A Visit from the Ghost of [Breeders' Cup] Christmas Past

Another day into December and I'm still the ultimate Crabby Patty. But our friends at Breeders' Cup are in the holiday spirit and they've set up shop with their 2011 Breeders' Cup Champions Collection! Additionally, they've added a little shopping incentive:

Now through Sunday December 4th, receive this beautiful Limited Edition Porcelain Christmas Ornament featuring Zenyatta & Blame.

This particular Breeders' Cup promotion raises a couple of glaring concerns such as (1) a good review of English grammar and capitalization rules is in order, and (2) Zenyatta and Blame raced in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic.

Humbug!

December. This is usually where I begin whistling "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" as I voraciously decorate the hearth and home for the yuletide season. Yet for some reason - probably because I'm still all snarky that that ne'er-do-well Court Vision defeated the great Goldikova in the BC Mile - has me feeling like a crabby ol' grinch.

And the headline in this morning's paper doesn't exactly buoy my holiday spirits,

Horse slaughter legal again in some states

Seasons' Greetings! Congress has quietly lifted a 5-year-ban on horse meat inspections which could potentially put U.S. slaughterhouses back in business.

Granted, perhaps not all horse racing fans and bettors would consider themselves animal-rights activists, however, it was a rather appalling revelation that our 1986 Kentucky Derby winner, Ferdinand, became basashi. And if we are going to enjoy horses as part of our "sport" or "past time" or "entertainment", we need to be responsible for their lives after racing. A slaughterhouse should not be the final destination for racehorses, even irritants like Court Vision.

As one holiday song would describe this situation, it's like "a three decker saurkraut and toadstool sandwich. With arsenic sauce!"

2011 Breeders' Cup Selections

The tingling sense of excitement and anticipation that you feel can only mean one thing - The Breeders' Cup World Championships! A two day racing bonanza comprised of 15 Championship races with millions and millions of dollars in purses, along with its strategery of wagering opportunities, and, last but not least, Post Parade's Fifth Annual Magic Beer Bottle Breeders' Cup Selections.

This year, the famed and somewhat eccentric Irish laddie, Pauly, inspires us to feature Moose Drool as the Magic Beer Bottle. We're sure he has some colorful quip about his beverage of choice but we're afraid to ask. And it probably wouldn't make it past our censors anyway.

So you know the drill: As Sue painstakingly labors over past performances and reads The Brock Talk, the Magic Beer Bottle takes a spin. It should be duly noted that last year Sue demonstrated her handicapping prowess with 5 winners, soundly drubbing her TBA brethren. However, the Magic Beer Bottle did have one shining moment of glory with Dubai Majesty winning the Sprint.

2011 Breeders’ Cup Selections




	Sue	Magic Beer Bottle
Juvenile Sprint	Secret Circle	Blacky the Bull
Juvenile Fillies Turf	Sweet Cat	Stephanie's Kitten
Filly & Mare Sprint	Turbulent Descent	Irish Gypsy
Juvenile Fillies	Homecoming Queen	Say a Novena
Filly & Mare Turf	Nahrain	Announce
Ladies Classic	Ask the Moon	Miss Match
Marathon	Brigantin	Cease
Juvenile Turf	Majestic Spirits	Lucky Chappy
Sprint	Force Freeze	Amazombie
Turf Sprint	Regally Ready	Caracortado
Dirt Mile	The Factor	The Factor
Turf	Sarafina	Sea Moon
Juvenile	Union Rags	Speightscity
Mile*	Goldikova	Goldikova
Classic	Zenyatta Havre de Grace	To Honor and Serve

*Our Mile selections have been successful for the past three years so we're not about to challenge the greatness of Goldikova BUT if there's a teensy-weensy possibility of vulnerability, Gio Ponti, Byward (GB), and Turallure get our attention.

As an added bonus to this year's selection, we present The Sushi Stapler Longshots:

In Friday afternoon's Juvenile Fillies Turf, European shipper Dear Lavinia (M/L Odds 30-1) looks to have some talent, having finished third to favorite Elusive Kate back in July.

The Sushi Stapler is also fascinated with the good European filly, Questing (M/L odds 20-1) in the Juvenile Fillies. Her last two efforts, G3 races, had her mere steps and/or head-bobs from winning. Her sire Hard Spun would suggest two turns on the dirt shouldn't be a problem.

And in Saturday's Juvenile, Hansen (M/L odds 10-1) looks to set the pace. If he can make the switch from synthetic to dirt and if speed is holding on the track, the rest of the field is gonna have to catch him!

Good luck!

Wine For My Fillies

I enjoy reading Valerie's blog, Foolish Pleasure. And it's not just because I'm sucking up to her because she and five of her drinking buddies invented TURF. It's because she's smart. And intelligent and pointed and thought provoking, and if she were a mare, she'd burn her bra halter! Anyway, Valerie recently laid it on the line and detailed her own scientific and/or not-so-scientific observations that effectively surmised that fillies and/or mares that race in the U.S. are a bunch of wusses. Okay, she didn't exactly use the word wuss; she alluded that horse racing in the United States is "pitifully locked into a myopic mindset when it comes to challenging open company events." This is a very important phrase because I'm planning on working it into my future dissertation.

Anyway, Valerie provided some food [but mostly wine] for thought. I pondered over a rather modest sampling ...

Blind Luck? Has she ever raced in open company? Wuss.

Goldikova? Oh yeah, she's the real mucho macho [wo]man!

Zazu? Za-who?!?

Danedream? A dream come true! Magnifique! Oops ... she's German: Herrlich!

Never Retreat? Won the First Lady, not the Lady/Gentleman.

Secret Admirer? A lot to admire!

Life At Ten? Still investigating ...

Well, that's not a very fair sampling but the wunderfillies that come to mind don't exactly reside on this side of the pond. And, as an interesting footnote, I read in today's issue of Breeders' Cup spam email alerts that European Sarafina is headed to Churchill Downs to race [against the boys] in the Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Turf.

Not only is open company horse racing "pitifully myopic" here in the U.S., it seems borderline tragic. And speaking of tragic, there is nothing more tragic than the news out of Sheboygan, Wisconsin:

Shelf collapse shatters 6,810 wine bottles



So much for wine food for thought ...

Peeking Into Dutrow's Medicine Cabinet

Oh, surprise. Trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. had his license revoked and was barred from racing in New York for 10 years. It appears that the state's Racing and Wagering Board’s ruling was based on two specific incidents that occurred last November: (1) Fastus Cactus failed his drug test and tested positive for butorphanol, and (2) Dutrow apparently enjoys keeping a collection of hypodermic needles containing xylazine handy. Or “xyzaline” if you’re following along at home with your copy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (motto: "Saving money by eliminating turf writers AND copy editors!").

This news raises a number of questions, such as “Why did it take so long to finally bust this guy?” and “What exactly is butorphanol and xylazine? And will those words be included in the National Spelling Bee?”

Of course, we here at Post Parade don’t have all the answers, but when it comes to drugs we might be able to shed a some light. As you are probably aware, we have a sound scientific background as well as Wikipedia at our disposal.

Butorphanol is a synthetic opioid analgesic; a narcotic pain reliever, similar to that of morphine. In humans it can be dispensed as a nasal spray to treat migraine headaches. In veterinary practice or in Dutrow’s stable, butorphanol is used to relieve pain making a horse easier to handle. It is considered five times more effective than morphine in controlling pain, beginning to alleviate pain within 15 minutes and lasting up to as long as 4 hours. It is a class A medication and prohibited for use in competitions. Interestingly enough, butorphanol is also used for sedation when combined with tranquilizers such as xylazine which, coincidentally, Dick Dutrow keeps on his desk.

Xylazine hydrochloride is a non-narcotic compound used as a sedative and muscle relaxant in horses. The drug reduces the respiratory rate to that of natural sleep. It has been successfully used in diagnostic, dental, and orthopedic procedures in horses. Xylazine has also been used to calm fractious animals as well as serve as therapeutic medication for sedation and pain relief following injury or surgery. And an extra tidbit of information: Xylazine is used to shorten musth in bull elephants, however it is extremely important to know that drug dosages vary between Asian and African elephants, so know your species before administering the drug. Also, be sure to “like” Xylazine on Facebook!

Whatever Dutrow’s “medication violation” this time, it’s not his first. His past performances of infractions and violations is damaging to horse racing. There needs to be greater strides to separate pharmacology from horse racing. Even if we have to go through one medicine cabinet at a time.

"Oh, look! Our local newspaper has invented a new drug!"