When Far From Over’s front legs briefly collapsed coming out of the Aqueduct gate Saturday afternoon, it appeared he had no chance to win the race. He immediately conceded five lengths to five rivals in the 135th running of the Grade 3 Withers at a distance of 1 and 1/16 miles.

In just his second lifetime start, Far From Over recovered from that time and momentum-wasting downward lunge with a dramatic rally that will forever justify the name his owners gave him. Far From Over declared that no matter how bad his running position, the outcome is far from over.

The “Pace Projector” tool on TimeformUS had predicted before the race that Far From Over would set the early fractions. Instead, because of his crumple to the ground when the doors opened, Far From Over was way, way out of it on the backstretch.

1 to 2 favorite El Kabeir (in the four path on the first turn) and second choice Classy Class ran up front at a leisurely pace with March in the mix. Far From Over gradually settled in and then made a breathtaking move in the final quarter mile. 20-year-old jockey Manny Franco drove into a hole between March and El Kabeir and then just allowed Over to blitz the wire. At one point late in the flourish, Franco cocked the whip only to put it away to hold on for dear life as his mount spurted into go-go mode. It was more visually impressive than real perhaps because the two frontrunners fatigued but it was still a thrill to witness. Track announcer John Imbriale got really excited and two young guys who stood on the apron in front of me hugged in an apparent celebration of a winning wager.

Far From Over was assigned a 96 Beyer speed figure and a TimeformUS number of 101 which are similarly respectable given that the son of Blame has raced just twice. Far From Over’s trainer Todd Pletcher was not at Aqueduct Saturday, leaving responsibility for the ridgling to assistant Byron Hughes.

The very vocal assembly of doobie-smokers and wise-crackers who hang out in the area overlooking the paddock shouted at Far From Over’s main owner Steven Marshall after the Withers win. They urged him to take the horse to Louisville the first Saturday in May. “That looks like a Derby horse!” said one broken down horseplayer. Marshall responded with a big grin and flung his hands up in the air as if to gesture “Who knows?”

It’s still way too early of course to say if Far From Over is good enough for the Derby but his run in the Withers is the kind of effort you want to see from a 3-year-old with big aspirations. He appears to have the breeding and enough time to gain more race experience. It would be logical that his next effort would come in the Gotham at Aqueduct in exactly four weeks.

El Kabeir would be best served by leaving the Derby trail for races of the mile and less variety.

I arrived at Aqueduct about 20 minutes before the Withers after rushing to the track from work. It’s two buses and a train from LaGuardia to Aqueduct and at least one of the three legs of that trip needs to go well to complete the journey in under two hours.

It was my intention to stay after the Aqueduct card wrapped up to watch the simulcast feed of Chrome and Shared Belief going head-to-head in the San Antonio but the Big A was bumming me out yesterday so I came home after the last live race. It’s a weird scene at the Big A these days. The free admission policy brings out a lot of loons which I usually like but the vibe is dicey now because the track seems intent on compartmentalizing the experience and the crowd. The couple of nice spaces where you can get drinks and a comfortable seat have hefty cover charges. It feels like NYRA is putting the loons in a pen rather than allowing the organic mixing of all types that you usually get at a race track. There are only two places to get beer on the main level at the Big A. The Silks bar charges eight bucks for a 12-ounce Bud. If you go to the other stand near the casino entrance, 12-ounce domestic beers are $12 and imports are $13! What’s going on?

The grounds in front of the apron look like an abandoned construction zone. Aqueduct doesn’t release attendance numbers but I’m guessing there were four thousand plus in the house yesterday. I don’t know why they don’t sell beer and food for a reasonable price. It would be so much more fun if you could get a cup of draft for like five bucks. The longer the Big A experience degenerates the more inclined I am to just let go of it and watch the casino swallow it up. And please NYRA: don’t invite fresh-faced horse racing fans out to the Wood this year if you can’t sell ’em a beer without ripping ’em off.

There was no bag screening on the way in so maybe the answer is to enter with a few tallboys.

I don’t know. I couldn’t settle in which is unusual for me at a race track. I got home in time to see Shared Belief win the Invite. The start of the race was clean as clean can be. To see Shared Belief and Chrome run free, fast and easy up front on their way to the 1-2 finish glaringly – and immediately reinforced the feeling of outrageousness over what Santa Anita stewards did with the non-DQ in the 2014 Classic.

Marshawn Lynch would have walked into the end zone for the go ahead score with 25 seconds to go in SB 49. Just put the ball in his basket. He took you there. This is what he does. Lynch is a bulldozer who is not denied in short yardage spots. But you know what happened. Pete Carroll called for a pass and is responsible for tossing a championship out the window. What a crazy NFL season. So much great postseason drama combined with league office incompetence ends with a brutal coaching decision that left observers of the game near unanimous in their disbelief.

I watched the Super Bowl over at Marc’s house. His family made clam dip, lasagna and apple pie. We drank beer and had a fun time.

On Monday, Mike and the Dog gave similar takes during opening monologues on their respective radio shows two hours apart. Clips can be heard below:

MIKE:

DOGGY:

I also listened to John Richards on KEXP in Seattle Monday morning. Richards said he was hung over. Sounding stunned coming out of his first air break, Richards segued into River of Deceit by Mad Season and muttered under his breath: “Hand the goddamned ball off. Good Morning.” Later he said “(The sun) is never gonna shine again in Seattle.”

Roger Goodell said no to a Sunday sit-down with Bob Costas that would have aired during the pre-game show. Costas made sure the massive TV audience knew about the nix job. What does it say about the NFL commissioner that he won’t chat about his league on the sport’s biggest day?

If indeed Julian Edelman was not concussed on that crushing blow to the head in the fourth quarter (as the AP is reporting), at what point will either the league or Pats organization shield him from further risk? Edelman was concussed in week 15 of the 2014 regular season and at least once during the 2010 and 2012 seasons. His fearless style of play makes him vulnerable to violent contact. I’ve personally watched him get hit hard a bunch against the Jets. What kind of brain health will Edelman have a decade from now? Two decades from now? This is the type of question Goodell doesn’t like answering with a guy like Costas. That’s probably part of why he didn’t sit down with him.