The first weekend of the Road to the Roses Derby fantasy game is in the books, and below are the standings for the Brooklyn Backstretch charity league. Take a good look at me there in the top 10, because I’ll be dropping like a stone any time now.
1 Bourbon Bliss Barn
1 HoosYourDaddy
3 Jenny’s Picks
3 Chestnut Bay Stable
5 Matador
6 Brooklyn Backstretch
7 Kelso’s Kennel
7 Dream On Stable
10 GRS
10 Mersch Stable
13 Rubber Soul Racing
15 Alpha Barn
16 NJDerek’s Stable
17 Kingsbury I
18 Birdstone
19 Fan of Tiznow Stable
21 Brooklyn Saint Stables
21 Silver Stables
23 TiznowTizthen Stable
24 JRT Racing
25 One Never Nose Stables
27 Caballos Especiales
28 Lookin At Winnin’ Stable
29 B Squared Stable
So what have we learned so far? I leave the national prognosticating to those smarter (and more interested) than I; here in Backstretch land, it’s all about me. So the early lessons:
–I was feeling a little uneasy about leaving Middle of the Nite and Lost Aptitude out of my stables, and I’m breathing a little more easily about that.
–While locals horses Eightyfiveinafifty and Buddy’s Saint might be not only Derby non-factors but even Derby prep non-factors, those of us who follow New York racing have plenty of local interests: Dublin, Eskendereya, Discreetly Mine, Tempted to Tapit all won races here, and if parochialism is at all a factor in your Derby dreams (who, me?), you’ve got some hope heading into the next round of preps.
And speaking of Tempted To Tapit, who was second last weekend in the Risen Star, the grey son of Tapit was the second horse featured in NYRA’s “New York Watch” series, which focuses promising colts and fillies coming out of the maiden and allowance ranks at its tracks. Currently featured in addition to Tempted to Tapit: Eightyfiveinafifty, Rule By Night, and Does It Every Time.
–Perhaps the most important weekend lesson? Get my priorities straight. Following the end of racing at Aqueduct on Saturday, I went down to the Man o’War Room to get a drink and watch the preps. Putting beer above betting, I was still standing at the bar when the Risen Star went off, and my exacta of Discreetly Mine and Tempted to Tapit danced home while I waited for my Sam Adams.
This weekend brings the Sham and the Borderland Derby; while you no longer need to activate horses to be eligible for points in Road to the Roses, activating five “power horses” gives you the opportunity to earn double points for those horses. Power horses need to be activated by noon race day.
If you’d like to have a website linked to your stable name above, please let me know, and if you’re playing in our league for the chance to win money to donate to your favorite racing charity, please make sure that I have your e-mail address by contacting me at the address in the left column. While entry into our league is free, I am grateful to everyone who has pledged; our donation is creeping towards $300.
Brooklyn Backstretch 
Those power horses are what put me in 4th place LOL. I also anticipate sinking like a stone any day now 🙂
Last year after the RTTR contest I said to myself I was going to learn from the mistakes of that season and not make the same ones again this year. However after this past weekend it's clear I have made the same mistakes, if not worse! I have traded in last year's emotional favorites like Mr. Fantasy, Hynesfield, et al for this year's versions like Buddy's Saint and Ron the Greek. When creating my stable I was entirely too loyal to the lot of 3YOs who are spending the winter at FG and I fear my road to the derby could be littered with lots of losing tickets! We'll hope for better luck this next time around.
Never thought I'd see The Sham mentioned in your blog…
Linda: thank goodness for power horses!BSaint: I'd rather lose with emotional connections than win with purely intellectual ones. That's why I'm a terrible bettor. =)Carol: We can venture outside the narrow boundaries of our own state every once in a while…