Thanks to Jim Barber of Capital OTB for writing in regarding Saturday’s NYRA program on MSG+:

Producing 2 TV programs at once with the same crew and the same equipment is difficult. You must keep pace with the normal simulcast product as well as keep pace with an hour program that probably had commercials.

An excellent point that I completely overlooked—that the entire production team may well have been pulling double duty, doing the in-house NYRA program and the Wood broadcast. Gives a whole new meaning to simulcasting…

The Mullins mess on Sunday distracted me from the attention I meant to give to the Carter Handicap. While I was rooting for Fabulous Strike, it was tough to be disappointed by Kodiak’s Kowboy victory–though I do wish that Fabulous Strike had managed to hang on. Kodiak Kowboy comes from our friends at Vinery, and the same connections as Friesan Fire. Tom Ludt of Vinery noted after the race:

[Kodiak Kowboy] loves New York. We aimed for this race, and we’ll be aiming for the Forego in Saratoga. Now we just need Friesan Fire to win the Derby.

Kodiak Kowboy has two prior graded stakes wins at Saratoga, the Amsterdam in 2008 and the Saratoga Special in 2007.

The continued discussion of the nature of Jeff Mullins’s infraction on Saturday holds at least one amusing element for me. The dosing syringe that he brought into the barn is not unlike the plastic syringe in my kitchen, used for the occasional and dreaded administration of feline meds. It appears that Gato Go Win takes his medicine far more docilely than the Gatos dos Brooklyn.

And finally: last Friday I attended the first major league baseball game at the new Shea Stadium Citi Field Shea Field? The weather was miserable and I left as the mid-game deluge began, but I have to say that I was largely smitten by the place. I rather liked the old stadium, and it was jarring to see it as nothing more than a pile of rubble a short distance away; I also rather miss those neon players that adorned Shea. The new place features upscale dining options and a modern old-school aesthetic (which in these post-Camden Yards days seems obligatory); it’s a pleasant place to watch a game. This first visit revealed only one serious design flaw: the cup holders at each seat are inclined forward, so that when a full beer is placed therein, the beer slops over the side. Only one remedy for that that I can see…

The weekend recap will be up later today…