bob neumeier lover empire maker

[gradysfalcon]

June 4 — Call me the Grinch that stole Christmas. I don’t like Empire Maker in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes . . . I love him.
FUNNY CIDE WILL be the sentimental favorite because his story has captured the imagination of the Everyman in racing. From the owners who patched together a few thousand bucks to buy horses — to the jockey who was accused of cheating in the Kentucky Derby — and to the horse himself, a New York-bred gelding, the world will root, root, root for the home team at Belmont Park. Yes, that would be Funny Cide.
Does this fan favorite stand a chance to become the 12th winner of the Triple Crown?
Of course, he does.
That’s because this race looks to be an absolute, slam-dunk two-horse race . . . Empire Maker and Funny Cide. The dreamers in us can also drum up a scene where the pair lock horns on the far turn and grind it out together to the wire a la the remarkable 1978 Belmont of Affirmed and Alydar. It’s not out of the question.

All of the opponents appear overmatched. Ten Most Wanted was this year’s chi-chi Kentucky Derby selection but he ran poorly, suffering a back injury to boot. Trainer Wally Dollasse is an underrated conditioner but he’d have to be Harry Houdini to get this horse to the winner’s circle. Dynever is also an interesting new face but barring severe regressions from the two favorites, he’s simply not fast enough.
Scrimshaw? We’ve seen enough to know he would have to magically improve about six to eight lengths to be in the Belmont mix.
As for Funny Cide and Empire Maker, this will be their third match-up of the season. Let’s not forget that Bobby Frankel’s son of Unbridled toyed with Funny Cide in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in April. It was that eye-popping run that catapulted Empire Maker into the favorite’s role in Louisville in the Derby. Remember at the time, it was jockey Jerry Bailey that was touting him as a Triple Crown threat. Ironically, he now assumes the role of spoiler.
It can be argued that an injury cost Empire Maker his chance for a Triple Crown. Losing a few days of valuable training time the week of the Derby, he still drew alongside Funny Cide only to fail in sustaining a prolonged wide run into the Churchill Downs stretch. A fitter horse would have likely blown by Cide in the Derby just as he did in the Wood Memorial.
Granted, Funny Cide’s effort in the Preakness was spectacular, an effort that even Empire Maker would have trouble duplicating in top condition. But for those who embrace the “bounce” theory of handicapping — that horses cannot duplicate peak efforts off short rest — it is additional reasoning for backing Empire Maker in the Belmont Stakes. In short, it might not be the extra rest for skipping Baltimore that will help the challenger but the negative toll of the grueling Triple Crown campaign on Funny Cide.
Betting the race provides another challenge. If I were to make a betting line on the Belmont, Funny Cide and Empire Maker would be 6-5 or 7-5 co-favorites. If that line holds up with the betting public, a win bet on my selection seems out of the question. But what if the adoring public hammers the Derby and Preakness winner to 3-5 or 4-5 and Empire Maker slips to 9-5 or higher? In that unlikely scenario, I would jump on a bicycle, stop by my bank, and withdraw most of my nickels and dimes to gamble on the Juddmonte Farm color bearer in the win hole.
“Singling” the choice in the pick three, pick four, and pick six pools are another option at maximizing betting value. One has to figure that the darling of most of the wagering public — Funny Cide — will be on EVERYBODY’s pick 3, pick 4, and pick 6 tickets which gives the Empire Maker “single” terrific wagering value.
As for the other gimmicks like exactas, tri’s, super’s etc., this gets dicey, particularly when a handicapper can not separate the rest of the field. I am not a fan of the cold exacta of Empire Maker over Funny Cide, even though that seems to be the most logical finish. The risk simply does not equate to the reward.
The Belmont Stakes will make for a fascinating spectacle but does NOT excite the average handicapper from the wagering perspective, unless a longshot suits your fancy. Sure, there could be another Sarava waiting in the wings, but a victory by Ten Most Wanted or Dynever will only take place if BOTH favorites flounder. That’s an unlikely proposition.
From an emotional point of view, the world wants to see Funny Cide win the race and the five million dollar bonus. It would be a great victory for the so-called “little guy” — from the lovable syndicate of owners to the jockey-trainer match up comparison of the relatively anonymous Jose Santos-Barclay Tagg to the kingpin combo of Jerry Bailey and Bobby Frankel.
Call my cold and cynical, but successful handicappers NEVER play with their hearts. No, they make calculated risks with their brains. Weekend casual players have every right to bet their money on horses based on name, color, and jockey, number et al.
This group will certainly pound Funny Cide at the windows for the vicarious thrill of being part of racing history.
Not me.
I am the Grinch that stole Christmas

[alysheba88]

The thing that kills me about the racing elites is if Empire maker does win, ALL of them will come out in full force and say EM is the superior horse, that Funny Cide is a fluke, and so on. They endlessley hype the Fusiachi Pegagus's and disparage when they can any horse with the "wrong" pedigree who actually wins on the track and not in the racing columns.

Some of their whining about "underving" horses in recent years has been sickening. Yet they were annointing FuPeg as Secretariat off his 108 perfect rip Derby.

[turkoman1963]

agree about fusaichi (I bought into the hype!)...

...funny cide should not be able to stack up against Empire Maker. A $75K gelding versus the 7 figure Empire Maker? Yet, he beat him fair and square (okay, Empire had a minor blip leading up to the Derby, but FC never worked over the course, arrived two days before the race and won it!).

Maybe Empire will win but if FC does win and EM has a bad trip or something, I'm sure everyone will be making excuses for Easy Goer, er, Empire Maker.


(And for all those Easy Goer backers who felt "vindicated" with his win in the Belmont -- that is just ridiculous. One should point out that EG lost the BC Juvenile at 1-9, lost the Derby fair and square to Sunday, lost the Preakness and lost the BC Classic to Sunday on the level.)

[doctrot]

All the more reason for me to love funnycide ..............................bob neumier is a joke ....used to see him at rockingham ..crying about horses on the juice ........
All bets aside.............. I've never rooted for a horse to win triple crown before ........but I want this one to win big so bad.....................................

[alysheba88]

Whats worse is Joe HIrsch loves FC.

The ultimate kiss of death. Think Secretariat was his last winner

[Skanoochies]

I have a strong feeling this Tagg is a very cunning devil.First he schedules a workout for a certain time then proceeds to get out early to avoid any excitement or crowds, then says he is a little concerned that the workout was maybe a touch to fast. I suspect this is just another ploy and was exactly what he wanted the horse to do. Sharpen him up, then on Saturday when the gate opens I think the plan is to shoot for the lead at the getgo. If you want to beat him you have to come and get him.

Just my opinion,

Skanoochies.

[doctrot]

Well I hope your right .....I would love to see him open up early .....He's the speed of the race by a mile.......as far as joe hirsch ,...i thought he was dead .....they've been using the same picture of him since i've been buying drf ....over thirty years