Party like it's 1999?

Otsego Farms owner Jim Webber was in New York recently for the Red Smith Handicap and went downtown after Confederation's victory to celebrate, eventually hooking up with homeboyz Jay-Z, P Diddy and 50 Cent.

After fielding a call on his iPhone, Jim explained, "These are good guys, but they party a little too hard for my taste. I'm heading over to Jeter's place to play some golf on the Nintendo Wii".

As Jim said his farewells, Fitty was heard shouting in the background "Dis some ICE yo! Ice is like gold an shih - Yo - BAYAM!!!"

"I couldn't have said that better myself", Jim quipped as he ducked into his limo.

Confederation - Aging to perfection

An accomplished racer, Confederation had won $1.7 million for FDL Lodge during his 2yo and 3yo seasons. But, as an early maturing horse with a projected performance peak of just a couple years, he was deemed expendable by FDL prior to the 2010 season. Otsego Farms was very pleased to step in and purchase Confederation for $400,000.

He has defied Father Time and his AR by continuing to perform at high levels this season. His 2010 record is 9-4-2-1 with earnings of $600,000. This strong showing, which includes wins in his last 3 races, all at 11 furlongs, has virtually assured him a racing stall in 2011.

Just rambling again....

The picture is of our dog Ozzie.

Right now, as I type, it's snowing in Southwestern Michigan.

Doomsday is a tough and gritty racer who has really won my respect over the past couple years. I was going to sell this fellow but I have reconsidered. He'll either race another season, or be retired from racing and sold as a stud to a qualified stable. He'll not race under any other colors but the Otsego blue and yellow.

Our washing machine broke about 4 weeks ago. Repair men have been to my house on 4 occasions and it's still not fixed. Issues with parts and general incompetence have got me fuming. Honestly, if you hear about a appliance repairman being strangled next week don't be surprised.

There are some very questionable entries in the Breeders Cup races, don'tcha think? These races are supposed to be for the best of the best, right?

My five 2yo's have raced in a total of 18 races this season. I simply cannot warm up to these 15+ fields so I have scratched them on many occasions. It's frustrating, but probably less frustrating than watching them languish in packed fields.

Confederation seems to have found his home at 11 furlongs. He has won his last two races, both at 11 furlongs, with PSR's of 109 and 107. His 2010 record is 8-3-2-1. This fellow is a true professional and will race again at age 5 in 2011.

I'm of the opinion that Stowaway is not good enough to try his luck at the BC Sprint. His record this year is 7-0-5-0. Obviously he is content in second place. He is very solid, but has never fared real well against top-notch competition. He can definitely beat at least half of the horses that are entered now though.

I'm currently reading "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett. Pretty darn good so far. I recently finished the "The Camulod Chronicles", a 9-book series by Jack White, and was basking the afterglow of that excellent series, so I was inclined to be critical of my next read. However, Pillars has not disappointed.

Photoshopping the picture of In Spirit so she looked Golden Chestnut with a white face was tricky and I'm not sure I pulled it off. What d'ya think?

I abso-freeking-lutely love my fantasy baseball team this year. Why am I currently in last place?

Maligned 3yo crop beginning to pay dividends

Big Slick, Mister Fantastic, Chancellorsville, and Majestic Song.

These 3yo colts were charged with carrying the torch into the future for Otsego Farms. The consensus has been, by and large, that their contributions have been below par.

Big Slick was obtained from Pointgiven Stables as a yearling. Being by Troll Tower out of Charon, and with an eye-popping AR, Big Slick was very highly touted. Unfortunately, his 2yo season was injury-prone and disappointing. He has begun to realize his potential this season though, with several very strong showings, PSR's that have generally been around 100, and over $500,000 in earnings. We anticipate continued improvement.

Mister Fantastic was a homegrown product of Dayjur x Exotic Wood. He has been very slow to mature, with just a single race as a 2yo and only 5 races in his career thus far. He has been in-the-money in his last three races however and definitely is showing signs that he may be ready for a bigger workload.

Chancellorsville and Majestic Song are both newcomers purchased from Port Pirie and Olmo Dorato, respectively. Both horses have recently scored their first victories and while neither may ever be a Gr1 threat, they both have the talent to pay their way.

Majestic Song was recently rumored to be available for purchase, but with a win, a place, and a show in his last 5 races, he has cemented his place here at Otsego Farms and will stay to race another season.

We are satisfied with the progress these horses have made in 2010 and look forward to seeing them all race as 4yo's in 2011.

Blind we are, if the talent of this horse we could not see.

Altamente Reactivo, the 5yo light bay colt, bred by Establos Del Castillo and formerly owned by the Italian stable Olmo Dorato, has been purchased by Otsego Farms and will be shipped to Michigan in the next few days.

We are in the midst of a restructuring phase in our stable, and yet we could simply not pass up this fine router. It seems plain to me in looking at his AR that this horse has not fully matured yet. We therefore anticipate racing him in turf races of 10-12 furlongs for the next season or two.

In spite of the fact that many stables are trying to offload horses now, I was still very surprised that this fellow attracted virtually no bidding interest. We are genuinely pleased to welcome Altamente Reactivo aboard.

Agree with me you will. A winner he will be.

Stable clearout begins: Four horses bid adieu in quick fashion

In the past couple weeks, Otsego Farms has made some tough personnel decision which has culminated in the sale of four horses, the last of which was the popular 4yo homebred, Kid Flash.

Our plans have changed at least three times this season for a variety of reasons. It is entirely possible that the purge will continue with another horse or perhaps even two being sold in the coming weeks. Majestic Song, Quicksilver, and even the veteran Doomsday have all been mentioned in recent conversations.

Here is a breakdown of the horses that have been sold, and to whom:

Big Easy - Smokey's Stable
Seven Memory - The Raja Stables
Shadowcat - Sunset Ranch
Kid Flash - Sunset Ranch

We wish each of the stables the best of luck with their new additions.