Backstretch with Gordon on Wednesday

The air conditioning in my car has been temperamental (pun intended) but it didn’t matter Wednesday morning as I needed the heat as it was barely 50 degrees out as I headed to The Red Mile. Things aren’t supposed to warm up much the next few days with the outlook for Saturday’s Kentucky Futurity/Tattersalls program a bit better with a high in the low 70s.

My first stop Wednesday--wearing a jacket for the first time in months--was to the race office where Dill showed me the entries for the Futurity and Tattersalls, which are 10 and 14, respectively. That means just one heat for the colt trotters in the Futurity, with the horses coming back for the second heat in post position order on how they finished in the opener. If we have two different winners, then the duo will square off in a third heat. The draw for the Futurity will be held between races early on the Wednesday card, so we’ll know then where Deweycheatumnhowe lands as he takes on Crazed and eight others.

As for the Tattersalls, 13 was the split number, meaning we’ll see two divisions of seven, which means, once again, that a match-up of Somebeachsomewhere—fresh off his record 1:46.4 win last Saturday—and Art Official—who bounced back from his Jug loss with a victory last Saturday as well and was supplemented to the race—may not happen again.

Things were quiet in the barn area as yesterday’s rain-out qualifiers were going to be made up today. Brent MacGrath told me after SBSW’s race last Saturday he thought he’d be bringing the colt to the track today but he was nowhere to be found. So I wandered over to see my trotting namesake, Waterstone, over in the Jimmy Takter barn.

However, just as MacGrath and SBSW were MIA, so was Waterstone as I learned his late-closer race was a detention-barn race. I had a program page along with me and I was going to give him a pep talk since it actually appears the colt has a chance get off the schneid today and break his 20-race losing streak—he won his first-ever start last spring at Mohawk but it’s been nada since—but he’ll have to do it on his own and with the urging of driver Ron Pierce, who had a huge day yesterday with six winners.

The boss Kathy called and asked me to wander over to Erv Miller’s barn and inquire about the new purchase by Mike Gulotta and Andy Willinger of the 3-year-old filly trotter Yalta Hanover. I got there and Erv and assistant trainer Tony Alagna were in their office—along with Tony’s mom Donna, who had a winner yesterday in Hillary—checking out a new wheel produced by Tony’s brother, Pete.

Tony said the wheels weren’t cheap as he and Erv tinkered a bit. Tony showed me the number six on the inside, meaning the wheel was just the sixth produced, and that he also has number one. Although I was looking at the wheel, I remembered the reason I was there in the first place, and Erv told me that he doesn’t know anything yet about Yalta Hanover as he picked her up after she finished second last Thursday.

I walked up to watch some qualifiers and ran into Michigan-based driver Peter Wrenn, whom I’ve known forever since back in my Hazel Park days. We lamented over the state of racing in the Wolverine State, and Peter noted Vince Copeland leaving to head to Harrington and I added that Mike Micallef had called me last week and said he was nearing a move to New York. Pete said although he was still going to hang in there with his wife, Melanie, and family, he was considering branching out and buying horses to race in Sire Stakes programs in other states, including Kentucky.

I wanted to watch Mr. Muscleman in his qualifier—who Waterstone beat last week—but the effort didn’t last long. The standout trotter threw a shoe behind the gate and was quickly pulled up by Ron Pierce and brought back to the paddock. I soon saw trainer Noel Daley walk by me with shoe in hand that had been retrieved by starter Dan Coon, and Noel said the only thing he could do now was to school the millionaire trotter.

And finally, $3.44.

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