Mark Cramer
C & X Report

C&X REPORT
Graded Stakes News
Mark Cramer
Saturday, SARATOGA
The Forego will be one of the first important pieces in the puzzle for the Breeders' Cup Sprint.
Our analysis will be ready on Friday night.
Monday, PHILADELPHIA
Tapit comes back in the Pennsylvania Derby after a disappointing Kentucky Derby. Bill, one of our regular readers, is a veterinarian. He told me to watch for horses that were operated on for an entrapped epiglottis. These horses often race with renewed energy. Tapit had precisely this throat surgery ("they lasered the flap out"). Tapit breezed in 1:27, beginning five lengths behind a stablemate, and finishing up two lengths ahead. This stable is known for winning first race following a layoff. Some of the usual suspects are entered here, the second team of 3-year-old stakes horses. We should be interested in the second team, because, as is so often the case, the first team begins to defect one by one after the Triple Crown, and this is precisely what has been happening.
With Master David, second to Tapit in the Wood, Pollard's Vision, Illinois Derby winner, and also the winner of the Queen's Plate and the place horse in the Haskell entered here, it could develop into a bettable race.
PRIX DE L'ARC DE TRIOMPHE LUCIEN BARRIERE:
Sunday, October3 at Longchamp
I will be doing our annual Arc analysis in the week leading up this great race. After this weekend's above two races, the Arc will be our next posting. Favorites have won approximatemyu 40 percent of the time, so it's a tough race to be a contrarian in.
Hard Buck passes the Arc
We were hoping that the American horse Hard Buck would go in the Arc. After his fine second-place finish at Ascot, he could have given the French, Brits, Irish and Italians a run for it. He's now pointed toward the Canadian International at Woodbine on October 24, and if we do not mention this again, he is indeed a horse to reckon with.
Doyen is a major contender in the Arc. Fourth in last year's edition for Fabre, he was purchased by Godolphin and has become much better since then. Dettori KNOWS Longchamp.
The Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe will be carried by most American simulcast outlets.
FALLON'S FALLACIES
Why would one of the top three or four jockeys in the world get involved in a big race fixing scandal? This story is as important for players as the BC pick 6 scandal, for it may affect the future of betting exchanges. Apparently, people like you and me were making proposition bets on certain favorites in betting exchanges, and then those favorites were losing for no reason. The London cops are investigating this one, and Dick Francis could not invent anything as incredible as this story.
It's also sexy, in a literal way, as stories of call girls in expensive hotels are linked to this story. See the next issue of C&X for a full report.