Horse racing gets little to no airtime on major networks other than the triple crown races and the Breeders Cup. So when a big network allots an hour each Saturday afternoon to highlight one or two classic races at one of the country’s classic tracks – we really need to make some noise!

Versus, a newly acquired division of NBC Sports, has been featuring such an event weekly with “Summer at Saratoga”. If you haven’t seen it, make a note to watch Saturday afternoon at 5pm Eastern Time on NBC/Versus. Great commentary and great camera work especially in HD.

To make your voice heard and to show support for this venture, please take the time today to e-mail them just to say “Thank You”! You can reach them at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10285339/

In October they are planning “Autumn at Keeneland” so let them know how much you appreciate the great job they are doing! Thank you from –TP!

It’s not so tricky to point out the obvious with It’s Tricky having the numbers that suggest winning the Alabama this year.  She primarily has to repeat her 3/4 length win over her testy rival from the Baffert Stable, Plum Pretty. They are both natural leaders and should jump to the front when the gate opens.

Eddie Castro, under the direction of trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, must have just enough lead to keep Plum Pretty on her outside flank but not too close.  It’s tricky for It’s Tricky since she has to run fast enough to keep the lead but slow enough to have some left over.  But in her previous races it really didn’t matter about pace – quarter times were between 22 to 24 and half times from 45 to 48. In all her trips except one (where she just didn’t want to run) she always had plenty left over for the stretch.

Finally, is there any other entrant that will be coming strong down the stretch? Yes, St. John’s River will be making her move on the turn and she is well equipped when it comes to kicking it in on the turn for home.  But from my perspective it will be too little and too late to catch both It’s Tricky and Plum Pretty at the wire.

Yes, there is a rebel in the Alabama and she be It’s Tricky.

One look at the list of eleven horses in this classic event looks typical enough.  But a deeper look by anyone who has any familiarity with this sport of kings will absolutely be floored by the level of competition in this year’s race. Here are a few observations:

The Horses
Even the Breeder’s Cup rarely puts one shy of a dozen great names together like the ones listed.  More than half have won over $900K.  All have won a graded stakes race and most have won several.  All have rated a 3 digit Beyers rating and some as high as 113 and over half scored 107 or higher.

The Jockeys
The question that comes to mind when such a list is provided, “Who is minding the other tracks?” There are 4 of the country’s top 6 listed riders here and some names of past greats too!

The Trainers
Another Who’s Who with seven trainers having a win percentage over 20%.  And if California wasn’t so darn far away there would be more top names going for the $750K prize money.

Handicapping
After spending way too much time analyzing this race. The surest thing I have realized is that I feel so guilty leaving out some of the best horses I have seen race in the last few years. Just take a look at the morning line odds in the above picture.  How rare is it to see the favorite of any race at 4-1? And how often is it to see 7 of 11 entrants between 4-1 and 8-1?

The Winner
Well, the first winner here is The Whitney Family, who for 84 years has been sponsoring this annual classic.  Another winner is Saratoga Race Course who will pack’em to the rafters for this event.  Still another winner is the sport of horse racing which is on the rise at some locales in a country suffering recession. And, of course, the winning horse who will be able to stay out of trouble and eventually find his way clear for a strong run down the stretch to the wire and collect a very hefty paycheck will be……… Oh, you’ll have to get The Track Philosopher’s picks to find that out.