HorseBoard

Sorry for your loss.

I feel  like I took my first steps out of isolation last year.  Because of arthritis and peripheral neuropathy from chemotherapy, I am mobility impaired.  Driving makes my legs hurt and John has dementia - still him, but he should not drive.  The upside of this is that my family looks for things to take us to, so I got back to Saratoga last year. (I dunno, it feels a bit different, but I don't get around like I used to), My daughter and I have been planning a trip to Vermont of the eclipse next mont.  Started thinking about it after the last one.

Hi, RoMo.  Looks like we've picked up a few people in the last couple month since I've checked.  Good time to start checking again.Life has been both interesting and dull...  I do have a 3 year old great-daughter.  Saw her yesterday at her Aunt Alysha's birthday party (my granddaughter is 25)

 ...... watching the Louisiana Derby .. the winner "Catching Freedom" looked to be a "pick" for the 10f's of the KY Derby ..? Only issue would be if he comes from off the pace .. getting caught in the "scrum" behind front-runners of the/a 20 colt field .. 

  ...... fun getting back into the game ..  

 ....... well on a personal note.. My son and soon to be daughter in law (#2) have both now retired from the Air Force/Space Force .. moved from CA to Bama.. My (STBDI) got her PHD in some obscure under populated area of security something or other ..? Both she and my son are working as contractors.. My daughter and her boyfriend got tired of the rat-race in CA and has also moved to Bama (?) where they could afford a nice house on a couple acres.. Have started getting used to the "culture shock" of the different environment..
   As for me .. have been in the Hospital a couple more times .. and am not ageing out all that well ..? A little more stumble to my motion as time passes.. Still feel somewhat relevant ..?
   I've been going out of my way to avoid what's going on with the political climate .. produces to much .. more anxiety than I can handle.. My old long-bed pickup crapped out .. so had to trade it for a little new old compact eco-sport .. much easier to drive and gets 3 times the gas millage..  

 ...... anyway .. getting old is really starting to suck ..!     

I've played a horse racing game since 2006.  Back in 2019, a young man joined the game.  In the game he goes by the name of Nathan, and he would sometimes make videos of the fake horses in the game...using footage of various t-breds that kind of fit the description of the fake horse...such as chestnut with a blaze. 

He's on YouTube now, and has some pretty nice videos/histories of thoroughbreds.
I thought I would share his channel with you. 

His YouTube persona is Sketchy The Horse Guy

https://www.youtube.com/@SketchyTheHorseGuy/videos

I loved his video on Silky Sullivan and also the worst runners:
Zippy Chippy vs Haru Urara

He recently did one on Vigors "The White Tornado"...a name I hadn't heard for a long time.  He raced during mid/late 1970s  I can remember being a fan of both him and Ancient Title, so when they competed together I never knew which one to cheer for

I hope you watch one or two of his vids. and give him a thumbs up, or even a short comment if you like this stuff. I think it's good to see a younger person getting so involved in horse racing history and taking so much time to produce these videos.

Stormy

 ........ you maybe on to something.. If what I'm told is true .. only a fraction of the ransom attacks ever hits the news.. On top of that .. not all hacks are even detected ..?
    On another note .. of the hacks that do make the news .. very rarely if ever does resolution of the hacks make the news ..? Mostly it's just some implication that it was a Foreign Military's Cyber Unite .. that "did the deed"..?

My working theory at the moment is that it's an extortion issue that they aren't talking about while they investigate.

The official story seems to have been universally accepted without a peep of resistance, even though it is obviously false. According to that story, the problem was a communications network failure that extended well beyond the racing industry.

Except I can't find a single news story anywhere about any communications network failure over the weekend except the tote failure. Which just happened to hit immediately after the race before the Tampa Bay Derby.

Almost every Derby prep except the Tampa Bay Derby is run by one of the big three providers: CDI, NYRA, or Stronach.

But imagine that Saturday's crash was both a trial run and a threat: pay a ransom or expect a cyber attack on the communications network that your outdated tote system relies on. And expect it on the first Saturday in May.

The industry has centered its entire year on two days—Derby Day and Breeders Cup day—and a cyber attack that knocks out communications for 1-4 hours on one Saturday could bring down the entire industry.

And it's clear that racing isn't prepared for such an attack.

 ...... sorry for the losses both of you suffered..

   It's interesting .. I was never a suit person ..? I thing because I was a 44 long and no suits in that size came with pants that could be altered to a 30-32" waste.. Unless custom made(when I was young).. As I got older dress codes went out .. and "business casual" became the order of the day.. Then in retirement .. had no use for suits .. or even sports-coats .. shirts and ties..? My thing .. was always shoes ..?   
   Until about 5 years ago .. I never feared much of anything.. As health issues advanced .. I began to fear more and more ..? Now can't count the number of things that scare me ..? Almost seems like if there is nothing to fear .. I ruminate on a things until I find some part of everything to fear ..

 .... I guess past 75 .. most stories are those "at the edge of something" ..? 

For sure, in life you can plan but you can't predict.

 ....... other than the tote system being "hacked" ..? Seems like almost daily .. I get informed by one of my "IT" acquaintances .. that some large system of note has been hacked ..? There was an article a week or so ago about the new Sports Betting Sites .. not paying off on some large payouts ..?