I wish I could say that I have come out of week two of the ST Publishing Take Ten Derby game unscathed, but I cannot: predictably, my Pyro-less stable plummeted. That’s what I get for being a non-conformist.

We’ve got seven stables in our little intramural competition; many have kicked in to add to my $50 pledge, so our current donation amount is about $100. Whoever finishes highest in the standings will choose the equine/racing charity to which the money goes. You can still join if you like.

As of today, the Quinella Castle is way out in front, while I am, to put it politely, getting my ass kicked. Just wait until Face the Cat makes his move.

43. Quinella Castle…………..343,000
91. Superterrific Stable………313,000
93. Trips Triple Crown Stable….310,000
114. Stafford Stables………….272,500
130. Sec Bar Stable……………228,000
136. Sleipnir Stables………….214,500
161. Brooklyn Backstretch………105,900

And speaking of Face the Cat, thanks to Railbird, where I first read that it’s Promising Three Year Old Redux for Helen Pitts; the colt was sold to Padua Stable and put in the care of Todd Pletcher; shades of Curlin/Asmussen a year ago.

I caught Face the Cat at Gulfstream in early January for a healthy payout; it was a pure hunch bet, for the name and for Helen, and I was glad to see the colt win his next time out. I didn’t know whether these two wins put him in the category of Derby Prospect, but I threw him into my fantasy stables nonetheless and was looking forward to rooting for both him and his trainer through this racing year. Damn.

Fortunately, there is much other good news out there in the world of racing, and specifically in the world of the TBA:

—Michael’s having a baby.

—Patrick’s horse won.

— John’s horse won, too.

—Alan’s getting married.

–And as I reported earlier this week, I’m in love.

That seems like an awful lot of pretty major events for a relatively small group of people. Anyone change jobs lately? Buy a new house? Renovate a kitchen? If you can connect it to horseracing, I’ll note it, and apologies if I’ve missed anything/anyone.

And oh yeah, there’s some other good news…I hate to say I told you so, but…

And so Aqueduct is offering a little “free love” for the weekend…free entrance, free parking, free programs Saturday through Monday. As much as I love this gesture, there’s something about “Aqueduct” and “free love” in the same sentence that makes me a little uneasy.

It really does feel good not to have to worry about what’s going on with the NYRA franchise; while many might quibble with this agreement for what it does and doesn’t do, those of us who are New York racing fans feel an enormous sense of relief. I wish that I could head out to Aqueduct in the next few days to raise a celebratory glass (and a few winning tickets), but that’s going to have to wait a couple of weeks. This weekend, I’ll be heading northward to the August Place To Be, and I will no doubt drive down Union Avenue and look longingly at the stacked picnic tables and empty TV stands…or at least at the mounds of snow under which they’re buried.