Slide In Thoroughbred Betting Continues

Andy Beyer reports in the Washington Post on the continuing slide in thoroughbred betting nationwide, "Betting Totals Continue To Decline In Thoroughbred Racing." The prescription is what has worked for Keeneland for decades: a short season and full fields.

"His remark was not intended to be a factual statement." -- Arizona Senator Jon Kyl rewrites history

Senator Jon Kyl (R - Arizona) recently told a whopper during a debate in the Senate stating regarding Planned Parenthood and the indispensable services the organization provides women. It was wrong, so wrong in fact that one of the good Senator's clean-up people later explained about the Senator's whopper: "His remark was not intended to be a factual statement." The aide didn't explain what the good Senator intended his statement to be, perhaps, what it was an idiotic fabrication. Now, Senator Kyl has officially stricken his Whopper from the Congressional Record reports Talking Points Memo.

Cattlemen's Steakhouse: A Venerable Oklahoma City Steakhouse

Catttlemen's Steakhouse is a venerable Oklahoma City restaurant in the city's historic Stockyard City neighborhood on South Agnew Avenue. Bufe and me recently were in town and stopped in for dinner; we hope to return soon and often.

Brigsten's: A New Orleans Dining Gem

Brigsten's is a New Orleans dining gem located Uptown near the river's bend on Dante Street. Chef Frank Brigsten, a James Beard award winner, opened the restaurant in 1986. Chef Brigsten and his restaurant have won numerous awards.

Tchoupitoulas: Coolest Street Name

Tchoupitoulas Street runs along the river in New Orleans beginning at about the Morial Convention Center and running out about the Audubon Zoo. It is named after an Indian tribe that long ago lived along the river. A landmark is Tipitina's, a music club at the corner of Tchoupitoulas and Napoleon Avenue. A great New Orleans album, The Wild Tchoupitoulas, was made by a Mardi Gras Indian group back in 1976.

Casamento's: Food So Good It Makes You Sing

Casamento's Restaurant in New Orleans, just off the corner of Magazine Street and Napoleon Avenue, has been serving oysters, shrimp and other fresh seafood dishes since 1919. On a visit several years ago, Tim Francis ordered a dozen raw oysters, then ate dinner, then ordered another dozen oysters, explaining that he did not want to leave thinking he could have had more oysters. A recent visit confirmed Casamento's continues to earn the highest compliment: Food So Good It Makes You Sing!

Tallgrass Prairie Preserve: Bufe and the Buffalo

The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is a 30,000 acre plus preserve owned by the Nature Conservancy in northeastern Oklahoma about 17 miles due north from the town of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. One gets the feeling, at the preserve, that the 21st century has not yet arrived to this corner of America. The preserve is a wild flower and wildlife refuge including a free-roaming bison herd of some 3500. The preserve is an excellent example of the fine work done by the Nature Conservancy.