For my post last week on the Mother Goose, I spent a good deal of time researching and verifying what I was reading about the change in the configuration of the Triple Tiara—I checked multiple and sources, and I felt confident that what I wrote was correct: that currently, the series comprises the Mother Goose, the Coaching Club American Oaks, and the Alabama.
I had a moment, then, of serious cognitive dissonance while standing at the paddock on Saturday before the Mother Goose, and reading this in the program, in the conditions for the race: “A special permanent trophy will be presented to the owner of the winner if same filly wins all legs of the Triple Tiara (The Acorn, The Mother Goose and The Coaching Club American Oaks).”
Huh?
Yesterday, I went back to several of my sources, all of which verified that in 2003, the Acorn was replaced by the Alabama. This seemed particularly definitive:
The MOTHER GOOSE is the first leg in the newly designed New York Filly Triple Tiara; the series, which was redesigned in 2003, concludes with the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga.
Source? The New York Racing Association webpage on the Mother Goose.
So the NYRA website says one thing, the NYRA program something quite different. Does this mean that no one has proofread the conditions of the Mother Goose since before 2003, when the Acorn got the boot? Or that there are two configurations of the series that are honored? I’ve sent a message to NYRA asking for clarification—but if anyone has any info, please send it along.
In continued perplexing news about the OTB channel, for weeks (months?), the sound quality, particularly of the handicapping shows, has been abysmal—staticky, mostly. Sunday morning, though, was the worst; in the morning the static was so prominent that the voices couldn’t be properly heard, and by the afternoon, static replaced any sound at all. What’s up? It doesn’t happen on any other channels, and it affects programming from studios, from New York tracks, and from tracks in Kentucky and Florida…so it must have something to do with the actual transmission, rather than from some local problem.
Whatever the cause, it’s incredibly annoying and frustrating, and I can’t believe that the problem is getting worse instead of better. Another excellent example of the racing industry’s inability (unwillingness?) to take care of its customers at the most basic level.
And before anyone suggests that I get TVG or HRTV: my cable system (Time Warner) doesn’t carry them, and my Brooklyn co-op doesn’t permit satellite dishes. So I’m stuck.
Brooklyn Backstretch 
I didn’t even know, or I—kind of embarrassing—forgot–that the TT had been switched to include the Alabama.I prefer the Acorn, the progression from the mile .Saturday, my OTB channel was static noise all afternoon.
throw the property manager of the building a few bucks and presto, in goes yours satelitte dish!
From the DISH Network website concerning satellite dishes at condos and apartments: “The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed rules in 1996 regarding the installation of satellite dishes for residents of apartments, condos, town homes or covenant-controlled communities managed by a Homeowners Association. The FCC ruled that a resident has the right to have a satellite dish that is less than one meter (39.37 inches) in diameter. The dish may be installed within the renter’s or owner’s exclusive area, such as inside a balcony, yard or patio. However, the landlord or the Homeowners Association can enforce restrictions on common areas, such as the exterior of the building or the roof. “
Funny…i saw the same thing…and noticed a bunch of horses that had won the MG ran back in the Alabama the last few years…now I know why!
“The dish may be installed within the renter’s or owner’s exclusive area, such as inside a balcony, yard or patio.”This would be excellent news if I had any of those three things–it’s Brooklyn! About my only “exclusive area” is my bathroom!