passionate sport!  But is there a boxing division below featherweight?



4:10 PM - Official results posted.  Prince Will I Am disqualified, meaning my pick, Gabriel's Hill at 25-1 finishes second.  I only bet him to win.  I mentally pull a Borel on myself.

4:20 PM - As I'm writing up the recap on the Marathon for The Paulick Report and looking up boxing terms, I quickly glance over my picks for the Juvenile Fillies Turf and realize that I had picked New Normal based on his last race at Woodbine (which I loved) and the fact that the Churchill turf had been playing to speed.  But now, I'm fairly certain it's not playing that way anymore.  I still love the race he came out of, so I switch my pick to More Than Real, who closed from the back and finished second in that race.  He's 13-1.  I'm definitely against Winter Memories because well, everyone else seems to think she's a lock.

4:53 PM - Nice call, dude.  More Than Real storms home ahead of Winter Memories, keying a decent trifecta, since I liked Kathmanblu also, and she finished third.  My pick 3 hits and pays $230 for .50.  Since my previous BC betting has been an unmitigated disaster, I take a moment to appreciate me learning something - always be willing to adapt.

5:40 PM - After having tossed 8-1 Dubai Majesty onto my Pick 4 ticket at the last second, I'm relieved when she wins impressively in the Filly and Mare Sprint.

6:15 PM - My pick in the Juvenile Fillies, Awesome Feather, wins at 4-1.  Unfortunately, I didn't do enough with it (I do have to work, you know), so I'm a little disappointed to have the winner and not much to show for it.  At least I'm still alive in the Pick 4.

6:55 PM - I am now dead in the Pick 4.  45-1 Shared Account stuns the press box by beating heavy favorite Midday in the Filly and Mare Turf.  Oh well.

7:25 PM - I hear rumblings that my pick, Life at Ten, is not looking well for the Ladies' Classic.  I don't like last minute rumblings.  I adapt once again and go with my second choices, Unrivaled Belle and Blind Luck, focusing on Unrivaled Belle on top because she's 7-1 and Blind Luck is the 9-5 favorite.

7:30 PM - Oh, what a night!  Unrivaled Belle holds off Blind Luck keying a nice score to round out the day.  It was my best BC day ever, although my joy was tarnished by the incident with Life at Ten.  Based on the information available, the stewards should've held up the start of the race to look into what was being broadcast on ESPN about Life At Ten.  Thankfully, nothing bad happened, but it was unsettling that she was allowed to race.  It all happened so fast - there's probably plenty of regret about it this morning between the track and her connections. Maybe a lesson learned.

I'm sure the racing gods will punish me Saturday for having a good day on Friday but the glow from the Twin Spires and the excitement of Zenyatta's historic run will more than make up for it.