In today's WSJ (5/20, D8), Michale Salfino in the regular sports column "The Count," talks about baseball pitchers and how a slight loss in fastball velocity makes a gigantic difference in ERA performance. I was thinking that maybe that could be an important insight into horse quality as well since, as several members of this board have noted before, it's often not the horse with blazing speed who wins but the one who has the acceleration to get out of potential trouble. I sure don't have a radar gun, but maybe looking at those ponies who can move better than the others in tight might be the way to look for winners. Might be part of the reason some pros spend most of their time looking at the start. Anybody got a list of great movers they'd be willing to share?

Racing is always about racing luck and finish. A great example of this is our Preakness winner who has a knack for getting into trouble..Baffert was smart he made the switch and the colt responded with a win. It was not his best performance in fact his Derbies both SA and Kentucky showed more effort but he did win. There is some basis for a horse to sour on racing if he or she does not get trips..They get tentative and ultimately lose interest.I have a mare now thata is bred impeccably who simply has lost interest anad shows it every time she gets under tack. Their petulance is often attributed to bad racing luck.