Sports, Ink

Saturday's Evening Attire Stakes sends five horses onto the winterized inner track at Aqueduct for a purse of $65,000.  The five starters will run 1 1/8 miles in a race named after the old warrior, Evening Attire.  The race was renamed the Evening Attire from the Aqueduct Handicap in 2009, upon the retirement of the gray gelding.
Evening Attire (above) was a fixture on the NYRA circuit and son of 1991 Horse of the Year Black Tie Affair.  His biggest win was the 2002 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) and he won seven stakes over a career in which he earned more than $2.9 million.  He won a graded stakes race at each of the three NYRA circuit tracks (Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga).
Evening Attire holds the track record at 1 1/2 miles at Philadelphia Park, when as a 10-year-old he bested his foes by 8“ lengths, while breaking a 16-year-old record.  He was the epitome of a closer, often behind the pace, and charging late.
The race has been won by some great horses including former Kentucky Derby winner Cannonade, in addition to Evening Attire, Kelso and Damascus. Let's take a look at this year's challengers and try to figure out who's going to grab the winning laurels (trainer, jockey, morning line odds):
1 -- More Than a Reason (Persaud, Castro, 10-1): Winner of the Grade III Queens County two back at 19-1, the More Than Ready 6-year-old won't sneak up on anyone in this race.  He ran 19 times in 2010 and he's right back at it in 2011.  A closer who can handle the distance, he could be running late to grab a piece.
2 -- Heart Butte (Pletcher, Cohen, 5-2): This 4-year-old son of Empire Maker is perfect in two races at the distance and steps up in class for his first listed stake race. He's lightly raced compared to his elder competition with only eight career starts.  I think his morning line odds are generous and won't bet him at that price facing tougher competition for the first time.  Will wait and see on this one even with the seven pound weight break.
3 -- Alma D'Oro (Pletcher, Jara, 3-1): The Medaglia D'Oro 5-year-old ran a super race in his last, winning a non-graded stake by four lengths and pulling away going a mile.  The pedigree says the distance is just right and he's won 3 of 7 at the 1 1/8 distance.  Jockey Fernando Jara is having a disappointing meet, but Pletcher wins these races at such solid percentages he's tough to ignore.  Second off the layoff, we'll be pushing the win button on this one.
4 -- Goombada Guska (Volk, Valdivia, 5-1): With a dam with the name Goombada Byda Sea, how can you not like this horse?  He ran most of his races this summer by the sea, at Monmouth Park, and picks up a new rider for the Evening Attire in Jose Valdivia.  He ran a decent race in his debut on the inner track in the $60K Cosmic Bob Stakes in December in a four-horse field.  Interesting.
5 -- Arson Squad (Dutrow, Dominguez, 8-5): The 8-year old veteran raced eight times in 2010 at six tracks.  A road warrior makes his second career start at the Big A after being upset as the favorite in the Queen's County by the rail horse, More Than a Reason.  The morning line favorite is the class of the field based on experience, and will enjoy the red-hot Eclipse finalist Ramon Dominguez in the irons.  His workouts say he's fit and is hard to dismiss with Dominguez aboard.

Dodgers/Giants

Most of the moves on this list affected just two cities--the one being left and the one welcoming a new team. When the Dodgers and Giants moved, they changed the course of sports, and the business of sport, in the U.S. for good.
After failing in his attempt to get the city of New York to replace decaying Ebbets Field with a new stadium in Brooklyn, Dodger’s owner Walter O’Malley entered negations with Los Angeles to move his team to California in 1957. LA decided it could only take the Dodgers if a second baseball team would also move to the West Coast. Luckily for O’Malley, the Dodgers’ crosstown rivals were having stadium problems of their own.
Like the Dodgers, the NY Giants were contemplating a move from New York after they were denied their request for a new stadium. As the franchise’s investors deliberated on what action to take, O’Malley interjected and convinced majority owner Horace Stoneham to move the Giants to San Francisco.
With the Giants and Dodgers relocations, the East Coast’s dominance of sports came to an end. The Dodgers flourished in LA behind the likes of Koufax and Drysdale, shifting the media’s focus west of the Mississippi. For the first time, New York, St. Louis and Boston had to share the spotlight.
Fifty years after the Dodgers’ and Giants’ historic moves, America’s sports landscape is spread from coast-to-coast and everywhere in-between. What began as two team’s desire for better accommodations paved the way for cities like San Antonio and Denver, forever reshaping major sports in America.
Written by Ben Leffler, all-star intramural athlete, and Dustin Coates, who still owns Houston Oilers season tickets.