First half awards

Sorry for the lateness of this post, but the unveiling of the second half of the meet snuck up on me pretty hard. We'll run this down then elaborate tomorrow on everything. Got a big fat four out of six in the pick six today, but made up for it by hitting the late pick four for $2 after the NYRA gate crew fucked up yet again and tried to keep Phantom Income as a stall pet.

Trainer - Bill Mott
Is there anything else that needs to be said? The guy has been sending out crack after crack, which makes it even more impressive that..

Jockey - Cornelio Velasquez
Perhaps Corny forgot to ship WHM some carnations for Valentine's Day, perhaps he ate the last Stouffer's meal in his fridge, perhaps he looked at one of Billy's hotwalkers the wrong day, but for whatever reason, Cornelio has stopped getting Mott's first call mounts. That instead has gone to Kent Desormeaux, which is pretty much the only reason Kent is having the meet he's having. Yet Velasquez, sans the Mottster's prized deferring, is still the leader of the pack after eighteen days. He rides for anybody, from anywhere, can judge a pace, and is just pretty flippin' awesome all around. One of the most underrated jocks in the land, and here's hoping he actually endsa up winning the rider title.

Owner - Ahmed Zayat
Has there ever been somebody who looked smarter for pulling out of Del Mar than this multi-millionaire? Maimonides looks like the cat's meow, and damn near everything this guy sends out is bet down to 3/2 and rightfully so. NYRA must have a stamp for him rather than sign his checks every time he sends out another easy winner.

Horse - Ready's Image
No one has impressed me nearly as much as this colt. Street Sense was workmanlike, Maimonides was a close second, Lawyer Ron was impressive at "juicy" odds, Ginger Punch beat nothing, eh.. I was a Ready's Image skeptic, and he fucking aired with something left for the fall. I just wish that Scatuorchio would come up with some more original names for his horses instead of "Ready's Image," "Ready's Echo," "Ready's Unimaginative Name," "Ready's Whatwasthenameofthatchickibonedlastnight."

High Point of the Meet - DT Summit
There are plenty of close seconds, but the amount of pleasant surprise I got from the DT clusterfuck was very heartwarming. Damn near everyone I hung out with and drank with were people I would hang out and drink with outside of Steve's comforting DT nest. Thanks to everyone for being so enjoyable, and hope you all come back soon.

Low Point of the Meet - The beating I've been taking
After a good opening day, it's been downhill for me, but hopefully today's pick four gets me back on the upswing. Even though I would've preferred that the 11 ($715) get up over the 9 ($411), I can't complain. Winning tickets are winning tickers.

Didn't take much of a look at tomorrow's card, but Sargent Seattle is a lock. Don't even try to be clever. He doesn't lose.