Calling an audible

Previously, I thought our next race would be Friday. But, we got Unreal General in on Thursday (race 5). Additionally, we will have Dawn Raider going on Friday (race 6). That means the deadline for any purchases or sales of WG shares for this quarter will be Thursday.

I wish everyone a happy and safe New Year.

Matt

"Pity the Fool"

Regular readers of this blog know that I have nicknames for all of our horses. Previously, I have referred to Tytus as simply "T". After today's effort, we should be calling him "Mr. T". While pulling away to a 5+ length victory, he set a track record. No horse in the 82-year history of Tampa Bay Downs has run a faster 6.5 furlong race. Visit Tampa's website to watch the replay and/or read the press release about the record.

As far as yesterday's race is concerned, I thought Miltos ran a great race. After chasing a fast pace, she was able to hang on for third while battling Starlet Sky in the stretch. All things considered, it was a very encouraging effort.

Not all news was good this week. We claimed a horse in Miami on Monday - Love Divine ($16k split 3 ways). She ran poorly on Monday and it looks like she has a few physical issues. As such, we will have to be very aggressive with her to minimize our loss exposure.

Next Race: We are done racing in 2007 - it was a great year! (full summary for the quarter and year will be sent out in mid-January). We'll be entering Dawn Raider for a race next Friday. Our first race in 2008 will mark the deadline for additional purchases of Web's Gems shares or redemption requests. Right now, it looks like the price per share will be approximately $12.

Matt

Off and Running

We made our '07-'08 debut today in Tampa. Diablo ran an ok 4th. The footing was soft and she got banged around a little. More importantly, 3 horses ran faster than she did.

Next races: Miltos takes on an old friend on Wednesday (race 8). One of her 9 competitors will be Starlet Sky (to date, my favorite horse that we have owned). On Thursday (race 6), Tytus faces a tough group of $32k claimers. The race is at 6.5 furlongs - a distance we think he will like.

We tried to claim a horse today (a runaway winner in race 5), but it didn't work out. We are looking at one running in Miami on Monday and may look at one running against Tytus on Thursday. Stay tuned.

Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Matt

Back in the saddle

We got Diablo into a race on Saturday (Race 7). The race is going a mile on the turf and the field looks ok. She might be a little rusty, but the race should give us a pretty good idea of how she fits in with the stock down there.

Jamie on TV....For those who have access to HRTV, check out the Hawthorne replay show (10:00 a.m. on days after races). This week, they have been running an interview that was taped with Jamie while he was there. It's about 5 minutes long and worth a watch.

It sounds like we'll have some new investments next quarter, so I'll be intensifying my search for our next runner.

Matt

Patience

The action on the track has been a little slow, but it should pick up very soon. Tytus and Peagus turned in a couple nice workouts this morning. Diablo, Raider, and Miltos will be entering races within the next 10 days or so. Others are getting a nice break and/or waiting to get out of claiming jail (2nd week of January).

So take the time now to finish your Xmas shopping, attend those holiday parties, and cheer on the Vikings or your fantasy football team. We have one partner who is expecting the birth of his son any day now. In the meantime, I have been watching the races at Tampa and taking notes for potential claims down the line. Enjoy the break.

Matt

Expectations

Last week, Ravencliff runs 4th at 12-1 odds and we are encouraged by his effort. Yesterday, Unreal General runs 4th as the 3-2 to favorite and it's a disappointment. Both lost by just a few lengths. While both add roughly the same amount to the bankroll, it's funny how differently the races are viewed because of the expectations.

Next race: ?? We tried entering 2 today for Tuesday at Tampa. Diablo's race didn't go while Raider's race overfilled and we were left on the outside looking in. That's kind of the way it goes in the first few weeks at Tampa when they run just a couple days a week. When their full racing schedule kicks in later this month, our action should ramp up considerably. Speaking of later this month.....

...As we march towards another quarter-end, I remind you that shares in Web's Gems will be available for purchase and sale. For those who are thinking about redeeming, this quarter-end would be ideal. The end of a tax year would be a good time to sell if you need the money and/or you think this investment might not be suited for you.

If you want to buy or sell, please give me a little notice so that I may plan accordingly. Thanks.

Matt

Mother Nature 1 Web's Gems 0

It was a snowy, windy, rainy, icy, cold day in Chicago. The 2 jockeys we had lined up to ride our horses today (Thornton and Wade) were seriously injured yesterday and we had to settle for less than ideal pilots. All in all, it was not a bad day with a 2nd and 4th place finish. Tytus broke sharply and had the lead for most of the race but was run down late by a 17-1 longshot who likely ran a career-best race. In the next race, Ravencliff got to the lead with about a furlong to go, but just couldn't hold off 3 horses who were closing fast. There was about a length between the top 4 runners and it was 7 lengths back to the 5th place horse. At 12-1, "Raven" certainly outran his odds and he should be good to go in his next race.

Next Race: ? We'll be enetering Unreal General tomorrow for a race next Friday. Opening day at Tampa Bay is next Saturday!! In case anyone is interested, a few of us will be in Tampa on Jan 11-13. It was 80 and sunny there today (as I look out my window and see 1/2 foot of snow on the ground).

Express Delivery

First in, first out, first home. It was as simple as that. Miltos Express cruised to a wire-to-wire victory today as the even-money favorite. Next up for her, a race in a few weeks in her home state of Florida.

Let's race two...we have a doublehaeder scheduled for Saturday. Tytus and Ravencliff in back-to-back races (7 & 8). Both races look tough with deep and talented runners. Forecasts are calling for snow in Chicago which would jeopardize the races. Let's hope their weather people are as clueless as the ones we have here.

Matt

As Expected

When we claimed Chief last spring, I seem to recall writing something to the effect that he should win a few races, throw in a couple klunkers and plod along for minor paychecks in other races. He has delivered just about what we expected. Including yesterday's 3rd place, he has now hit the board in 7 of 10 races with 3 wins. He has paid for himself and earned a little vacation. He'll be on the next commute south with Dawn Raider on Monday. Upon arriving in Florida, we'll turn him out to a farm for a couple months. Beyond that, he'll return next year for what will likely be his final year of racing.

Next race: Miltos runs in race 5 on Thursday. She looks good in that spot and should be competitive. Mid-week, we'll be entering a few for races next weekend.

Slump Buster

It wasn't a real long drought, but Unreal General returned us to the winner's circle after a 5-week absence. It's not often after a claim when you can win the next race and get back 1.5x your purchase price. That's what happened today - nice R.O.I.

Next race: Dawn Raider on Friday (hopefully). The race is scheduled for the turf and we will scratch out if expected rain takes the race off the grass. Other than that, we'll be entering Chief tomorrow for a race on Saturday.

Peagus jogged around the track today while Brigade and Diablo take off for Tampa on Monday to join No Tolerance. Ravencliff and Miltos are preparing for one more race in Chicago and Tytus still might get in one more race in the Windy City. Iron Boy is still chilling here in MN. Did I forget anyone?

Matt

Race Update

Just talked to Jamie - we have decided to scratch Diablo out of her race tomorrow. Instead, she will be shipped down to Tampa next week to prepare for a race during the first week of the meet. Lite Brigade will be joining her on the first trip south. In other "horses on the move" news, Peagus will be leaving Minnesota tomorrow en route for Chicago. Once back in training, he'll be ready to run when Tampa's meet is in full swing.

Next race - Unreal General makes his debut on Sunday (race 4). We tried both days this weekend to get a race for Dawn Raider, but the race did not fill. It looks like it may be a "go" for next Wednesday.

Matt

"Glitterized"

Miltos ran 4th in a race won by Stage Glitter. For the first out for us, I thought Miltos ran fine. She should be ok. The first race of the day was a disappontment - Tytus bounced a bit off his last race, ran out of gas and finished sixth after leading until the top of the stretch. We may ultimately find out that he may be better off running in sprints. In yesterday's race, it was simply was a matter of Chief not running his race for whatever reason. Back to today, we picked up another horse for $8k. His name is Ravencliff (4 year old). He ran ok today and so far has checked out fine physically.

Next race: Diablo on Friday?? She is entered in race 9, but we may scratch out and wait for a better race. I will pass along a decision once one is made.

All in all, a disappointing weekend given the high hopes, but all horses came back to the barn and will be able to give it another shot next time.

Matt

Welcome Home

We re-claimed Lite Brigade today for $25k. He didn’t run well today, but he’s coming home to a barn that knows how to treat him. He’ll now get a much needed break (at least a couple months) until Tampa.

For Sunday, we got in 2 races of the 3 we entered. Both Tytus and Miltos Express will make their debut for us. “T” looks really good in his spot. He ran a career best speed figure the day we claimed him. If he can avoid the dreaded “bounce”, he should be very competitive. Miltos drew into a very deep field, including an old friend - Stage Glitter. Let’s hope Glitter bounces off her career best effort the day she won for us. Regardless, there are a number of other nice horses in the field that will be tough to beat. We should have a better idea what we have on our hands after this race. The allowance race for Diablo did not fill. We’ll try to find a claiming race for her next week.

Matt

Miss me?

It's been almost 2 weeks since my last post. A nice break from the action. We get back into the races on Saturday with Chief (race 10). He looks ok in there - decent field, favorite jockey, terrible post. Let's hope we can make it "Tanner Time" once more in Chicago. We'll find out tomorrow if we will have any runners on Sunday.

Our days in Chicago are numbered. Tampa opens up for training this week and opening day is 4 weeks from Saturday. We'll try to cash a few more checks in the next couple weeks and then head south.

I finally got my hands on some winner's circle photos from Hawthorne - they should be posted on the blog soon.

Tragic Ending

After 90+ races, I guess you could say it was just a matter of time until we experienced what took place today - Wayuphi suffered a fatal injury in his race and we had to put him down. He was forging to the lead shortly after the field turned for home and he took a bad step. The jock did everything he could to pull up the horse but the damage was already done. Thankfully, he did not cause a spill and no other horses or jockeys were injured. Rest in peace buddy.

It's going to be quiet for the next couple weeks. There's not much in the condition book for our horses until the weekend of Nov. 10th-11th when we could have as many as four hit the track for us.

Matt

Busy Day

Let's start with Dawn Raider. After a long night of rain, the turf was very wet and soft. Paul said that Raider didn't like the footing one bit. That and a pretty tough field resulted in a even effort (5th place).

It was an interesting day in the clam box. In the third race of the day, we put the $$ from Stage Glitter to work and bought a horse (split 2 ways) for $25k. The horse's name is Tytus - he won today's race in a very fast time. "T" is a 3-year gelding who has now raced 9 times (3 wins and 2 seconds).

Then, in the tenth race, we claimed a familiar face - Unreal General. "General" spent the first part of the year in Jamie's barn (Dan K. was the owner). He dropped in today for a $4k tag and we split the horse 3 ways with Jamie and Dan. Given the familiarity, this was a pretty low-risk claim.

Both horses seemed to check out fine physically after their races. We may not be done for the weekend. After Wayuphi's race tomorrow, we're going to take a long look at a few racing later in the day. Stay tuned....

Matt

Weekend Preview

We've got 2 races this weekend. Dawn Raider goes in race 8 on Saturday and Wayuphi comes back in race 2 on Sunday. On paper, both horses look that they fit well in their races. We are taking the blinkers off Raider - it will be intertesting to see how he reacts. Most horses will exhibit some significant change (better or worse) when the blinkers are removed. For Sunday's race, I was not thrilled to see Wayuphi draw the rail. That is not a good spot to be in a dirt sprint.

Just a reminder, all races at Hawthorne can be viewed online on cbs.sportsline.com - just follow the links for live horse racing.

Matt

Second Best

Diablo gave a good effort today but ran into a better horse. It was a hot, contested pace throughout the early stages and she simply didn't have enough energy to hold off the high-quality mare chasing her down.

Next race: ?? We'll be entering Dawn Raider and Wayuphi on Wednesday for races to be run on Saturday.

One and Done

Well, I guess you can't argue with the rate of return. Stage Glitter easily won her race today and was claimed back by her original trainer for $14k (we paid $10k). So it was a very nice 15-day return. Back to the drawing board to find her replacement. I was thrilled to see one of our partners (Paul J) make it into the winner's circle today as he was passing through Chicago on his way to South Bend, IN.

Next race: Diablo goes in race 9 on Sunday. It doesn't sound like she is as sharp as she was going into her last race. I'm sure that long stretch battle took a little something out of her. She'll have to dig deep to find the winner's circle again.

Matt

Going Out With A Win

After a last place finish in her debut, it didn't look like Twinpost was going to pan out for us. But after finding her right level, she went out today on a high note and won her final race while being claimed away. With her tendency to quit near the end of races and her physical problems, it was a good time for her to find a new barn. We might have been able to squeeze a couple more good races out of her, but she will be in need of a rest soon. While selling here for 1/2 what we paid for her, she was able to win enough on the track to pay for herself. Best wishes TP.

Today's race wrapped up a great weekend - 2 wins in 2 races. Chief grinded out a victory at a nice price (6-1). With Thornton getting hurt the day before and Paul out of town, we were fortunate to have Tanner available to pick up the mount. He and Chief seem to get along well. The 2 wins this weekend makes 20 on the year!

Next race - Stage Glitter makes her debut on Friday (race 5). I have not looked at the race in detail, but we are the morning line favorite. That's a good sign.

Matt

Back Home

It's safe to say that we will not be launching a european branch of Web's Gems anytime soon. It's good to be home. Just in time for a couple races this weekend. Chief (race 4 on Saturday) gets a good jock switch and a little softer field than what he faced last time. Twinpost (race 4 on Sunday) gets reunited with her favorite jock and looks well-spotted in her race.

What if?

When used separately, these 2 words don't mean much. But when combined and puncuated with a question mark, they conjure up all sorts of thoughts.

What if I had paid more attention in class? What if I didn't eat that last piece of pizza? What if I had more hair on my head? What if seven years ago I didn't buy a house with a jockey as a next door neighbor? What if we had enough money to buy Lookinforthesecret nine months ago today? What if Lookinforthesecret and Lite Brigade raced against each other?

While many of these questions are fun to ponder, the second to last question will always haunt me and the last question will be answered in three days. After spending many a day in Jamie's barn, I always wondered what would happen if/when the horses in the 1 and 2 stalls hooked up. They are set to square off Monday at Hawthorne (race 5).

By the way, on the undercard, Wayuphi goes for us in race 3. It's safe to say, while I will be over 4,000 miles away, I will be watching closely.

All that glitters is.....

....gold, we hope. We claimed a horse today - Stage Glitter (2-way split w/ Jamie for $10k). She ran a decent 2nd today. She is a 6-year old mare who has won 7 of 35 starts and has all of her conditions available. Initially, she has checked out fine physically.

Next Race: Dawn Raider makes his debut for us on Sunday (race 7). He's racing over his condition, but we wanted to keep him on the grass. A good showing here would be very encouraging.

Highs and Lows

Horse racing isn't usually a game of inches, but it was today. Diablo won by the narrowest of margins today in an exciting dual that lasted the length of the stretch. She came out on top beating a very nice mare who has won a couple stakes races this year and banked over $65k in earnings. A good win - replay available on Hawthorne's website. Also, the win should jump her up a few notches on Equibase's Top 100 horses by wins list (today's win was her 6th of the year).

Conversely, Chief ran a poor race on Saturday, never really got involved in the race. We definitely picked the wrong day to be in Chicago for a visit. However, I did get a picture with Miss Illinois (to be posted soon on the blog).

Next race: ??? After 4 races in the last 8 days, it will be a while before our next race. This will give me some time to wrap up the quarterly finncial reports.

The Devil Returns

After a brief freshening, Diablo returns to the races on Sunday (race 5). I'm not crazy about the jockey change, but Paul has had a tough time getting back into the country (green card issues) and won't be able to get down to Chicago until next week. Besides that, the race looks ok, there are a couple nice fillies/mares in there, but it looks like she has the best early speed, so it should be interesting turning for home.

It looks like Chief will have his hands full on Saturday. The race is filled with cagey veterans. At age 7, Chief is actually one of the younger horses in the race. If he runs his usual race, he should have a chance to hit the board. Hopefully, Mark and I can inspire him with our visit before the race:).

3rd, 2nd, .......?

Twinpost followed up Wayuphi's effort with a decent 2nd place finish today. She ran fine, just couldn't get to the winner. Maybe we'll keep the improvement going when Chief runs on Saturday (race 1).

Signs of life?

After a couple disappointing efforts at CBY, Wayuphi ran a credible race on Saturday. He broke well and stayed on the early pace. He just missed hanging on for 2nd. Something to build on. For those interested, you can see race replays on Hawthorne's website - let me know if you need any halp finding them.

Next race: Twinpost (race 2) on Wednesday. We're looking at races for Chief and Diablo on the weekend. We'll know mid-week if/when they will be running.

Hawthorne Debut

Wayuphi breaks the seal for us at Hawthorne on Saturday (race 7). Normally, I have a pretty good sense of how we're going to run, but I have to tell you that I don't have a clue about this one. He's fine physically, but just seems to stop running at points in the race. The class drop and switch to the dirt may help.

Looking deeper into the calendar...I have narrowed down my possible weekends for a January trip to Tampa. It will either be the weekend of the 11th-13th or 2 weeks later (25th-27th). Either way, if you think you may want to join us and have a preference between those weekends, let me know.

A New Dawn?

4th time's a charm? After 3 unsuccessful tries at claiming a horse, we finally won a shake. We claimed Dawn Raider for $17,500 (split 3 ways). Raider is a lightly raced 4-year old gelding who is bred up and down for the turf. He finished mid-pack today but got a terrible ride. With only 1 career win, he has all of his conditions left. So far, so good.

Earlier in the day, we loved the looks of Camptown King for $18,000. Apparently, a lot of others liked him as well. There was a 12-way shake for him. He ran a great race, he would have been a nice claim. Next?

Going Out With A Bang

360 days ago, we brought Starlet Sky to Kentucky Downs where she won and got claimed away from us. At the time, it hurt to lose such a nice horse. We went into a bit of slide after that and things got so bad that we had to give away a couple horses at lowly Beaulah Park. When we claimed Lite Brigade in January, our fortunes began to change culminating in a win today at a high profile track. While we once again deal with the loss of another nice horse via the claim box, we can take comfort in the fact that there are other nice horses out there to buy. We tried again to buy a horse earlier on the card today at Arlington for $25k but once again came out on the short end of a 4-way shake. We are looking at a few over the weekend to add to the stable.

Back to Brigade, what can I say, from Tampa to Des Moines to Winnipeg to Shakopee and finally in Chicago, he always gave us an honest effort en routre to his 4 wins. Rather than go on and on about the pros/cons of losing him today, I'll simply end with sharing one of the many emotions I have experienced tonight. When looking back on this day, I will always remember the tremendous pride I felt when I saw our horse stride into the winner's circle wearing our colors at glitzy Arlington Park. Beaulah Park has never seemed so far away.

Worth A Look

I'm sure many of you have seen this race before, but check out the link on the right-hand side in the Race Replays section titled "Maiden Race". There are a few fillies in here I wouldn't mind seeing in the barn.

Green Means Go

As of now, the plan is to go ahead and run Brigade in that race Friday at Arlington. That should be exciting. Jamie has had a few days now with No Tolerance and it looks like the best course of action is to give him some time off and plan for a return in Tampa. Not to be deterred, we tried claiming a horse today at Arlington for $18k (Sheikh and Awe), but we lost a 4-way shake.

Windy City Debut?

As some of you may have seen, Brigade is entered in a race on Friday at "glitzy" Arlington Park. I just wanted to let you know (in case any of you were thinking about making travel plans) that we may scratch out of the race. Jamie is going to take a look at the race to see how competitve we will be and make a decision at that point.

Get Well Soon

Yet another second place at Prairie Meadows. Given his physical condition, Iron Boy ran a respectable race. I was down there to cheer him on, but it wasn’t quite enough to propel him over the finish line first. We will now give him an extended rest in hopes that it will help him come back next spring. If he can return to his early-summer form, then Saturday night’s will prove quite useful in that it gives him a pretty valuable condition (allowance for horses who have started for a claiming price of $5k or less). With Iron Boy and Peagus at the farm together, let’s hope the staff there has some good body armor to defend against the bites.

Next race: ???? Jamie and others spent the weekend hauling the remaining horses down to Chicago. The Hawthorne meet starts on 9/21. We’ll also keep an eye on the races in Arlington next week to see if a) there are any horses worth claiming for the Hawthorne or Tampa meet, or b) there may be a race that fits Brigade.

241 Days

241 days and counting until opening day 2008 at Canterbury. It was a GREAT season. Shorter-term, it's 94 days until the opener at Tampa. In the interim, we'll try to cash a few checks in Chicago to help pay the bills. The "off" season got off to a good start last night with Twinpost's victory in Des Moines. Hopefully, Iron Boy will do the same when we send him down there on Saturday night (race 3).

A Look Back

Wow, Brigade ran his f***ing eyeballs out in the early stages. The pace was so hot that the 5-furlong split time was more than a second faster than the track record for the distance. Unfortunately, the race was 6 furlongs and Brigade just didn't have enough gas left in the tank. Hanging on for third was good considering that the multiple stakes winning horse who was pressing the pace early with him finished a well-beaten fifth. Similarly, Chief ran a respectable race on Friday night. So that wraps up our CBY season, 1 win short of the goal I set at the beginning of the meet (full season review coming later this week).

Looking ahead, we had plans to run Peagus in a small stakes race in Fargo on Monday. However, he had a setback this morning and won't be able to make the trip (more details to follow). We got Twinpost into a race on Tuesday down Des Moines.

Alumni Report

Chaffed Lips won another turf race today down at Ellis Park (son of a bitch!). A couple other horses from our past (Leather N Lace & Coppersmith) are entered in bottom-of-the-barrell races up in Canada (Marquis Downs) on Friday.

As far as our current stable is concerned, Lite Brigade races in an extremely salty field on Saturday @ CBY (race 4). This race came up tougher than many stakes races run at CBY this year. The 7 horses in the field have started a total of 46 races this year. Of those 46, there are 17 wins, 14 places, and 6 shows and a combined earnings of over $267,000. I'm not thrilled with drawing the rail - he'll need to be on his game in order to get his picture taken. Either way, it should be very exciting. We'll find out tomorrow if Iron Boy will race on Sunday. As of now, it does not look good for finding Peagus another race here.

Winding Down

One week remaining in the live racing season at CBY. 5 racing days left to achieve the goal I set at the beginning of the season (more details to follow in next week’s CBY review). We have Chief running on Friday night (race 6). Brigade, Peagus, and Iron Boy are ready to race – hopefully, we can find a race for them over the weekend.

As far as last weekend’s races are concerned, Twinpost pretty much ran as I expected to finish a respectable second. On the other hand, Wayuphi was a major disappointment. He’s got some issues between the ears that will need to be addressed. At the very minimum, a drop in class will be in order.

That brings me to Diablo. If the class jump, surface switch, and stretch out weren’t enough obstacles for her, there were a couple other factors working against her. The grass was very soft – typically, that type of surface does not bode well for front-runners. Additionally, after the race, it was discovered that she was under the weather (coughing quite a bit in the test barn). As such, we can be very encouraged with her runner-up effort. The timing is good that we can now give her a few weeks off to recover as we transition the stable to Chicago next week.

Destined for 2nd?

A quick review of the Racing Form yesterday might have led one to conclude that Chief was destined to finish second. Coming into the race, out of 55 lifetime starts, Chief had won 10, finished second 9 times, and third 10 times. So after yesterday's race, he now has 10 wins, places, and shows. Kind of spooky?

A look ahead - in addition to Twinpost running on Friday night, we'll have a doubleheader on Saturday (Diablo and Wayuphi in back-to-back races 7 & 8). Wayuphi faces a similar field to his last race, so he'll need to improve a bit to hit the board. In Diablo's case, we're mixing it up a bit - double-class jump and stretching out on the turf. Should be a good acid test for her. I'm really looking forward to her race. For those racing this weekend, it will be the last time we see them here at CBY this summer so come on out.

Lastly, if anyone is interested, I still have 1 T-shirt and 1 Polo shirt available - both are size Large.

The Week Ahead

With the sloppy weather this weekend, it was not a bad week to have no races. This week, we are sending Chief to Iowa on Tuesday for a race that fits his condition really well (horses who have not won a race over a mile this year) If the track stays dry, he should be very competitive. Twinpost races on Friday at CBY against a field that looks very similar to those she has faced the last couple times so she should have a solid chance.

Fun With Numbers

http://www.equibase.com/leaders/racingleaders.cfm

The link above takes you to a page on Equibase that lists 2007 leaders in several categories. I was browsing the lists last night and came across a couple interesting nuggets. For the top horses (by wins), you can find Iron Boy and Diablo. More impressive, for the Top Trainers (by wins), you can find Jamie ranked # 14 in the country with 91 wins and earnings over $1 million. This is an amazing accomplishment for Jamie - I'm glad he's on our side.

Just looked at Saturday's entries - we will have no races this weekend.

Full House

We'll have the photo on the blog soon, but as you'll see, we had over 50 people in support of Diablo's win yesterday. It was nice to win with such a big turnout. It would have been great to get 2 wins on the day, but Peagus ran into a tough bunch. The consolation of his 4th place and Wayuphi's 4th place on Friday night is that with the realtively high purse money, 4th place still earns a check big enough to pay some bills. So overall, it was a good weekend.

Looking ahead to next week, it could be a quiet weekend. We already know entries for Thursday, Friday and Sunday's races are restricted to MN-Breds. As such, Saturday is the only possibility for Twinpost and/or Chief to come out and play. We'll know Saturday's entries on Wednesday.

Thanks again to all who came out yesterday - if you get a chance, check out the Canterbury Report (netjamstv.com) from last night for a little recognition of our fan support.

16 Days

Only 16 racing days left this year @ CBY. Two of those days this weekend will be of interest to us. Wayuphi races tonight - I think he might be one race away from his peak effort, but he should be competitive tonight. Sunday offers a doubleheader. Right now, with Twinpost and Diablo entered in the same race (race 4), it looks like we will scratch Twinpost. A few races later, after a brief freshening, Peagus will make his return for us - that should be a great race. Very competitive field.

A look down the road.....it looks like Chicago will be the site for our Fall racing this year. I can see myself taking a couple weekend trips to the windy city. Speaking of traveling, I will be making more than one trip down to Tampa next year. A few of you have expressed interest in getting a group trip together. If you think you might want to join us, let me know and we can try to coordinate a date that works.

Ominous Sound

As I awoke Saturday morning to the sound of rain hitting my house, I knew the chances of Chief winning his race were not good - he hates running in the mud. As it turned out, his third place effort was a good showing.

Next race: Wayuphi makes his debut for us - Friday night, race 3. He'll be running against some good allowance (N2X) foes.

Note from Sunday's races: Chaffed Lips won a race down at Ellis Park. We were never able to find a turf race for her that fit her condition. She returned to the grass for her win today and looked much more comfortable.

No More Bridesmaid

After a string of runner-up efforts, Brigade broke thru last night for the win. Given the claiming level and the quality of competition, this was definitely a huge win for us. At the other end of the claiming ladder, Chief will give it a run for us tomorrow (Race 2).

Just a quick note on the administrative side - when I send out 3Q07 financial information, you'll see a big bump in the shares outstanding. After resolving a number of hurdles, we finally cleared the way for a sizable investment into the stable at our last offering price. We will continue our recent efforts in adding higher-quality horses to the stable.

We had a great turnout at the track last night - hope to see you there on Saturday.

"All Heart"

Iron Boy did not have his "A" game today. So when we asked Paul about his ride, he responded that the horse was "All Heart". That was good enough for the win today and it wrapped up a great week - 2 wins, a second, and another horse to add to the mix (Wayuphi).

Next race: Lite Brigade - Race 7 on Thursday night. Upon early review of the entries, it's going to be a hell of a race; lots of high-quality runners. Hope to see you there.

Lucky No. 7?

We now have an interest in our seventh horse. We bought a 1/5 share in a $25k horse. Along with the same partners as Iron Boy/Twinpost, one additional owner wanted in on a share of a horse named Wayuphi. The horse is a lightly raced 7-year old with a lot of back class. His best races have been on the turf, so expect to see him there in a few weeks for us.

As far as today's race is concerned, given the lack of pace, I was very satisfied with Twinpost's runner-up effort. For Sunday's race, I would recommend to those in attendance to not bet any significant $$ on Iron Boy. It is likely that his win odds will not be any better than 3-5.

Thanks to Mother Nature

We definitely caught a break tonight with the race coming off the turf. With 3 scracthes, we became the horse to beat. And Diablo delivered to the tune of a 9.5 length victory! Things will get a little tougher this weekend for our "quarter" horses - Twinpost and Iron Boy. Hope to see you at the CBY.

Ladies Night(s)

Our fillies take center stage this weekend. Diablo is stepping up in class and stretching out on the turf. That said, I think she is going to be competitive. If we get some rain and the race is taken off the turf, that would improve our chances. The horse to beat (V'Ville Lady) would likely scracth. If it stays on the turf, the favorite will be tough.

Twinpost's race on Saturday looks interesting. Although it is the same class as her last race ($15k), the race came up a lot stronger. In addition to the 2nd and 3rd place horses from her last race, there are a couple horses coming in from a Starter $10k and another one that often runs in MN-Bred satkes races. So she'll have her work cut out for her, but if she can sit off the pace like she did last time, there should be plenty of pace to chase down.

Buck Night on Thursday and Golden Gloves boxing on Saturday.

The one that didn't get away

In the past, I have blogged about a few horses that we thought about claiming (or ones that we claimed but lost a shake), and were worth the $$. That is, after the race, I wish we had spent the money and claimed the horse. I am writing today to describe a little different scenario. In today's 3rd race, Jamie and I had all but decided we were going to drop a claim on Commander Pat for $10k. We studied his form, watched his race replays, and talked about where he fit in with upcoming races at CBY. We had the claim slip all filled out and ready to drop in the box when Jamie said he wanted to take one last look at him as he came into the paddock. About 5 minutes before the deadline, Jamie was uncomfortable with what he saw - his ankles were swollen and all wrapped up. We decided not to drop the claim. About halfway through the race, Commander Pat was pulled up. Soon after, the horse ambulance came to pick him up. Needless to say, he won't be racing anytime soon (if ever again). WHEW - we dodged a bullet. It was such a relief, it almost felt like we had won a race. Moral of the story: the claiming game is a tricky business. We certainly won't make all good decisions, but let's hope over the long-term, the good will outnumber the bad.

Next Race: Diablo runs in Race 4 on Thursday night. Hope to see many of you out at CBY for "buck night". Speaking of popular track promotions, there were over 16,000 patrons in attendance for today's "Extreme Day". A fun day, but a litle over-crowded for me. Especially as some of the casual fans were in the betting lines in front of me trying to use the automated tellers.

No Race on Friday Night

I just got home from CBY - we are scratching Iron Boy out of his race on Friday night. We're going to look for a race that fits better sometime next week.

Weekend Review - 7/16/07

Quite a week - we were about 10 inches away from a perfect 3 for 3. Brigade gave it all he had to hold off his rival but came up just short in the end. Combined with the wins from Chief and Twinpost, it made for a great 3-day run. Along the way, we added an old friend back to the barn (Silver Peagus). After receiving $7k in additional investments for this quarter, it made sense to pick up another horse. Next race: Iron Boy (Friday night - race 7).

Chief

I was pleasantly surprised by Chief's victory last night. It was one of our more dramatic wins in that with a couple hundred yards to go in the race he looked well beaten only to close with a rush. Who knew the old guy had that burst in him?! If you recall, Chief finished last in his prior race. Let's hope the same last-first effort is what we'll see tonight with Twinpost.

On a side note, I have promoted Thursday nights in previous blogs - In today's Star Tribune (Scene), there is a cover story about the appeal of Thursday nights at the CBY - check it out.

Full Meal Deal

Busy week ahead - We'll start with an appetizer (Chief) on Thursday, followed by the salad (Twinpost) on Friday, the main course comes Saturday night (Brigade), and possibly a little dessert on Sunday (Iron Boy). I would say that as the week goes on, our horses will be more competitive. Chief looks a little overmatched whereas Brigade should be ok if he runs his normal race.

Weather looks like it will be fine. Buck Night on Thursday and the Chris Hawkey Band will be performing on Friday night. In addition to a great card of races on Saturday night, there will also be Golden Gloves boxing in between races. All in all, a fun weekend at the CBY - Hope to see you there!

One less mouth to feed

In a somewhat surprising development, Chaffed Lips was claimed away from us today at PRM for $5k. She ran an "ok" race to finish 6th after a slow start. In one respect it's nice to get rid of a horse that we lost a lot of money on, but it did seem like she was coming around after the time off we gave her. Regardless, her departure won't materially change our overall financial position - during the last couple quarter-end valuations, I marked her value down to less than $5k. From a tax perspective, we'll be able to use the capital loss to offset some of the gain we realized on Peagus. In any event, time to close the book on what has been the biggest money pit for us in our 2+ year history.

Fun Night

It was great to see many of you last night out at CBY to watch Diablo's win. The winning margin (7 lenghths) represents our "easiest" win thus far. Just a word of caution - last night's competition was pretty weak. Furture races will be tougher. That said, she ran well and should be competitive as she ventures into the open claiming ranks.

Buck Night

Just a quick note to encourage anyone in town to try and make it out to see Diablo's race on Thursday night. The race is at a reasonable time (8:30 approx), the weather is supposed to be great, it looks like Diablo will be very competitive, and it is buck night (food and drink specials). The $1 specials usually attract a fun, high-energy crowd. Speaking of good investments, I will be doing our quarterly share evaluation sometime in the next couple weeks. As such, if anyone is looking to up their share or knows someone who may be interested in buying in, now is the time. Hope to see many of you Thursday night!

Back from Canada

I have attached below an excerpt from the track's website. My opinion is basically the same - Brigade overcame a horrific trip to get up for second place. He was very game in defeat. We should be very proud of his effort. Not the same can be said for Twinpost. I just watched a replay of the race this morning and have not yet talked to Jamie. Regardless, she ran a disappointing race.

My brother taped the Brigade race with his camcorder. With a little tech help, I hope to have a link to the video on the blog sometime this week.

From the Assiniboia Downs website:

Going six wide around the final turn was not the plan trainer Carl Anderson gave rider Alan Cuthbertson to guide Illusive Force home; however nothing could stop the 7-year-old chestnut from winning the $45,000 Free Press Stakes. Southern invader Lite Brigade got wiped out at the start and still edged out the big grey Elite Mercedes for third.

Illusive Force sat quietly and let speedsters Global Crisis and Shadow Rush set a very quick opening quarter. Cuthbertson said, “When I asked him to run, away he went.” Illusive Force devoured his rivals with a power move around the corner and pulled off to win by one in the late stretch.

Lite Brigade who shipped in for the Big Sprint from Prairie Meadows kept his record intact with another second place finish. Now eight for eight in the top two; the 5-year-old by Lite the Fuse overcame the bad start and finish second.

Horse of the Year in 2006, Elite Mercedes, who is still trying to find his form from last year, winning six straight including three stakes, showed he still can be counted on for a pay cheque with his third place finish.

Checking in from Moorhead

It's a little after midnight here - we left after watching Peagus race on Saturday night. If all goes well, we should be pulling into Winnipeg around noon. For those going to Canterbury to watch Twinpost, have fun. We'll do our best up here to cheer on Brigade.

Stakes Debut

As most if you have seen, we have entered Brigade in a stakes race this Sunday up in Winnipeg. As of now, I am planning on driving up there to cheer him on. Also on Sunday, Twinpost will make her debut for us in a race here at Canterbury. As such, starting with Iron Boy's race tonight, we will have 3 horses running in races worth a collective $80k this weekend. For those coming to see Twinpost on Sunday, I will talk to the person in charge of simulcasting at Canterbury to see if she will be able to pull in the signal from Winnipeg. For those coming to the race tonight, I will see you there.

O Canada

We're going to scracth Lite Brigade and point him to a race next weekend in Winnepeg. We still have lots of paperwork to file, but if all goes well, we'll have him up there to run in a stakes race on Father's Day. More details to follow...

Busy Night

We claimed a couple 4-year old fillies last night - Go Go Diablo ($7,500) and Twinpost ($20,000). We split Diablo with Jamie (50%) and bought Twinpost with the same partners as Iron Boy (25%). Both fillies are lightly raced (19 and 18 lifetime races respectively). Diablo has been racing at some smaller tracks after starting her career at some major circuits whereas Twinpost has done most of her running with Stakes company down in Arizona. Physically, Diablo checked out fine after the race and I am still awaiting word on Twinpost - it was proabaly close to midnight before Jamie got her back in the barn. In the event we lose Lite Brigade tomorrow, we may want to consider this a pre-emptive strike in order to keep the action going at CBY this summer.
In other news, I ordered the polo shirts yesterday and the 2nd order of hats should be here later next week. It's supposed to be a good weather day tomorrow, hope to see many of you at the track.

Weekend Review - 5/29/07

It was quite a weekend. For starters, given the way he ran, I am comfortable with Peagus being claimed for $30k. He is a very, very nice horse, but he looked tired and may be at the end of his good form cycle. If we had kept him, we would have likely given him some time off and brought him back at a lower claiming level. By selling him at or near his peak value, I think we maximized our run with him (6 in the money finishes out of 7 races). To date, he has been our most profitable horse and we should have nothing but good memories of him and wish him well in his new barn.

After watching Peagus’ race on TV, we tried to get the job done down in Iowa with Brigade. He ran a good race to finish second. The jockey said after the race that he never got a chance to give him a breather and subsequently didn’t have enough left in the tank after disposing the other front runners to hold off the eventual winner.

We had a blast yesterday at CBY watching Iron Boy take care of business. Although the field was short in numbers, he beat four high-quality horses. Since we have ran him twice in the last 2 weeks, he likely won’t race again for at least a few weeks. We’ll look for a race for Chief to run in this weekend. Other than that, it looks like it will be a slow weekend for the stable.

A few other items…..for those who attend the races at CBY, we have posted a link on the blog to print out free admission coupons (thanks to Kari for finding this link on the City of Bloomington’s website)….. Leather N Lace returned to the races on Saturday with a 3rd place finish up in Canada….. The WG hats have been a big hit. Several strangers have approached me at the track and commented on how sharp the hats look and how they see our logo everywhere. Originally, I just ordered enough hats to cover those who wanted them. A couple partners have requested additional hats, so I may be putting in an additional order in the near future. I am also considering putting together a design for some polo shirts. As such, please send me an e-mail if you would be interested in additional hats or a polo shirt. Based on the feedback, I will proceed with any orders accordingly.

Tough Choice

2 horses in races 2 hours apart and 200 miles away. As of now, it looks like I'll be heading south to watch Brigade. In my absence, I hope many of you are able to make it out to CBY to represent WG and cheer on Peagus. It's possible we'll have yet another runner later in the weekend at CBY.

New post: links to our last 3 winner's circle photos can now be seen via links on the right side of this page (thanks Chris).

Helicopter Needed

Despite the bad experience in Iowa last week, we found a race down there for Lite Brigade on Saturday night. Also, I know we are looking at entering Peagus in a race earlier that day at CBY. If the Peagus race is a "go" (entries are drawn tomorrow), I 'll have a tough time getting down to Des Moines to see Brigade's race. Anyone got a helicopter or small airplane we can use? If not, If I get a speeding ticket rushing down there, I'll just pay it out of the Web's Gems account :-). Other than that, not much new to report from last weekend. We did look long and hard at claiming a horse (Smithtown Bay) on Sunday for $15k. In retrospect, after winning the race easily, he would have been worth the $$ - most attractive angle was that he was a talented MN Bred. Those type are hard to find in the claim box. I wouldn't necessarily say we are actively "in the market", but I will continue to keep an eye out for those that offer some value. I can say that through 7 days of racing at CBY, that was the first horse I even thought about buying. That's all for now.

Race Recap - 5/15/07

It took a 500-mile road trip to figure out something we already knew - Iowa Sucks! We were hoping for better than 4th for Iron Boy. Paul indicated after the race that he never got a good feel for the track and was more or less "spinning his wheels". That said, he simply ran a sub-par race. Entries for this weekend at CBY look light, but there is a 4-day weekend the following week.

Race Recap - 5/12/07

There was once a time when we were thrilled with a 3rd place finish. So I guess its a good sign when we can be "disappointed" by not winning a second level allowance race. That said, the main reason for us not winning was simple - too fast, too early. There's a saying that "pace makes the race". A couple minutes before the race, I mentioned to Paul J. that I was concerned that the #1 horse was going to try hard for the early lead and force a quick pace. This was one time where I wishI was not right, because that is exactly what happened. Oh well, don't want to sound like I am making excuses - we'll get 'em next time. It was good to see a number of you there on Saturday with your hats and T-shirts in support. We're off to Praire Meadows tomorrow with Iron Boy. I am going to take a vacation day and drive down with Jamie and Paul. The race is scheduled for approx. 6:00 C.S.T. and should be on TVG or online at cbssportsline.com.

Canterbury Debut

Peagus is in for Saturday (Race 8 - Allowance). It will mark only the second time we have raced where our horse will not run for a claiming tag!! We tried to get Iron Boy in as well, but his race did not fill. Jamie has decided to scratch Lite Brigade from his entry this Friday at Prairie Meadows - we are looking at a race there next Tuesday. For those with old horses in their virtual stable, you may find this weekend's races interesting. Rhino Chaser and Shammuu race at Fairmount Park (Illinois), Starlet Sky races at Arlington Park (Chicago), and Uncle Brother races earlier in the day at Canterbury against Winter Trick (a horse we tried to claim). For those who ordered hats, I will have them in my car on Saturday. That's it for now.

Brigade Entry

FYI - as you will see, Lite Brigade in entered for a race on Friday night at Praire Meadows. As of now, we are not planning on running him in that spot. For now, he's is entered as a backup plan in the event that Jamie's other horse (stakes winner) cannot make the race. Things may change, but that is the plan.

Hats

FYI - for those who ordered hats, I just got word that they will be here on Wednesday. Just in time for the CBY season!

Notes - 4/30/07

Lite Brigade ran a solid second on Saturday - he ran a winning race, but he simply ran into a better horse on that day. A very encouraging effort on the turf which may open up a few other possible races for him here at Canterbury. While at CBY on Saturday, I stopped by the barn to visit Peagus and Iron Boy. After a day or two from adjusting to the new surroundings and the long van ride up from Florida, they were both in good spirits. Speaking of Iron Boy, if you check out the blog, Chris has figured out a way to post race replays on the site. Enjoy. For those keeping track of events in Tampa, with 2 racing days left, Jamie is tied at the top in the trainer's standings.

A quick turnaround

Aizarunner ran an ok 4th yesterday and was reclaimed by his previous owners. As such, for us, it was pretty much a wash for the 3 weeks we had him. I mentioned a while back the 3 most common reactions to a horse being claimed away (happy, sad, indifferent). I would definitely catorgorize this one as "indifferent". It would have been nice to pick up a little bigger check then 4th place.

No luck in the box

As expected, there was a lot of interest in claiming Starlet Sky. We lost a 10-way shake. For those keeping score, she won the race easily.

Notes - 4/17/07

Wow, what a race by the cagey veteran (Peagus). The race set up nicely for him and he pulled away with ease. That should be it for him down at Tampa - Let's hope we can find some good races for him up here in front of the home crowd (sorry California and Indiana partners). We are all set in Chicago to try and claim back Starlet Sky on Thursday - we'll need a little luck in what will likely be a multiple-owner shake. Until then...

Notes - 4/16/07

Quiet on the racing front this last weekend, but there are a couple entries this week worth noting. First, we entered Peagus in a race for Tuesday. It's not his best distance (6F) and a few more days rest would be nice, but he should be very competitive. Second, Starlet Sky is entered in a $18k claimer on Thursday in Chicago. We are working on a) finding a contact in Chicago to drop the claim for us and b) raising the $$ to wire. Stay tuned...it could be a very interesting week.

Brigade Wins!!!

Brigade ran a great race today and beat a very tough field ($32k claimers). We have always thought he is a horse who runs his best when he is fresh (hence the 2 month layoff). Now the tough (but fun) part is trying to figure out where/when to run him next. As far as Peagus' race on Saturday is concerned, I thought he ran about as well as could be expected given the factors stacked against him. That said, I think we are pretty ceratin what we have in him - a solid $25k claimer.

Stiff test for Peagus

Saturday will be a big test for Peagus (class jump, trying the grass, and losing the services of Centeno). The field looks pretty tough. Let's hope for the best! Also, over the weekend, we will be trying to get Brigade into a race early next week.

Hats for sale

In light of the fact that that the T-shirts last year were not a big hit, I am going in a different direction this year - hats. This Friday, I will be visting an embroidery shop to work on a design for some Web's Gems hats - let me know if you are interested.

New Addition - Aizarunner

A few partners made additional investments last week and I spent the $$ on a new horse - Aizarunner. He is a 5-year old that has won 7 of 36 races for a bankroll just shy of $150k. He looks like a better runner on the turf which is something I was looking for to complete our lineup. Once again, we split the claim price ($16k) with Jamie.