The DQ

I have been watching and wagering on the horses since I was a wee 17 years of age...started when I would go down the street to the Oregon State Fair, in the state capitol city of Salem...got hooked and it has been in me blood ever since...those were the days, when I would see my uncle there, too...Irving...yea, my gig was to see what I could do with 10 bucks...

Time passed on, as did the amounts of the money that I would wager...ha ha...at that venue, there would be only one Pick 4 during the day of the meet...no Pick 5 or 6...the winners only, kids...I have loads of stories over the years, but, that is not the purpose of the days' blog...

Controversies...there you go...it is gambling...and whenever you have money invested...there is always the threat of...fixing a race...so someone would benefit, ah, illegally...the owner or trainer would drug up his or her hoss, or, the jockey would purposely slow down their horse, or, the jockey would have a bug to shock the horse to go faster...things...they were and always were, there...

In the small markets, I figure that there isn't that much money in it...so, there is a bigger chance of the 'collusion', dare I use that word?...maybe, I should call it more of an obstruction...I digress...

Which leads me into yesterday's Kentucky Derby...believe me kids, this is the race of the very elite of the sport...millions, maybe billions of dollars, at stake...over 150,000 people attending the event...watching, wagering, imbibing the mint juleps, and just having a grand time...and witnessing the historical race that featured the winner, Maximum Security, being taken down from the top spot...

Disqualified, er, DQ...dropped to 17th and not 2nd....which is just a bizarre situation, er, ruling...in itself...the stewards (in this case, 3 of them) looked at the replay a goodly amount...15 minutes worth of agony for the connections (and bettors) of Maximum Security...not sure if I have ever witnessed a 15 minute decision in the racing biz...they unanimously agreed, that the horse be DQ'd...

People were aghast and angry...social media went ballistic...in as much, as Trump Tweeted his outrage, too...said in essence, that the outcome and judgment was incorrect...'only in these days of political correctness could such an overturn occur,  The best horse did NOT win the Kentucky Derby-not even close!'...some might say the same correlation to the past election of 2016...I digress...

Here's the deal...the weather was no bueno...the track was sloppy at best...water and mud flying everywhere...inasmuch, as I feared a horse or two, may go down...there are 18 beautiful animals at break neck speed, on the same track...of course, there was going to be some bumping involved...just had to be...

Maximum Security led the 'entire' race...on the far turn it did impede another...one could say that the other horse, impeded him...BUT...the stewards ruled that the act was so egregious, that they not only DQ'd it, but placed him 17th...should have been at worst, 2nd...the eventual winner, a 65 to 1 long shot, Country House, was no part of the disqualification...yet benefitted BIG TIME...

Gosh, did I just agree with Donny?...OMG!...

Deja vu, over at the ball yard...some mighty questionable managing by the Pad's Green...sorry, kids, but it is true...another nail biter with them bloody Bums...his use of his relief pitchers has been a losing one...when to pull and not to pull...one of the few major items that he has to do, when running his team...and one more...I would not trot out my 'closer' unless it is in fact, closing time...and he lost both games...well, it's his team and his decisions...but...c'mon...

Oh yea, and the sold out crowd?...it's real...and it is at least 70% Bum fans...you see, Mgr Green, you have to WIN these games to get the Padre people in the seats...pressure?...you bet, but that's why you are in the biz, right?...

The Beard and his whiskers beat the way below performing Warriors in Houston...just a ghastly performance from most of the GS dudes, other than KD...egads, I don't like the Rockets way of playing...but Jimmy Crack Corn, really...

They are starting the game 4 of the Nugget/Blazer game at 4 o'clock just in case it runs a bit long...you know, they do have history....wouldn't it be magic if PDX won it and goes up 3-1?...!!!...

Well, we spent time on Cosmo yesterday...and have some mas to do today...like get some XL Twin sheets for MY side...ha ha...yea, some small golf bags, too...what else?...I dunno....our maiden voyage is next week...

Call me confused about the judicial system we have...going after the parents who paid monstrous amounts of cash to get their kids into college...and yet, we have these same colleges PAYING their athletes to play at their schools...all 'under the table'...allegedly...seems to me, that we should have a collegiate judicial system....wait, we do, the NCAA...what are they doing?...I digress...

Time for some grub, kids...