When you saw the Louisiana Derby on Saturday, you saw a runner that found another gear. This is rare…

Friesan Fire under Gabe Saez ran like a scalded dog. The track was muddy, and this was another factor. We are seeing less and less of runners who can run on any type of surface. This is why he is so special. There is only one other runner that has fit this bill, and he is I Want Revenge in the Gotham. He ran on the synthetic, and stepped up his game as New York is on the dirt, just like Louisville….

This is something that we will see less of as the new surfaces are put down. We will not see this as runners will not be tested on off tracks. In the old days, the DRF used to show “mud marks” that have turned into the Tomlinson figures.

This is a dimension that will disappear. I watched a runner step up, and it looked like the old days.

We have two horses this year that have the makings, and we don’t know how many others. This is the only drawback against synthetic that I have found. They may be terrors on the new, and when they go to the dirt, they will not transfer this ability.

One thing is for sure. We did see the real deal on Saturday. Larry Jones is looking like a guy with more aces up his sleeve as the days get closer. I guess you can say he has been doing this for a while.  Just like all of the big names you have talking about for years, he tore them up with claimers just like he does with G-1’s. Don’t go anywhere on the first Saturday in May. I think we may see something special.