The Mini Grand National: Take Two, They’re Small…

Those of us in the horse racing game have always said the best way to increase interest is to get more children involved riding the noble steeds.  The Plumpton races in England have figured it out hosting flat and steeplechase races for little kids on even littler Shetland ponies.  Being English, they even bet on the little buggers…

Here is what the blog Teen Sleuth had to say about it:

The card in England’s Plumpton Racecourse includes a ten-strong Shetland Pony Champion Hurdle, on which the Tote runs a special pool as part of their between-races entertainment. There’s the Shetland Grand National – only the most nauseatingly adorable thing I’ve seen in my whole life…

The ponies are paraded around before the race, and there’s a commentator and pretend bookmakers. When the race begins, the chunky monkeys gallop at top speed, leaping over two-foot steeplechase fences. The little riders  - boys and girls age 9 – 13 under 5 feet tall and donning candy colored jockey silks - have to work to qualify for a coveted place among the 10 runners in the race, through a year of competing in riding disciplines like jumping, eventing, dressage and controlling their ponies at top speeds. 

It’s a huge honor to qualify for the race. The Shetland Pony Grand National is – naturally –  a big crowd-pleaser,  televised to much media attention every year. The British love racing, both on the flat and over jumps and they love their fuzzy-wuzzy, native ponies.

For some video of the shenanigans, click here. 

Maybe next year? 

What Not To Wear

(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images AsiaPac)

No, not the ear phones, although we don't recommend them...

No Playoff Baseball On Gold Cup Saturday

(Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

According to MLB.com, the National League Championship Series will go dark on Saturday, October 20^th, the day of the International Gold Cup. And, on Sunday, the Redskins travel to New York for the first of their two annual dances with the New York football Giants.

So, if/when our Washington Nationals advance to said NLCS, they will be playing on Friday before the Gold Cup and Sunday after the Gold Cup (if necessary).

How convenient.

With that out of the way, you don’t have to worry about missing a game, so get your tickets and start getting organized for the Fall Gold Cup.

Seriously, are you waiting for somebody to pour beer on your head??

Deal Of The Day

Don’t miss out, this great deal ends later today.  For more info, click here. 

Pictures Of The Day

Jacob Roberts is nearly unseated on Mary Fleming Finlay's Hey Doctor but stayed up in the open timber race. Don Yovanovich's Cat Walkin (Annie Yeager) was awarded the win when Hey Doctor was disqualified for interference. (Betsy Burke Parker Photo/www.HuntersRest.net)

Mede Cahaba Stable LLC's Complete Dyno (Richard Boucher - right) was narrowly best over Magalen O. Bryant's Southwest (Jacob Roberts) in the Virginia bred flat race at Foxfield. (Betsy Burke Parker Photo/www.HuntersRest.net)

Pictures Of The Day

William Buick riding Caucus (L) win The Jockey Club Rose Bowl at Newmarket racecourse on September 27, 2012 in Newmarket, England. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

Runners pull up after finishing The Cambridge News Excellent Horseracing Coverage Nursery Handicap Stakes at Newmarket racecourse. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

‘Tis The Season - What Not To Wear

Fall is fast upon us and the stink bugs are in full bloom.  College football is underway and the real NFL season with real officials gets underway tonight. That can mean one thing, and one thing only…The International Gold Cup is coming.

The race meet will be held as it always is on the third Saturday in October at the Great Meadow race course near The Plains.  We don’t have to tell you it, will be here before you know it.

As we often do, we’d like to ramp up the Fall Gold Cup blogging season with a VA Blog Cup standby “What Not To Wear.”

Really, don’t wear this. It tends to be cool in October and typically windy.  That is going to cause at least two problems for this lovely outfit designed by fashion designer Fatima Lopes (who evidently has never been outside after August 31^st).

THE MODEL LOOKS UNHAPPY...WHO CAN BLAME HER?

Pictures Of The Day

The field heads into the first turn during the 88th $300,000 Black Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on May 18, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Shannon Casey, of Marshall, Va., watches the action at Pimlico Race Course, Friday, May 18, 2012, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Virginia-bred Bodemeister gets a bath prior to running in today's $1 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. (Patrick Smith/Reuters)

The field races down the backstretch during the 42nd Pimlico Special at Pimlico in Baltimore, May 18.  (Bill Frakes/Sports Illustrated)

Mike Hendrick, of Baltimore, moves through the grandstand area at Pimlico Race Course, Friday, May 18, 2012.  If you know Baltimore or Orioles baseball, you know his inspiration for the hat! (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Virginia's Bodemeister Morning Line Favorite For Preakness

By Jack Shinar/The Bloodhorse.com

(Garry Jones/AP Photo)

(Virginia-bred) Bodemeister, runner-up in the Kentucky Derby, has been made the 8-5 morning line favorite for the Preakness Stakes on Saturday and will break from post 7.

Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another was made the 5-2 second choice. He breaks from post 9 in the field of 11 entered for the Preakness. Four of the top five finishers in the Derby are in the field. Six Derby contestants were entered for the second jewel of the Triple Crown with five newcomers.

Post positions were drawn Wednesday night at Pimlico Race Course, which hosts the 1 3/16-mile event for 3-year-olds that was inaugurated in 1873. The field is the smallest since 2007, when Curlin beat Derby winner Street Sense in a nine-horse field.

A win would give I'll Have Another a chance to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 in the Belmont Stakes on June 9.

With all the contenders drawing favorably in the relatively small field, there were few complaints from horsemen afterward.

Bodemeister, who was sent off the slight 4-1 favorite for the Derby, can give trainer Bob Baffert his sixth Preakness victory and his first since Lookin At Lucky won the race in 2010.

Baffert was not present at the draw but later said, "I think it's a good post. With him, anything in the middle would have been fine. In the Preakness, you just don't want to be stuck down on the inside, where you have to use your horse a little bit.

THE KENTUCKY DERBY WINNER LOOKING...GREAT. (Garry Jones/AP Photo)

"The Derby winner drew well also. Everybody is in a good post."

Bodemeister set one of the quickest tempos in Kentucky Derby history (:22.32, :45.39, 1:09.80 for the first six furlongs) last Saturday with Mike Smith aboard and led by three lengths in the stretch. But he could not fend off the determined challenge from 15-1 shot I'll Have Another, who reeled in the leader under little known jockey Mario Gutierrez near the sixteenth pole and drew clear for a 1 1/2-length triumph.

The Southern California-based colts figure to dominate the Preakness wagering, though strong support can also be expected for Went the Day Well and Creative Cause, listed as 6-1 co-third choices on Pimlico oddsmaker Frank Carulli's morning line.

Bodemeister is expected to have a little easier time of it on the front end this time with less early speed in the lineup on a track that is considered kinder to front-runners than Churchill Downs. The early Preakness choice's biggest win came in the Arkansas Derby April 14 in front-running style by 9 1/2 lengths at Oaklawn Park for owners Zayat Stables and Mike and Tiffany Moreno.

To read more, click here. 

(Editor's Note: Bodemeister was bred in Virginia by Audley Farm in Berryville.  He was sold to his current owner at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale as part of Audley's annual yearling consignment.)

Pictures Of The Day

Runners kick up the heavy going at Chester racecourse on May 10, 2012 in Chester, England. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness Stakes hopeful I'll Have Another checks out the people watching him outside his barn at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., Wednesday, May 16, 2012. The Preakness horse race will take place Saturday at Pimlico. (AP Photo/Garry Jones)

The field for Saturday’s Preakness, the second jewel in horse racing’s Triple Crown. (AP Photo/Garry Jones)

James Doyle riding Secret Witness (L, orange) win The William Birch & Sons Construction Stakes at York racecourse on May 16, 2012 in York, England.

(Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images Europe)

Incomplete Wins The 2012 Virginia Gold Cup

INCOMPLETE LEADS G'DAY G'DAY TO THE WIRE (Douglas Lees Photo)

National Steeplechase Association: Robert A. Kinsley’s Incomplete pulled away from rival Bubble Economy and then turned back a late challenge from G’day G’day to win the 87th running of the $75,000 Virginia Gold Cup at Great Meadow race course in The Plains on Saturday, May 5.

Ridden by Joey Elliott, Incomplete finished three-quarters of a length ahead of Magalen O. Bryant’s G’day G’day, who in turn was two lengths clear of Guts for Garters, who was a supplemental entry to the Virginia timber classic. Arcadia Stable’s Bubble Economy, who had won the 2010 Virginia Gold Cup en route to his third National Steeplechase Association timber championship, finished fourth, and Alfred C. Griffin Jr.’s Aero was fifth. The other two starters, Yin Yang and Voler Bar Nuit, were pulled up.

Irish-bred Guts for Garters set the pace in the middle stages of the race under Darren Nagle, while Incomplete and Bubble Economy stalked him. FOXY Stable’s Guts for Garters maintained his lead at the second to last fence, but Incomplete moved past him and set sail for the finish line. G’day G’day came flying at the end under Carl Rafter to grab the place spot as Guts for Garters held on for third. Incomplete ran the Virginia Gold Cup’s four miles in 8:38.80 on firm turf.

(Douglas Lees Photo)

Trained by Ann Stewart, Incomplete kept his perfect 2012 record intact with his second victory over the Great Meadow course in six months. He won the International Gold Cup at the Virginia course on Oct. 15 and then ran second in the New Jersey Hunt Cup at Far Hills a week later. He started the current season with a 1 3/4-length victory over Bubble Economy in the My Lady’s Manor in Monkton, Md., on April 15. Stewart said immediately after the race that the Virginia Gold Cup was his next target. The Virginia Gold Cup victory raised his 2012 earnings to $61,000.

G’day G’day entered the Virginia Gold Cup on a two-race winning streak. Trained by Doug Fout, he had won the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup on Nov. 6 and then claimed the Middleburg Hunt Cup over Aero, also trained by Fout, on April 21.

VA GOV BOB McDONNELL AWARDS TO THE GOLD CUP TO THE ROBERT KINSLEY FAMILY (Dougas Lees Photo)

Happy Gold Cup!

(Douglas Lees)

(Mark Humphrey/AP Photo)

Come Early, Big Crowd Expected Tomorrow

(Photo courtesy of Commonwealth Event Blog)

As of 8:40 this morning, there were exactly two tailgate spots left for Saturday’s Virginia Gold Cup.  If you don’t have your tickets yet, you need to get moving NOW.

If you do, you might plan to go a little early.  

Yesterday, at a little league baseball game, a high ranking Gold Cup official told us (yes, all information exchanges between high ranking officials happen at baseball, lacrosse or soccer games at this time of  year!), that Saturday’s crowd would be the largest “post recession” crowd to date.

That’s awesome, and Great Meadow is designed to accommodate you and “50,000 of your closest friends.”

A great day and a big crowd makes for an awesome Gold Cup, but like all major events with a gigantic crowd, a little planning makes the day go smoother.  

So try to arrive a little early...

...And bring that sunscreen.

Pictures Of The Day

Kentucky Derby morning-line favorite Bodemeister gets some exercise at Churchill Downs where he is scheduled to race in Saturday's 138th Kentucky Derby.  Bodemeister was born in Virginia about 30 miles from the Virginia Gold Cup racecourse at Great Meadow.  (Elsa/Getty Images)

Horses jump the Tozer Road jump in Race Six the Flying Horse Bar and Brewery Grand Annual Steeplechase during the Warnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase at Warnambool Racing Club. (Mark Dadswell/Getty Images AsiaPac)

Robert Molloy riding Dinna Latar follows Awakening Dream ridden by Steven Pateman over the Tozer Road jump in Race Six the Flying Horse Bar and Brewery Grand Annual Steeplechase during the Warnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase. (Mark Dadswell/Getty Images AsiaPac)

Jockey Steven Pateman riding Palmero clears the second last on his way to winning Race One the Southern Resort 0-120 Hurdle during the Warnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase at Warnambool Racing Club on May 3, 2012 in Warrnambool, Australia.  (Mark Dadswell/Getty Images AsiaPac)

Water And Sunscreen

Repeat after us, water and sunscreen, water and sunscreen, water and sunscreen, water and sunscreen…

Got it.

No matter how fancy or simple your tailgate or your picnic, you need water and sunscreen.

Even if you are attending a catered party in a tent, you need sunscreen.

Have you been outside today?

Eight Ways To Pick A Gold Cup Winner

(NYRA Photo)

Most Virginia Gold Cup tailgates feature a friendly “game of skill” designed to exchange small monetary amounts between the participants.  The object of the exercise is to correctly pre-determine which horse will win a particular race and to pay an entry fee to enter the game of skill in the name of the chosen horse.

Some people might call this a pool, but since we don’t want to get sideways with the authorities, we will continue to call it a “game of skill.” 

Should such a game be conducted at your parking space, tailgate or tent, how would the non-equine aficionado know which horse might win a particular race?

The answer is you wouldn’t – horses are unpredictable.  Steeplechase races are long and conducted over many large obstacles at a fairly high rate of speed. Suffice to say, things sometimes go wrong, so picking a winner is tricky.

That said, here are some tried and true systems, you can utilize come Saturday.

1. Choose your lucky number. How easy was that?

2. Clamp onto your favorite color.  Jockeys wear brightly colored shirts, called silks, provided by the horses' owners or the race organizers if the owner forgot to bring his silks. (Don’t giggle, it happens.) So choose a hue and hang on.

3. Identify an individual interest. That means look at the program and try to remember something – anything – from this same exercise at past Gold Cups you have attended.

4. Jump for the jockey you like best.  If you don’t know anything about these people, and you probably don’t, just pick a name that sounds like somebody that can bring home a winner.  Jockeys with words like “champ” or “winner” or “best” in their names are good choices.  Jockeys that go by “dude,” “loser” or “crash” aren’t so good.

5. Pick a catchy name.  Obviously, Bubble Economy has rung a bell for everybody over the past three years, so just look for names you can relate to or that seem to be speaking directly to you.  If you have a funky Aunt Betty and you see a horse named Funky Aunt Betty, that’s a sign.

RECOGNIZE THESE TWO?

6. Pick the horses pedigree.  If either the mom (dam) or dad (sire) sounds at all familiar, go for it.

7. Go with your gut. It’s not an exact science.  A bunch of horses and riders run around as fast as they can, jumping a bunch of jumps, occasionally ricocheting off one another and trying to get home first, so anything can happen and usually does.

8. Place a bet on every horse in the field.  Your friends won’t like it as it is selfish and boring and does not generate beneficial economic returns, but at least you can say you won!

Have fun!

Here’s The Skinny On The Horses Running In The $75,000 Virginia Gold Cup

INCOMPLETE (Douglas Lees Photo)

INCOMPLETE, 2001 b. g., Press Card--Sioux Lady, by Poker. Owner: Robert A. Kinsley. Trainer: Ann D. Stewart. Jockey: Joey Elliott. 2012 record: 1-1-0-0, $18,000. 2011 record: 5-1-2-0, $45,450. 3-1 odds. Started 2012 with 1 3/4-length victory in the My Lady's Manor in Monkton, Md., on April 14. Won 2011 International Gold Cup and finished second in the New Jersey Hunt Cup. Ran a good second in the 2011 Grand National but fell in the Maryland Hunt Cup.

BUBBLE ECONOMY, 1999 b. g., Rakeen--Buggels, by Vaal Reef. Owner: Arcadia Stable. Trainer: Jack Fisher. Jockey: Willie Dowling. 2012 record: 1-0-1-0, $5,400. 7-2 odds. Three-time timber champion (2004, 2008, 2010) returned after 23 months on the sidelines and finished second in the My Lady's Manor, beaten 1 3/4 lengths on April 14. Wrapped up most recent title with two wins in a week, in the 2010 Virginia Gold Cup and the Mason Houghland Memorial at the Iroquois Steeplechase in Nashville.

YIN YANG, 2002 ch. g., Not for Love--Say It's Cold, by Oh Say. Owner: NoGo Stable. Trainer: William Meister. Jockey: Christopher Read. 2011 record: 2-1-0-0, $6,000. 20-1 odds. Won 2011 John Rush Streett maiden timber but was pulled up in the Mason Houghland Memorial at Iroquois in Nashville. Late scratch from Grand National on April 21.

BUBBLE ECONOMY (Left) (Douglas Lees Photo)

AERO, 2005 b. g., Northern Spur (Ire)--Best Victory (Fr), by Cadoudal. Owner: Alfred C. Griffin Jr. Trainer: Doug Fout. Jockey: Jeff Murphy. 2012 record: 1-0-1-0, $3,600. 2011 record: 3-2-0-1, $28,000. 5-1 odds. Started 2012 season with second in the Middleburg Hunt Cup on April 21, beaten 6 3/4 lengths. Ran sparkling race in the National Sporting Library Chronicle Cup to win by six lengths at the Virginia Fall Races in Middleburg on Oct. 1 before second in International Gold Cup. Scored his maiden timber victory at Willowbrook Steeplechase in May.

GUTS FOR GARTERS (IRE), 2003 br. g., Presenting—Askynn, by Beau Sher. Owner: FOXY Stable. Trainer: Sanna Hendriks. Jockey: Darren Nagle. 2012 record: 2-0-1-0, $3,200. 20-1 odds. Finished a close second in the Bejamin H. Murray Memorial amateur allowance timber race at the Grand National on April 21. Started season with a fourth in the John Rush Streett Memorial amateur maiden timber at My Lady’s Manor on April 14. In a tough spot against a seasoned field.

AER) (L) (Susan M. Carter Photo)

VOLER BAR NUIT, 2001 ch. g., Lord Concorde--Don't Ask, by Don's Choice. Owner: Mrs. William D. Class Jr. Trainer: William Meister. Jockey: James Slater. 2012 record: 1-0-0-1, $1,000. 2011 record: 2-0-1-0, $1,350. 15-1 odds. Started 2012 with a third-place finish in the John Rush Streett at My Lady's Manor. Finished second in 2011 John D. Schapiro Memorial at My Lady's Manor. Late scratch from the Maryland Hunt Cup.

G’DAY G’DAY, 2003 b. g., Eastern Echo--Say Farewell, by Second Bar. Owner: Magalen O. Bryant. Trainer: Doug Fout. Jockey: Carl Rafter. 2012 record: 1-1-0-0, $12,000. 2011 record: 5-1-1-1, $32,300. 4-1 odds. Strong start to the 2012 campaign with 6 3/4-length victory in the Middleburg Hunt Cup on April 21. Closed 2011 with a win in the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup. Made up ground to be third in the International Gold Cup on Oct. 15. Homebred finished second to Aero in National Sporting Museum Chronicle Cup at Virginia Fall Races on Oct. 1.

Pictures Of The Day - Kentucky Derby Favorites

Bodemeister takes a spin on Thursday morning in preparation for the 138th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3, 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Dullahan trains in preparation for the 138th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3, 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Exercise rider Hector Ramos takes Kentucky Derby entrant Gemologist for a workout at Churchill Downs Thursday, May 3, 2012, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Hansen trains on the track in preparation for the 138th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3, 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Union Rags trains on the track in preparation for the 138th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3, 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Local Horse Kentucky Derby Early Favorite

BODEMEISTER WINNING THE ARKANSAS DERBY (Danny Johnston/AP Photo)

Bodemeister, who was born in nearby Berryville, Virginia is the "morning line" favorite for Saturday's Kentucky Derby.  Set your DVR.

Breaking from the No.6 post position -- the same post as the last Virginia-bred Kentucky Derby winner Sea Hero did in 1993 -- Virginia-bred Bodemeister is the 4-1 morning line for Saturday’s 138th Kentucky Derby.  Bodemeister was bred by Audley Farm in Berryville.

Veteran jockey Mike Smith will ride.  Smith won the Derby on 50-1 shot Giacomo in 2005.

Bodemeister earned the nod from Churchill downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia based on his post position and his impressive 9 1/2  length win in the Arkansas Derby.  Many felt Bedemiester’s win in Little Rock was the most dominating performance of the Derby prep races. 

Union Rags (No.4 post) was a close second choice at 9-2 in a full field of 20 horses. He is trained by Michael Matz, who won the Derby in 2006 with Barbaro.

Wood Memorial winner Gemologist was the third choice at 6-1 and drew the No. 15 post. 

Blue Grass winner Dullahan was the 8-1 fourth choice. He got the No. 5 post, drawing the loudest cheers from his connections.

Two California horses, Creative Cause and Santa Anita Derby winner I'll Have Another, were listed at 12-1.

Hansen, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner, and Daddy Long Legs have the most graded stakes earnings in the field. Hansen leads the list with more than $1.5 million, while Daddy Long Legs has $1.2 million.

If all 20 horses start, the $2,219,600 purse would be the richest since 2005, when the Derby first became a guaranteed $2 million event. The winner earns $1,459,600. Post time is 6:24 p.m. EDT.

BODEMEISTER AT CHURCHILL DOWNS (Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)