Spa Spa Spa!!

I would do anything to be in Saratoga Springs, New York, this week. I really don't have the words to explain how exciting it would be to see Wednesday's opening day of races with the big two-year-old filly stakes in the Schuylerville, see my boy Pyro's first race since last October when he runs in the James Marvin Stakes, and Quality Road's return to the races since his dominating Florida Derby victory... it's all too much. If I stop to think about all that I'm missing, my mind begins to conjure up ways I can hop a train or a plane to New York. I'll just have to block out all the people who're telling me Saratoga is the place to be, because I can't.

But it still hurts.

And then there's the goings-on at Monmouth. Rachel Alexandra will be schooling between races on Friday, when she arrives from Saratoga. Do I even need to mention how huge this Haskell is going to be? Just don't forget it's on Sunday, not Saturday.

I really hope that Pyro does well in his return race. After seeing the distance, I'm not so sure he's got much of an advantage. At 7 furlongs, the James Marvin Stakes really is too short of a distance for this horse that does his best at 1 1/8-miles. With his late-running kick, and as a horse that takes a while to get going, usually waiting until the last furlong or two to get into gear, Pyro will have to acquire a little get-up-and-go if he's to do well in this stakes. Riley Tucker will also start in the James Marvin, a colt that's been improving in his fourth year. So all in all, a decent place to come back for Pyro, though the odds are stacked against him. Note he will be ridden by a jockey other than Shaun Bridgmohaun for the first time in his career. John Velazquez will be in the irons.

ESPN.com relates all things Spa for the opening week here.