Well, Kiaran McLaughlin didn’t win the Eclipse for training, and I guess I wasn’t at much of a disadvantage for not having TVG, as The Blood-Horse was publishing winners’ names (OK, at least one winner’s name) before it was announced on television. Nice. Thanks for the head’s up on that, Valerie, in your wonderfully-named post.

Any South Florida golfers out there? Got an e-mail recently from the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation regarding their golf tournament fundraiser on February 19th at the Diplomat Golf Resort and Spa in Hallandale, Florida. The tournament begins at 12:30, preceded by lunch, and is open to horsemen, racing fans, and all golfers; entry fee is $200, very reasonable for an event like this (I volunteer at the Ice Hockey in Harlem golf tournament each summer at Winged Foot, and that’s $7000 per foursome—yikes!), a portion of which goes to benefit the TRF. Bigger spenders might be interested in a sponsorship. Noted in bold on the press release: Pari-Mutuel wagering will be available on all teams. [Note: “pari-mutuel” is not in Microsoft’s dictionary.]

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation is a highly-rated Thoroughbred retirement charity, one that is definitely worthy of your donation dollars. Here’s a way to support their work, hang out with some horsemen, and spend a day on the links…really, who could ask for anything more?

The mission of the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance states that we portray horse racing first as a sport, complete with standings to attract the casual sports fan. TBA rankings are based on the this point system you’ll find on the homepage, and as Patrick points out, the 2007 standings match the equine Eclipse Awards with one exception, bolstering the notion that standings can be an effective way of measuring achievement on the racetrack. Just think: if Eclipse Awards were at some point determined by places in the end-of-year-standings, maybe there would be room for other sports-like awards: Who would be the MVP for 2007? Most improved? Who would get the Lady Byng? The Conn Smythe? Come on, let’s play!

And speaking of the Conn Smythe, on Thursday night, the Rangers will raise to the rafters #2, the number of the first American-born hockey player to win this most prestigious award. I’ll be in my blue seat by 6:30, beer in hand, saluting arguably the best American to ever play the game, Brian Leetch.