A New CONTENDER in Old Man Series!
The Old Man of the Mountains Series – Race 8
A mile on Fast Dirt
$50,000
All horses, 8 years old and up, Non-Winners of TWO within the last year
If you don’t know about this great series, check out the link: HERE.
Thanks for joining us at the Pastures of Green here in Vermont, for a wonderful and truly fun series. We are back for the eighth race in the ten race OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN RACE SERIES. Deputy Wood won the last race to pass Eminent Minstrel and tie Rasputin for the series lead. All three are out of the series until our host Meat Loaf Loop can win another. There are several other horses with points in the series running today. This will be the first time in the series that we don’t have a full field running. I’m guessing that having that Labor Day holiday in there kind of messed up some of the contenders. At this age, it doesn’t take much of a party to set you back a few days. We have two new oldsters that haven’t been in the race before and they have a lot of making up to do.. There is always an interesting story or two with a group this old too. It should be fun and interesting as always so let’s take a look:
- The Standings to date in the series:
- Rasputin 15 Points
- Deputy Wood 15
- Eminent Minstrel 12
- Meat Loaf Loop 6
- A. Contender 5
- Burg Grooving 5
- Wally’s Count 4
- Greek Judge 3
- Brother Hot 3
- Australia Mat 1
- Brother Metro 1
No disrespect meant to these truly respected veterans but I’ve tried to write this preview with a bent toward having some fun with this series. I hope that you enjoy it and accept it with that in mind. We’ve got a nicely matched field of old codgers so let’s take a look before one of them expires!:
| 1 – BURG GROOVING | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/2 | FuzzyCat | 8 YRS | 54 | 8 | 95.7 | 93.0 | $226,663 |
One of the favorites, this guy has two thirds and a second in his last three OMOTM series races. He is crawling up the leader board about a slowly as some of these Senior Citizens are crawling around the track. He needs to park his walker and get on the stick as he is running out of time to make a splash in this geriatric series. This will be his first chance in the series to have an inside post position so we will see how that affects him. Definitely a contender amongst this group.
| 2 – PICKLED CAR | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/1 | EM12 | 9 YRS | 13 | 1 | 93.7 | 88.8 | $30,922 |
I hope this nine year old didn’t get too tired out in his ENTIRE 13 RACE CAREER! Thirteen races! I’ve seen two year olds with almost that many. What has he been doing all those years? He’s been finishing in the money most of this year though most of those races were Starter allowances. It looks like he’s tired of playing with the kids and has decided to join the more mature crowd for a time or two around the track. It must be nice to be ready for Social Security and have been in so few races that you can remember each one in detail even with the feeble mind of this aged wonder. With all that pent up energy that he has saved up, he should be a contender.
| 3 – MEAT LOAF LOOP | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/1 | SunnyBank | 8 YRS | 85 | 19 | 95.6 | 84.5 | $513,515 |
After finishing fourth two races back in the series, our illustrious host slipped to sixth last time out. Trainer Sunnybank has used all sorts of Old Wives Tales remedies to try and get this big guy going but he hasn’t quite hit the board again after his win in race number two in the series. There are a few horses out there that are really rooting for him so that they can back in the series if he gathers a win. Back to the Geritol and Viagra protein shakes for this elder statesmen.
| 4 – ADMIRAL JOHNNY | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16/1 | LoveOfGame | 10 YRS | 78 | 12 | 86.7 | 78.2 | $ 148,183 |
This will be the third time trying in the series for this ancient mariner. He’s actually finished closer to the back than the front in the other two races and that’s not all bad in this series as it has become a badge of honor in trailing the Old Geezer romp. With one of our rear end favorites, Charismatic Dance out of this race, it is anyone’s race to bring up the rear and the Admiral has as good a chance as any. If he would just stop carrying around that old anchor he might have a better chance at the front!!
| 5 – PRINCE JERRY | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/1 | CrowBar | 8 YRS | 37 | 9 | 94.1 | 91.4 | $275,356 |
I had this guy picked to win the last OMOTM series race but he started out like he had forgotten that what time the race bell went off and had a hard time catching up. He is still the favorite here as he was running Stakes and big races recently not nursing home reject races. He needs to make sure that he acts more like a Prince and less like a jester this time and he should hit the board. He’s only 8 years old, that is relatively young in this crowd!
| 6 – HIS TRAPS | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35/1 | SixesPlus | 10 YRS | 64 | 9 | 79.8 | 74.5 | $71,960 |
If this retirement candidate can just duplicate what he’s done in the past four races, he is a shoo-in for the prestigious final spot in the field for this one. He has finished no higher than 10th in those four and there are only ten in this race. He may have made it last time but he raised his walker at the wire and moved up two spots. He should be the favorite for the “anchor” position this time out.
| 7 – BIZARRE SALMON | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7/1 | MtnMan | 8 YRS | 53 | 9 | 90.9 | 80.2 | $155,702 |
The horse with the truly BIZARRE name, this guy is a first time entrant into our OMOTM series and has been running well lately. He likes to start his races like he wants to be first in line at the bingo tables back at the old folks home. He tends to tire out a little at the end though. Who wouldn’t at this age? His competion won’t be so spry though so he many have enough at the end to finish up before the sundial timer kicks in for some of those trailers. It could be a leap forward for this SALMON!
| 8 – DILIGENT CEMETARY | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/1 | Hoofers | 8 YRS | 32 | 5 | 87.9 | 87.9 | $118,119 |
What the heck kind of name is Diligent Cemetary? He is going to need to be diligent here as he is moving up from sprints to the mile and that usually doesn’t translate well for someone that is kind of kind of dragging at the finish anyway. I wonder if he can remember back to those days when he was running against the dinosaurs and they got tired at the end of the race? One way or the other, I imagine he will get a few stories from this race that he can share back at the old folks home.
| 9 – A. CONTENDER | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/1 | WindHmHill | 8 YRS | 45 | 5 | 95.4 | 88.7 | $ 153,656 |
After his owner talked plenty of smack last race, this old geezer backed it up with a third place finish. He had a one length lead at the top of the stretch but the mind was willing and the body was not. Still pretty good for a veteran of forty five races. He is parked out pretty close to the handicap lot this time and a couple of races ago that seemed to bother him. He has been a true CONTENDER throughout this series and I for one would love to see him win one of these races and put that trophy on his shelf at the retirement home. You go guy!
| 10 – BROTHER METRO | ODDS | OWNER | AGE | RACES | WINS | TOP SPEED | AVG SPEED | EARNINGS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/1 | StormRun | 8 YRS | 24 | 2 | 93.1 | 87.9 | $24,818 |
The sixth time in the OMOTM series where he has hovered just outside of the top three for the most part with one inclusion to that party. There are rumors that this guy used to pull chariots back in roman times and that is why is so lightly raced for an eight year old. I think this old guy has enough talent though that he won’t be pulling any carts or chariots when the series is over.
Morning Line = 5-1-9-2-7
Yoss Tipsheet = 1-9-7-5
Paz Picks = 9-5-1-7-3-2
In this series it is almost as important to pick the last place as the first. It should be one whale of a race for last place between HIS TRAPS and ADMIRAL JOHNNEY. If the old ADMIRAL will leave the anchor at home, I think that TRAPS can take the last place prize. I always like to mention our host, MEAT LOAF LOOP and I have him picked for fifth as he always puts forth a good effort and looks like he may ready for another win. Pretty tough in this crowd though. Next, I like newcomer BIZARRE SALMON to just miss the board and have a fourth place finish. It looks like BURG GROOVING should be able to move his walker up into third place and I like PRINCE JERRY and A
Good luck to all runners!
Email your comments to pazjazz.btb@gmail.com. I love to hear from you!
