The 100th Wood Memorial Live!!

I welcome in live in Queens, Todd's country if you will.

Live at Aqueduct race practice, just the horse racing happy

hour. Louis Ribow, Barry Spears, John

Piazzic. If you wanted to understand

horse racing, it's us 3 schmucks at this table at Aqueduct on a

cold Saturday trying to figure out the 100 Wood memorial

because gentlemen welcome in. Thank you for making the trip.

Not so far for John, New York guy here, but Barry made the

trip up from Florida. Really appreciate it.

I've never been to Aqueduct before, so this was such a cool

opportunity for me to get up here.

I booked this trip and then I realized it was 100th wood.

I didn't even know it was 100, but it worked out well.

Welcome in man, how are you? Thank you so much for having me.

Yeah. Haven't been here since the

early 90s, but that's crazy. Thing is, is kind of like I

thought it was gonna be, but it's, it's a, it's a lovely

rustic kind of track and just being here is just great.

And I know all the memories I have, plus all the others and

Wood Memorial Day and all that kind of stuff.

You know, it's, it's really great to be here.

And John, I know you know you're you're working at Yonkers now.

I know you grew up on the New York Tracks Ballpark.

How many times you think you've been to this place?

At least 50. And my dad has to come in here

for a million years. I mean, he was here when Seattle

Slew won his last race in the Stuyvesant Handicap in 1978.

So I've been coming here for a long time.

In fact, one of my New Year's Day traditions growing up was

they used to give away a calendar on New Year's Day.

So I'd come here every New Year's, get my calendar and

watch a few races. Was it a New York calendar or

just an aqueduct? Calendar.

It was New York racing. OK, OK, so it was.

Oh, that's awesome. The Aqueduct almost out, stuff

like that. And.

And I have to say, so I've been here a lot.

I know you. You haven't been here in a long

time. You and Zach have never been

here. First timers.

Yeah. And we got here about 9:30 this

morning and Matthew DeSantis gave us a nickel tour and these

guys were like, in awe of how awesome Aqueduct.

It is awesome. Yeah.

And because Matt was wearing purple, it gave off a lot of

vibes of Willy Wonka giving off a tour of the Chocolate Factory.

Who's the verouc assault of this group?

Why is it Barry? That's right.

Yeah. Why is it Barry?

That's right. What are we doing here?

It's got to be Barry. That's right.

Yeah. No shame in being.

But hey, let's do the quick thing here.

You know, Derby, you know Derby trailed to this point, right?

And I think a lot of eyeballs are going to be on Keeneland on

Tuesday, obviously, and out in LA for the San Anita Derby.

Let's start in Los Angeles. A couple of horses, frankly,

three of them short field for sure, but we've seen Citizen

Bowl. I gave the stat last night on

our SoCal Saturday show. They'll have the three last

runners to win the Breeders Cup Juvenile and then win their

first race as a three-year old. Two of them one the Derby and

the other one was essential quality.

So it's a it is a really, really good thing to do if you can do

it. I made the joke last night that

we watched a little baffert shimmy after Citizen Bowl came

back in that Lewis, he knows what he has or at least he

thinks he knows what he has. You were high on Barnes going

into, especially into the San Felipe journalism did the darn

thing. A good set of horses out at at

at Santa Anita today. But also you're just going to be

able to. That's not a difficult race to

figure out. Citizen bulls going to try to

get their lead. Journalism's going to try to

catch them. Pretty simple.

Yeah, that's that's really the case.

It's it's a really tough race because all those three horses

are probably at the top of this crop and they have sort of the

same running style. They have the same sort of

tactics. So it's going to be the cat and

mouse game. Is is going to be a little

interesting to see, especially in this race, because journalism

technically doesn't need to win, but could just be a way better

horse than the other two and flat out win this race and and

go on to bigger and better things.

But that remains to be seen. Citizen Bull has a lot of speed.

You usually don't see a lot of Baffert horses that need a race,

but that horse definitely did and we'll see what happens.

You know, I'll say the only horse who can really win that

race in the sense of booster Derby stock is Barnes.

Because there's so much doubt about his his ability to go a

mile and an eighth or further that if he wins this race, it

would quell a a lot of those doubts, sure, and make him one

of Derby favorites. Citizen Bowl and journalism are

all ready to the Doobie favorites, so if they win those

stock really can't be helped. But if either of them who has a

clunku, it's going to hurt them I think quite a bit in the eyes

of most racing. If the Kentucky Derby were today

and I only gave you journalism or Citizen Bowl in a normal

Derby field, who would you bet today?

Citizen Bowl. OK, who would you bet today of

those two, Journalism or Citizen Bowl today?

Today I'd, I'd bet journalism, OK, he's just more polished at

this point from what I've seen. So we haven't seen Citizen Bold

today, and it could be another story so.

So with with Citizen Bold, is it the running style especially or

is it, is it that historosity of, hey, if you win this race in

the fall and you get to the spring, you're going to be in

that kind of company? Which one is it?

It's both, especially because so many big Derby horses this year

do their best running from off the pace.

You know, we saw it in Arkansas, we saw in a flood.

We've been seeing it in in a lot of places.

So there's a scenario in in which Citizen Bowl pulls off and

authentic and just goes to the front and just keep going.

Yep, I agree or justify or we've seen the other Baffins do this

in the past for sure. Again, horse racing happy hour

live with you here at the big A here at Aqueducts on the Naira

circuit ready for the 100th running of the Wood Memorial.

Need to get into that handicapping, but first that

that move to Tuesday at Keeneland.

I got to ask you last night about it, Barry.

Not a huge level of concern for you as far as a couple of days

closer to the Derby, that sort of thing.

But we are, I mean, Tuesday to Saturday is only four days.

And usually I have to hear the Lexington is disqualifying.

It's too close to the Derby any way that the Bluegrass could be

disqualifying that way. It might be, I mean some of

those horses are only have 3, four starts and they definitely

need more, more foundation, more racing experience, the whole 9

to win a race like the Derby. Obviously they can get lucky,

but chances are they won't and and these horses with a lot of

foundation, a lot of races have to have some sort of an edge,

yeah, when it comes to the Derby.

Any worry about the move to Tuesday, the three day extra

amount of time there? Not really.

I, I, I mean, as you said, it's really only three days.

It's, it's not that much time. And like, if if you're that

good, good enough to win the Derby, few days is not going to

throw you off that much. Yeah, and and the ship from

Keeneland to Churchill is a lot less than having to worry about

it be an extra whatever kind of set.

But absolutely, man, for years I would see Derby horses on the

Wednesday before Derby. It has only been very, very

recently that that people have shipped their horses in super

early to start working at Churchill and all those kinds of

things. So I, I, I'm largely on, on the

same page with you. Is there a horse running in

Lexington that you're especially watching for?

Well, I'm cheering for reserve judgement because Sheldon

Russell, who's based in Maryland, is riding him.

Would be amazing to see him in Adobe Stoninggate.

I mean, I was high on Bonum Square after he won in Florida.

I'm willing to give him another chance.

I with tames also very live. Yep Owen almighty I'm fading.

I think he got 2 very advantageous trips OK at Tampa

Bay. I don't like him at all.

OK chance of Mcpatrick if he even runs well.

I know not even wins, just runs well.

I know he might be a good bet on Derby day.

He. Might be he, might be Anybody

stand out in that field for you? Yeah, I'm, I'm with John on

chance of Mcpatrick. I think Owen Almighty got the

two really, really good trips back-to-back.

One he lost to John Hancock, who didn't come back all that well

at Colonial, and then he beat Chancellor Mcpatrick, who

definitely needed that race. I'm interested to see if he's

gonna be closer to the pace like he was last time.

If he does, I think everything works in his favor today.

So I I like Chancellor Mcpatrick quite a bit.

There you go. All right, well, those are not

here on Long Island, so we're going to talk about the races

that are here at Aqueduct today. We're going to start with race

76 stakes on the card or five stakes on the card, excuse me,

including that wooden memorial and of course the Gazelle Stakes

today, a win and in for the Kentucky Oaks that Friday before

the 1st Saturday in May, of course, but let's start with the

ladies. We'll start with the distaff

here. Race 7 is the start of one of

the how many pick fives are there today?

Are there four of them? Five pick fives today?

Wagers. Look, people, I know Keeneland's

closed, but be smart about your wagers, please.

Yeah, responsibly would be the ideal here. 7 furlongs on the

dirt. Of course, the distaff means for

Phillies and mares 4 and up in this case, 175 in the Kitty for

this Grade 3. We have a one to one.

We have an even money favorite in here in Irish Maxima.

Barry. I'm going to try to beat this

horse today, but I absolutely understand the favoritism.

Yeah. No, she definitely deserves to

be favored in this spot. I like to bet favorites on the

rail would speed just like Irish maxima.

Even money. This horse is going to get

pressed. There's a couple horses in

there. Sea Dancer right next to him.

Ocean Getaway has a lot of speed, so it's not going to be

that easy, and a horse like Socially Selective should

benefit from a lot of that and get a nice trip here so that

that's where I'm kind of landing.

An important one for a lot of the connections here, John,

because I don't I don't see a greatest stakes winner in here

to this point. So getting the greatest stakes

here a big deal. Do you agree?

Is Irish Maxima the best in this field?

A Sea Dancer a lot of late kick this 7 furlong distance

sometimes makes for an opportunity for closers.

I like Saint Benedict's Prep in here as well.

Seems to be a horse that's taken to New York really well, but she

loves to run second as well. Where where'd you land on this

one? Saint Benedict's prep especially

is noteworthy and this is where me knowing Marilyn Sugar comes

into play. She got an extremely

advantageous set up, four starts back in the water Summer Stakes.

The horse who won that race set just incredibly fast tractions 1

engaged to IO fashion and Saint Benedict's prep still couldn't

catch her. That makes me a little bit leery

of her. I think it's it's going to be

either Irish Maxima or socially elective Irish Maxima, as we

said, has a lot of early speed who only race she didn't win

since coming back to the races off a long layoff was in the

show of white back in Mahoning Valley in November.

And she ran her eyeballs out that day, fought very hard, only

lost by a length then. And that's interesting.

She broke through the gate before the race in the Barber

Frische. Now generally horses who do that

don't always run their best race, but she still crushed the

field, won an easy gate to wire fashion.

Frankie Pennington who's one of John Service's go to riders at

parks, he keeps them out and she has I think much better early

pace figures than anybody else in this field.

So as long as the early pace isn't too fast, like sub 22, I

think she'll be able to open up on the turn after taking some

pressure and win. I think if she does fade after

getting pressed, socially elective is my play.

She has great late speed. She'll be a a little bit further

off the pace than some of her other rivals.

So if say, Saint Benedict's Prep, Ocean Gateway and Irish

Maxima all battle on the lead, they'll all be tired on the fire

tune entering the stretch. It'll set up well for socially

selective. All right, Barry, in that one

too, you know, an opportunity, you know, we start to get the

seven horses, that kind of thing.

Is there a scratch in here in this race at all?

Number. Six number six is outta here.

Some spots out. Feels like more of a let's

figure out where this fits in a pick three or something kind of

wager to me rather than playing in exact when.

What kind of player is Barry Spears today, you think?

Yeah, I'm probably going to be a lot of heavy, exacta heavy today

because the the fields are big and it looks like there's a lot

of opportunity for a lot of horses that are flying under the

radar to kind of come in. Usually like these kind of days

where it's cold, windy out, you know, you get some weird things

that happen and that's kind of what I bank on, some chaos.

So, you know, we were talking about that yesterday.

Yep. Yeah, John, what kind of better

are you today? I I watched you catch many pick

fours and fives in front of me. I assume you'll be sticking with

that strategy today. Yes, and I like it.

This race starts a pick 5 because it'll give us a good

gauge of how much Iris Maxima is gonna get back, because if she

goes off at new who who morning line of even money, She is the

kind of horse who you'd either want to single in the pick 5 or

not use it all because if you single her, it'll save a lot of

money on the ticket. You throw in even one other

horse, it'll double the cost, literally double the cost.

So you have to be pretty certain that she's going to win just by

using her. And if you want to split out,

you know, go 3 or 4 deep and and and use her, then she wins and

kind of feel like a putz. So I think it's either single or

fade. I'm leaning toward a single with

her right, But I'll have to see how the boards playing.

If she ends up going off at 2 to one or five to two and there's a

little more value, then I think you can justify using her and a

few other voices. John Piazza over there, his

name's Barry Spears hanging out with me.

Lou Rebeau with the Horse Racing Happy Hour live at Aqueduct

ahead of the 100th running of the Wood Memorial.

Really appreciate all of you hanging out with us today.

And allowance is up next. 7 furlongs on the dirt for four

and up. 76,000 in the Kitty here.

A couple scratches in this one. Yes, 1 #8 is out of this race.

Here it at Aqueducts. We'll start with you here,

Barry. You're going to put the

microphone right next to your face and it's going to be

awesome. But we've got a bunch of nice

horses in here. Where did you lay out of the old

state bread allowance? Here, I'm going to throw one

down field and I'm going to speak into the mic properly.

I'm going to take the seven final denial.

You know, I I think they they kind of got this horse wrong and

and we're running this horse in just terribly bad races where

this horse did not fit this race kind of fits the scenario and I

think you're going to see a way better performance and at 20 to

one morning line, which this horse you should get every bit

of this, I think stands a way better than average chance to

win this race at a big price. Has the running style.

I think this horse loves this distance rather than going

longer. That's where we're landing.

First time file, final denial once since the move to the the

the De Paz barn. Excuse me, running in state

company here. Yes, now as, as far as I see it,

there's two voices in here. Well, well, well, first of all,

this is a great betting race. It was #6 Crimson light is five

to two on the morning line. He had that big flash remaining

win 16 months ago. Yes, he hasn't raced since then.

Any time there's a horse who hasn't raised in 16 months who

is going to be the favorite, that is a A+ plus betting

opportunity because it means everybody else is is going off

at a much better price. It's going to create a lot of

value with other horses. I kind of like the one brewing

who's 20 to one on the morning line and #4 Leo's reward. 12:50

on Morning Line Brewing is one of a viewing here in in fact,

possibly the only one besides Crimson Light has not lost

against winners. He broke his maiden in very

impressive fashion at Sam Houston came from off the pace

won by 10 lengths under Story Elliott earned a big speech

figure that day and and 82 on the Brisnet scale ships up here

for the first time. Had a good local workout the

other day making his first start for the one Bernardini bone.

He'll set off the pace on the inside If he runs back of that

maiden race he's in with a big chance and because he's been

competing out like you know, Sam Houston Remington Park, I think

people are going to dismiss him a little bit but they shouldn't.

I also like #4 Leo's award rogue is made in in similarly sharp

style two starts back. We're in a career best figure.

Last time out, even though it wasn't a visually impressive

race, he got caught wide going a mile at Aqueduct.

I'm not sure if that's quite his speed.

He cuts back his seven furlongs here.

He broke his maiden going 7 furlongs.

I think he'll like this a lot better.

Yeah. Another one in here, Barry, that

I wanted to ask you about is the Chad Brown train, St.

Gaudens, because we mentioned the oh, that's the, that's the

scratch, right. OK, I was going to say that's a

bad scratch for us because that's another another potential

play against. That's exactly right.

In a race like this, the six and the 8 could have been two play

against. So we only get one of those in

this case. But hey, you know what we'll

take? We'll take one.

We'll take a punch. I like seeing horses that have

been favored 5 out of 6 times and lose 5 out of six times.

Any any love for Nunzio on the outside the 10 horse here coming

out of the kind of. Like Julio Bar in the middle, it

could seem like he can step up and win this race that you

obviously can, but it doesn't look all that flavorful on page.

As we have a feel of 10 here, this feels like an exact erase

for me. That's a horse I'll be throwing

under. Yeah, for sure.

Yep, I think for sure. All right, The Gazelle kicks off

our win and in races for the day, this one for the Kentucky

Oaks. And unlike the Wood, we'll get

there in a minute. And it's not in any way an

attempt to put the wood down. We just haven't had a Kentucky

Derby winner out of the Wood in a long time.

And that's OK to say. But we have out of the Gazelle.

This has been a predictor of very good success for three-year

old Phillies very recently. Mallothat, of course, coming out

of the New York circuit on her way to a Kentucky Oaks win.

It's a mile and a 16th on or excuse me, mile and an eighth

starting at the same line, finishing at the same line here

at Aqueduct grade three 200,000 in the Kitty for three-year old

Phillies in this one Ballerina de Oro comes in as the even

money favorite. I'm I am very hesitant to want

to make her the favorite here, but then I look around at the

rest of the options here and I I I don't know that she shouldn't

be the favorite. I just don't think even money is

the right number. Here, yeah, I I think even money

is a bit short, although that horse is the best horse in the

race. Don't get that mixed up.

But the running styles, that is really the problem.

This horse likes to close from way back and that that really

opens you up to losses that you probably shouldn't have.

And I ended up on the seven horse Pure Beauty.

Suge has a lot of good horses in his barn.

He's bringing Sammy Marin up for this, which really tells me what

he thinks of this horse. I think he he likes their

combination. This horse is ready to step up

into this kind of competition and should get the jump on the

two and I think that might make all the difference in this race.

So the seven pure beauty there for the sniper.

Where'd you land there, Johnny P?

So there's two scratches in here and everybody talked about the

big scratches being #8 Liam in the dust, but I think the one

late night call front runner even bigger scratch and that is

going to make life much, much easier for #3 Vanilla Sunday,

who did not show much in their first two stars last time out,

got a pretty easy pace. End up crushing the field by 15

lengths on the Brisnet scale. That was a through best race by

23 points. Now it might it might be

unlikely that she run back to that race.

But with late night call out of the race, I mean, who else is

going with her? Really no one.

I think so. And if she runs back to that

race, she probably wins this. And you have to figure, you

know, knowing Mike Ripoli, he's an accurate guy.

He really wants to win a big race on Wood Day.

I'm sure him and Todd have had this voice geared up pointing

towards this race for a while. I mean, as long as she breaks

and gets to the rail and, and and the lead, I think she'll be

hard to catch. And if she's anywhere near who's

6 to one morning line, if if you get even 7:00 to 2:00 or 4:00 to

1:00, I think she'd be a great bet.

I like Dayla Rain in here, quite a bit actually for Owen Hardy

and Mike Smith. I by the way, then I'm here on a

day when Mike Smith back in New York is pretty cool.

That's good timing for me, right?

That's a cool timing for that this one.

Look, this is a candy ride and and a discreet cat on the damn

side. The Siga Dolphin bred here.

They tried her in that Florida Oaks on the turf last time.

We'll go ahead and draw a line through that.

Before that in the Suncoast wasn't quite ready.

I I wonder if she won't just like the track here, if there's

a chance that that turfway to aqueduct thing won't work out.

But that 8 to one number to me kind of stands out as an option.

Has some steaks experience that some of these can't say.

Now to John's point, Vanilla Sunday is going to be probably

on the front end, but my thought is, are they really going to let

that horse go? Daily rain's going.

To be able to stalk and that's, that's actually where I think.

Yeah, that was the one I I thought might want to run with

her and kind of put some pressure on the front runner,

but you never know. I mean, it really isn't set in

stone. Even one of the other horses

could jump up and try to press that pace to make things

quicker, but you never know, they might let that horse go

thinking that they're way better.

And then Vanilla Sunday just walks on.

Yeah, and to the point about the Suncoast that day, there was a

big speed bias in 220 races at Tampa Bay Downs.

Voices who made the front end could not be caught.

That was the same race with John Hancock and Owen Almighty ran

1-2 in the Sam Davis and De Lorraine got caught in behind a

loose leader in La Cara who nobody had any shot to catch the

way that track was playing. So really based on that track

bias, that third place finish is is about as big an effort as you

could have expected out out of her that day.

And I kind of wonder if Owen Hardy is going to keep that race

in mind and tell Mike Smith, hey, don't let another Sunday

get too loose because because this Philly was 4 lengths out of

it at the opening quarter in the Suncoast.

That was too far away. So I, I wonder if Owen is gonna

say to Mike, hey, keep her maybe two lengths or so off No Sunday,

don't let her get too loose because right.

And and, and and, and I do think that possibility the Suncoast

repeats itself. But even if it does and somebody

goes gate to wire, hey, Luvan could found out the exacta.

And if Ballerina there was out of the exacta, it's going to be

a pretty juicy payoff. Yeah, I could pay just just

fine, for sure. The late pick 4 does start in

race 10. It's the grade 2 Carter, one of

the more historic races here at Aqueduct as well. 7 furlonger.

This is the male version of the Distaff. 7 furlongs on the dirt,

Grade two 300,000 and the Kitty for this one four and up on the

male side, no Lasix and this one Crazy Mason will have the inside

post quits. Brew will be two to one here

coming out of Laurel Park. Why not Barry, a little Laurel

Park love had to put his hat on. Did you notice the Maryland hat

had to go back on as soon as Quince Brew was in this thing.

But we get the Maryland invader. Who are you beating the Maryland

invader with? See, you are you know I'm

setting you up for. A terrible spot here.

I know you definitely do, but you know how I rolled?

There was two horses that caught my eye.

The 1st is the one Crazy Mason and the next was Donegal

Momentum. The five Crazy Mason is kind of

like the hot horse. Ran two really good races

back-to-back, deserves a shot here and honestly gets probably

a pay scenario that fits this horse.

Whether you know he's good enough to finish this race off

as another story, we'll see, but at 5:00 to 1:00 I think that's a

little short. I think we might get a little

bit higher price on this horse, but definitely has the the style

and the speed to win. Donegal Momentum's another one

that ran really good off the layoff at the Fairgrounds on the

6th of March. And usually horses that come

back off the layoff, you know, this I love because they they

have that pattern. It's called a breakthrough

pattern that Dave Litvin used to highlight in his books and

everything. They come back off the layoff at

a similar level of which they left and then they breakthrough

to another new top. So Donegal Moon fits that

description and I think this horse going to run well.

Today Donegal Momentum talk. How about that?

I mean, with Donegal momentum, he's run so well on the grass.

There's really no grass stakes in New York, I don't think at

this meet. I no becomes Belmont at the big

A. So I kind of wonder if Tom is

using this race as a prep for a grasp of the road.

I was kind of hoping he runs at least OK here and that kind of

use that race as a building. Block, I was surprised to see

him have have him down in Fairgrounds and not at Turfway.

Actually, I I thought this horse maybe just that in between kind

of surface. But heck, he won the race.

So what do I know about anything?

Yeah. So I mean, so my heart says

Quinn's Brew, he is my favorite horse in training.

And so going in and handicapping this race, I was like, don't,

don't use your heart, use your head.

Look at things as as objectively as you can and even looking at

it objectively, I came back to Quince Brew.

I mean he has run huge races in both of his his folks this year.

He ran off the screen in the Jennings back in mid January 1st

start of a seven month layoff, 1 by 6 earned a huge figure.

In fact on the Bioscale he ran a bigger figure that day than hit

show did in winning the Louisiana Stakes.

Then he came back, ran huge in the General George under a hand

ride by 5 1/2 lengths who got a great trip either on the pace or

cruising just off it. I'm I think Donegal Momentum and

Maximus Rudius go at it early on.

Quince Bruce, it's just off of them towards the inside and

kicks away with it now. And I know folks are sometimes

skeptical of Maryland shippers up here, but Maryland shippers

have won this race each of the past two years.

Double Gang, who won it in 2023 and last year Post Time followed

an almost identical pattern to Quince Brew.

He won the Jennings, then General George and then the

Carter. Quince Brew's trying to do the

same thing. I think he will do it.

And it would not surprise me at all if Quince Brew had as big AU

this year as Post Time did last year.

I think he's that good and possible definite hot take you.

I think he's the best Maryland dread in training.

Better than mine for him. Let's go.

I love it. I'm gonna ride a Pennsylvania

bread in this one. I think Maximus Meridius is

really interesting in this spot, and I think the seven can

absolutely get it done out of the Reed Barn has run at this

track and won twice, including in the toboggan at the distance

at the beginning of February. I think that time and those

fractions make sense for a win today.

If he breaks well under Joel Rosario, I expect Maximus

Meridius to get it done here. Yeah, he might be the one that

flies under the radar. And and by the way, I I don't

know how I would ever get 4 to one, but if I do it's going to

be I think. You're gonna get it.

OK, that's going to be an expensive thing for me.

I'm just going to tell you right now, that horse, that price,

man, I'll take it. All back of note, Sheriff Bianco

is scratched the 8. OK.

All right, all right on the outside there, but the Excelsior

starts the late pick three again.

Barry Spears, John Piazza. I'm Lou Rebeau hanging out with

you live at Aqueduct ahead of the 100th Wood Memorial.

This is the horse racing happy hour at Horse Happy Hour on

Twitter. Hey, wherever you're hanging out

with us today, we really do appreciate it.

You can find me at Radio Louie. He's at urban handicapper and he

is that They're off. Come find us on Twitter.

Come hang out. I'll be part of the D gens and

spend your days with us. Mile and 1/4 in the Excelsior.

I can't you know, you don't get to be in person for a lot of

classic distance races all the time.

And so I'm excited just to even be here for a classic distance

race at the big a four and up here, no Lasik's race because it

is a listed race in a in excuse me in New York.

And so 150,000 indicated here for older horses.

And man, I like these kinds of races guys, especially when we

get this this time of year of a horse like film star who, you

know, I, I get it, only 6 lifetime wins, but scratchy, he

scratched out that one too. Gone.

Try to have fun here tell me who else scratched out so I don't

make my a complete OK, thank God.

All right, but even a classic catch who was gonna break right

next to him 17 lifetime starts. These are just you know, the the

horses we go all these all these three-year olds running off to

the breeding barn. Don't look down then on an

Excelsior race don't do that. These horses are still running

They're still giving us these great betting options and

frankly giving us these great races.

We got a 2 to one favorite in here in Batten down.

Let's go to John first in this one.

Joel Rosario gets them out here. 2 to one seems real short on

this guy for some reason. Well, I'll say following the

news kind of messed up my handicapping because all week

long the word was that Rick Dutrow was going to scratch #8

Mazmac because he thought it was going to be a wet track.

Well, as of now, as you can see, thanks to a great background

here, it's not wet. The tracks fast.

It's kind of a coin toss as to if we're going to get any grain

at all all day long. So if he stays in the race, I

think he's very alive, but so is Batten down and I think last

time out in the mine shaft, Tyler Gaff Leone was more like

Tyler Gaff Leone because I don't know why he didn't put this

horse on the lead. The pace was very, very slow.

He sat him off the pace and he had no late kick.

He finished fourth. He won the Bourbon Flight 3

starts back going a mile and three sixteenths in gate 2 hour

fashion. He won the OO Ohio Derby last

June at a mile on an eighth in Gateway fashion.

He broke his maiden as a three roll at a mile and 1/4 in April

in Gateway style. So we know he has a lot of speed

and he can hold it a long way. If I'm Bill Mott, I'm telling

Joelle don't do what Tyler did. Just go to the front.

He has a lot of speed. We know he he can carry it.

I think it's if he's at about that point there and he's

infront by about a length and 1/2 no one's got.

You top of the first turn. OK, there you go.

Batten down, of course, a son of Tappet.

We have seen that horse, Sire. Just a couple that have won up

here at the bigger New York tracks.

Barry, how are you trying to be Batten?

Now, of course we're trying to. Honestly, I really had a tough

time with this race and I think a lot of people do only because

we don't run races at this distance very often.

You know, we see them every once in a while at Gulfstream and

it's pure chaos. It's almost like automatically a

20 to one shot wins. I'm not doing that sort of thing

in this race, but. I appreciate it.

By the way, they, they they're running about two a month during

their meet at Turfway. And then Churchill started

running maidens at, at a, at a mile and a quarter too, which I

really, really appreciate. Yeah.

Obviously we got horses that can do it.

Yeah, no, that's right. Oh, yeah.

Yeah. It seemed to enjoy it, Frank.

Yeah, that's right. Go ahead.

I thought croupy is a single for me here.

OK, wow. You know, just class wise kind

of stands out and horses that stand out class wise in this

manner can usually get it done despite their running style.

I, I think he's better. You know, Batten down is

probably equally as good, but we just haven't seen that horse in

a in a while. Last time he doesn't.

I, I don't really know what happened.

Like John was saying, I'm not really sure why that horse

didn't get to the front, but it doesn't really bode well for me

in this situation because it might open up the door for a

little bit of a speed door or a quicker pace and batten down

once. And that for me opens it up for

croupy. And if I get 4 to one on croupy,

we're we're pushing all the changes.

OK, there you go. Big, big statement on croupy

who, by the way, has hit the missed the board, excuse me only

once and eight career runs at Aqueduct, Two wins, three places

and two shows as well. John strong feeling on anyone

else. I mean I I do like Mazmac a lot

in the spot actually. On the inside, well my my only

problem with Croupy is that he's just so pace dependent.

Like he will need a pace to close into.

He might get it. I mean Phileas Fogg does have

some speed to Batten Downs outside.

If for some reason Batten Down can't outrun Phileas Fogg and

those two get involved in a duel.

It was set up well for both Mazmac and for Croupy, but right

now I'm betting on Batten Down taking them all the way.

All right, ready for your trifecta include of the day.

It's Kerbstone. Oh, yeah, that horse likes it

here. No, I'm serious.

Five wins at Aqueduct has one at the distance. 2nd place at the

distance. Kerbstone.

Just the connections. Gonna get no money except.

For people that get more than 12 to one.

You're gonna get way more than 12 to one.

That's an absolute include in this field for any kind of a

exactly trifecta play within that race itself.

I think. I think he's going to be right

there. All right, let's move on to the

wood itself. We usually play a game on this

show about all of the winners. I played a game the other day

with Steve Kornacki called hardwood and plywood, and that

guy works for NBC and he played a game called hardwood.

And I can't believe it, but I love this show so much.

We're out here at Aqueduct Lugerbeau.

He's Barry Spears and John Piazza hanging out ahead of the

100th Wood Memorial. Let's go through the field here.

Let's beat them real quick. This is a mile and an eighth.

It is $750,000. It is a spot or two in the

Kentucky Derby. Can I give my hot take about the

Wood Memorial's future? Absolutely.

OK. Obviously this will be run at

Belmont in a couple of years. I think there's an opportunity.

I think there's an opportunity that the Wood Memorial supplants

the Santa Anita Derby as the as the second best predictor of

success in the Derby. And here's why I think with the

money and fusion here at New York, this is already more,

there's 250,000 more dollars in this race's purse than there is

in California. OK, the shipping here for most

people is considerably easier than getting out West.

And frankly when you go out West you usually run into a buzz saw.

OK, now the buzz saw might retire in the next couple of

years, I'm not sure. But I think there's a chance

that actually it and probably frankly after they move to

Belmont, I don't know what the layout's going to be by the way,

I'm still trying to figure that out how they're going to run

this race there. Are they going to go to a one

turn mile and an eighth as their prep They are.

OK, there you go. That sets up as a really

difficult to it's a predicting as well, but I think it could

make there's my hot take. The Wood Memorial will be more

important than the Santa Anita Derby in five years.

Yeah, I cosigned that because it's, it seems like the most

logical thing to happen based on, like you said, the landscape

changing. And here we are with dilapidated

kind of Santa Anita Derby and a full field here where any of

those horses could have came out and got a piece of this purse,

which you would say, like, why didn't you do that, especially

since the derbies run on the East Coast.

But you know, they have their own methods.

I I mean, Bob Baffert wouldn't because he kind of holds court

out there. And it seems like journalism.

The purse money means a little less to his connections than it

does to others, correct? And that's part of the buzz saw.

By the way, John, what do you think of my theory here?

I think I think there's a chance that this re elevates itself.

Absolutely. And, and I'll say this also it

it's not like the wood has been attracting bad horses.

I mean, Frosted won this race recently, you know, we also won

this race recently. It was a.

Great horse. It was a Crazy Horse last year.

He ran well in the Derby, yes. Right him too.

So so it's it's still attracting very good horses.

It's it's almost just like a a luck of the draw as to AFA race,

it actually not produces. In the exact same year as the

last time the Big 10 won the national title in basketball in

2000. OK, but it's not like the Big 10

sucks at basketball, right? They're just, they just haven't

had a national champion. Right, I'll say they're.

Still making final fours, they're still doing the stuff

like many of the wood runners are running top five in the

Derby. That's what I'm getting at,

right? You're still, you're still

getting that kind of quality. It just isn't the top top end

quality. Right.

And it's also like Empire Maker won the wood.

He was good enough to win Triple Crown.

He just got hurt right before the Derby and and you know, his

best trick, right? I want revenge.

May well have won a Derby if he didn't get hurt.

As I noted, you know, Frosted and Vino Roso won this race, tap

it won this race and end up becoming a great style.

So, you know, as long as this race keeps drawing good horses

and as you said, the ingredients are are there for it to keep

doing so. One of these days, somebody from

this race will win the Derby, and then from there they'll just

keep begetting and begetting and begetting more great horses and

more Derby winners. Tacitus, Vito Rosso.

Irish war cry. Three in a row there, 17 through

19. Outwork before that.

Frosted, wicked strong. I mean this as nicely as I can.

At the time, we didn't think of those as bomb horses.

We didn't, right? And so because they're not bomb

horses, by the way, right? And so Verrazano's on that list,

whatever. Geologist, Eskendarea.

I mean, the list of wood winners, yeah.

Right, if he's if he gets. There.

It probably gets there. Yeah, go.

Ahead, I think a lot of it is is what have you done for me?

Lately. And we do that in sports.

We do that sports and we should buy.

Sports, and especially in horse racing, you know, that's how you

get those horses that are off the radar by not looking at the

last race, but races behind it. And I think the same thing

applies to these Derby preps. People get used to seeing horses

from certain barns do certain things and when they don't do

that they're like, Oh well then maybe that race isn't as good as

we thought, but that's not necessarily the case.

The Wood Memorial is a grade 2. There's $750,000 at stake for

the runners here. A mile and an eighth on the dirt

course here at Aqueduct. Start at the finish line to

finish at the finish line as well.

Rodriguez ships in from the West Coast.

Bob Baffert obviously has to spread out his runners in these

hundred point races. It has not gone to plan quite

yet for him outside of Southern California with Cornucopia and

with Maddocket Rd. etcetera. Can it go to plan here for him

with Rodriguez? Well, if the trend continues, it

probably isn't a good sign. I, I really don't see how this

horse wins this race unless he just runs them off their feet

and I don't think he's good enough to do it.

He has that potential as they all, but I think he's just part

of the pace for, for other horses such as Captain Cook or

Statesman or McAfee. Those are the the horses that I

landed on. But man, this is a this is a

really good race to be honest. John, you made the case earlier

that getting the lead for in the in the Carter for quince brew or

not for quince brew. What am I saying?

Excuse me in the Excelsior. For bat down.

OK, that he could just run away with it.

Is that at least a scenario that you could see with Rodriguez?

Yes, but not enough that I'd want to bet him or include him

on a ticket because he got because he he he was near the

pace in his last two starts of Bob Lewis and San Felipe.

He backed up both times. Unless San Devil just completely

misses the break, he'll get pays pressure again here from his

outside. So he's not going to be able to

control his own terms on the lead.

I mean, I think he's he's a couple of Baffert's best.

I think Baffert is just is just trying to squeeze another horse

into the Derby. I'm willing.

Belen beat me. Taking the blinkers off and this

one I will say in in a positive Mike Smith is the right jock for

this horse because he's he's not afraid to be on the front in a

speed scenario where he's got a rate and that is something Mike

Smith does very well. So if you wanted to go positive

for sure, outside of Baffert's ridiculous record of these kinds

of races, you. Would know to that I I thought

in my heart that sand devil's faster in general and we'll be

in front of that horse, but we'll see.

I mean it's definitely possible. There's step on the gas.

We've seen it before and and have races just blow up that

way. So this this could go a lot of

ways. Rodriguez.

Rodriguez is sire authentic, of course, a top three finisher in

the Kentucky Derby right behind Justify.

Captain Cook is in the two hole here.

Local connections, Dutrow and a Franco hitting at an absurd 29%

of late. This looks like the kind of

horse coming out of the Withers that should be the favorite.

He's 7:00 to 2:00 instead of five to two.

And I get it. I'm not picking on David

Aragona. I think he'll be the favorite by

the time we get to post. I agree this horse is ascending.

Buyers should be right there, should get a great trip.

I mean it, it's going to be hard to beat him, but it's not

impossible. Obviously you know the the

chances of him throwing in a conker are probably very low,

but this horse could still run well and get beat.

These are three-year olds. They improve and and not improve

at the same time at any time. But he definitely looks great.

Captain Cook comes in, of course, a son of practical joke.

They need Charlie on the damn side.

I like seeing that these days. Yeah, how about that?

When's the Withers? I thought as impressively as any

of the earlier preps, frankly of the runs that we've seen.

We watched the Remsen be a really important predictor last

year for success Job. Any chance of Captain Cook could

fall on that line? Absolutely.

I mean as I said, both Rodriguez and Sand Devil are are going out

to early pace. Captain Cook has great tactical

speed. I think he sits just off of them

in 3rd or 4th down to the inside and once those two back up,

he'll get 1st jump on all the closers, he'll kick away.

I think he wins in very similar fashion to the way he won the

Withers and you know, he would be a a nice story.

I mean he he was bred by the late great Mary Lou Whitney.

Would be awesome to see a Whitney bred horse win one of

New York's most. Captain Cook already has 20

points, so even likely a third place finish here today will get

him on the bubble, but certainly a second place finish will get

Captain Cook to Louisville under the Twin Spires for the Kentucky

Derby in the 151st running of that, we're talking about the

100th running of the Wood Memorial here.

Tiger 24 comes in in the third spot here off a very impressive

maiden win for Bill Mott. Javier Castellano gets the

mount. I mean this, John, we'll go to

you first here. When is the last time you've

seen Mott and Castellano at 30 to one at Aqueduct?

See, that's my thing. Like in a vacuum, I think

there's other forces who have a a better chance, but if he's 30

to one and you have a big pick four or pick five budget, how do

you not use him? I mean, he's.

I'm with you. Well, I mean, he's coming into

this race in ascending form. He's improving each race.

He broke his maiden very impressively last time out.

Yes, he did drift in in the stretch, but still he won going

away, ran a big figure. He's worked well since then.

Really the only downside is is that he hasn't won around two

turns right, whereas a lot of his rivals have.

But again, if he's 30 to one like most of the pick five could

chalk out and if he wins, it's paying stacks.

Yeah, still pay stacks. That's exactly right, Barry.

I look, I don't know how much of a chance I give him here.

Just never run here before. Comes up dealing with weather

from being at Gulfstream all the time.

I I don't know how much of a chance, but have your Castellano

in New York in a big race. Man, I'm sorry.

I've seen way crazier things than this.

Absolutely. Especially in the recent wood

memorial. Yeah.

Is is one of the best in the business, best ever, and him

putting this horse in this race speaks a lot about what he

thinks about this horse's talent.

He wouldn't be here if if this horse wasn't capable that that

in and of itself should tell you a lot.

And that price is ridiculous. If he's 30 to one, you got to

use him somewhere. You know this horse is going to

show up. Bread in Kentucky by Peachtree

stable. This is a home bred for 10,000.

A chance at a check north of $400,000 today.

My Mottoli, of course, sired by one of my favorite horses ran

very well in this state. Mottoli will be in the four hole

here, the Rivera Martin combination here.

I, I kind of lean toward I, I love Mottoli.

I want to be very clear and that horse won't be a lot of money,

but it was, it was a great, great, great horse for me.

But his prodigy getting a mile and an eighth or getting a mile

and a quarter, I will believe it when I see it.

It's a toss for me based on that.

Yeah, I'm with you too. This horse is solid, but at one

mile, not a mile and an eighth. So yeah.

One turn I'm gonna pass. Hopefully, I mean hopefully the

the betting does shake out like this and you do get that 30 to

one on a Tiger 24 and get 20 on my.

Yeah, throw the blinkers on here, John.

Do you give him a chance? The distance is what I worry

about. You give him a chance on

opposite day, OK, I mean, he won impressively against Leslie

Fields. He he got his class test last

time and he was up the track. I think he's a he's a field

filler. There you go, Sand Devil comes

in in the five hole here. Linda Rice, Jose Lescano, you

talk about the New York connections to die for here, 23%

at Aqueduct in a sample size north of 400 races.

Unbelievable. The two of these coming together

did run second behind Floodzone who will run in the UAE Derby

today in the Gotham gets to stretch out a little bit more

distance here. A son of violence.

This is where I really worry about a distance question as

well, Barry. I would like my races at a mile

or less with the progeny of a sand Devil.

He's a toss for me for that reason.

Where did you land? I wouldn't tos this horse

because you know the talent is there, you've seen it.

I can forgive that last race. I know flood zone kind of went

to the front and and kind of ran off after that point, but Sand

Devil did stumble, didn't get the best of starts and and was

kind of up against it, fought the whole time and and kept

running, which is encouraging. I mean, we've seen a horse and

justify who really wasn't bred to go a mile and a quarter win a

race like that. Sand Devil kind of reminds me of

him in that way. I think this horse could get the

distance under certain conditions, but I do expect this

horse to run well today. So I'm not going to completely

toss. All right.

I like it. I mean, as I said earlier about

speed and him and Rodriguez possibly going at it, If I'm

Jose Lozcano, I'm just putting my foot to the gas and, and, and

it's going because I think the only way he wins is if he steals

it on the front or not. I mean, he has not run a bad

race in his career. He's running huge in all four

stars, but he has never gone two turns before.

He hasn't won around two turns. I think there's five horses in

here who, who, who haven't done that.

He's one of them and he'll be I think the lowest price of those

five. So as you guys said, there's a

lot of questions about him 8 to one on morning line a decent

price if you get it. I I don't think he will.

I think he might go off at half that.

I think people are are gonna flock to him and I and I do kind

of wish for his sake at the Bayshore was still on this day.

It's been running two weeks because I think he'd be much

better off in there. And in fact, there's a not

dissimilar profile as another Linda Rice trained, New York

bred El Grandeo who did well going one turn, then tried a bit

deeper. Waters wasn't that great.

I think he's this year's model of El Grandeo.

The Peter Pan in a couple weeks, is it over one turn or is that a

mile? An eighth one turn, you know I.

Don't know. Here it'll be two turns.

Yeah, Mile and. 8 here's the mile and eight.

OK, I was gonna say the one turn Peter Pan for a horse like Sand

Devil I'd feel a lot better about.

Maybe that's just me. Hill Rd. is the six horse here

will be 9:00 to 2:00 on the line, Chad Brown and Joel

Rosario. And by 9:00 to 2:00, I mean he

scratched out. Hey John, this is not a

professional show. You don't have to like do this

stuff. We're not on radio.

We're like just just just say he scratched out bro. #9 is out.

Thank you. I knew that one actually from a

couple days ago. How about that?

Grande will make the trip though for Todd Pletcher.

He's been training at at Palm Beach towns Curlin.

How about that little Curlin and Dylan Davis here of course.

John Velasquez had the 1st 2 mounts here.

This horse comes out of an optional claiming win at

Gulfstream Park. I I think the five to one's

probably about where this horse will land.

Unfortunately. You like him that much?

No, I I really don't like this horse that much, but I just

think 5:00 to 1:00 is too short to take on a horse that this is

is unproven, hasn't really done anything.

You know that field this horse beat last time wasn't all that

great look good doing it, but it this is this is a far leap and

and 5:00 to 1:00 on a on a horse like this seems way too low.

So anyone who follows me on Twitter knows how I feel about

Mike Apoli. And one thing about Mike Apoli

is that he loves himself some Mike Apoli and he really wants

to have a horse in this race and get a horse in the Derby.

And I think that is why this voice is here.

Like, yes, he's looked pretty good in his two stars.

He did he he did went around two turns.

But it is kind of a a big ask to make your stakes debut in a spot

like this. If he's 5 to one on the morning

line, he'll get absolutely pounded at the windows.

And I know, yes, Willis Sunday has a similar profile in the

Gazelle, but this is a much tougher spot for Grande.

The only upside is that he might get a nice trip.

He sat just off the pace in his last few stars, which you both

won. I'm hoping for everybody's sake

of Dylan Davis sits just off it and doesn't try to engage Sand

Devil or Rodriguez. I think that's his best shot.

But I think this is low. Too much too soon, and it's not

going to be much. Passion Rules comes in 12 to

one. We get Kendrick and we get Brad

Cox and that to me is a very good reason about this horse.

The 12 to one I don't think is happening at all.

I think 6 is probably where we're going to land and I won't

like it. You know who's going to get

lifted up? A couple people.

Yeah, a couple, but you're going to be surprised, I think.

But passion rules, I think is going to catch a bunch of money.

This is my top play, yeah. He's the buzzy horse for.

Sure. It's my top pick here.

I just really trust Kendrick Carmouche on these kinds of days

on this in this geographic region of the country.

And so give me especially if we can stay near 12:50, give me

this horse. I think I have no chance of that

but an absolute include for me on all tickets.

Yeah, I've been hearing a lot about this horse from horse

players all week, you know, getting on this train.

And I think a lot of it had to do with with Brad Cox winning

down a turfway in the stake stakes.

And this horse has kind of that feel to it, a little bit under

the radar. You're not really familiar with

this horse too much. It's not.

It's not one of his bigger name 3 year olds, male or female, but

this horse has run very well three times.

Kind of falls in that same category as Grande.

So as I alluded to earlier, this is where the head and the heart

take a. Large divergent, yes.

Correct, because if this was win at this race, as a fan I will be

doing coat wheels on the apron. He is Marilyn Dredd, read by

Charles and Cynthia McGinnis of Thornmark Farm who haven't

breeding in Maryland for a million years.

He's Maryland sired. He's by Friesian Fire who who

only stands for $2000 stands at Country Life Farm who have been

huge, huge breeders in Maryland for almost 100 years.

Josh and Mike Ponds are on the farm.

They're great people, great Maryland horseman, so he'd be an

amazing story. I hope he wins this race as a

fan and I hope he goes into the Derby.

In fact, if he was in the Derby he he'd be the first Maryland in

the Derby since homeboy Chris in 2010.

He'd be the first Maryland sired horse since Afternoon Delights

in 1995 S From that perspective, it would be amazing.

He just needs to be top two my friend.

Yes, as a cold hearted horse player.

Yes, let's go cold hearted horse players.

I don't see it. I mean, he hasn't owned a race

fast enough to win this one. Yes, he won last time out.

However, that was I think kind of fell into his lap.

It it it was a very fast early pace and the pace kind of melted

down. And while that may happen here,

I. Was going to say, I think it's

going to. Be a but, but there's going to

be a a a lot higher quality closers.

You know, statesman is going to be closing.

So is Omaha, Omaha and as I know earlier, Captain Cook is going

to have boost jump got it. Passion Rule is probably going

to be coming from a little bit further off the pace than

Captain Cook. As I said, I want him to win as

a fan, but he's going to have to have a lot of things go right,

get the job done. All right, McAfee will be in the

10 again. The 9 bear claw necklace is

scratched out. McAfee will be in the 10 here.

Comes out of a 5th place finish in the Gotham.

This will be second off the layoff here, which Richard

Gatrow does at 29 percent. 20 to one here.

Eric console I think a sneaky great rider up here.

Yeah, he gets the job done quite a bit and as a second and third

call writer too. So he's he's kind of making the

best of situations that aren't the greatest all the time.

By the way, you hear that buzz, You hear little wood Memorial

Day buzz. Smell the food.

It smells amazing in here and it's like 35 minutes until the

first race and there's buzz in this.

Place. Oh yeah.

Oh, there's nothing going on there could be anybody there but

you. Shut up people.

All of. You and the sun's coming out.

Everybody's a liar. Everybody.

Meteorologists are liars. People lied to me about

Aqueduct. Everybody's a liar.

I appreciate it. Barry lied to me more.

Let's go. Come.

On McAfee, I think it has a great chance.

Honestly, I really do think this source has a great chance.

Especially with Captain Cook in the race, you know people are

going to be gravitating towards that one.

Yep, this horse might be good. I mean, he fits that description

that I always tell you about comes off the layoff ascending

buyers. This horse fits the description.

I I mean totally training well, everything running in his favor.

If he were to win today or finish second, it'd be third.

Start off the form cycle. I mean, I like him a lot of

this. I, I, I totally doubt we'll get

20 to one. I would say maybe less than half

that, but not too low. So I'm thinking about 8:00 to

12:50 and that's perfectly fine to me.

And we're gonna use that one a lot in a lot of places.

A hero in Maryland, but not a Maryland hero.

His dad. Cloud computing.

Where do you land on this? On a cloud computing in McAfee.

I mean do. People get that joke.

People do, right? Yes.

OK, OK. Alright, you know, he hasn't

even started around two turns, much, much less worn around.

He was very flat in the Gotham. I mean, he probably should have

run a lot better that day than he did.

Yes, it was his first start in in a little while.

But even if he had finished, you know, four or five lengths

behind, I would have been OK. He was 9 lengths out of it.

I would like to have seen a little bit more.

I'll let him beat me. OK, all right.

Statesman will be in the 11 hole Marine.

Sammy. In town to ride this son of

Constitution Sugar of course trains here.

I got a a rise out of Kornacki very excited about this one

actually at his but his form at Tampa, those two races coming

off the layoff here this year, it wouldn't be the first horse

that it took till his three-year old year to put it together.

Certainly 2, two tries, two wins this year.

Did you give him? Hey, yes, just got me to talk to

you to get to Louisville. Absolutely.

I, I mean you see the buyers go up 20 points when stretching out

that that goes a long way with me.

Usually horses that do that end up kind of maintaining and and

getting a little bit better. This is the right time.

This horse has been getting better every race.

Why not here? I mean, you know, I get it, you

have all the big names and everything, but Suge's a big

name. He knows how to train horses and

he has a lot of good young horses in his barn.

This is another one. In fact, I had this horse in my

stable mail and I keep getting this alert for today and it

keeps bringing me back to this horse.

There's a reason why I put this horse in in my stable mail

'cause this horse finishes races off and I like those two races

at Tampa. This would be great.

There you go, John. Wow.

Rigging endorsement, frankly. I guess a big question is how

hot do you think the pace is going to be?

Because if you think it's hot enough to burn up not only Sand

Devil and Rodriguez, but also Captain Cook and Grande, then it

falls right in the Statesman's lap.

He's will be coming from further off the pace than than those

two. He's shown that he can close

well even off a slow paces. I mean he got to win by a neck.

Two starts back after half and 48 flat.

One last outgoing away after half in 48 and 45th seconds.

Now granted it was against week competition.

This is his class test, but he has foundation.

It's a 6th career start. He has great late pace.

Figures he should be able to save ground even drinking out a

post 9 because he'll be able to drop back off the pace.

I mean definitely if you're playing a exact or a trifecta,

he's a good horse to use underneath.

If he's spreading out in the pick 4, anything to pace is

going to be very fast. He's good to use.

And if he's 15 to one on the morning line, I mean, if I was

David Ogona and and making the morning line, I'd probably pin

him at like 66 to 1:00 or 8:00 to 1:00.

Because people do bet West Point, they bet shog.

They bet was like I think 15 to 1 is a great valley.

OK, Yeah, OK. All right.

Omaha. Omaha will be the outside horse

in this race, breaking from the 12 hole.

A son of Audible. Do you get that joke?

John Piazza. OK, All right.

Almost asked him to leave. I'm not going to lie, if that

answer was a no, be like low look, trying to, this used to be

a proper country. We're working on that, but we'll

get there. But listen, you don't know the

Peyton Manning references. I can't have you on the show. 30

to one here out of the Gorham barn.

I'll go to John first on this one just 'cause we have seen

this horse so much in the Mid-Atlantic.

This is the kind of horse I wish people would just say we need to

go to the Tessio with. Do you give him a shot up here

though? I've said before this horse has

the exact same profile as a horse who stumbles his way in

the Derby by getting a lot of third and and 4th place

finishes. Runs in the Derby at at at like

87 to 1 and comes in 4th and blows up with superfecta.

He looks exactly like that. I mean he broke his man at

Lowell at Thanksgiving. He is Maryland based and he's

Virginia bread. So we have two-minute landing

breads in this field. Always very cool to see, but he

got a great pace set up that day it it was just extraordinarily

fast in front of him and he won by 7.

Since then he's made-up decent ground off of varying paces, but

it's always the same end result, a second or third place finish.

I think the same thing happens here.

He he just doesn't have enough early speed to really make it

his closing kick as potent as it should be.

I think he comes in 3rd or 4th again, gets just enough points

to make and if you. Finish your third, He'll be

there in. Louisville, yeah, and mess it

up. Everybody's super factor.

So don't say you wouldn't warn people if you play if if you're

playing a super Keem in fourth, Keem in fourth, use anyone else

you want in the top three. And then my Venmo is at John.

That's fiastic. So you can Venmo me a cut of

your Derby super. Oh.

Man, it's time to hit that high 5.

Just in the fourth spot, nowhere else.

Where'd you single the in the four spot of the high 5?

People do that in. Like I don't man super high 5.

I don't. I haven't dabbled in that bet

too much, but I see it happen. But Omaha, Omaha really didn't

run that badly behind Captain Cook in the Withers and honestly

doesn't look too bad on paper to do exactly like John was saying.

Kind of past tired horses and getting the money at a big

price. I I would certainly throw them

in and try and and super today. I I wonder if they, they talked

to Maina into getting up here for this mount by saying you get

the Derby if you get top 3 or 4, right.

But I bet you you would hope, right.

And so, yeah. All right, let's close it out.

Race 13. The added race today was the

opening race, right from last Saturday.

Yeah. Yeah.

OK. Or last Sunday.

Excuse me. I'll go set furlongs on the dirt

here back into the state. Bread Company here.

Phillies and Mares 4 and up here essentially for non 2 lifers.

A couple of big favorites in here as far as the morning line

is concerned, but Dolomite stands out.

Even money here for Chad Brown second, second, second her three

last races here favorite favorite in the last two.

Barry, does she breakthrough here?

No, no, no. We want that trend to continue.

Keep burning that money and keep taking money.

I I love playing against horses like Dolomite out of big barns

like this because they're always going to get bet and they always

have a less than ideal chance to win just like this one.

A horse that really jumped out to me was the 9 fast and frisky.

This horse seems to have gotten better from three to four and

especially the the one mile races seems to be what this

horse wants to do. Everything fits so I I think

this horse will sit a good trip. It has a little bit of

versatility, can be upfront, can stay off of it a little bit, and

Kai Barco doesn't have too many mounts today.

He's going to stick around for this one.

I I I like this one quite a bit. I like that.

There you go, John. 1 to one makes sense to you.

No, I mean, Dolomite is either a horse who single in the pick 5

or you don't use it at all. And as Barry was saying, I mean

she's burned up a lot of money in in her last two starts and

she looked pretty imposing on paper in those two races too.

If she beats me, whatever, I think it'll bump up the pick

five out quite a bit. If if you can beat her, I think

this is a good race to spread in.

My top choice is number 5 Ariana Rai, who's making her first

start at this level. Has not lost at this condition,

which I always like. It's a good handicap angle for

me. She's gone gate to wire in two

of her last four stars. Has hung around after being on

the pace in each of her last four races.

She has the most early speed in this field.

I think she'll be able to cross and clear to the front.

Sofia Vivez keeps the mount and too important about Kyra KOA she

she also doesn't have a lot of mounts today so you know she'll

be making the most out of every mount she has.

This is one of them I think. She goes to the front, holds off

Dolomite and gets the job done at a nice number.

There you go. I think Ariana rise, the Ariana

Grande's new whiskey. Is that what that is?

I need to pitch that, Sir. Let's get her on the phone.

Make it the color of her hair maybe.

Thumbs down. Zach is anti whiskey, that's

what that is. I'll tell you what, it'll work

on the happy hour. Ridiculous.

What were you gonna say, brother?

Sophia, she's a really, really good rider.

I I hope she gets more opportunities down the road.

She has really good hands, gets horses to settle and they run

for her. So, you know, maybe, maybe she

can get a win today and boost her stock up a little bit.

Well, yeah, getting a, getting a, getting a win on a big day,

man. That can mean.

Something when there's eyeballs on it, it does mean something.

You're absolutely correct. Right, all eyes on the wood.

That's right. All eyes on the wood.

Do it. Again, Do it.

Again, all eyes on the wood. Not his wood, the wood, right?

What if my wood is the wood? What about that?

What? Whoa.

What if it is? You'll know, all right?

I got more kids than you. You'll know you, right?

I was not familiar with your game Sir, My bad, I apologize.

Did I get worked up about that? That's the good.

Stuff. Oh, man.

All right, well, we'll be doing a group bet later, which is

always one of the fun things. And I.

I I interviewed, is it a group bet or is it the Johnny P

special? Well, we're going with.

We're just trying to. Tell yeah, we're ledge on, Yeah,

we're ledge on pick. But no, I, I interviewed trader

Chris Davis last summer and he said something really cool,

which was it's just fun to be at a track on the tracks, big day.

And so I am so, so freaking happy to be here.

I'm so glad we got tackled up before.

They're not running here anymore.

Now that I'm here, I'm actually really sad they're not going to

be running here anymore because this place is great.

But I get it, I really do. I understand the need for

consolidation in New York, but so, so glad we got here, guys.

Thanks for making the trip and being on the show.

I really do appreciate that as well.

I haven't even mentioned our sponsor for the show, J Shepherd

Cigars on Bardstown Rd. If you're happened to head to

Louisville for the Derby this year, Bardstown Rd. he's about a

12 minute drive at most 22 Churchill Downs and that's

including parking. He you could be there real, real

easy in a very cool part of town as well in the the original

Highlands there in, in Louisville.

And so get on over there. He put together A6 pack for us

today, which I thought was very, very kind of him as well ahead

of the races here at Aqueduct for Barry and for John.

Producer Zach, of course. My name is Louis Ribow.

We're going to get out of here on the horse racing happy hour.

It is noon. There's a race in 25 minutes,

which means we got to stop doing this because Fox is going to

start yelling at us and stuff. So I'm Louis, he's Barry, he's

John. We'll see you next time.