Blacktype missed the break and that was it
When you watch the reply of last Saturday’s Fort Lauderdale Stakes from Gulfstream Park, you’ll notice two interesting things just before and just after they break from the gate. First, right before the gates open, Blacktype, in post 6, loses focus for just a brief second as he seems to raise his head and shift his position. This may have been a result of him being nearly the last to load and not having time to get settled. Then the gates open. Blacktype breaks just a step slow. Glorious Empire, from post 1, breaks fastest and moves out from the rail just a bit on his way to a clear lead. And in the first flash of the odds after the break, Glorious Empire’s 10-1 odds at post time drop to 8-1 and then to 7-1 before they hit the clubhouse turn. Personally, I don’t suspect this odds change was a result of Blacktype’s poor break because I don’t think the drop in price would have had time to be reflected in the tote board if past-posting was happening. That said, once Blacktype missed the start, the race was effectively over. Glorious Empire was allowed to sail along up front as he pleased, and he was uncatchable from there.
The way this race unfolded was bad for every other horse, and especially bad for me. I was alive in the Pick 4 and Rainbow 6 to Inspector Lynley and Almanaar. My Pick 4 play was a $10 ticket, and the return to Inspector Lynley was over $26,000. I am not sure what the Rainbow 6 would have paid to him, but based on the actual payout to the winner, I think $12,000 is a reasonable assumption. With other wagers considered, a faster pace up front might have meant a return to me of over $40,000, as Inspector Lynley came on late to be 4th and was clear of them all about 50 yards past the wire.
But here is my question: Are jockeys capable of adjusting on the fly, mid-race? Because anyone who has watched horse racing this year knows that Glorious Empire is very, very hard to run down when he is allowed to be coast on the lead. I felt like the race was over down the backstretch. I kept waiting for someone to take their mount and keep Edgar Prado company, but it simply never happened.
Oh well. Onward and upward. Big day of racing on Saturday at Fair Grounds. That will be our focus for most of the next few days.
