Report: Churchill Downs spring handle off 11.5 %
Total handle for Churchill Downs' spring meeting, which ended Sunday, dropped 11.5 percent from 2007, according to a report on The Blood-Horse's Web site.
The report on the Central Avenue track cited results compiled by The Jockey Club Information Systems, which sells the information to subscribers. The totals did not include bets made into pools separate from Churchill Downs' pools.
An attorney for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission said yesterday, in response to an open records request, that Churchill hasn't yet reported the final results of the spring meeting to the agency.
Churchill announced last year that it no longer would release attendance and betting statistics after racing meets, saying they do not represent the full picture of the business' performance. Handle numbers are now released quarterly and are not broken down by race meeting.
National account wagering companies, including Churchill's own TwinSpires.com, that allow online and telephone betting weren't able to handle Churchill races -- except for a few Kentucky Derby Week stakes, including the Derby -- because horsemen used their authority to block the signal.
The Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association is being represented by the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Group in an effort to get a larger share of account wagering revenue. The group representing the Kentucky HBPA is negotiating on behalf of horsemen in 15 states and Ontario, Canada.
In addition to Kentucky, the states are: Indiana, California, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Louisiana, Maryland, Delaware, Arkansas, Virginia, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Minnesota.
A federal law permitting interstate betting gives horsemen -- except in New York -- the right to block the signal.
Churchill announced a purse cut the week after the Derby.
"We're comfortable that our overnight purse cut was appropriate," said Kevin Flanery, a spokesman for Churchill Downs Inc., citing the Kentucky horsemen's decision and Churchill races not being available in Florida for much of the spring meeting because of a more complicated dispute there.
At the time the purse cut was announced, leaders of the horsemen's group said it was steeper than what business declines justified.
The executive director of the Kentucky HBPA, Marty Maline, said yesterday that the horsemen's group will be reviewing the Churchill numbers, but he believes that the purse cut may have been a "self-fulfilling prophecy."
The smaller Churchill purses made them comparable to, or worse than, purses at other tracks, Maline said, leading horsemen to run elsewhere and producing smaller Churchill fields that attracted less betting.
Maline said he believes that was "every bit as detrimental" as the horsemen blocking the Churchill races from national account wagering providers.
The Blood-Horse report said Churchill's daily handle dropped 20.1 percent after the purse cut took effect compared with the same period in 2007. The average field size after the cut was 7.53, a 7 percent decline from the same period the year before.
(c) Courier-Journal
Heatseeker a no-go for Gold Cup
T oday's 69th running of the Hollywood Gold Cup, signature race for the spring/summer meeting at Hollywood Park, was diminished yesterday with the scratch of 7-5 opening-line favorite Heatseeker.
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer notified track officials that the Santa Anita Handicap and Californian winner, high-weighted at 123 pounds for the Gold Cup, had a filling (swelling) in the left front ankle.
"I am sorry about it, especially with all the exposure we've gotten, but unfortunately we can't run a horse with a filled ankle and some heat in it," Hollendorfer said. "We deal with these problems on a daily basis; it's unfortunate we have to with a horse like Heatseeker."
The extent of the injury and how long it will sideline Heatseeker wasn't immediately known. Hollendorfer, the undisputed king of Northern California-based trainers, has dealt with a few similar setbacks on the threshold of a major race in a nearly 30-year career in which he has logged over 5,000 victories.
In 1998, Hollendorfer had Event of the Year, the pride of the Golden Eagle Farm in Ramona of John and Betty Mabee, favored in the Kentucky Derby. The colt suffered a slab fracture to a knee training at Churchill Downs about a week before the race.
Two years later, Hollendorfer had to scratch Globalize on the eve of the Derby when the colt was kicked by a lead pony.
Heatseeker's situation capped a week that isn't likely to rank among Hollendorfer's all-time greats. Last Saturday, Bill Morey saddled four winners at Golden Gate Fields to take a two-win lead over Hollendorfer in the trainer standings entering the final day of the Albany track's meeting.
When neither trainer saddled a winner Sunday, Hollendorfer's 22-year streak of training titles at every major Northern California meeting ended.
That is not a typographical error. Twenty-two years. Thirty-two consecutive meet titles at Golden Gate Fields and 37 straight at Bay Meadows. Every one since 1986.
When asked about it on a teleconference call Tuesday, Hollendorfer responded in what could be considered a typical manner.
"That happened the day before yesterday, so the right way of thinking is that it's in the past," he said. "I need to go on and try to do what I and the people that work in my stable have planned. ... We don't think we can win all the meets, but we try hard to do so. ... Bill Morey won more races than me, so he was leading trainer. I have other things to do today and tomorrow. I'm sad to lose it, but not too sad."
With Heatseeker out, Eastern shipper Go Between, runner-up to Heatseeker in the Santa Anita Handicap, has been installed as the 5-2 Gold Cup favorite.
Countdown to Del Mar
Eighteen days before the July 16 opening of the Del Mar summer thoroughbred race meeting, and the intrigue is building on several fronts.
The "xperiment" that opened up wagering on California tracks to users of any and all Internet/phone Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) companies - TVG, Youbet, Xpressbet, Twin Spires, etc. - is due to expire July 13. Unless all parties - horsemen, tracks and ADW companies - agree to an extension, wagering on Del Mar outside the state may be in jeopardy.
At yesterday's CHRB meeting, however, support for an extension seemed to be unanimous.
Lava Man, withdrawn from Gold Cup consideration last Sunday, has a planned start in the Eddie Read Handicap on the turf July 20, and giving the Pacific Classic a go on Aug. 24 isn't beyond the realm of possibility.
Nine days, the time available to transition the facility from the end of the San Diego County Fair on July 6 to the opening day of racing on July 16, will be the shortest in history. The fastest previous turnaround: 13 days in 2001 and 2007.
Big Brown update
Trainer Rick Dutrow said yesterday in New York that Big Brown will resume galloping today, returning to the track to train for the first time since the Belmont Stakes debacle. Dutrow said his best-case scenario would be for the Derby and Preakness winner to race in the Aug. 3 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, the Travers Stakes three weeks later at Saratoga and again on Oct. 25 in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.
In his first news conference since Big Brown's failed Triple Crown attempt three weeks ago, the trainer said he's been inundated with calls about "negative stuff" and wishes it would stop.
The latest barrage came after Dutrow was given a 15-day suspension by Kentucky racing officials because a horse he trains - Salute the Count - was found to have an excessive amount of the legal drug Clenbuterol after finishing second in the Aegon Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs on May 2, a day before Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby. The drug allows horses to breathe easier while exercising.
"It's my responsibility, but it's not my fault," Dutrow said at Aqueduct. "It's just a mistake that happened but it's not as big a deal as everyone is trying to make it out to be.
(c) Copyright 1995-2008 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Column: Can Big Brown 'buck' 30-year trend?
For those of you that have followed this column for several years (and I realize that's a small number) you probably remember my blatant cheering for Funny Cide and Smarty Jones in 2003 and 2004, as they were the last two horses to have won the first two legs of racing's elusive Triple Crown only to fall short in their quest for racing immortality when they went down to defeat in The Belmont Stakes.
Unless you've been residing in a cave for the past three weeks, you are well aware that we are once again on the verge of crowning a champion. This year's hopeful is Big Brown, and to say he has been impressive in victory in The Kentucky Derby and The Preakness Stakes is putting it mildly. The only chink in Big Brown's armor has been a couple of very fragile hooves, and a special equine podiatrist has even been consulted to make sure that Big Brown makes it to the big dance.
As promised in last week's column, let's take a walk down memory lane and look at the last 15 horses that were in the same glorious spot as Big Brown only to miss out on the Triple Crown at Belmont. This is not meant to jinx Big Brown, only to demonstrate how tough winning the Triple Crown really is.
Let's start with 1964 and the great Northern Dancer, who won a spectacular 14 of 18 lifetime starts, but finished third in The Belmont. In 1966, Kauai King was the favorite in all three Triple Crown races, and won the first two only to settle for fourth in The Belmont. 1968 was an interesting Derby, as Forward Pass was placed first via disqualification, then won the Preakness, but was turned back in his try for the Triple Crown.
On to 1969, when Majestic Prince defeated Arts and Letters twice only for the latter to turn the tables by five and a half lengths in The Belmont. Canonero II took his shot in 1971 only to be injured in the third leg. After Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed (the last Triple Crown winner in 1978) were able to win the Triple Crown in the 70s the slump began in 1979 with Spectacular Bid easily winning the first two legs only to step on a safety pin in his stall that probably cost him any chance in the process. "Bid" won an incredible 26 races in 30 starts, so he was certainly one of the greatest horses in history not to win the crown.
In 1982 the lightly-raced Pleasant Colony didn't find the mile and a half Belmont to his liking. In 1987 Alysheba was a great horse but one who was treated with the bleeder medication lasix, which at that time was illegal in New York, and without it he was beaten badly. 1989 saw the great duel between Sunday Silence and Easy Goer. Sunday Silence won the first two legs, including a dramatic nose victory in the Preakness, but Easy Goer loved the mile and a half distance (and the track) at Belmont and turned Sunday Silence away there by a whopping eight lengths.
It was another eight years before someone bid for the big prize with horses in three straight years getting close, starting with Silver Charm taking a run at the Triple Crown in 1997 only to be turned away by Touch of Gold by three quarters of a length in The Belmont. Real Quiet took a swing at glory the very next year in 1998 but lost at Belmont by a dirty nose to Victory Gallop who had finished second to him in The Kentucky Derby and The Preakness.
In 1999 it was Charismatic's turn, but he was injured and ran a distant third in The Belmont. War Emblem then created some excitement in 2002 by going wire to wire in The Kentucky Derby and Preakness, but the front-runner stumbled badly at the start in The Belmont and finished a badly-beaten eighth.
In 2003 Funny Cide was the people's choice after a group of high school buddies pooled together 75K to buy a race horse and almost achieved the unthinkable. A combination of a sizzling 57 flat work at five furlongs four days before the race and a sloppy racetrack doomed Funny Cide when the New York-bred gelding arrived back in his home state.
And last but not least, in 2004 Smarty Jones (who made this writer very happy by paying $11 to win in the Kentucky Derby) arrived at Belmont as the first unbeaten winner of the Derby and Preakness since the great Seattle Slew in 1977. Unfortunately he also failed to win The Belmont when he had to settle for second against 36/1 longshot Birdstone.
The town of Prescott has Triple Crown connections in the form of Earl Sande, who arrived in Prescott in 1910 and handled Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox in 1930 for Doc Pardee. Author Richard Maturi has written a book on Earl Sande called Triple Crown Winner: The Earl Sande Saga, and he will be appearing at Yavapai Downs on Saturday offering autographed copies of this incredible story.
Advanced wagering is available on Friday after 3:30 p.m. for races 4-13 for Belmont's Saturday card on track at Yavapai Downs and at Arizona off-track wagering facilities. The Belmont Stakes is race 11 on The Belmont program on Saturday and will go at approximately 3:25 p.m. Arizona time.
Yavapai Downs will also offer outstanding nine-race live cards beginning at 1:10 p.m. each day Saturday-Tuesday (open seven days a week during the summer for simulcasting as well). General Manager Jim Grundy just announced that the 3rd Annual Yavapai Downs handicapping tournament for qualifying for the 2009 Horse Player World Series in Las Vegas at The Orleans will be held at the track this year on Aug. 16-17.
(c) 2008 Prescott Newspapers, Inc.
Big Brown's Belmont flop still a mystery, Haskell next
With few clues coming from dual classic winner Big Brown, his connections resigned themselves to moving on without a clear explanation for his dismal performance in the Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 7.
Big Brown resumed training at Aqueduct on June 11, four days after being eased and failing to finish in the Belmont, the worst finish ever by a horse bidding to sweep the Triple Crown.
The Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner checked out fine in a series of examinations by trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. and his staff, and in a full blood analysis taken on June 11.
"It didn't seem to be any soundness issues with the horse," said Greg Bennett, D.V.M., Dutrow's veterinarian. "He did loosen [the right] hind shoe, but I don't know how much of a factor that was."
Michael Iavarone, the co-president of Big Brown's co-owner, IEAH Stables, said he had a million questions in his mind about the colt's performance in the Belmont. Without many initial answers, Iavarone said Big Brown would proceed toward the Haskell Invitational Handicap (G1) on August 3 at Monmouth Park.
"As long as he continues to train forwardly, I think that's our first target," Iavarone said on June 13. "We're trying to figure out why he ran so poorly. We don't know. We don't know if the heat at Belmont got to him. It's two months to the Haskell, which is good timing, and it might be a little cooler there than it would be at Saratoga [Race Course] for the Travers [Stakes (G1) on August 23]. If we can take advantage and knock a few of those [possible reasons] out of our mind, we'll do that. We like the spacing, and if he's ready, we're ready.
"Unless we find something physically wrong that we've missed, we have to write it off and move ahead and see what happens in his next race."
According to Dutrow, Big Brown had not been administered the anabolic steroid Winstrol since before his Kentucky Derby victory on May 3, which caused widespread media speculation that missing his monthly injection in May might have contributed to the poor performance in the Belmont. Bennett dismissed the idea.
"I don't think the steroid issue is of any consequence," Bennett said.
A quarter crack forced Big Brown to miss three days of training between his Preakness victory and the Belmont. Bennett said that was more likely a factor than the steroid issue. Dutrow said after the Belmont he could not imagine the training interruption could have been the reason for such a dramatic form reversal.
Dutrow criticized jockey Kent Desormeaux's ride in published reports a few days after the Belmont and said he would prefer another jockey for Big Brown's next start. Dutrow backed away from those comments after meeting with Desormeaux on June 11 at Aqueduct.
Desormeaux also met with stewards at their request on June 11 at Belmont Park to review his decision to ease Big Brown at the top of the lane.
Braulio Baeza Jr., Carmine Donofrio, and Theodore Hill, V.M.D., the stewards at the New York Racing Association's three racetracks, took no action against Desormeaux.
"What it came down to really, is that when he asked his horse to run, there was nothing there," said Donofrio, the steward representing the New York State Racing and Wagering Board. "[Big Brown] was empty. You could see Kent scrubbing, clucking, and tapping him on the shoulder and he was just going backward. At that point, Kent didn't know if anything was wrong and he wanted to protect the horse. He wasn't going anywhere."
The stewards will routinely review a race with the jockey of a favorite who underperforms, particularly in a stakes race.
"We would have gotten him on the phone right after the race, but we couldn't get to him," Donofrio said.
Belmont did not have live racing June 8-10, which pushed the meeting back until the 11th.
Desormeaux, a Racing Hall of Fame member, has been cited previously for not persevering with beaten horses who may have finished second, third, or fourth.
After Desormeaux received a five-day suspension for not riding a mount past the finish line at Hollywood Park in May 1993, Southern California steward Pete Pedersen questioned whether Desormeaux was aware of public perception.
"I think he thinks what's he's doing is right for the horse, but it doesn't look that way to the public," Pedersen told Daily Racing Form at the time.
Pedersen, now retired, had no such concerns after watching Desormeaux pull up Big Brown.
"I think he did absolutely the right thing, when he put the pressure on the horse and the horse didn't respond," said Pedersen, who received the Eclipse Award of Merit in 2001. "Kent's been around thousands of horses, and it's so much better to not pound on a horse that is going to be hopelessly beaten. I could not disagree with him in this instance."
With the odds-on favorite being eased in the far turn, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau investigated the betting pools and payouts for the Belmont. TRPB wagering analyst J. Curtis Linnell found no anomalies in an initial review. He noted some outlets did enjoy big days, but not an abnormal amount.
"The betting and winning was pretty well spread out, as you would expect it," Linnell said.
The total win-place-show pool for the Belmont was $18,103,512. Big Brown accounted for $9,971,627, including $6,568,150 to win, said Pat Mahony, the New York Racing Association's vice president of pari-mutuel operations.
In the exacta pool, $6,916,494 was wagered on Big Brown to finish first and $2,126,474 to finish second. He was the top choice for $8,525,629 in trifecta wagering and $215,521 in the superfecta pool.
The upset winner, Da' Tara, was the longest shot in the field of nine at 38.50-to-1 odds, which paid $79 for a $2 win ticket.
Linnell speculated the dead-heat third-place finish by Ready's Echo and Anak Nakal could have caused some confusion over the payouts. Dead heats require payouts to players who wagered on either horse involved in the dead heat. Because the dead heat produces two different winning combinations, winning payouts are cut.
With the Belmont's dead heat occurring with the third-place finishers, affected payouts included show wagers, trifecta wagers, and superfecta wagers.
The trifecta pool totaled $15,176,254 while the superfecta pool totaled $7,281,649. After the 25% takeout, the remaining trifecta pool of $11,382,191 and superfecta pool of $5,461,237 were paid to the winners. Had there not been a dead heat in third, the payouts would have been about $3,828 for each correct $1 trifecta wager and $47,973 for each correct $1 superfecta wager.
With the dead heat, correct $1 trifectas with Ready's Echo in third paid $1,851.50 and with Anak Nakal in third paid $1,977. Correct superfectas with Ready's Echo in third paid $24,318.50 and with Anak Nakal in third paid $23,654.50.
In April, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board approved the implementation of independent, real-time monitoring of pools by the tote companies. The rule will give the state regulator the ability to conduct its own review of pools, but it will not go into effect until January 1.
Dan Toomey, spokesman for the board, said the organization did not plan to review the betting pools and payouts from the Belmont.
(c) 2008, Thoroughbred Times
Local tracks will offer wagering on Belmont
This one won't be coming down to the wire.
Local fans should have no trouble wagering on Saturday's Belmont Stakes, in which Big Brown will seek to become the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.
Unlike the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, which required 11th-hour deals for local plants to secure simulcast wagering rights, all local plants plan to accept bets this weekend.
A look at each track's plans:
Palm Beach Kennel Club: Will start taking wagers Friday afternoon. Gates, restaurants and mutuel windows will open at 11 a.m. Saturday (Belmont post time is 6:25). The final round of the $5,000 Iron-Dog Triathlon is Saturday.
Pompano Park: Advance wagering begins at noon Friday. Patrons arriving between noon and 5 p.m. Saturday will get a free trifecta wager on the Belmont, with winners sharing $10,000.
Calder Race Course: Wagering begins Friday and continues through Saturday, when gates will open at 11 a.m. The first post from Belmont Park is at noon; the first post for live racing at Calder is 12:25 p.m.
Mardi Gras: The former Hollywood Dog Track will begin accepting bets at 1 p.m. Friday.
Gulfstream Park and Fort Pierce Jai-Alai: Simulcasting from Belmont begins at noon Saturday. Gulfstream will give away a trip for two to New York.
Copyright 2008 The Palm Beach Post
Keeneland Derby wagering a record $1.98 million
Keeneland's 14th-annual Kentucky Derby Day celebration generated a record $1,987,671 in simulcast wagers on the race.
The record topped the $1,969,291 wagered on the Derby in 2007, officials with the Lexington, Ky. track said in a news release.
The event, which featured picnics in the paddock area, a hat contest, music and activities for children, in addition to a "full afternoon" of simulcast racing, drew an attendance of 22,387.
The day before, Friday, May 2, Keeneland fans wagered $221,000 on the Kentucky Oaks.
(C) 2008 American City Business Journals, Inc.
DERBY PICKS: Nothing is ever easy in Derby wagering
By CHARLES CRESS
sports@newsandtribune.com
Published: May 02, 2008 09:12 pm
While I may not be as famous as my son, I have spent 38 years watching and handicapping the Kentucky Derby. In that time, two things have become quite clear.
First of all, the best horse may not win and, secondly, you can make a case for every horse in the race for one reason or another. Those truths make the Derby the hardest race in the world to handicap.
The 134th running of the race is no exception, with one big question - how good is Big Brown?
Despite drawing the 20th post position and having only three career starts, you still have to give this horse a strong look for the win. His race in the Florida Derby was the best performance by any horse in all the prep races leading up to the Derby. Another big plus for the horse is having the services of two-time Derby-winning jockey Kent Desormeaux.
The pace of the race should also be in Big Brown's favor, as it is shaping up as one of the fastest in history with at least five horses that like to run near or on the lead.
It figures that Recapturetheglory, Gayego, Bob Black Jack and Cowboy Cal, along with Big Brown, will battle for the lead going into the first turn and down the backstretch. This should give the race a very honest pace, which should help Big Brown's tactical speed and set up the chances of the horses that like to close off the pace.
The best of these horses is Colonel John, who has four wins out of six lifetime starts and ran a fantastic race in the Santa Anita Derby getting up for the win in the last 10 yards.
Colonel John likes to run in mid-pack and then close out from there. If he stays out of trouble and has a clean trip, he has a great chance to win the race. There is also a good chance that he will be the post-time favorite, as people jump off the Big Brown bandwagon.
The change from the all weather tracks in California to the dirt at Churchill Downs shouldn't be a problem as Colonel John's strong workout from earlier in the week proved.
But if the track comes up wet, then you have to give Visionaire a great chance, as he is a proven winner in the slop.
If you choose to go by the numbers, only one horse fits in all four categories that count and that's Smooth Air. He ran even with Big Brown over the last furlong in the Florida Derby and may be ready to improve off that race.
Pyro and Denis of Court were considered big contenders until their last races, but the dull efforts they put in the Blue Grass Stakes and the Illinois Derby, respectively, are hard to explain. I think they could have a small chance in the race because they both have done well at Churchill Downs, but I can't see them getting into the top two spots.
The filly Eight Belles is also a very good horse. But in her last two races, she faced fields of less then seven horses and still ran into problems and barely got up for the wins in both of those races. I don't believe she can handle the big field of 20 in this race, and it will be hard for her to get into the money.
None of the other horses in the race excite me, although Z-Fortune did run a nice second in the Arkansas Derby after running into problems in the race.
So, with all this information, and after all things are considered, what are the best bets in the race?
If the track is dry and fast, then you have to include Colonel John and Big Brown in your exacta wagering. If you like long shots, give Smooth Air and Visionaire a chance. This will make a good trifecta box.
Of course, the real thing to remember is that it's the Kentucky Derby and anything can happen and probably will. Good luck and let the good times roll on Derby day.
Charles Cress is a longtime horse racing enthusiast who plans on buying a private island with his Derby winnings. He resides in Sellersburg.
(c) 2003-2008, The Evening News & The Tribune
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