Belmont Stakes...

JackWESQ

I realize that this is off topic, but I have to say that I was aghast to
see that ESPN has a 2 hour preview for the Belmont Stakes and that
is followed by ABC "televising" the Belmont Stakes for another hour
and a half.

Is it me or am I the only person that believes three and a half hours of
television programming for a two and a half minute race is ludicrous?
At least with the Super Bowl, you get three hours of game time for
a million hours of pre and post game coverage.

I once heard Jim Rome say that horse racing is not a sport; it's a bet.
And we all know how gambling is an integral part of a sport's success,
even though the NFL and NCAA won't admit it. Oh well, back to me
trolling ebay for PSA 1, PSA 5 and PSA 6 graded cards. Thanks for your
time.

/s/ JackWESQ

Stone193

Jack
Watched the race this afternoon - thought he had it! Anyone who picked the winner had a big, big Payday!! The horse paid almost 75$!!!! Birdstone - good name.
Mike

Snowball

Yeah I thought SJ hadt it, too. Came so close.

metsfan

It would have been nice to see a triple crown winner. I guess we'll have to wait again!

ctsoxfan

It was actually exciting to see the favorite lose, and watch the underdog come out on top. But, I agree, there was no need for hours of build-up for the 2 minute race. The look on the billionaire owners and their families faces as they lost (surely they expected to win, and had counted the dollars already) was priceless.

ajw

I was at the Belmont today for my first ever horserace. It cost me a buck to get in and I was on my feet for about six hours. It was awesome. Easily one of the more exciting days at a sporting event that I've had. (Hitting a big bet through dumb luck in the first race didn't hurt, of course.)

I imagine that the Belmont is less exciting when there isn't a Triple Crown contender, but today's race was fantastic.

By the way, a mile and a half is a looooong way for a horse to run.

murcerfan

Yo Jack of 31 posts,

did you realize almost the entire card at Belmont was graded stakes races and that 3 other races prior to the Belmont nearly busted the track record?

now what was it that ESPN should have been televising? a couple over-rated ruskie women playing tennis in France? or perhaps bowling, lawn darts or was it a big day in arena football you missed ?

aghast and ludicrous ?

My God man were is the decency.....there was bull riding and horeshoe a' thowin' that could have riveted us all into our lazy-boys all afternoon.

Who the heck does ESPN 2 think they are ? ESPN 1 ?

Mantlefan

Got to Belmont at 10 AM today. Left after the big race at 7 PM. Got home at 9PM [live about 10 miles from track]. 11 hours is too much for me. Smarty losing made it worse.

murcerfan

I guess Mary Lou did not invite you to the after hours in the Hamptons

Kid4hof03

Did you guys not realize that Smarty was from Philly? He couldn't win, it just wouldn't be right! We are the "City without champions".

SoFLPhillyFan

Murcerfan, you forgot to mention curling, the sport that makes watching paint dry exciting. I have seen 80 year old shuffleboard players here in FL with more enthusiasm.

Kid4 - the championship will come. 3 in a row in the NFC Champ Game is nothing to sneeze at. Keep your hopes up. We just do it in a big way when it happens. Remember the good times in the 70's and 1980. Flyers, Eagles, Phils, and Sixers all either won the big one or made it there numerous times. The jock just let the horse go too early yesterday. BTW - I grew up in Willingboro.

Now tell me something. You are not really a Cowboys fan are you? Don't they have laws in the Delaware Valley against that?

Keith

Spigrimace

Hey Philly fans,

Don't give up on Smarty yet. He'll be champion 3YO of the year unless Birdstone wins the Travers & Breeder's Cup classic. But if Smarty can come back late this year or next year and win a Breeder's Cup Classic or Dubai World Cup, he could still easily become the richest racehorse ever. Depends if the connections want to retire and stud him now or go for it.

Here's a few pics of him I snapped from the paddock:



Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

Link 5

Link 6

Stone193

<< <i>Don't give up on Smarty yet. >>


Spig
I really thought I was going to see a triple crown winner! Very exciting. There's always next year. I'm not a race fan so there's only the triple crown each year.
Mike

SoFLPhillyFan

Thanks for the pics. I have a close friend who is a major league horse racing buff. Will share them with him.

Kid4hof03

Keith,
I'm definitely a Cowboys fan. I'm a transplant to the Philly area. I've been here for 13 years now. My wife is from Willingboro, we live in Burlington, NJ.

To be quite honest, I take a bit of pleasure in the Philly drought. I've been turned into a bit of Phillies fan, they are fun to watch, although Jimmy Rollins and Bret Myers drive me nuts! I have no hockey interest at all, so the Flyers mean nothing to me. The 76ers are boring at best. The Eagles, well, since the Cowboys have not been very good for a few years, my happiest days of the NFL season have the the NFC campionship games the last 3 years. They are a very good team, and I would expect them to break through soon, but in my heart of hearts, I hope not!

Abe

shouldabeena10

Keith and Abe,

I really feel for you guys this year... with both of your teams looking so promising in the pre-season, it will be very hard to watch the season unfold... as Joe Gibbs methodically trounces the NFC East this year and the Redskins take their rightful place at the top.

But look on the brightside... The Giants will probably be at the bottom of the pile, so there's always 2nd and 3rd place to fight for.

Mike

SoFLPhillyFan

12/25/04

Dear Mr. shouldbeenapromisingyearforRedskinsfootball

Sorry your season did not turn out as expected.
Give Coach Gibbs my best.
Enjoy the cookies.
Merry Xmas.

Love,
Donovan

A761506

I don't see how the TV programming was over-done, yesterday nearly became one of the most historic days in the history of the sport, and the entire card was all top-notch horses, ridden by the best jockeys in the world. It is a shame to see how horse racing has been on the decline in recent years. It is very entertaining to watch, exciting to bet on as well, and it's a great feeling handicapping a winning ticket. I started going to the local harness tracks when I was 17, and on a regular basis when I go today, I am always one of the youngest patrons who is there to handicap the races and bet them, and I'm 28. Horse racing is unfortunately a dying sport. Today's generation would much rather bet on a football or basketball game because they are familiar with the teams. The large majorty of horse racing bettors are upwards of 50, and there is not much of a following by younger people. I think it was both good and bad for horse racing that Jones lost yesterday. Good because it makes the Triple Crown that much more elusive, bad because the sport really needed a boost that would create a large influx of new handicappers attending the races. Unfortunately, the average person who has never seen a racing program before doesn't want to take the time to learn how to accurately read what is says, understand it, and then be able to handicap a race. It takes quite a bit of time to really become familiar with the fine details, and many people are too impatient for this. To me, it's like a great challenge, an intricate puzzle. All I've got to do is figure out who the best 3 horses in the race are and bet accordingly. Lot of bang for your buck at the race track.

fullerfun4

As far as I'm concerned, horse racing is worse than boxing. Both are a crap shoot for betting but in racing, ther are so many variables that the public has no idea of. I've heard of races being lost or won because it happened to be a certain jockey's birthday. At least with fighters, you usually know when he is hurt or healthy. With horses, one almost never knows unless it is scratched from the race.
Just my opinion....Gary

Spigrimace

For those who thinks horseracing is crap, I don't give a hoot at $4000 claimers at Penn National. But that was world class racing yesterday at Belmont and I can appreciate an animal as an athlete. Try going to a world class horseracing event just once and get close up to one of these horses and you will just feel the beauty of them. The big racing days are real, without any fixing and for the sport.

As much as Bear Fan's new track record was impressive, the horse that gave me chills yesterday was Speightsown. 21.2, 43.3 55.1, 1:08.04 all on or close the lead. Thought I was at Santa Anita. lol. Also he's rare that he's impressive at 7F's but can get 6F's as well.