Kentucky Derby Pick & Other News

They scratched morning line favorite I Want Revenge, but I wasn't going to bet on him anyway. However, having him scratched means my pick will probably go off at shorter odds. Which sucks. Although with 18 other horses to beat, still a good chance of losing so losing at 10-1 odds is the same as losing with 4-1 odds. Actually, I was able to throw out most of the horses pretty quickly. Not counting I Want Revenge, the only horses I seriously considered were (in order of post position) Hold Me Back, Friesan Fire, Papa Clem, Chocolate Candy, General Quarters, Dunkirk and Pioneer of the Nile. After watching Colonel John not run well at last year's Derby, I'm avoiding horses that have never run on dirt. So as much as I like Pioneer of the Nile (and think he could make the dirt move pretty well), I got to toss him. And that means Chocolate Candy goes too. Hold Me Back had me interested as a long shot, because he can stalk a fast pace, but I don't see a fast pace. And he hasn't beat anyone. General Quarters ran well in the Bluegrass Stakes, but that's synthetic which isn't good, but he has dirt wins too. But they weren't top dirt races, and his pedigree doesn't make me confident of his ability at the distance. Papa Clem has me very interested because he's probably going to be a price. And while he has only really beaten one top horse (Old Fashioned who has been retired), he has run well going against other top horses and does as well on dirt as he does synthetic. If better horses get stuck in traffic, he could have a shot. He's not my choice, but I'll certainly consider him for place/show and in exotics.

That leaves Friesan Fire and Dunkirk. Dunkirk lost the Florida Derby, but barely. And I think he'll do better on Churchill's track. I really liked the way he finished. The downside is the horse didn't run as a two year old which is a concern. The trainer is Todd Pletcher who is one of the best in the business, but has struggled in the Derby. Jockey Edgar Prado is one of my favorites, one of the best and has won the Derby, but I lost every time I bet him at the Keeneland spring meet. Still, he seems to be doing good at Churchill. Friesan Fire won the Louisiana Derby, and the track there is almost exactly like Churchill. And he's won in the mud which may be important here. He's a stalker and has a good post for that. The only concerns are a seven week layoff since his last race. Some are concerned about the distance, but I'm not sure that'll be an issue. So, who to bet? Leaning towards Dunkirk because I can probably get a better price. But I think I'll wait until I see them on the track and decide which horse looks ready to run.

This is beyond a doubt one of the greatest health stories ever. Scientists have found that one of the best cures for a hangover is a bacon sandwich. Because everything is better with bacon. Well, actually it's because of some amino acid thing, but still, it's just another excuse to eat bacon. In fact, I think I'll eat more bacon as a preventive measure to hangovers. Even if I'm not drinking. Contrary to some opinion, I'm not always drunk.

A report came out that the father of one of the children who starred in Slumdog Millionaire tried to sell her. How come when Madonna uses her money to take a child with a family, it's called adopting? Personally, I think the story is a sham, but let's look at it closer. The producers of the movie decided to leave their slum dwelling child actors in the slums because giving them very much money would have a "transformative impact on their lives." That's true. They might move to a house that isn't next to an open sewer. I'm always happy to see wealthy people concerned about the well-being of poor people having money. Sure, they're saving some money for them when they reach 18. Assuming they can reach the age of 18 while living in a slum. And besides, why shouldn't her father sell her? She's peaked. Living in a slum is hard. She'll become less cute. Lose her earning power. Sell when her price is high.

How do they deal with ground squirrels in the American northwest? They blow them up. Probably while drinking coffee and wearing flannel.

I've joked before about the problems Obama appointees have had with tax issues (although I still think it's absurd that the Sec'y of Treasury didn't pay his taxes since he's over the IRS). For all the talk of professionalism, it makes them look like buffoons for not vetting them well. Then I read this little blurb. One of the members of the auto task force (you know the one that kept GM and Chrysler from going into bankruptcy by giving them a bunch of money which led to them to going into bankruptcy or about to) was under investigation by the SEC for alleged kickbacks. But the good news is that he was vetted. But still put in charge of the task force. Hmmmm. That may be more amateurish.

General Motors and Chrysler have either declared bankruptcy or plan on doing so. GM hasn't yet, but they will if their restructuring doesn't go. And if it does, the feds and United Auto Workers will own 89 percent of the company. Chrysler already did the bankruptcy route. After giving up over half the company to the UAW. Supposedly, the deal with Fiat will come in to run things and make the company a success again by bringing in their technology and knowledge. Because with all the success that import cars have had in the U.S., none have been better than Fiat. Well, except Toyota, Honda, Volkswagon and well, do they even sell Fiats here?

Where does that leave Ford who wasn't bailed out by the government? In the short term, they're screwed. Good luck trying to win federal government contracts against General Motors. Oh, and your two main competitors are owned by the union that represents your employees. I'm sure their national leadership will be more than happy to make concessions for Ford. Now, long term, Ford is....well, probably still screwed. Sure, union or government owned industries generally don't work. They're inefficient and money losing operations. However, Ford is already struggling. Since the government has a stake in those companies, they can handle the losses for awhile in hopes that things turn around. Ford may not have that kind of time.

Why do I think government operations are inefficient? They have a long history of proving it. Want a real good example? In Hawaii, an access road was damaged by flooding in a state park. The state didn't think they could repair it for less than $4 million or less than two years. So, local people whose livelihood relied on the park being open fixed it themselves in a very short time. I imagine for a lot less than $4 million.

This is good. Sweden taxes stripper webcams. And thinks about 500 strippers may be skimping on their taxes. To the tune of 40 million Swedish kroner which may or may not be actual money. But according to a currency exchange rate, that's about $5 million in lost taxes. That doesn't really pass the smell test. That'd be $10K in lost taxes per stripper. I really doubt they're pulling in enough cash to meet that amount in taxes. But the real joke is that they're looking for Swedish strippers by manual searches of webcams. So, someone has to surf sex webcams and try to match them with known Swedish strippers. Where do I apply?

I haven't really paid much attention to that Sarah Boyle chick who wowed people on that show Britian's Got Talent because she sang well even though she was old, frumpy and a virgin which some apparently think is related to singing ability. Personally, I find it hard to believe that the producers of the show weren't aware of how well she'd do, but I don't really care because these type of shows are pretty dumb. Then I read this. Some "film" studio is offering her a million bucks to be in a porno. As I hold back the bile rising in the back of my throat, I have to ask who the Hell would want to watch that?

When will the nanny state's war on clowns cease? In England, a circus clown was told he couldn't wear clown shoes because they weren't safe. Does this mean people will really big feet shouldn't go to work? Give me a break. This guy broke his foot doing a stunt that could have happened no matter what shoes he was wearing. What's next? Making trapeze artists wear hard hats? Oh wait.....

A couple in Singapore were arrested for walking naked in a bar. I find a couple of interesting points from the article. One is that the writer felt the need to point out how prudish Singapore it. Which is true, but I have a feeling that walking naked through a bar might cause legal issues in Lexington. Unless it's a hot chick. Then it's acceptable. The other point the writer made was to say they showed up wearing clothes to their court appearance. Yeah, but my assumption was they'd show up naked to it. We've got some Pulitzer material right here.