It’s always more fun and rewarding to view the cat still in the bag, before the escape, before it gets out and exposes its talent to the scrutiny and the attention of the world.

Still in the bag, Old Fashioned offered a glimpse Nov. 3, when he won by 15 1/2 lengths at Delaware. But on Saturday, he jumped out, danced the Boogaloo, winning the Remsen at Aqueduct by more than seven lengths.

“It sure looked like it wasn’t a strenuous effort for him,” his trainer, Larry Jones, said today, “and he came back to the barn like it wasn’t a big deal.”

But that, of course, was a big deal. A handsome gray colt who moves over the ground like a breeze, Old Fashioned jumped to the top of a list of Triple Crown prospects. — or rather he jumped out to a longer lead among a group of personal favorites, for indeed he was already at the top.

In winning the Remsen, he completed the nine furlongs in 1:50.33, a solid clocking on a day when the Aqueduct surface wasn’t especially fast. Springside won the Demoiselle in 1:51.71. But the most impressive thing about Old Fashioned’s victory was the style, the stunning combination of ease and domination. While steadily drawing away from the field, and with little encouragement, Old Fashioned ran the final three-eighths of a mile in 36.15 seconds.

Old Fashioned will soon join the Jones horses at Fair Grounds in New Orleans. And it’s “more than likely,” the trainer said, that Old Fashioned will make his 2009 debut Feb. 7 in the Fair Grounds’ Risen Star Stakes. But Jones has other promising youngsters in his barn, including Friesan Fire, an A.P. Indy colt, who ran fourth in the Nashua; and It Happened Again, a flashy maiden winner at Philly Park.  In an effort to keep them apart, the trainer will keep some, he said, in New Orleans, and run some at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.

Old Fashioned wasn’t the only cat to escape this weekend at Aqueduct. Quality Road, a bay colt who has speed and athleticism, and who looks like he’s flowing as much as running, won his debut by nearly three lengths in a very good maiden field. A son of Elusive Quality, Quality Road ran the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.11, a fast time for the day.

And at Churchill, Silver City won an allowance race in such a way as to suggest he could develop into somebody special. With jockey Miguel Mena looking over his shoulder, Silver City ran the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.98. The only other race at the distance Saturday was run in 1:17.44. Silver City is another who’s going to New Orleans, and will probably make his next start in the Sugar Bowl Stakes or the Lecomte.

The featured race at Churchill was, of course, the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, where Beethoven won. But, frankly, I was much more impressed with Giant Oak, who rallied five-wide and finished second, only a neck behind the winner, who had a perfect rail trip.

I was at the track yesterday. I know tough job, and I love it…. I ran into an old friend. This was more than a conversation. It was a look at what might be to come. Funny thing. People have never ceased to surprise me at the track, and this day was no different.

I had a run in with an older gent. His name is Skeetus. Where he got that name is a mystery. Maybe he lost a bet when he was young and it stuck..

Skeetus is retired. He has the look of an older athlete, and his mind is pretty sharp most days. This day he was razor sharp.

He has known me all of my life and asked me what is a player suppose to do when they cannot bet on TVG, Twinspires, or anything else for the tracks they choose. It was a solid question and my ears were open. Skeetus enjoys the races. He is not there to make his car payment, just to enjoy the game and be a part of the action.

I didn’t know what to really tell him as there is a national dispute with ADW’s (wagering companies) and horsemen allowing signals to be sent out for wagering. His question stuck in my head for awhile, and I finally asked him, what do you think will happen?

He sat back, took a drink of his bottled water and proceeded to tell me stories of how bookmakers were the ruling party long before any legal gaming was taking place. “Everyone had a man to bet with.” There was a handbook at every bar, in every town. The bookies would take your action, and you would settle up weekly.

I asked him, “you would wait a week to collect or pay your wagers.” He answered, yes… Sometimes it would take the bookmakers a day or two to get results from California.” This was long before the Internet, or a national TV show. He spoke of a radio signal out of Canada that gave out the results of every track running in ten minutes. Those were fun days he recalled, telling me about a big hit he had long ago. But in fact, it could have been just a minute gone by with his detail of the event and how sweet the win was for him.

I digress…  Skeetus wasn’t just telling me about the old days. He was telling me the current situations that do not allow a player to get their bet down would bring new bookmakers back on the scene. To quote the Godfather, “just when they thought I was out, they pulled me back in.”  I think he is right..

People have grown used to betting by phone, computer, and whatever ease of motion they choose. They have lives, work, children. They can’t be at the track all of the time. He was right. If this continues, they will be back in the game.

After a lesson in how history may repeat itself, Skeetus had to leave to catch the “early-bird” dinner special. After all, you can’t be out at the track all day. As I watched him walk away, I realized that he may be right….

“Winning Ponies, with Ed Meyer”, our new weekly Internet radio show, debuts this Thursday at 8:00pm EST (5:00pm PST) on the VoiceAmerica Sports station!

Ed has worked in racing nearly 20 years, and is an excellent handicapper. He is currently the Director of Marketing at River Downs in Ohio, and has worn many hats on the Ohio and Kentucky racing circuit, including Race Book Manager and Player Development Manager.

Our show will discuss current events, handicapping and wagering strategies and how to get the most out of the WinningPonies.com website.  We are also planning giveaways and contests in a few weeks, so make us your Thursday prime time habit!

The show also has a call-in segment - please call in to the show at 888-346-9144, to ask Ed a question.  We love hearing from you!

To listen to the show from your computer, use this link.

Our kickoff episode is “Winning Ponies” Welcomes Tyler Picklesimer.  Mr. Picklesimer will be a guest on the show.  He is the Racing Secretary at Colonial Downs, Asst. Racing Secretary at Turfway Park, Racing Official at Keeneland, and Churchill Downs Certified Racing Steward and Placing Judge.  He has been in the racing business over 20 years, in the Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia racing circuits.

Listen to “Winning Ponies” EVERY Thursday at 8:00pm EST (5:00pm PST) on VoiceAmerica Sports!

I may even call in myself to slip you a HOT tip or two for your holiday stocking…

In 1975, a one-mile inner course was erected in place of the inner-turf course at Aqueduct. The track was meant to better accommodate winter racing in New York.

Approximately 150 stalls have been allotted at Aqueduct and Belmont in hopes of having a successful meet. The Big A’s inner dirt track has played a role in many trainers careers: Oscar Berrea Jr., John Forbes, Alen Iwinski, and Scott Lake to name a few.

Barrerra trained in the 80′ and 90’s, and and he moved to Finger Lakes and trained H.O.T.Y Perty Number.

Forbes is the all-time leading trainer at the Meadowlands. He was instrumental in Julie Krone’s career. He headed Phantom House Farm, with Tale of the Cat winning the G-1 King’s Bishop in 1997.

Iwinski dispersed his stables in 2005 due to health reasons. He has won titles at Delaware Park and Philadelphia Park.

Scott Lake currently leads Philly Park and Laurel as the leading trainer. He was the national leader in 2003 and 2004. He earned his 4,000th win on October 31, 2007 at Penn National.

Gary Contessa, Bruce Levine, Dominc Galluscio, and MIke Hushion are major trainers heading to run at the Big A this year.

Live racing runs Wednesday - Sunday, with a first post of 12:30pm Eastern.

Historically, the track has played kind to rail speed, and horses that love the surface, seem to target this meet to end the year in fine fashion. So pay attention, and see if that old bias holds true.

The Ohio State Racing Commission has confirmed it is investigating a Nov. 19th incident at Beulah Park, in which the track identifier failed to discover before the fourth race that a different horse than was entered by trainer owner/trainer Enzo Canelo, ran and crossed the wire first.

Canelo entered a horse named Valid Action in the race, but another horse, Purdy Tricky, was the one that wound up running and winning the $3,100 event for $2,500 claimers. “Valid Action” paid $8.60 to win.

Canelo was listed as the owner and trainer of Valid Action, a 9-year-old gelding, as of the Nov. 19th race. The Noactor gelding, who has a record of 13-14-13 from 66 starts, was previously owned and trained by Shane Spiess.

Stakes-placed Purdy Tricky is still listed as owned and trained by Spiess. The 10-year-old gelding holds a record of 15-11-17 from 92 starts. Before the Beulah Park race, both horses ran unplaced in $4,000 claiming contests at Pinnacle Race Course in Michigan in early November.

Canelo has saddled 56 winners from 523 runners and has earned $531,513 during his four-year career. At Beulah Park this year, he has had 16 winners from 103 starters for earnings of $69,103.

During a hearing the morning of Nov. 26th, OSRC officials met with the Beulah Park stewards to discuss the investigation. After the hearing, OSRC executive secretary Sam Zonak said no decision was issued by the stewards.

The investigation, first reported by the Daily Racing Form earlier in the week of Nov. 24th, could be wrapped up and a verdict given by the stewards by Dec. 1st, Zonak said.

In June 2003, the OSRC investigated a race in which the wrong horse competed and finished last as the favorite at River Downs. Officials determined it was a mistake with no fraudulent intent.

In that race, a $5,000 claiming event, Sing High Sing Low was listed as number 12 in the program, but it was actually the maiden Mountain Of Light that competed and finished last as the slight betting favorite.

Jockey Julien Leparoux broke a 23-year-old Churchill Downs record for wins at a fall meet Nov. 28th when he rode Just Like William to a head victory in the third race, for his 56th victory of the meet.

In the second race, Leparoux rode Calabria to tie the mark set by Hall of Fame rider Pat Day in 1985, when he rode 55 winners in a 30-day meet. Day rode an average of 1.8 winners per day for the meet that ran 271 races. Day’s success rate was 28.6% (55 for 192).

The current meet, which concludes on Nov. 29th, runs for 26 days and offers 268 races. Leparoux, through race four on Nov. 28th, was hitting at a 29.2% win rate (56 for 192) and averaging 2.2 winners a day. He had eight mounts remaining Nov. 28th, and is named on nine mounts for Nov. 29th.

“This has been kind of a chain (reaction),” Leparoux said. “I ride for Mike Maker who broke the record (for wins by a trainer at a Churchill fall meet (with 29 through race three on Nov. 28th), and Ken (and Sarah) Ramsey, who broke a record, too.”

The Ramseys set a record for wins by an owner at Churchill fall meet with 24 through race three on Nov. 28th.

“When you ride for people who win … it has been a good team,” Leparoux said. “I really think that’s what made this happen. We’ve had a lot of success with Mike and the Ramseys. What’s funny about this is that I never really thought about (breaking Day’s record) until I went to an appointment last Tuesday in Louisville and a guy told me, ‘Just don’t beat him because we love Pat Day over here! Can you just tie it? Don’t beat him!’ I thought that was kind of funny. I like the Louisville people, but I’ve got to keep winning races.”

Three of his victories have come in stakes, and Leparoux’s best day of the meet came on Nov. 11th when he rode a record-tying single-day total of seven winners. He was blanked only one day, Nov. 2nd, when he had nine mounts.

After the Churchill meet concludes, Leparoux plans to vacation for 10 days in Hawaii, with his best friend from France, before riding at the Gulfstream Park winter meet in Florida.

This year’s Japan Cup on Nov. 30th, will host four horses from abroad, but the host will be anything but kind as a spectacular group of domestic runners have been entered for the 28th edition of Japan’s international showpiece at Tokyo Racecourse.

The Japanese horses have dominated the race over the last decade, winning eight of 10, although the foreign entries still hold the edge with a total of 14 victories in the past 27 Japan Cups. The race was founded in 1981, amid a movement that began in the late 1970s to try to breed horses good enough to compete at the world level.

The inaugural Japan Cup was opened to entries from North America and Asia (seven appeared, one injury scratch), with Mairzy Doates of the U.S. winning in a record time of 2 minutes, 25.3 seconds. Europe and Oceania were invited for the second running, and the race was anointed the country’s first international Grade 1 race in 1992. From 1999 to 2005, the Japan Cup was part of the Emirates World Racing Championship series.

Apart from 2002, when it was held at Nakayama Racecourse over 2,200 meters due to the renovation work at Tokyo, the terms for the Japan Cup have been maintained - 12 furlongs at Tokyo Racecourse. The 2,400 meters at Tokyo starts on the home stretch, with a run of 400 meters to the first turn which bends left-handed for 550 meters and into the back straight. Following another run of 400 meters, the course curves for two furlongs before leading into the final straight of 525 meters, which slopes upward for the first 225 meters.

The Japan Cup has been home to some of the Japan Racing Association’s biggest stars of all time, from Deep Impact to T.M. Opera O to El Condor Pasa to Symboli Rudolf (to name a few). And this year’s field features several names who have already carved out their names in history, and could add the Japan Cup - now the richest race in the country and the third leg of the new, 1.2 billion yen Japan Autumn International series - to their list of honors.

The four 5-year-olds who have made the trip overseas are the Britain-based trio of Sixties Icon, Purple Moon and Papal Bull, and American horse Marsh Side. Papal Bull, who was second in this year’s King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, is back for a second serving after finishing seventh in the 2007 Japan Cup. Marsh Side is trained by Neil Drysdale, who came within a hair of winning the 2002 race with Sarafan. Yet for all their quality, this year’s Japanese competition could be too much for them, which includes the Japanese Derby champions of the past three years.

Some runners to mention that could find their way to winners circle:

Vodka - a 4 year-old filly who became the first gal to win the Japanese Derby.

Meisho Samson - Disappointed in the Arc, but looks to regain his form.

Deep Sky - Four-year-old who had a four race winning streak snapped in the Autumn in the Tenno Sho. No three-year-old has won the Japan Cup since 2001.

America’s fastest horse this season, as judged by many speed-figure enthusiasts, is on display today at Churchill Downs. And it’s not reigning Horse of the Year Curlin, who will be paraded during Saturday’s closing card before heading to a stud career.

Rather it’s Commentator, the even-money favorite for today’s $400,000, Grade II Clark Handicap.

The 7-year-old gelding won Saratoga’s Grade I Whitney Handicap this summer, earning a Beyer speed figure of 120. That came three years after he captured the Whitney for the first time with a 123 “fig.”

By way of comparison, Curlin ran a career-best 119 in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic. Big Brown’s best was a 109 in the Kentucky Derby.

“When you see a horse with Beyer figures of 120 or more — and he has three in his career — that’s superstar status,” said journalist Dick Jerardi, part of the team that computes Beyers, which assign a number to assess how fast a horse runs a race, taking into account track condition. “I can count on 10 fingers the number of times probably in the last decade that we’ve put a number of 120 or more out there.”

” … For Commentator to do that as a 7-year-old, I’m sure that’s unprecedented. To do it in ‘05 and come back in ‘08, that’s kind of astonishing.”

Commentator is enjoying his best stretch in a 20-race career that includes 13 wins (only one by less than 4 3/4 lengths), $1,841,936 in earnings and a lot of starts and stops, most due to a shin that twice has required surgery.

The gelding was born the same year as 2004 Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones, but that champion already was retired when Commentator debuted as a 3-year-old at Saratoga.

“If he stays around next year, he could be the George Foreman of racing and get his due,” said trainer Nick Zito, whose 2009 goal is a third Whitney, which would match Commentator with Kelso as the oldest horses to win the stakes.

“Longevity will put him in perspective. We’re not going to be Kelso or Forego, but if you’re mentioned in that breath, that box, if you get in that circle, you’ve got to feel good.”

Commentator, owned by Kentuckian Tracy Farmer, won his first five starts by a combined 45 lengths, including by nine in a Churchill allowance. After his first defeat, the gelding was sidelined six months, returning to win the 2005 Whitney by a neck over Horse of the Year Saint Liam.

Commentator ran once more and was off 10 months, then ran twice and was off nine more months.

His only defeat in five 2008 starts was his second place in the Met Mile after setting a blistering pace. Commentator captured his second Whitney by 4 3/4 lengths over Pimlico Special winner Student Council, then romped in the Massachusetts Handicap by 14.

“He had the fracture, so many other things, but he got through them,” Zito said. ” … He’s an incredible machine.”

Commentator faces seven in the 1 1/8-mile Clark, including turf standout Einstein and $2.5 million-earner Magna Graduate. Zito also is running Pennsylvania Derby winner Anak Nakal.

“Commentator doesn’t even have to be loose on the lead; if they don’t do too much too early, he’s hard to run down,” said Scott Blasi, chief assistant to Magna Graduate trainer Steve Asmussen. “He’s obviously had a lot of problems through his career, (but) 7 years old and running at this level, that says a lot. They don’t come around like him very often.”

Zito’s aversion to California’s synthetic surfaces is no secret, but he said he was truly conflicted whether to run Commentator in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita last month. Ultimately, he didn’t want to run the gelding back in five weeks.

“After the race, we certainly knew we made the right choice,” Zito said, referring to the European grass horses Raven’s Pass and Henrythenavigator blasting to 1-2 Classic finishes with their explosive late kicks.

“However, I had been torn. I thought, ‘He’s like the second-best horse in America, with Big Brown out of it.’ … You say, ‘Wow, this is a tough thing to give up.’… But it didn’t matter anyway. He needed the time.”

Though Farmer is a Breeders’ Cup board member, he said it made no sense to overrule his trainer and run at Santa Anita.

“And who knows?” Farmer said. “Commentator may be trying for the Breeders’ Cup in 2010 at Churchill.”

Thanksgiving always makes me focus on the things I am most grateful. Family, health, friends, and the sound of thundering hooves.

The onset of the Holiday season always gets me thinking of lists. For kids it is always about gifts; adults wishing for things or events in their lives; and the horse player has their wish as well. See if any of these will appear on your list this year:

• I would love to see all tracks end disputes with ADW’s and the player could have ease of motion of wagering. Take the game to the player. The old days of having 35,000 fans on a daily basis at Belmont are over. But the money can still be wagered, and we need to make it easy on the player. After all, they keep the lights on for the game.
• Rid our sport of performance enhancing drugs. The time has come, and we have seen too many tragedies. The only way to make this stick is to have a stiff first offense, and the second is a lifetime ban. This is a step in the right direction of cleaning up the greatest sport we love.
• How about a rebate program for players? Lets cut through all of the red-tape and get down to rewarding the true stars of the game. The players.  John Q. Public. The people who have supported the game since the beginning, and will stay with us if we recognize them.
• Tracks need to be more of an entertainment destination. The fan base is changing, and we must change if we want to survive. Have family days, get the public close to the action, have drawings for  everyday patrons to own a piece of a race horse. Invest in fan education. We are creating the fans of tomorrow. Pay it forward. Our past keepers of the torch made the game fun. But it is changing, and we must change if we want to survive.

I know, this is only a wish list. Some won’t care, and many things won’t ever see the light of day. There will always be nay-sayers who put down new ideas, and extol the virtues of days gone by. But this defeats the optimism of the wish list. It is an idea for the future. Not because we want instant gratification, but because we want to do the right thing. Go ahead make your own list. Keep score. Be a keeper of the torch. It is our game now, and we are seeing dark days. It is a wish that may be the catalyst for ideas that bring us to the light.

Thirty-five tellers at the Meadowlands Racetrack and off-track betting parlors are suing a worldwide supplier of betting terminals and systems, claiming its machines have caused them serious injury.

Employees of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which runs the track and parlors, brought the suit in state Superior Court in Essex County in September.

The defendant, Scientific Games Racing of Georgia, last week moved to have the case transferred to U.S. District Court in Newark, citing federal jurisdiction because it is an out-of-state party in a controversy exceeding $75,000.

SGR provides services, computer systems and wagering devices to enable parimutuel betting worldwide, and it counts more than 100 North American racetracks and off-track wagering networks among its customers.

In court papers, SGR said the plaintiffs’ suit, “while groundless, alleges that they suffered ’severe and permanent injuries’ while using a machine manufactured, designed and/or sold by defendant.”

Nine of the plaintiffs’ husbands or wives are also suing for “loss of their spouses’ aid, comfort, conjugal, fellowship and consortium” as a result of the claimed injuries.

David W. Fields, an attorney for SGR, said he was not aware of other suits claiming injury by the machines, nor did he know what type of injury is alleged.

“The complaint is not very specific,” he said. “Usually, they say what’s wrong with the people. There’s 35 tellers and a dozen or so spouses, and not one of them identifies an injury.

“So it’s hard to identify not only what are they claiming is wrong with them, but what are they claiming is wrong with the equipment.”

William L. Gold, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said Thursday that his clients have suffered a variety of injuries since the sports authority switched the type of machines the tellers use this year.

“When they switched it, people started to get injuries in their back, shoulder, arm and neck because the machines forced them to get into funny positions to take the money and give the tickets and such,” said Gold.

“It appears these machines were intended to be machines that the bettors would use individually and not require a teller’s assistance. Instead, the Meadowlands put them into the tellers’ booths, and the tellers have difficulty using them,” he said.

He said they are seeking damages for pain and suffering and inability to use their arms, and pointed out that some tellers would require surgery.

One of the plaintiffs, Gerald Capo, 55, of Garfield, said the repetitive strain from reaching and bending to complete hundreds of transactions a shift, caused him painful arm and shoulder injuries that forced him to miss work for about a month.

“When you do 800 transactions, that’s a lot of work, a lot of reaching, a lot of repetitive movements,” said Capo, who has worked at the racetrack for 18 years.