becoming a travel agent: May 21 Rapture Bennett

Saturday, May 21, 2011

May 21 Rapture Bennett | world news 2011

Posted on May 19, 2011

Almost all of the Triple Crown news today involves varying aspects of Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom.

Trainer Graham Motion?s career is reviewed in Newsday (subscription required) and the Wilmington News Journal. The News Journal quotes Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard for whom Motion worked after his graduation from high school. Sheppard says, ?I?m not afraid to say that I am surprised [at his success] ?When he was with me, I never quite knew if he had the mental toughness or discipline to do it. He probably didn?t know that himself until later on.?

Both WBAL in Baltimore and the Baltimore Sun take a look at Animal Kingdom?s home at the Fair Hill Training Center in northeastern Maryland.? WBAL calls Fair Hill, ?heaven on earth for horses and horsemen alike.? The Sun finds that the prestige of the center is ?booming? and gives credit for its success to the exploits of Kentucky Derby winner, Barbaro who also trained at Fair Hill. The manager of the facility says, ?Barbaro put us on the map. ? Before that, owners weren?t aware that you could train good horses anywhere but at the racetrack. Barbaro?s success opened their eyes that their horses could train here and have a nice lifestyle, too.?

Alex Brown spends a morning at Fair Hill and writes, ?For a fan, there can be nothing more enjoyable than watching the Derby champion as he prepares for the second leg of the Triple Crown.?

Tim Wilkin in the Albany Times-Union opines, ?Horse racing needs to have Animal Kingdom win the Preakness and then head to Belmont Park with a chance to be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. When there is no Triple Crown on the line at the Belmont, the Long Island pony park has as much buzz as Schenectady?s Central Park has now in the summer.?

There are the requisite stories on Barry Irwin, the C.E.O. of Team Valor, which owns Animal Kingdom.? The Guardian in the UK reports that ?Barry Irwin has never been afraid to speak his mind about problems facing the country?s racing industry.? NBC Sports profiles Irwin who says, ?I tell potential partners that you cannot expect to make money when you write a check to me. ?You got to expect to kiss that money goodbye. You hope to see it again, you hope to make money, we will try to make money for you, we can?t promise you anything. If this money means something to you, I would humbly suggest you invest it elsewhere.?

Stephanie Diaz for the Pilot in North Carolina writes, ?Instead of calling for a ceremonial cutting of Barry Irwin?s vocal cords, I wish the racing industry would embrace the sentiment behind his words (embracing Irwin might be asking too much). As for the details of whatever compelled him to call out ?more than half? of his former trainers before the Kentucky Derby winner had even jogged back to the winner?s circle? Perhaps we?ll never know. But knowing Barry Irwin, I bet we will.?

In other Preakness new, it appears that Sway Away will be in the Preakness with Santiva?s owners passing on the race. Maryland?s leading trainer in 2010, Chris Grove, will have his first starter ever in the Preakness in Norman Asbjornson. Grove?s son Noah suffers from bone cancer, and the trainer Nick Zito is a big supporter of Noah. Zito says, ?When you talk about things, you need proper perspective. ?We talk about how much courage a racehorse has when he goes to the track and runs. Well, meeting Chris on the phone and hearing about Noah was amazing. I had to see what Noah has done, and it is amazing.?

The Baltimore Sun columnist Peter Schmuck looks at how Pimlico ownership could improve the Preakness.? He writes, ?The Preakness doesn?t need fixing. The Preakness is just fine. If MID and Penn National Gaming want to do something to enhance the Preakness experience for race fans, we should be talking about a significant upgrade at one of the nation?s most historic racetracks, which would have a positive impact beyond just the third Saturday in May.?

Since ?Family Radio, has launched an aggressive global campaign to warn the world that the Rapture is set to take place on May 21,? the Edmonton Journal looks at the timing of Judgment Day? and notes, ?Next Saturday at 6 p.m. is post time for the Preakness Stakes and ghost time for everyone else.?

In other racing news, Acclamation won the Jim Murray Memorial Handicap at Hollywood Park, and Alternation won the Peter Pan at Belmont. Mike Veitch in the Saratogian believes that Alternation is a threat in the Belmont Stakes since ?he should love the mile and a half of the third leg of the Triple Crown.?

Off the track, the New York Post doesn?t like OTB in New York City, Steve Zorn for the The Rail takes a serious look at racing?s drug problems, and there?s a new chief at the Meadowlands.

There is video of Black Caviar?s win in the BTC Cup in Brisbane. It was an amazing day at the track according to the Herald Sun, and there are now media comparisons between Black Caviar and the great Phar Lap.

Bennett Liebman is the executive director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School and a member of the board of directors of the New York Racing Association.