Clifford Nass says multitasking is a fallacy. But yet we try.
Nothing tests the Stanford professor’s theory like working in racing. And working from home.
Still in Virginia, I worked from the home office – the family room couch – Friday. Deadline Friday.
It starts early. And will surely end late.
I nail Wordle in four tries. A double double letter. Tricky.
A big glass of water. Make that two. Then coffee. One cup, trying to set a limit.
The farm checklist. Four horses. One goat. One cat. All still standing.
The daily overnight email purge comes first. Racing Post Horse Tracker notices. Equibase trainer notifications. Madeline Rowland jockey notifications (back when I contemplated becoming a jocks’ agent). New York Times. Old Ox Brewery. MLB Morning Lineup. I can’t start the day with unread email. Done.
Scan a few websites. Racing Post. George Baker. New York Times. Check Facebook and Twitter just to see if the world collapsed overnight. It hasn’t, despite a Microsoft software glitch. I gratefully tap my iMac and iPhone.
Reader Shawn Meyers hits me with the first text. Suggestions for the Readers’ Club Podcast. Riley, Norm, Miguel. Noted.
The race watch list starts with a handicap at Newbury at 8:50 a.m. The races come hard and fast. Newbury to Newmarket. Pontefract to Penn National. A multi-tasker metronome.
Gaelic Arc dominates a handicap chase at Killarney. Look him up quick. Probably too old.
Fold the horse laundry and three fly masks.
Make an egg sandwich. Eggs, tomato and basil from the Oak Spring CSA, or as I like to say, Rokeby Stable. Yeah, that Rokeby Stable. Just down Mill Reef Drive, next to the airstrip. Not a horse in sight, sadly, but you can’t beat the eggs, tomatoes and basil.
West Paces’ Keith Mason calls about advertising in The Special. We hash it out.
I wade into the Fasig-Tipton Stable Tour with Phil Bauer. I wish Equibase had “close” spelling technology as I type Arrow Smash…Aro Smash…Arrowsmash. Ah, right, Arro Smash. He was in last year’s tour. It’s only taken me a week to finish the Stable Tour. Put a line through that.
Danielle Hodsdon calls about turf options for Pietrelcina. Like always, the Jenga game of book races, extras, mismatched entry days, on and off the turf and a gaggle of Mid-Atlantic options. The phone cuts out. We try again. And again. Aim at Laurel and hope for the best.
I text Jack Fisher about a jockey for Far Hills. It’s three months away.
The fourth goes to the start at Haydock. Story Horse is one my list. Where is he? He wins. I don’t bet.
With that in mind, I blow two bucks on an exacta of Moogie and Mrs Twig at Newbury. Don’t get a rooting moment. Wedding. Funeral.
I text Maggie Sweet about a haircut in Saratoga. Fusion. Ah, that’s right.
Find a photo and a pedigree for Fits the Jill and work on ad design. Anyone looking for a broodmare?
Check the Fasig-Tipton Digital Sale, leave it on my laptop and the beeps (bids!) surprise me. I silence it, still days away before crunch time.
Todd Wyatt calls from the road. King Tsunami runs in the third at Penn. I better check on my license. National Racing Compact, as always, comes through. Fully licensed through 2026.
I watch Hodsdon win with 7-year-old Beyond The Pale at Laurel. I think of his dam, Rowdy, winning her debut at Saratoga in 2004. I look her up, yeah, there it is, $22.40. You never forget the scores.
Note Graham Motion’s first-time starter in the first at Saratoga, like the rest of the world. Test Score. I wonder which horse has the most “Horse Tracker/Stable Mail” notifications in history. I remember putting Stradivarius on my “Horse Tracker” on the Racing Post site. I look back at my notes, “Impressive, beautiful mover.” Some things are easy.
Watch a 2-year-old race at Gulfstream, the favorite rolls to the lead before a needless whip blows it up.
I read Tom’s text about finishing the CCA Oaks preview. I read it. Wow, he gets up early when I’m not around. Good job. I put off reading the interns’ recaps.
I bet 5 bucks on Awesome Entry at Woodbine, root him home. Miss the exacta as Mike Trombetta’s horse fades.
Watch two Chad Brown droppers battle hard in the second. I wonder if that helps or hurts the quality of the product?
Joey texts a question about the Bauer Stable Tour. Accounted or encountered? Take your pick.
I miss Masoun at Down Royal. Check that later.
Receive a text from steeplechase jockey Conor O’Farrell. He’s here for the summer, wants to meet. Hey, come on down, you can proof the CCA Oaks preview. I check his name for spelling, I find it three ways.
Blow three bucks betting first-time starter Empower in the Victoria. Pretty horse. Mensa gallops. I should have had the double but got distracted. Shocker.
Unmatched Wisdom wins the Curlin. I check The Special Handicappers. Shap, of course. And Robert Whitlock. At least they didn’t hurt the ROI.
Annie texts me for our Netflix account information. She and Miles are in Crete watching Netflix. The vacationer’s multitask.
Boots Malone goes to the lead in the Hoover at Belterra. I think of Mike Hushion’s favorite movie. I look for the DVD of the black and white classic. The horse finishes second. The DVD has gone missing.
Book’em Danno and Little Ni put on a thriller in the Jersey Shore. They weren’t multitasking.
And that’s my word count. Now, I need to focus.
