Daily Page | Zebrality | 2010 Football Pool | General Chat | Latest Comments

You are on an individual archive page

Click here to return to the main page


Wikipedia does good things. Reward them.

The Daily Links Page
Got a link to submit?
  • Double Rainbow Guy in Windows Live Ad
  • Skeptoid.com on the Myers-Briggs Personality Test
  • New Glarus Brewing invites fans to weigh in on its 2011 beer schedule
  • UW the big loser in Big Ten realignment
       [ 14 comments ]
  • Glee, Flight of the Conchords featured on 9/26 Simpsons premiere
       [ 1 comment ]
  • Zenyatta Stakes reverting to old name meaning Zenyatta will not be able to win the Zenyatta stakes
  • Target to sell Facebook Credits gift cards
  • Officials: Suspect holding hostages at Discovery Channel
       [ 1 comment ]
  • New Big Ten divisions to be announced 7 pm ET tonight
       [ 77 comments ]
  • UEFA enacts vuvuzela ban
  • Blair: Bush world view had 'immense simplicity'
  • Best. Horserace Call. Ever.
       [ 1 comment ]
  • The Media Loses Readers and Viewers to its Own Radicalism
  • Great Debate: Can Rodgers overtake Favre?
       [ 20 comments ]
  • Homeowne's Fight Involves Flag Tied to Tea Party
  • Why Do Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers?
       [ 1 comment ]
  • Authorities Were on High Alert for Possible Hijack Attempt
  • Behind the hurricane hype
  • UW-Madison: 17th-best damn university in the whole damn world
  • Social media votes on Aaron Rodgers' beard
       [ 2 comments ]
  • Not so cuddly now: It's claws the psycho squirrel
  • Top 5 Floating Sheep Maps
  • Texas Rep. violated rules, steered scholarships to relatives
  • The smell of freshly-cut grass is actually a plant distress call
  • Why can't Barack Obama tell the world about American tolerance?
  • Anyone Who Wants to Cut Entitlements Clearly Has No Place on a Commission Devoted to Fiscal Responsibility
  • The great Obama-Axelrod-etc. mystery
  • Is the Trade Gap to Blame for Slowing GDP Growth?
  • The six wives of Henry VIII in the movies
       [ 1 comment ]
  • Who's Stupid?
  • Brewers' Gallardo robbed at gunpoint
  • Want to be class president? Not if you're black, in one Miss. school
  • Lance Armstrong Wants To Tell Nation Something But Nation Has To Promise Not To Get Mad
  • Most humble and most arrogant Presidents
       [ 3 comments ]
  • Singles: best soundtrack of the 90's
       [ 1 comment ]
  • Observation Deck: Packers-Colts
  • David Hasselhoff to Compete on ABC's Dancing With the Stars!
  • Solution to the Ground Zero Mosque Dilemma
  • Trapped miners in Chile assuming different roles
  • 'Sportwriters on TV' back on the air ... in Chicago
       [ 2 comments ]
  • Polish man, shot in head, notices five years later
  • Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's
  • Report: Wisconsin & Iowa will be in separate Big Ten divisions
       [ 10 comments ]
  • That buzz you hear? Must be mosquitoes, not interest in Gophers
       [ 2 comments ]
  • Death of a Hero: Brett Favre's Tragic Fall from Grace
  • Rand vs. Ron? Cordoba House Drives Wedge Through The Paul Family
  • Former RNC chairman Ken Mehlman: I'm gay
  • Greeks 'discover Odysseus' palace in Ithaca, proving Homer's hero was real
       [ 3 comments ]
  • Angry Birds eyes a movie/TV deal
  • Coffee shops to customers: get the hell out
       [ 3 comments ]

     

  • Preakness Stakes Pick

       May 14, 2009

    There are a lot of misconceptions about the Preakness: the race is geared to front runners, the turns are too tight, Triple Crown newcomers are "fresh" and have an advantage. They're simply not true.

    Generally speaking, the Preakness isn't biased towards front runners, the turns are no tighter than most major tracks and horses that ran in the Kentucky Derby tend to win the Preakness. That last point is important. The fact of the matter is is that there are rarely good "fresh" horses in the Preakness. If you have a three-year old good enough to win the Preakness, you'd run them in the Derby. Of course, there are exceptions like Bernardini in 2006 and the filly, Rachel Alexandra, this year.

    So, basically the Preakness comes down to two questions. First, was the Derby a fluke? Second, is Rachel that good?

    The answer to the first question is harder than you think. Looking at the speed figures, the horses that finished right behind Mine That Bird, Pioneerof The Nile, Papa Clem and Musket Man all ran about the same as they always do. Is there reason to think they'll improve suddenly? I doubt it at this point. Can Mine That Bird repeat his Derby performance? That, I think is more possible. Finally, can the beaten Derby favorite, Friesan Fire rebound?

    Okay, that was more than two questions. Here's my overall take. I think that Mine That Bird isn't a great horse, but he won the Derby because he ran a good race while his competition didn't. I think that Rachel Alexandra, on speed figures alone, towers over this field. She really is that good. However, I think that there's more pace in this race than she's used to and, frankly, three-year old fillies can be flakey and I hesitate to put money on a flake.

    My pick, then, is Friesan Fire. He had no shot in the Derby and has rebounded from that nightmare with an awesome workout this week. I think he'll run the race he was supposed to run in the Derby on Saturday and that that will be enough to win the Preakness.

    What do you think?


    Who will win the Preakness Stakes?
    Big Drama
    Mine That Bird
    Musket Man
    Love Guv
    Friesan Fire
    Terrain
    Papa Clem
    General Quarters
    Pioneerof The Nile
    Flying Private
    Take The Points
    Tone It Down
    Rachel Alexandra
      
    pollcode.com free polls


    Posted by at May 14, 2009 09:51 AM

        The trackback entry for this page is : http://www.inthehat.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1726

     

    Trackback Entries

     


    Comments

    #  May 15th, 2009 11:42 AM      kris
    I have this nagging feeling that Papa Clem is going to win, only because it will annoyingly remind me of my uncle Gary.  
     

     

     


    To leave a comment you must be logged in.
    Log in here
    or Get an Account here.


      page rendered in 0.2153 seconds | ©2004, 2005 Dummocrats.com