Introducing Resident Handicapper

Readers, believe it or not, I have changed my mind on my Preakness pick. Well, that's not entirely accurate, as I had originally picked one horse, then changed my mind for the last post, and now I'm changing it back to my original choice. Why, you ask? Well, besides my notorious lack of decision making skills when it comes to horse racing, I was reminded by my resident amateur handicapper that I had originally picked Sway Away as my Preakness pick. I was pretty impressed with myself because this was also one of his picks, and I'm not sure why I changed my mind, besides, as I said, I really enjoy saying Mucho Macho Man. I even challenge myself to say it five times really fast, but I assure you there is no little dance involved with that. Really. There isn't. Anyway, moving on, this brings me to a new facet of the NEW AND IMPROVED TITO BLOG, and that is my "Resident Handicapper" feature. I was going to try to pass all of Resident Handicapper's information off as my own, but then I realized the odds of me being exposed as a fraud were pretty high, especially if anyone had the opportunity to challenge me on any of this information in person. So I will post it here, on my blog, without taking credit for it. The credit will solely go to my very own personal in house Resident Handicapper, and I assure you I have personally witnessed, and enjoyed, his past successes at the track. There is even one particular bartender at Siro's who can assure you not only of his past successes but also of his past over-tipping as a result of said past successes. Moving on, here are Resident Handicapper's Preakness picks...

The first thing R.H. said about the Preakness is how he likes Mucho Macho Man, since he was closing in on Animal Kingdom in the Derby, almost clinching second  over a dying Nehro, finishing third in the race. That being said, he's pretty certain that Mucho Macho Man won’t win the Preakness, but that he has a shot at winning the Belmont if he runs in it. R.H. doesn’t think the length of the Preakness will favor Mucho Macho Man’s late closing speed like some of the other horses that are running, but he thinks he'll hit the board. His final picks as of right now (subject to change as the day goes on and gets more boring and doing internet handicapping becomes more and more enticing) are Sway Away, Mucho Macho Man, Dialed In, and Animal Kingdom, with Dance City thrown in for good measure. For the price though, Sway Away is the pick. He's got closing speed that will benefit him greatly in what deems to be a much faster race than the Derby. I'll be sure to let you know what bets we actually wind up making, rest assured.

R.H. also provided a couple of links that have some pretty good insight for the race tomorrow:

• NY Times

• USA Today

One last thing before I finish up R.H.'s  premier blog post, let's talk about this whole "Kegasus" debacle. I think it's awful, and quite frankly hard to look at. Rather than a mascot he looks like a walking cautionary tale. If I saw this idiot walking around the racetrack in Saratoga I'd be ashamed. But overall my overwhelming thought about it is "THIS is the best that they could come up with?!". An unattractive, beer bellied, creepy man/horse? And he's supposed to attract people rather than repulse them? I realize the market they are trying to reach, but still, surely no one wants to relate themselves to this? It's like a nightmare come to life! But then again, so is the idea of running around on top of a row of porta-potties while being pelted with beer cans, so maybe I am just missing the whole point. What are your thoughts dear readers?