The Nomination Is In: The John C. Mabee Grade 2 at Del Mar and a Special Request for helping colt Timothy James

The Turk, fresh off a handicapper's holiday, just can't get into the 2 YO's that much, and the youngsters are the focus of the weekend at most tracks today.  When I looked at the stakes schedule I was drawn quickly to this race, but after looking at the PP's, I'm not so sure.  Today's John C. Mabee could be a wonderful race with two of the best distaff turf runners in the game today, Tiz Flirtatious and Lady of Shamrock, but it needs at least three more post positions filled out to be a fun betting race. 

A five horse Graded Stake.  In my mind that should make the race lose graded stakes status for this year as well as next.  If the tracks can't fill the races, they shouldn't get the stakes.  Yeah I know, the Turk is most likely smokin' something, but as a race ran, a 5 horse turf race just isn't that enjoyable and there should be a penalty for not filling the gates, like, I don't know, eliminating the stupid races mid week, reducing the race calendar, but what do I know. 





I'm not sure I'll invest in this one or not;  I do think Lady of Shamrock will turn the tables on Tiz Flirtatious, but that's not exactly going to make a stack of bills appear. Trifecta is on the menu if you feel so inclined. 

More importantly, I've never asked the readers of The Turk for anything, and I'm not asking anyone to do something now, but if you could consider the fundraising request below I would deeply and humbly appreciate it. The people involved with this young colt, Timothy James, are all very good and decent folks who need help paying for emergency colic surgery.  Animal people understand this. From Facebook today

"....Timothy James (the colt) had to have emergency colic surgery last night & needs financial support along with the many prayers. He is named after our Son who sadly died 9/26/2011. His owner, Maria Borell & Timmy are now "family" to us & we want to help ease their great financial burden. Our Facebook Friends/Family all know what this special colt means to the Reynolds' Family. What an amazing memorial tribute this would be to our Tim "Tiznow"! Thank you in advance, from the bottom of our hearts, for any support you that you are able to send!!"

Thank you from the Turk in advance

Wire Players "Dirty" Derby Dozen and betting the Derby "Tiznow" Style

The Staff at Turk Central working on Oaks Handicap

Some of the brightest minds in horse racing come together every year to handicap the possible winners of the Kentucky Derby.   The Wire Players Derby Dozen might not be that collection of intellects because they let yours truly actually have a say.  They may revoke my privileges next year as my top pick is Overanalyze and he is somewhere outside of the esteemed group's top 12. No matter, I'll never be accused of esteem, or intelligence!

Do I love Overanalyze?  Not at all, but I'm also not sold on any of the horses that will go off at less than 6-1.  So what's a horse player to do?  Have fun.  Keep your bets within reason.  Take chances.  Raise your hand if you had the 38-1 Oaks winner?  I know people who did, and those folks are shrewd value bettors.  Me, not so much.  I don't pay attention to the morning line, but I do look at the tote board and that filly just didn't seem to have any support and I didn't see anything on paper that made me think Princess of Sylmar had anything:  lost ground in Gazelle but did get Place, workouts at Churchill so-so, 4 wins in 6 starts, 5 of 6 in the money.  A sleeper I would not have anticipated.  Know thyself.  Which leads us back to Overanalyze, but more importantly, forget what the talking heads and "experts" are telling you:  There are 10 horses that could win this race and the other 9 shouldn't but could.




I suggest a betting method authored by "Tiznow" Tim Reynolds.



If you need a good way to spend your winnings, please consider a donation to the Tim Reynolds Memorial Fund. Tim was the Horse Racing Fan of the Year and passed away at way too young an age.

The Wireplayers Derby Dozen Kentucky Derby Poll Volume 4

We are four Saturdays from the Kentucky Derby and the latest edition of the Wire Players Derby Dozen Poll has been released and we have a new comer to the top spot this week, Gemologist, a son of the handsome Tiznow pictured to the left.

Gemologist comes in off a strong, gritty performance in the Wood Memorial, just edging Alpha, our sixth highest ranked colt. Five for five, he was piloted on a perfect trip by Castellano and dug in up the stretch when Alpha extended. He's everything we've come to expect from the progeny of Tiznow and he is a key part of a deep group of three year olds that makes this year's Derby season really exciting.

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Greatness requires competition,and Tiznow raised himself to greatness by defeating Giant's Causeway in the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2000. Giant's Causeway's son, Creative Cause is our second choice this week, dropping down one spot after getting nipped by a nose by I'll Have Another. It's been 23 years since the Santa Anita Derby sent a champion on to win the roses. That winner, Sunday Silence. (We'll call this the six degrees of separation Derby contenders, as a certain Tiznow lived on a street called Sunday Silence, but I digress)



That very handsome son of Distorted Humor is the winner of the 2005 Travers Stakes, Flower Alley, who was followed in 2006 by Alpha's sire, Bernadini. Flower Alley's boy was as gutty and gritty as Gemologist, digging in against two hard charging colts to take the Arcadian prize.

I watch horse races over and over again and shake my head sometimes at the Beyer figures that are given out. I agree with Jeff Frank of the Miami Herald, this horse is a beast.

Graded stakes earnings will play a part in dictating a very deep field of quality thoroughbreds that enter the starting gate in Kentucky. The Turk will be ramping himself up this month in an attempt to decode the riddle and pummel the tote board.

Have fun friends. Turk Out!



I'd be remiss in not mentioning the sire of the Turk, Papa Turk, seen here with The Turk and Little Turk on Travers Stakes Day 2007. Bloodlines mean something.

Happy Holidays from the Turk and Little Turk

Happy Holidays to my friends, family and readers. The Turk enjoyed some quality downtime from the races following the Clark Handicap, which hard to believe, was a month ago. As a blogger I'm often loathe to take weeks off, but I remind myself I've never really been about traffic, ad revenue, or even good writing, so a few weeks away during the holidays is almost a public service! Seriously, I had nothing to offer over the past few weeks and I'd rather be silent than flap my gums for the sake of flapping.

Without the cycle of handicapping, blogging, betting, post race analysis (wash, sleep, repeat)I was able to go sleep early on Friday nights, push away from the computer screen on Saturday mornings, and think little of the races. This time of year, even though we haven't gotten much snow, I build a fire each Friday and Saturday night, and after Mama and Little Turk go off to bed, Kay, the family wiemaraner and I, will sit in quiet reflection and think on the events that were and the future to come. I like to believe that it's during this time that I elevate myself from drone to human.

The Turk had a good year overall and there is much to be thankful for. My family remains alive and healthy: Papa Turk's mechanical ticker is still ticking and cousin Kevin beat cancer. My nephew Danny, try as hard as he can, healed all his broken bones. My job continues to place food on my table and provide for my families needs. The job is a tough physical and mental grind, but I'm grateful for the opportunity and when it ends one day I'll be able to say I gave it my all. Little Turk became a black belt in his martial art, Bushido Kai. He worked all off season with a private coach and brought his soccer game to a new level as well. Little Turk is a good student, with grades in the low 90's, but more importantly, his report cards are filled with top marks for discipline and conduct and he's becoming a thoughtful young man. Unbeknownst to me, he wrote a paper in school recently about what he wished he could give for Christmas, and he wished he could bring Tim "Tiznow" Reynolds back to life for his family. Speaking of Tiznow, his death in late September might have been the low point of the year. The young man had so much passion for our sport, his death has left a void in many peoples lives, especially his family and young daughter. Lost as well this past year was Rachel Beard, DVM, a passionate horse racing fan and veterinarian. I hope both Tim and Rachel find peace on the other side.

I was blessed again this year to be able to collaborate with some of the best writers on the Internet(and traditional media) covering horse racing: Steve from Wireplayers.com invited my to join his merry group to vote on Derby Contenders for the second year in a row. It's a raucous group effort that I thoroughly enjoy and speaking of collaborations, I've contributed to some group "Top Five" efforts at Hello Race Fans! and I'm always honored at the opportunity to share my thoughts when they kindly ask. The Thorofan allowed me to handicap for The Handicapper's Corner. The Thorofan is an organization of people united together to give racing fans a voice and an opportunity to come together socially. Turf: An International Gathering of Horse Racing Bloggers and the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance are two groups that I proudly write for, and I have been grateful as well to have my postings available at Raceday 360 Wire.

The subtitle of this blog is "Horses, Handicapping and Hi jinks". I cover the handicapping pretty well along with the horses, but this ol' cigar chomping handicapper may bore you with what he considers hi jinks at this point in his life. In 2011 I was lucky enough to attend races at Santa Anita and Del Mar, as well as witness morning work at both tracks. I visited Turf Paradise, Belmont, Arlington, Aqueduct and Churchill Downs, as well as a brief, few race Saratoga visit. The highlight of the year was the Breeders' Cup with the Turk Clan and our dear friends from North of the border.

I'm going to be playing Santa Anita and Gulfstream primarily over the next several months. I had negative ROI through April the past three years in a row which doesn't surprise me: I don't pay attention to two year olds and the Derby prep races chew me up. I am positive ROI during that same time period with older horses and turf racing. A quick review showed I had spotty results at Aqueduct, Tampa Downs, LA Downs and a few other tracks I don't play often. That makes sense as well and I'll spend the first few weeks of the new year handicapping but keeping my bet exposure reasonable or non existent. I do my best work when I get a feel for how the track plays and with horses on their second efforts of a meet. I'm going to be a patient bettor but an active handicapper and post race analyst, which is my real love anyways (not that I have a problem with large stacks of money).

I'll be back before tomorrow with opening day at Santa Anita. Life is good friends, enjoy it, we are only here for a short while. I'd like to end with a final thanks to all the kind words of support my horse racing friends provided while my loving dog Kay went through a serious health scare. I didn't think she'd still be with me this time last week, and while not out of the woods, there is daylight again.

Blessed Christmas. Turk Out!

Keeneland Analysis after Day 2

The old Keeneland Tote Board; Be it new, old, analog, digital or scratched out in chalk, it doesn't matter, but as a horse player it pays to pay attention to it before and after the races.

I've taken a few different views of the races, broken down by Turf and Poly. I'm less interested in handicapping analysis and more focus is on what financial returns are being generated, specifically for the Superfecta, and what the ranking on the tote board was the top four finishers.

Let's get after it starting with Poly:





13 of the first 14 poly races had the Chalk finish in the top 4; Two of the three biggest Super payouts were keyed by the Chalk; The Winner with the lowest odds keyed the biggest Superfecta. The Average field size on POLY was 9.71 Starters.

Post One won 2 out of 14 races and was in the Superfecta 5 of 14 races.

7 races of the 14 poly races had 3 out of the top 4 from the tote board rankings in the Superfecta and the average pay out was $2,800. One race had 4 of 4 from the tote board rankings but still paid $724.

Of the 14 winners, 5 pressed the pace, 4 took a stalking trip and 5 closed like freight trains.

And now the Turf:





Six races on Turf, all raced on Firm turf. 4 Chalks made the Superfecta with 2 Chalk winners. The Average number of starters was 9.83 and Post 1 was 0 of 6 wins and only 1 of 6 in in Superfecta.

4 of the 6 races had 3 of the top 4 from the tote board rankings in the Superfecta with the average payout $760.

Of the six winners, only one was pressing the pace at the top of the Stretch; 3 horses were in a stalking position of around 1 1/2 lengths back and 3 horses were closing about 2 back by the top of the stretch.

The sample size isn't large but what I glean is that chalk generally finishes in the top four and of the first 20 races, 12 of 20 had at least 3 of the top 4 from the tote board rankings in the Superfecta.

Learn to keep your own data, data that helps you with either your handicapping or your bet structuring. I could think of many more data points I'd like to track, many of them based on handicapping. The most key item for me to research is how the morning line favorite and the Tote board Favorite lined up with The Ol' Turk's Chalk.

I hope someone found this as interesting as I do; I often talk shop with fellow bettors and without sounding like a pompous prick I try to stress that its this sort of post race analysis, which doesn't take long and normally I would do on a Wednesday night when I'm not handicapping, that really helps unlock who's winning and how well the bettors are pegging the winners.

I'd be remiss to not say that I am a big fan of Steve Byk and his At The Races show on XM Sirius Radio. Steve has a wonderful format and he gets some fantastic recurring guests as well as all the major players in the sport. Steve is one hell of a horse player and I respect him as a handicapper very much. Steve's also a very passionate guy and I finally got around to listening to Steve talk about Tim "Tiznow" Reynolds; Steve tastefully talked about the online horse racing community on Facebook which I am a minor member of, but Tim was almost the lynch pin of online horse racing fans, the catalyst that got many a good discussions going. I know almost two weeks after his death I miss his comments dearly. If you are interested you'll find Steve talking about Tim abround 5 minutes into the first hour at this link.

Life goes on for the living but Tim's memory will live on for a very long time.

Have fun friends with your handicapping; I have the Grade 1 Spinster lined up for tomrrow.

Turk Out!

The Nomination Is In: October 7, 2011: Keeneland Opening Day Fall 2011

I love the beauty of Keeneland. I love the ebb and flow that Keeneland provides the racing calendar; the start of spring, the end of summer, like bookends on the turf racing season. I love the beauty of the track and the details that seem to pop out when you take time to just look. I'd like to rant about the fake plastic dirt, and I won't lie, I'd rather it was dirt, but it seems to play fair and it does allow for racing and handicapping in the sometimes horrible weather that can accompany these meets, so I'm going to say I don't mind it and have come to be as accepting of it here as I am Arlington, Woodbine and PID. Now Del Mar and Hollywood, don't get me started.

When I went looking for a picture that screamed Keeneland I found a clock, a majestic Rolex clock, taken by a wonderful writer, the talented Michigan Bred Claimer, Joe Nevills, who I thank for its use.

I handicapped a sequence of races that lead to a late Pick Three that finishes with the Grade 1 Alcibiades. i really dislike two year old racing and I just can't seem to get that interested in the Grade 1 affair so out with the Pick 3 and we'll just focus on a very nice Allowance Race on Turf and a Grade 3 sprint on the plastic. Let's get it on!




Twelve horses should enter the gate in a $58,000 allowance, 1 mile on what should be firm turf. I placed Blue's Street on top, but the chalk isn't that heavy. A Grade 2 and Grade 3 winner, recently shifted by Anstu Stables to Eddie Kennelly's barn from the trainer Pletcher. A real dog last time out, Kenneally is a 24% winner with first timers and Blues Street is a talented 7 YO gelded son of Street Cry (Ire): 12 of 12 in the money at the distance, 17 of 27 in the money on Turf, 5 of last 9 in the money. Leparoux is up. I do not believe he will be the bettor's chalk, that honor most likley will go to Yankee Fourtune, so I am looking for an a good price as well.

There is lots to like about Yankee Fourtune and the only thing i don't care for is the long layoff, but McLaughlin hits 32% off this sort of extended rest. MClaughlin places Alan Garcia up, and they combine for 27% winners at KEE over past year in 11 tries. 5 wins in 6 tries on turf, gotta love the will to win, a nice contract to Bim Bam who we'll get too.

Not much separating my next layer, Moryba (Brz) and Bim Bam. Morya (Brz), trained by Bill Mott, is a fairly consistent runner cutting back in distance. 9 of 15 in the money on turf and competitive in his Grade 2 races this year.

Bim Bam has no wins in last 15 starts and zero of 9 in 2011 while getting up for Place 6 times in last 20 and 12 of last 27 Place or Show. Doesn't seem to want to win but more than capable of 4th.

I have Hollinger next but Mikoshi is better overall; Mikoshi is a 5 year old Orientate horse trained by Matz with Go Go Gomez up. Winless in two tries at KEE, 1 win in six starts at distance, but 15 of 20 in the money turf. Last time out at Woodbine he laid an egg. His post and his last effort will have to be reversed but tough spot.

Hollinger has two Show finishes in last 7 races, never won at the distance and only 1 turf win in 5 tries. Trainer Attfield is pretty sharp and would not be surprised if he scratches out of here.

Cherokee Artist has Johnny V up for Trainer Motion. I'm actually going to flip flop him and Hollinger in my base handicap. No wins in 5 tries at the distance, 1 win in 10 tries on turf, winless at KEE and 1 win in last 13.

I'll build a superfecta out of this, matrixed as I won't cover any of the exotic picks in the win spot.

In the Grade 3 Phoenix, I think Aikenite is a deserving chalk and I expect he will be the chalk at post time. 3 of 4 in the money at KEE with 2 wins. Pletcher and Johnny Velazquez win 41% of KEE starts and 29% overall in past year on a whopping 705 starts together.

Sterling Outlook has been claimed twice in past six months and last out gamely dead heated a win at 6 furlongs at Del Mar with a 101 BSF. Trainer Saddler places Gomez up and the two win 235 of the time together. 2 wins on fake dirt in 9 tries. Feast or famine I reckon.

Hamazing Destiny is very reliable and honest. Trainer Lucas is looking for a graded stakes win, with an unthinkable zero for 69 streak in the rolling year. 5 of 10 in the money at the distance.

Flashpoint is training very fast on the fake stuff, banging out :59 and change 5f workouts at KEE. First time racing on plastic so how the Pomeroy son performs, who knows. Could get bet down to the chalk and maybe the bettors are right but I'm not there yet. He's very good though so we'll cover the top spot with him. Trainer Ward very respected here at The Turk and Little Turk.

Only other horse I'm covering is a bit of value, Hoofit (Nz) . I'm not sure what to expect but he ran well at PID in September.

The Turk has never been very successful at Keeneland, especially the poly races. I'll be playing quite a few early to get a feel for it and we'll see if we can't do a bit better here.

Have fun friends, Turk Out!

Horse players, in late September horse racing lost a super fan, in fact the HRN Fan of the Year, "Tiznow" Tim Reynolds. Please consider a completely tax deductible donation to help for the education fund of Tim's daughter, Lauren.

There are so many people and organizations that need our help, I know that, but if possible, please help the family of one of our own, a horse racing fan who oozed passion for this sport and who is dearly missed by his friends and family.

Thank You friends. Turk Out!

The Nomination Is In: 1 October 2010: The Lady's Secret/Goodwood Stakes Pick 3 and the Yellow Ribbon at Santa Anita

The worst case scenario; With five weeks to go until the Breeders' Cup, this weekend's fantastic slate of Graded Stakes was for me the start of my Breeders' Cup handicapping. With the rains impacting Belmont's surfaces, but really, smallish fields in the Kelso and Beldame, I'm going to just be a horse racing fan today for Super Saturday and instead be a bettor at the Great Race Place, Santa Anita. Sure I can still gleen something from Belmont today, but it won't apply the first weekend in November, the weather is going to be beautiful and the track fast and turf firm (dear God, please give me this :-) )

It's not every weekend you get the lineup of stars we have today: Stay Thirsty, Jersey Town, Jackson Bend, Uncle Mo,Royal Delta, Life at Ten, Havre de Grace, Euroears, Blind Luck, Zazu, Coil, Awesome Gem, Game on Dude, Cambina(pictured above), Malibu Pier and Harmonious to name my favorites today.

Some would argue (including this idiot Internet hack at times) that the sport doesn't have stars. I'd argue we have plenty of stars, it's the trainers(who in my equally dubious and most likely ill informed opinion) don't do enough to market the sport by not running them more frequently. Before I go off ranting about the state of horse racing and the black hole of a discussion on how to fix it, let me just stop and say that there is alot of good in horse racing, evidenced last night at Charles Town, where race one was named after a good friend, and one of the sports great grass roots ambassadors, Tim "Tiznow" Reynolds. I put a You Tube video up of Tim handicapping the Derby just to give you a flavor for the wit and intellect, as well as the race educated passion. Tim will be missed and his loss sits like a great void, as he often was the catalyst that got many a great race conversation going. As us humans are known to do, after we lose someone we pick ourselves up and we keep going, one foot in front of the other, never forgetting our dead, but life must be lived.

Speaking of the Tim Memorial race, The Little Turk does it again, hoping on one of my toss outs, J.J. Devil to win the race at $42.60. The Little Turk is about to test for his black belt and yes I am afraid; He's got ice in his veins as a 'capper and feet of steel. Pretty soon this will be the Little Turk and the Turk blog.

If you're still reading and haven't bailed out of my blathering yet, let's get after today's work!



In typical fashion on the West Coast, and most likely in search of the almighty simulcast bucks, the races don't unfold on the card like they would on the East Coast. You can whine about it or just embrace it, and I'm long past whining about it. I didn't see a Pick 4 option and I don't waste time on Pick 6, so I assembled a Pick 3 out of The Lady's Secret, The Goodwood, and a nice N1X on the turf, and then I'll take a a few races off to eat the lamb shanks I'm preparing for dinner and come back for the 10 furlong Grade I Yellow Ribbon. This is a good day's worth of horse racing but if I could digress just a bit, it seems to me horse racing misses an opportunity by not having a Super Saturday and a Super Sunday 5 weeks before Breeders' Cup and I don't see why Belmont couldn't have put even a better card together today and then had Santa Anita bring it home tomorrow with stacked lineup of Grade 1 action. Anyway....

In full disclosure, I handicapped late into the night last night and with the week I've had, I'm not sure I'm at the top of my game. I've learned as a handicapper, but really as a bettor, that what works for me is repetition and discipline to my techniques and methods. While I may feel a bit "emotional" still about the loss of Tim, or feel a bit stressed by my job which is very demanding, I've done my handicapping and followed my usual approach so I will push aside any anxiety I may have and follow through on the betting. How many of you had your best days when you thought you were going to suck? Do your business, bet consistently and over the course of time the results will become consistent.

The Lady's Secret is delectable field of seven and I think five of them legitimately could hit the board. When I'm faced with parity I'll often step back and ask myself what I think the trainers ultimate goal is with his mount:Is he there to win this race or is he looking to sharpen the knife for the next effort. Of course you can do both, but when you're stumped never forget to ask yourself as you review each horse on the PP's "Why is he/she here?"

Why is Blind Luck here? Is it to win the The Lady's Secret or is it to be sharp next month; unraced since she nosed out Harve de Grace in mid July, working strongly, but Hollendorfer is 10% off the 60-180 day break, clearly his mindset in general is to sharpen for the real prize. Now usually I'll ramble like this and Blind Luck will go out and win by 7 lengths, and that could happen, but I think today she'll hit the board and really be tuning up more than anything. Another oddity, Hollendorfer and Go Go have yet to win at SA after 10 races in past year.

I love Blind Luck and its like a holiday to me anytime my favorites are running.

I'm backing Ask the Moon tentatively. I'm a layer handicapper and I'm not that hung up on the exact finish, but I am a value bettor and I'm thinking Ask the Moon would provide good value to the P3 and the Superfecta I'll assemble if she finishes on top. She comes in off a 10 furlong effort at SAR at the end of the meet, coming off a very impressive Ruffian Grade 1 win at the beginning of the Saratoga festivities. The six year old has really responded to Trainer Wolfson since coming to his barn and for a horse that was claimed for $75K not five months ago, what a return she's made for her new connections that believed in her. Maybe she steps back after those exerting efforts, again "Why is she here and where is she in her form cycle?" We'll find out.

Zazu seems primed for the second half of the race year: 3 of 3 in the money at SA, 3 of 4 in the money at the distance, 3 of 4 on fast dirt and 6 of 6 in the money in 2011. She's working bullets at 6f in 1:11 2/5ths.

Ultra Blend? Nothing fancy, just reliable. She is an incredible 12 of 12 in the money from 2010 through 2011. No reason to believe she won't fire into the top four today.

The Goodwood Stakes is always a race the Turk looks forward to, except when it was run on the fake dirt and i just didn't care much about it, but its back on dirt and I'm thrilled. I expected to see more wins for trainer Baffert in the Goodwood but unless I miscounted he has two, including last years at Hollywood with Richard's Kid. He had a little horse called Silver Charm that did pretty good in this race too! I like his chances to make it three wins with both Coil and Game On Dude in the gate.

The Haskell winner Coil was abysmal in the Travers. I just have to let that go and I'm expecting a bounce back but as a three year old I'll defer to his older stable mate, Game On Dude: The Big Cap winner is 5 of 6 in the money in 2011, his only out the money finish being his last effort, the Pacific Classic at Del Mar where he stalked and couldn't finish. That was a deeper and more classy group than is running here and I think he looks pretty good in this spot.

With Acclimation defecting off the dirt, a wise choice in my opinion, I like the combo of Miss Match, the fields lone lady, and the veteran Awesome Gem to press for the top four. Miss Match won at the distance on this surface, or at least what was this surface before it was tinkered with again, back in March, a big upset of Switch. The Little Turk is on Awesome Gem today, so be warned. I'm curious about Mandella's Preamble. the distance may be an issue but 3 wins in 3 starts on dirt and 3 of 4 at Santa Anita who has Espinoza up. Mandella/Espinoza combine for 26% winners at SA on 27 starts over past year.

I'll keep the P3 reasonably covered without going overboard. After handicapping it appears that these are more fan races than betting opportunities, but that said, we've set the table, we will serve dinner!

The allowance race, an N1X, is a bettors black hole often. I'm a big fan of Allowance racing though, its like the gateway between graded stakes, my typical domain, and the lower depths. You have a greater mix of classes, rising and falling, and you really have to ask the question "why are they here" when you handicap these races. The "Super Trainers" and the "Super Jocks" padded those gaudy stats against lesser foes in these events, but if you can hop off of "bad money magnets" and find value, these races can offer just beautiful payouts. I like Carla Gaines Irish Art and Make Me Believe. I have no idea how the bettors will respond to these runners so I've built my base handicap but my betting will be influenced by the tote board.

The Yellow Ribbon is like hair of the dog, in case you haven't had enough, dive in again. Cambina (Ire) seems primed by Trainer Jeff Bonde. a very strong late run by the 3 YO in the 9 furlong Del Mar Oaks, up against older ladies here, she's trained sharply and I like the 10 panel win two efforts back in the American Oaks at HOL.

Speaking of Carla Gaines runners, Malibu Pier is a Turk favorite. a two time Grade 2 winner, 2 wins at 10 furlongs, 7 of 9 in the money on turf and a stalker that will at least be in the action the last few hops to the wire.

Cozi Rosie comes in for trainer Sadler who is 22% of 30-60 day breaks. Distance may be a concern here, winless in two tries, (but two Places) for the the four year old daughter of Pleasantly Perfect (now that was a horse!) 7 of 8 in the money on turf.

This is a fun race! You got Harmonious, Turning Top (Ire) , City to City and Dubawi Heights (GB) all ready to pounce if any ofthe above falter. Really good stuff here.

Have fun friends. Turk Out!

The Nomination Is In: September 30, 2011; The Tim "Tiznow" Reynolds Memorial at Charles Town

I live in a cocoon of my own invention. A womb. Perhaps it's the years I spent in the military or an entire adult life lived rigidly in the only way I know; my own. I don't let new people into my world easily. Several years ago, before I ever heard the term "social media" I lamented that for someone as outgoing as I was in my 20's, I became stodgy and unapproachable in my 40's. After I started The Turk and the Little Turk in 2008 I began meeting horse racing fans online, at my blog, at Facebook, now Twitter and maybe Google + next.

I met Tim "Tiznow" Reynolds not quite two years ago. He was outgoing, funny, easy to talk to. I can't claim to have known him well, but we exchanged messages more often than I even realized, that is until I went back and reread my Facebook wall and realized we spoke many times a week. The comments we shared ranged the whole gamut of male conversation, from humorous to raunchy, almost always about food/horses/booze. I considered Tim my friend.

The world lost Tim this week. The damage his death brought rippled out from its epicenter and touched hundreds of people who knew him like I knew him, on the fringes of life where daily human contact and friends via "social media" merge.

I mourn for the loved ones Tim left behind. My heart was genuinely touched seeing the world of online horse racing fans converge around Tim's family during these difficult days. A scholarship fund has already been set up, and with the help of the wonderful people at The Thorofan, contributions for young Lauren, Tim's daughter, are tax deductible. I'm going to miss Tim's comments, and I'm going to miss seeing him in the paddock at the Breeders' Cup in seven weeks, I'm just going to miss the young man who oozed passion for life and his loves.

Tomorrow is Tim's wake and then he will be buried on Saturday. Please keep the family in your prayers, a family that already buried their other son two short years ago.

The great people at Charles Town named Friday night's first race in honor of Tim, and never has a race deserved a Turk nomination as this one does.



Let's get after it!





It's a $5,000 Claimer for West Virginia bred Fillies and Mares 3 YO and Up. I've handicapped and will build my bet after I see the odds closer to post. Mama Turk is liking Blingtastic and Little Turk is all over J.J's Devil.



Saturday night I'm going to tie a good drunk on. I'll be sitting at my kitchen table, with a bottle of 'Ol Number 7, playing the ponies on Super Saturday at Belmont, but mourning in my own way. A good cigar later on Sunday and I'll try and banish the darkness of the past week and only remember the funny exchanges that Tim and I shared, like the one about how Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey leaves an aftertaste like pancakes.

I don't know about you all, but music helps and nobody mourns like the Irish.



Turk Out!

Rest in Peace Tiznow Tim

You meet people during the course of living life. You meet people and some leave an impression and others don't. What I notice first about people is their intensity; Are they passionate? When they speak, does love flow from them for what they talk about? Are they humorous, self effacing?

One of the Turk's best Facebook friends passed away and the world of horse racing is so much less interesting because of his loss. "Tiznow" Tim Reynolds was the real deal; handsome, funny, passionate.

"You can push me into the cold water
But you can't hold me under

You can bring me down
But you can't make me beg

It's so hard to stay honest
In a world that's headed to hell
You can't make a good living these days
'Cause the truth just don't sell"

Rest in Peace Tim. I will miss your comments in a way I never thought possible.