tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78780075888652954502024-03-19T00:31:58.792-04:00Avram C. Freedberg's BlogAvram C. Freedberg -- entrepreneur, founder and president of National Collector's Mint and Maximum Entertainment Productions. Avram C. Freedberg's charitable contributions thanks to NCM's customers exceed $2 million.Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.comBlogger372125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-73701214368379281512013-11-15T11:36:00.000-05:002013-11-20T11:36:48.115-05:00Wow, a Harness Racing Victory!
It's been a long time since our last victory at Saratoga Harness but Timberwolf broke the slump this week with a 1 3/4 length victory when coming from the second tier from the #9 post. Plus, when the horse right in front of him broke stride early in the race, Jordan Derue had to swerve to avoid a crash, then get back in the race and come on in the stretch to win. It was pretty to watch, but Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-84546421356374564112013-10-25T17:00:00.000-04:002013-11-20T11:37:53.339-05:00She wasn't crazy today!
We almost decided not to go to Belmont today for Hidden Music's
race because she's been so awful and it was such a cheap race. But she had been
getting a little better in her last few races and the race was only 6 furlongs,
compared to 7 furlongs in her last race where she faded in the final furlong.
Hidden Music looked beautiful in the paddock. More importantly,
she was calmer.Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-69706440270229084982013-10-24T17:30:00.000-04:002013-11-20T11:38:30.913-05:00It's NOT Saratoga!
Saratoga always seems like a happy dream. Belmont brings us
down to reality.
Hear the Footsteps ran an unusual race in Saturday's Mohawk
Stakes, going right to the lead, then fading back to 10th. He came up the
rail as they turned for home but had no room to get through, so Jose to
took him to the outside. Unfortunately, he kept drifting out and finished
Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-49010701504056114312013-09-17T09:09:00.001-04:002013-09-17T09:09:10.334-04:00The worm turnsEverything does not go perfectly. Jess Not Jesse finished 3rd on Friday when he couldn't get sufficient foothold on the very slippery grass course. Yesterday, Patsy Symons's horse, Effie Trinket, won the Filly Stakes race. So, we represented her in the Winner's Circle and got some Champagne too. We hoped it was just a dress rehearsal for Hear the Footsteps's Stakes two races later but, Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-61595375693188976002013-09-13T11:28:00.001-04:002013-09-13T11:28:52.250-04:00Yom KippurGreetings! So I should be concentrating on atoning and my apologies to all and, in fact, I will be. But with the seriousness of the Days of Penitence ending in the Day of Atonement, comes racing excitement... maybe. Tomorrow's 1st race at Belmont might see Jess Not Jesse run on the grass at 7 furlongs, if the forecast rain doesn't take it off the grass. Can he last the distance.?Hope we getAvram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-54030457590889470402013-08-30T16:42:00.000-04:002013-09-03T11:59:09.931-04:00BIG FINISH!When you're a kid, it's Disneyland or equivalent. Mine was George C. Tilyou's Steeplechase Park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY. It was so much fun, I didn't want to leave and I couldn't wait for the next trip. For my friends these days, it might be their place in Vermont or Florida or Israel or the Hamptons or wherever their fantasies take them. As you know, our place is Saratoga Springs, NY.Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-5694604693054410172013-08-29T14:02:00.001-04:002013-08-29T14:02:49.379-04:00Almost the end of Racing at SaratogaJess Not Jesse will try to win another one today in the 5th race on the grass under Cornelio Velasquez. He's a real gamer and gives us everything he's got every time. We'll find out later if Hidden Music made it into a race on Sunday. There's so much more to say about the Saratoga experience but I'll leave it to the next missive. Best, A. Sincerely, Avram Freedberg Everything's Cricket Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-48283074782878459052013-08-21T17:26:00.001-04:002013-08-21T17:26:10.799-04:007-10 FAVORITEWhen your horse's odds will only return 70 cents for every dollar bet, he's called an "odds-on favorite." So was the case yesterday when It's Truly Ahvee ran a 6 furlong race at a second-tier racetrack, known as Finger Lakes. It's about 25 miles out of Rochester, NY. It's bad enough having one of your favorite horses sent to purgatory but not even sending our Everything's Cricket Racing Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-68868170224892901342013-08-12T10:26:00.001-04:002013-08-12T10:26:49.503-04:00PinocchioYou've heard it before... (fill-in whatever sport you fancy) is a game of inches. Nowhere is that more true than in horse racing. Jess Not Jesse was racing today for a $70,000 purse. He was #11 on the outside. When he reared coming out of the gate, he fell behind the field and had to be urged to catch up. Catch up he did, as he took the lead between the 1/8 pole and the 1/16th pole. Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-37785145016331725572013-08-09T17:18:00.001-04:002013-08-09T17:18:42.829-04:00More Jesse So far, Jess Not Jesse's victory represents Linda's only Saratoga win. Seems the logical thing is to race him again. However, we know he's a fragile horse and I hope it's not too soon since his last race and not that the competition is not too difficult. We don't want him to get hurt. As of now, he IS entered in the 8th race on Sunday for a claiming tag of $50,000, much higher than the $Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-35285758227392729742013-08-02T10:00:00.001-04:002013-08-02T10:00:35.094-04:00Bad BeatsA "Bad Beat" can be anything from being impeded by another horse just when it looks like you're going to win, to stumbling, to the jockey thinking the race is over too soon and letting up to host of other circumstances that make you feel you should have won but for (fill-in the reason for the bad beat). Now, imagine if you will owning a horse for almost three years, during which time the Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-5000900881830608642013-08-01T13:53:00.001-04:002013-08-01T13:53:03.531-04:00Ups and DownsIt's Truly Ahvee ran 3rd. He was well positioned and did not have a finishing kick. Cornelio thought he needed the race because he had not raced since March. Maybe but he exhibits his usual problems, so we'll see, Today Jess Not Jesse is the 2-1 favorite over Awakino Cat (formerly ours) and ten others in a 5 1/2 furlong sprint on the turf. He has not run since last year at Saratoga. We Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-82378700531706630672013-07-27T00:05:00.000-04:002013-07-29T09:10:37.733-04:00Ups and DownsWe've been in Saratoga for over a week but had many frustrations with our computer which delayed any messaging. So, let's play catch-up. Hear the Footsteps was entered in a Stakes race last Sunday but was not quite recovered from his two victories in nine days and with the tough competition, he was scratched. Cameron Lucky ran Thursday night at Saratoga Harness but managed only a 4th place Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-27602893537556318132013-07-15T16:12:00.001-04:002013-07-15T16:12:32.240-04:00The Agony and the EcstasyGreetings! Friday afternoon and evening showed both sides of horse racing, or as ABC used to say the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat! Hidden Music, our expensive claim of a few months ago, took off from the start went as fast as she could, fighting Jose Ortiz all the while. She kept trying to "get out." This is just as it sounds, she wanted to go to the outside, rather than run inAvram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-84197732148100255422013-07-04T18:55:00.000-04:002013-07-15T16:12:03.420-04:00Hear the FootstepsGreetings! The weather at Belmont yesterday afternoon was hot and humid. We had been worried that the forecast rain might result in Footsie's race being taken off the grass. It didn't rain and there was Footsie walking into the paddock. The humidity left him a bit wet... but ready Jose Ortiz had been aboard him for his last race, when he won for the first time in two years. We met Jose in Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-3238867427921414492013-07-03T11:57:00.001-04:002013-07-03T11:57:12.927-04:00It's almost Saratoga timeKaddish is the memorial prayer one say during three prayer services each day. It must be said with a Minyan, a minimum of ten adult Jews (men only, for the Orthodox) present. Since we could not find 10 circumcised Masai warriors, much less 10 Jews, we had to cancel a wonderful African Safari in Tanzania with our good friends. Instead, we went to a trade show in Rome, where we could find Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-23085781518470364132013-06-14T11:21:00.001-04:002013-06-14T11:21:10.764-04:00Love those horsiesGreetings! After we went into my mother's house last Sunday, I needed a dose of horse love. So, we went to feed the Belmont bunch but we missed finding Inchcape. It was fun and distracting. One particular standout in the love department was our only filly, Hidden Music. She was a snuggler, like Meriwether Jessica. How nice it is to be snuggled and nuzzled by a beautiful thoroughbred horse! Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-29597787794570861222013-06-07T18:25:00.000-04:002013-06-11T09:03:41.570-04:00Coming back from ShivaGreetings! You don't really recover from the loss of a parent quickly. There is an ache deep in your heart and stomach, particularly when you're finished sitting Shiva, the seven day period of mourning where you receive visits from the community and speak about your loved one. When your visitors depart for the last time, you feel that missing person all the more. It's now you need some Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-9245688921777724012013-05-24T20:10:00.000-04:002013-05-29T11:37:13.023-04:00Horsie statusGreetings! When does a 4th feel like a 1st? Well... NEVER. But when Cameron Lucky finished 4th last Sunday at Saratoga Harness, she could have been the winner. It was 4 horses across the track on the finish line. She lost by 3 noses. Worth the excitement but it was an "almost!" She runs again this Sunday in race 9 from the 1 spot with Joe Bongiorno driving. He did a great job driving her Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-90483974143598106432013-05-07T11:44:00.000-04:002013-05-24T12:46:45.388-04:00A few words about our time in KentuckyWhen we arrived in Louisville, Chris picked us up at the airport and left the car with us, so we could get around. He arranged for our room not far from his home in the burbs for $800 compared to the over $3,000 we spent at the Galt House last year. He put water, snacks and other goodies in the refrigerator and elsewhere in the room.
We met several of our winning superfecta group from last year Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-89952993887931537812013-05-06T13:55:00.000-04:002013-05-24T12:40:27.055-04:00Better than the Kentucky DerbyIt's been too long. This format makes it more difficult to get messages out remotely, so my apologies for not being more up to date. So, what is more exciting than the Kentucky Derby? Well to my friend Mark, nothing could be... especially when your horse selection wins, you hit the exacta and you win more than $20 K! I was standing next to him in his grandstand box and I have the black and Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-88908492732082246122013-04-15T14:40:00.000-04:002013-05-24T12:39:34.749-04:00Clunker at the Big AWe had a table of 7 at Aqueduct on Saturday. Michael was down from Saratoga, Linda had 3 horses running and joined us for lunch. Barbara, Honni, Sylvan, Rhoda and me. When we arrived, I immediately bet on Linda's Terminus in race 1 to win and place. He missed by a head and came in 2nd but since he was one of the favorites, I was a 37% loser on my bet.Then, the omelet guy ruined my omelet. I Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-14406515118608473842013-04-09T16:39:00.000-04:002013-05-24T12:38:41.322-04:00Ahvee's Destiny is in foal!We're trying not to get excited because she lost her foal last year after 6 months. Nonetheless, we want to make note of all the milestones. Next check early in May. Cameron Lucky ran 3rd on Sunday at Saratoga Harness. It's been hard to get excited at the harness track. Because of the carts, the equipment on the horse and the gaits used in harness, it's not as athletically beautiful as Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-15162134922288106022013-04-04T22:31:00.000-04:002013-05-24T12:50:33.467-04:00Surgery, Castration and maybe even a hyperbaric chamber
Brother Bob was operated on for his breathing problem and was
gelded (a kinder way of saying "castrated"). Believe it or not, he'll
probably go back to light training next week.
It's Truly Ahvee will be treated with Interferon for his
bleeding and may pay some visits to a hyperbaric chamber which some say may
help the bleeding situation. Of course, noone's told me about cost yet.
&Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7878007588865295450.post-14541464308176070432013-03-28T17:07:00.000-04:002013-05-24T12:34:06.186-04:00Good start, bad finishGreetings! Brother Bob was quickly out of the gate and almost cleared the horses to the inside of him. Nonetheless, he was well-placed and running with the leaders when about half-way around, he appeared to be going backwards. In fact, he ended up first... going backwards, unfortunately. Clearly something was wrong. When the jockey came back, he said the horse was showing something wrong Avram C. Freedberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12905100526720078401noreply@blogger.com0