You Can't Always Get What You Want (Rolling Stones, 1968)

It's warm up weekend.

Sure, there's the Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmont, but no Rachel Alexandra. There's the Nijinsky Stakes on the turf at Woodbine with Rahy's Attorney (ho hum) and there's the Eddie Read Handicap on the turf at Del Mar with American Handicap winner Monterey Jazz and seven others (another ho hum)...

But wait 'til next weekend, perhaps the best of the summer before the Travers on Aug. 29 ... Next weekend is when all three winners of the Triple Crown races will be in action ... Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird was vanned from Churchill Downs to Mountaineer Racetrack and Casino for next Saturday night's West Virginia Derby (do we really believe a Derby winner is running in West by God Virginia?)






And the next day, at 6:14 pm, is the Haskell Invitational showdown between Preakness winning filly Rachel Alexandra and Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird ... The two will be meeting for the first time and the race promises to be a doozy. Add Arkansas Derby winner Papa Clem to the mix, not to mention stakes-winning Munnings and a few local hotshots, and who knows what'll happen when the filly takes on the boys for the second time... She is coming off a billion-length win in the Mother Goose a few weeks ago against a few rivals competing for second place. She's win seven in a row, all under Calvin Borel, and who knows how Cajun Boy will approach this race at Monmouth, where he rarely rides. Hopefully, a few races over the course is on his agenda, not the Jersey Shore only down the block.

While the Haskell has two of the Triple Crown race winners, the greatest meet in the world -- Saratoga -- will be entering its first weekend topped by Saturday's Jim Dandy Stakes, featuring Kensei, the Dwyer winner owned by Jess Jackson, who owns Rachel Alexandra. An aside: Quality Road, the Florida Derby winner who would have been the Derby favorite but suffered a quarter crack and missed the Triple Crown races, is set to return in the Amsterdam on Aug. 3 _ a sprint also featuring Capt. Candyman Can.

Let's get it on. It's summer racing at its best, and it's only a week away. And by Travers day, a showdown looms: Mine That Bird vs. Rachel Alexandra vs. Summer Bird.

Cool. Maybe, if you try sometime, you can always get what you want.

And I ask: Where is TV on this? ESPN? Forgetaboutit. Is there no national TV for the Derby winner? Or the filly in the Haskell? Is this sport nuts, or what?

For what it's worth _ the Haskell is worth a quarter-million dollars more this year, up to $1,250,000 .... And there's also a bonus for the winners of any Triple Crowns races who run in the Haskell. Nice work, Monmouth and its president Bob Kulina, always trying to put together the best race possible no matter what the price.

Garden Party for Horse Racing

It was a good day for horse racing -- for a change. The New York Racing Association put together a luncheon/news conference at Madison Square Garden today, promoting the not-so-on-the-radar Belmont Stakes on Saturday. Of course, Calvin ``we're gonna win'' Borel was the center of attention. Everywhere he walked at the Garden's Bar & Grill, microphones, notepads, TV cameras, bloggers and tweeters followed. All he did was say what he said yesterday: He will win the Belmont aboard Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird to become the first jockey to capture the Triple Crown on different horses. He rode Rachel Alexandra to victory over Mine That Bird in the Preakness. He says he's in a dream and riding it out, and that he wants to win this one for Chip -- the Bird's trainer Chip Woolley, who stuck with him even after he took over the gelding for the filly. Lots of other racing types were there as well - the Bird's New Mexico owner-trainer trio of Mark Allen, Leonard Blach and Woolley; trainer Kiaran McLaughlin and jockey Alan Garcia _ Kiaran sends out Charitable Man and Garcia rides him looking for his second Belmont win in a row. McLaughlin was pretty funny, say there's no need to run the race since Calvin guaranteed a victory, but then added this about his horse: His father was a Belmont winner (Lemon Drop Kid), he's 2-for-2 at Belmont, 3-for-3 on dirt and need I say more? Johnny V, who will ride Dunkirk, told the riders in attendance not to let Calvin on the rail ... Borel added that he's glad Rachel Alexandra is not running because, he said, she needs a rest.

And to kick off the festivities, NYRA CEO Charley Hayward made his opening remarks short and to the point regarding synthetic surfaces: He said the races Saturday will be on the turf and on the dirt and they are going to stay that way. Why he decided to throw out that line at this newser is questionable, but it's a clear statement that synthetics are not in NYRA's future (applause, please).