Had
a few interesting pictures to share with you today. First off,
we purchased a few orchids for our house as anniversary presents.
Our 5 year anniversary was July 18th, so we bought orchids. Four
our 4 year anniversary we bought a share in the Adena Racing Venture
2, which has fostered our great love of Harlem Rocker. Here's a
few photos of the orchids, very poor photos actually. I promise
to post some better ones once we get some sunlight.
Things
Of Interest 2...
We
just had a huge rainstorm come through with flash flooding that
blocked many streets in the city. We got over 1.3 inches of rain
today in about an hour. When I got home from work I went outside
to grill us some dinner, and 2 Blue Herron's landed on my nextdoor
neighbor's roof. They were huge. I happened to have my camera just
inside the door, and snapped a few photos before they quickly flew
away. They are quite big birds.
2
Great Blue Herron's on the Roof
Blue
Herron, Click to Enlarge
Things
Of Interest 3...
After
dinner I decided to turn the TV to ESPN to see what was on. It
was a Mets game, but since we are in NY, the Mets game was blacked
out because we need to watch it on a local sports station. Fortunately
our DirectTV receiver will try and search for the program on other
channels. I expected it to find the game on MSG, but instead I
got this...
Hmmm,
Channel 9323 TEST?
Harlem
Rocker Headed for the Travers? July
18TH, 2008
Grumblings
are afoot on the NTRA and picked up by ESPN today that Harlem Rocker
could be headed for the Travers at Saratoga this August. The $1
Million Mid Summer Derby is one of the biggest races of the summer.
Quotes from Pletcher:
"Harlem
Rocker, who remained undefeated on dirt with his victory in the
Prince of Wales Stakes last Sunday, could make his next start in
the $1 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga, trainer Todd Pletcher
said Thursday. "I would say it's a possibility; I haven't
had a chance to speak with the Stronachs yet, but the spacing is
good," Pletcher
said..."
Do dreams come true? Being a pessimist, I would usually
say no. But I've been dreaming of seeing Harlem Rocker in the Travers
since he won his Maiden Race. We've got our tickets already, and
man, the Travers is one hell of a fun party each summer as it is.
I can't imagine how awesome it would be if we had a horse running
in it... and he won. Keeping all my fingers crossed...
Harlem
Rocker Wins 2008 Prince of Wales Stakes July
13TH, 2008
Today Tracy and I drove the short distance (1 hour)
to Fort Erie Canada to witness the running of the Prince of Wales
Stakes. Harlem Rocker, the horse we own a share of through Adena
Racing Venture 2 and Horse Hats Racing Club was running in the $500,000
8th race. Morning Line Odds were 2-1 but he eventually went off as
the 4-5 favorite. We made some bets and were highly confident of
a win. Harlem Rocker did not disappoint, and won by a length
over East End Tap. It was a great race, and a great day. View a bunch
of the photos I took in our Harlem Rocker Prince
of Wales Stakes Photo Gallery.
View
a collection of my photos from my hike up Mt. Katahdin in Baxter
State Park, Maine. The peak is 5,267 FT High. Photo
Gallery.
View
Back over Knife Edge
Photographed: 07-02-08
Camera: Canon S700IS
Katahdin
Summit from South Peak
Photographed: 07-02-08
Camera: Canon S700IS
Snow
and Alternate Appalacian Trail
Photographed: 07-02-08
Camera: Canon S700IS
Harlem
Rocker to Race in Prince of Wales Stakes July
9TH, 2008
Harlem
Rocker is set to run Sunday, July 13th in the Prince of Wales
Stakes at Fort Erie Racetrack. Located just over the Peace Bridge
near Buffalo NY, this track hosts the second leg of the Canadian
Triple Crown. The race is 1 3/16 mile on a dirt oval. The total
purse is $500,000. 8 Horses will partake in this years running.
Harlem
Rocker drew post 4, and has morning line odds of 2-1. The favorite,
Queens Plate Winner Not Bourbon drew post 7 and odds of 7-5. I
think harlem Rocker has had some good workouts lately, and will
do well. Looks like Eibar Coa is back up top. I am planning on
making the trip to the track, as I only live about a 1.5 hours
away.
Pfrengle
Property, Chili
Photographed: 05-24-2008
Camera: Canon A400
Corbett's
Glen, South Entrance
Photographed: 06-15-2008
Camera: Canon A400
High
Falls Entertainment Area
Photographed: 06-21-2008
Camera: Canon A400
Urban
Spelunking June
21ST, 2008
Some
may say that I did a very foolish thing, but I also did a very
neat thing and took a trip to explore Rochester's old subway tunnels
this weekend. There is a lot of history, graffiti, and neat things
to see down there. I didn't come across any bums or druggies, but
I did see a guy on a bike in the distance, he had no flashlight
though, so he did not pursue me in the tunnels. Pictures and a
description of my trip are in my photo
gallery and portfolio page.
Subway
Entrance near South Ave
Photographed: 06-21-2008
Camera: Canon A400
Looking
West under Broad Street
Photographed: 06-21-2008
Camera: Canon A400
View
of the old Aqueduct Under Broad St.
Photographed: 06-21-2008
Camera: Canon A400
How
are you doing at Wii Votes? Do you vote? Well, how tuned are you?
How
Tuned Are You?
Another
Winner in the Group June
16TH, 2008
Fellow
Hockey Player and friend Andy LaPietra has gotten into the horse
ownership fun himself by purchasing 5% of a horse from Hibiscus
Stables - Portugesemano'war. We joined him on a rainy Saturday
to watch his debut race at the Fingerlakes. Portugesemano'war had
raced before, but didn't seem to be performing at the higher level
at Aqueduct. He was purchased by Hibiscus Stables and brought to
the Fingerlakes to race. He did not disappoint as he battled head
to head with Phone Charger right to the line to win! View some
photos of the race
here.
Portugesemano'war
Battles Phone Charger
It
was a neat race. Read all about it in an article
from Hibiscus Stables. Tracy hit the win and the trifecta,
while I got the exacta. Andy placed more significant bets and will
also share some of the winnings. Link to Photo
Gallery.
Harlem
Rocker Update - Pointed Saratoga Way... June
15TH, 2008
For those of
keeping track, Harlem Rocker had a poor polytrack outing in his
Queen's Plate trial. I was wondering how often he worked the track,
and If they had an idea he may not like the polytrack or not. With
such low odds 1-5, I did not make a bet on him in the trial, and
he disappointed, finishing 4th. The plan was to continue training
and work towards the $1,000,000 Queen's Plate on June 22nd (Is
that in Canadian or American $$$$?).
Things were looking
up I felt when Harlem Rocker turned in a bullet workout Saturday.
Date: June
14, 2008
Track: Woodbine
Distance:
Five Furlongs
Time: 58:20
Track Condition:
Fast
Surface:
All Weather Track
Rank: 1/70
I was eagerly looking forward to seeing him race next weekend,
and had plans to make the trip up to Woodbine for a day of betting
and racing. Then we got this update from Dave W:
"Although Harlem Rocker's workout yesterday at Woodine was fast,
he still
didn't like the track. He appeared uncomfortable on the surface and
Adena feels that it will probably be in his best interest to
skip
the
Queens Plate.
The plan
now is for him to reunite with Pletcher at Belmont and start
looking for a race at Saratoga."
Doh! Rats, I had hoped to see him this weekend. But even more disappointing,
was that he had skipped the Preakness because it was felt his best
route was the Queen's Plate. I think he could have given Big Brown
(who I never liked anyway, and is obviously beatable) a run for his
money.
BUT... I have said all along I'd love to see this horse race Saratoga,
so maybe this is a blessing in disguise. The Jim Dandy is held at
the end of July and the past 3 winners (Street Sense, Bernardini,
and Flower Alley) have all gone on to race and win the Travers. I
love Saratoga, and I would love to see Harlem Rocker win there...
and take out Big Brown in August!
STPR
2008 - Rally Race June
12TH, 2008
Last weekend,
my father and I went down to Wellsboro PA to attend the 2008 Susquehanock
Trail Performance Rally (STPR 2008). We had a really good time
and saw some really neat cars and drivers. I am attempting to get
some of the better images photoshopped and up for everyone to see.
I also have some videos posted on YouTube. Here is a sampling...
And Some Videos:
View some more pictures in the gallery
section of the
web page.
Harlem
Rocker, Not So Hot... June
2ND,
2008
Well, we all
knew that Harlem Rocker was headed towards the Plate Trial on June
1st, but official confirmation never came until Forday afternoon.
I was out of town this weekend, or else I would have made the trip
up there, for what prmoised to be a easy race. I had hoped to make
a heft y wager on this race, and make some nice scratch, but when
I saw the past perfomrances the only horse in the same league as
Harem Rocker was Not Bourbon. From what I saw, Harlem Rocker would
go off at very poor (betting) odds. I was not surprised when morning
line odds came out a 1/1 for Harlem Rocker. There was no money
to be made here on what would obviously be a Harlem Rocker / Not
Bourbon Exacta.
After I saw the
morning line odds, I decided not to bet. I figured he would go
off around 1/5 for 1/3, and what is the point of wagering $100
to win maybe $25? When you could easily lose that $100, as anything
can happen in horse racing. If Harlem Rocker had worked out on
the Polytrack, I may have felt more confident in betting. How would
he behave on the poly track? Well, the answer may have been poorly.
I never saw the
race (link anyone?) but from Dave W. "Harlem Rocker ran
4th today in the Plate Trial at Woodbine. He
seemed to struggle on the surface and this may be a case of a horse
not liking polytrack. He looked to be "swimming" a bit
around the
final
turn and failed to launch into his usual stretch run."
More info from
Dave W. about Harlem Rocker's Performance "I spoke with Adena today
about Harlem Rocker and he seems to have come
out of the race OK. As of now, the plan is for HR to remain
at Woodbine. They have not given up on the Queen's Plate as an
immediate target and want HR
to
have
a chance to train over the Woodbine surface before making a final
decision about his ability to handle that kind of track.
Coa said this
after the race: "He kind of made a move and realized
it wasn't his game and he decided
not to run. He never made me feel that he was handling it at the
beginning of the race, I wasn't worried about it. But he never picked
up
the bit."
Coa told Adena that the distance was not the problem, and that HR
was
not really acting like himself prior to the race either. He did not
load easily, and never really got into the bit at all during the
race. I'm sure we will get some updates on his training over the
next week or
so and will let you know how he is doing."
Here are a few
more articles on Harlem Rocker's Disappointing performance:
Well,
I don't know what to think now. It would be easy to say, well
the horse didn;t like the poly, but how do we bet him at the
Queen's Plate now? Which horse will show up? I plan on trying
to make the trip our for the Queen's Plate this month. I can't
wait to get some photos of this fine horse. I hope he can rebound.
The
Streak Is Alive - 500 Homeruns Manny Ramirez! June
2ND,
2008
Why did
I miss the Queen's Plate Trial of Harlem Rocker? Well, because
the wife and I journeyed down to Baltimore Maryland for the
Orioles game vs. the Boston Red Sox, where we saw none other
than Manny Ramirez hit his 500th homerun! What a great moment.
It was so fast, and the Orioles wouldn;t show a replay, so
I have to go to ESPN to watch it again. It was awesome. So
many Red Sox fans. A great milestone, only 24 other players
in MLB history have reached this point.
(Getty Images Photo / Greg Fiume)
So
just 1 more to our list of great sporting events that we
have attended, which include:
Philadelphia
Flyers vs. Ottawa Senators - The most penalties in a single
game occurred in a fight-filled match between the Ottawa
Senators and Philadelphia Flyers on March 5, 2004 when
419 penalty minutes were handed out.
Clay
Buchholz No Hitter - September 1st 2007
Manny
ramirez 500th Home Run - May 31st 2008
??????
Where
Did The Rest Go? June
16TH, 2008
Where are
the rest of the stories? Well, they are in the archives
page.
See the bottom section of the Menu at right. Periodically,
the older stories on ScaredyCatFilms will be moved to the
archive section. This move has been a long time coming, as
the main page was quite filled with all the excitement of
Harlem Rocker's Racing Debut.