Racing! Let’s get inside Eddie D’s mind

Hello, my name is John Cherwa and welcome back to our horse racing newsletter as we ready for a holiday five-day racing week at Santa Anita.

It’s been a while since we’ve done seven questions not about horse racing, so let’s do one. Our guest of honor is Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, who was in town last week for the running of the Eddie D. Stakes. The 67-year-old Louisiana native is a great conversationalist, especially about racing.

So, here we go.

What is your favorite TV show that you are currently watching?

One of them was “I Love Lucy.” They are taking off “The Big Bang Theory” [after this season]. I like “Big Bang Theory.” I thought that was pretty neat.

If you weren’t a jockey what would you be?

I’d have probably been a farmer because of the area I was at in Louisiana. My grandfather was a sugar cane farmer. And he had cattle and he had pigs and he had horses. That’s where I learned how to ride. I would have probably wound up being a farmer.

What’s your all-time favorite movie or book?

I never did read that much. The only thing I read fully was the biography of Merle Haggard. It was very interesting. I enjoy movies but I was never one to get really into one.

If you could have lunch or dinner with anyone living or dead, who would that be?

I’d love to have my father (Austin) back . He was a World War II veteran. He was a great person. He really inspired me into what I became.

What’s No. 1 on your bucket list?

I’ve done about everything in my life. I’m not much of a traveler and I don’t think I ever will be. But I’d like to go to France to see where my ancestors are from. And I’ll probably do that one day.

What’s your favorite food?

A ham sandwich. And I like soup. I can eat soup year around. My favorite is chicken noodle, homemade. Now we have gumbo in Louisiana and I love it, but sometimes it’s a little too strong for me.

What’s your favorite kind of music?

I like country. All country singers. I love the older classic country but the newer country music that is coming in, they are great also. No particular artist. They are all so talented how can you pick one? The old classics, you got Merle, you got Willie, Hank Williams and many others.

Kicking it around

On Monday, I brought up what I thought was a sad scene of a gate starter kicking dirt at a horse. Well, the explanation is that it is very common because the dirt touching the horse’s heels encourages them to move forward. It sure beats the old days when they used to use the old buggy-whip method of encouragement.

Santa Anita preview

Thursday’s card at Santa Anita is kind of tepid given last week but not unusual for a weekday in a long racing week. First post is 1 p.m. There are only two turf races and half the races are claimers. The feature is sixth, a 1 1/6 mile alowance/optional claimer for horses 3 and up.

The favorite Gato Del Oro, at 9-5, for trainer Richard Baltas and jockey Geovanni Franco. He ran in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile last year (finished seventh) but then was off for nine months. In his comeback race at Del Mar he finished second in an allowance.

The second favorite is veteran campaigner Ike Walker, who has won 12 of 43 lifetime races. The 6-year-old is 5-2 on the morning line for Jerry Hollendorfer and Assael Espinoza. He has won two allowance races this year in eight races.

Here are the field sizes, in order: 9, 5, 7, 9, 12 (2 also eligible), 7, 9 (1 AE), 13.

Bob Ike’s SA play of the day

SEVENTH RACE: No. 5 Worthy Turk (7-2)

Sophomore gelding from the Peter Miller stable turned in a pair of strong efforts when stretched out around two turns at Del Mar. He beat winners as a maiden one back, then followed up with a head loss vs. similar starter allowance foes last time. If he transfers that form to the Santa Anita course he should be tough to deny.

Sunday’s result: Amers finished a distant second behind the runaway winner in the seventh race.

Bob Ike is a Partner/VP of Horsebills.com (here's a video) and the proprietor of BobIkePicks.com (full-card picks, 3 Best Plays and betting strategy).

Final thought

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And now the star of the show, Thursday’s entries.