Well thank God we were spared another Triple Crown victory by thoroughbred trainer Bob Baffert on Saturday.
A lot of people were pulling against Medina Spirit in the Preakness Stakes after the horse turned up to have had a banned substance in his system during the Kentucky Derby and Baffert at first blamed everyone and everything, except himself. But after he “discovered” that one of his assistants had applied a topical substance, he changed his tune and found humility.
So, it was with great joy that many racing fans, including me, watched as Rombauer, trained by Mike McCarthy, charged by Medina Spirit in the Preakness and took Baffert down a few more notches than he had already taken himself.
Medina Spirit ended up third, behind second-place finisher Midnight Bourbon. Medina Spirit is still likely to be taken down as the Derby winner, assuming a second drug test confirms he ran in the Derby with a corticosteroid in his system. His connections would not get any purse money. The payouts to bettors, on the other hand, would stand.
The Preakness was a much better race than the Derby, where Medina Spirit went gate to wire. With rare exceptions (Secretariat), it’s more exciting to see horses come from behind rather than run away with races from the start.
…I’ve said before that some of the most vigorous writing you can find is in the Daily Racing Form’s official charts. The charts include a description of how every horse runs in every race — where they start, how they proceed and how they finish.
Here’s the chart for the first three finishers in the Preakness…
ROMBAUER brushed the outer portion of his stall, recovered and settled off the pace while between rivals, took closer order leaving the far turn, leveled off under pressure past the five sixteenths, shifted four wide with momentum into the lane, sustained under left handed encouragement, forged past MIDNIGHT BOURBON heading the sixteenth pole then eagerly pulled away while drifting in a bit late. MIDNIGHT BOURBON, away in good order, prompted the pace three to four wide outside MEDINA SPIRIT, drew alongside while under a light hold heading to three eighths, dueled with that one into the lane, secured command near the three sixteenths, spurted clear soon after then gave way grudgingly while drifting in some late. MEDINA SPIRIT bobbled slightly at the break, quickly recovered and took command, set the pace two to three wide, came under pressure into the far turn, was under a ride while sparring with MIDNIGHT BOURBON past the five sixteenths, kept on to about mid stretch then gave way.
I love the detail, such as “brushed the outer portion of his stall (the gate)” and “forged past” and “gave way grudgingly.”
It was a great race, and now it’s on to the Belmont two weeks from Saturday. I hope Rombauer does it again. If he does, he won’t go off anywhere close to the 11-1 odds he went off at Saturday. It will be more like 2-1.
One guy we won’t have to worry about next month is Baffert: Today the New York Racing Association temporarily suspended him, disqualifying him from entering any horses in any New York races, including the Belmont. The owners of Pimlico should have disqualified him from entering horses at that track, but Baffert threatened a lawsuit and they backed off…NYRA is another matter. As the late, Hall-of-Fame-trainer Woody Stephens once said, “When you cross the Hudson, the buildings get taller.”
**
Did you see that the man who invented the glue that made the Post-it Notes what they are today died?
His name was Spencer Silver. He was a chemist who spent his career in 3M’s research lab developing adhesives. The New York Times obituary said that in 1968 he was trying to create an adhesive so strong it could be used in aircraft construction.
“He failed in that goal,” the story said. “But during his experimentation, he invented something entirely different: an adhesive that stuck to surfaces, but that could be easily peeled off and was reusable.”
It took about six years for 3M to find a product on which to use the adhesive, and it wasn’t until 1979 that 3M introduced Post-it Notes nationally. But once the genie was out of the glue bottle, it never stopped flowing. As Dr. Silver’s obituary said, “They have never stopped selling.”
Dr. Silver was 80. He died May 8 of a heart problem at his home in St. Paul, MN.
After I left the sports department of THE KC STAR and TIMES, I worked 10 years running audio conference calls for hundreds of clients. My favorite client was the NTRA (National Thoroughbred Racing Association) and their “Road to the Triple Crown ” series, where we had the top owners, trainers, journalists and jockeys from all over the world on.
Abe Goteiner was the first person who sent me an email. We’ve come a long way since those days.
Did you frame it, Fred?
No. I didn’t kknow what it was. It just showed up on my computer at the Star.
No. I didn’t know what it was at first. It just showed up on my computer at the Star.
Just kidding, Fred.
Fitz I think you blocked the comments on your most recent post about him but you were the first person I thought of when I just read your good friend Mark McCloskey is officially putting his name in the race for US Senate-joining another one of your favorite turds Eric Greitens.
Point Of Order: KCMO Paseo High School graduate, Arthur Fry is an American former inventor and scientist. He is credited as the co-creator of the Post-it Note, an item of office stationery manufactured by 3M.
Now that is interesting — that Arthur Fry, the 3M chemist who figured out a use for Dr. Silver’s revolutionary glue, attended Paseo High School. The Times story, while it focused on Silver, also addressed Fry’s contribution at length.
The story says of Fry…
“He didn’t think of an immediate application for the adhesive until one day, while at church choir practice, he realized that he had a problem that Dr. Silver’s invention might solve: The slips of paper that Mr. Fry had been using to bookmark songs in his hymnal kept falling out. So he used a sample of Dr. Silver’s adhesive to create a bookmark that stayed put but didn’t tear the pages when removed.”
That was a pivotal point in the development of the Post-it Note.
Wiki says Fry, now 90, was born in Minnesota and lived in Kansas City and Iowa before taking a job with 3M in 1953.
Thanks, Ned, for that point of order and for calling to our attention another notable person who came out of Kansas City.