Two-year-olds will line up on Sunday, 8/12, at Del Mar for the Grade II Best Pal Stakes (6 1/2f on the dirt). The field includes Hollywood Juvenile Championship winner Salute the Sarge, runner up Leonides and four others. It's a prep for the big one of the meet, the Del Mar Futurity, to be run on Del Mar's closing day, September 5.
Last year the race produced three Triple Crown "contenders": Great Hunter, Stormello and Cobalt Blue. So don't say you haven't been warned.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
The Santa Rosa Fair
I broke out of my slump and ended up with 4 winners at The Santa Rosa Fair today. My "horse of the day" was a 15-1 shot named Sylvie in the 11th - Maiden Claimers at 1 1/16 miles on the Santa Rosa turf.
Sylvie had 3 lifetime starts dating back to late May. In her first race she pulled up and was vanned off. She ran last in her next race and something like 3rd in her most recent start with a Beyer Rating in the high 50s. Her rating was the 2nd highest of any horse in the race.
I like Maidens that show any kind of interest in their most recent race. At 10-1 on the morning line I put a few buck on her to win. She was the 3-horse and was 21-1 when I placed my bet. At race time the horse was 15-1.
Sylvie broke well and went to the lead and stayed at or near the lead along the backstretch and into the turn
At the top of the stretch another horse took the lead by a head but she fought back gamely, buoyed by a spontaneous chant of "3, 3, 3, 3. . ." taken up in mid-stretch by some die-hards at the table under the "Santa Rosa TV".
It was pure drama unfolding on the screen, as we saw it from our position in the Pavilion at Santa Anita Park, 500 miles away. Sylvie won it.
Thank you Sylvie for reminding us why we come back.
Sylvie had 3 lifetime starts dating back to late May. In her first race she pulled up and was vanned off. She ran last in her next race and something like 3rd in her most recent start with a Beyer Rating in the high 50s. Her rating was the 2nd highest of any horse in the race.
I like Maidens that show any kind of interest in their most recent race. At 10-1 on the morning line I put a few buck on her to win. She was the 3-horse and was 21-1 when I placed my bet. At race time the horse was 15-1.
Sylvie broke well and went to the lead and stayed at or near the lead along the backstretch and into the turn
At the top of the stretch another horse took the lead by a head but she fought back gamely, buoyed by a spontaneous chant of "3, 3, 3, 3. . ." taken up in mid-stretch by some die-hards at the table under the "Santa Rosa TV".
It was pure drama unfolding on the screen, as we saw it from our position in the Pavilion at Santa Anita Park, 500 miles away. Sylvie won it.
Thank you Sylvie for reminding us why we come back.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Friday, July 6, 2007
Pick 6 Mania
I'm just glad that an everyday, $2 bettor was able to nab part of the $10 million Pick 6 Pool at Hollywood Park the other day.
One bettor at Los Alamitos hit Monday's record pick six at Hollywood Park twice with a $2 bet and a $4 wager for a combined payoff of $1,152,128.80.
It just goes to show how much luck is involved in hitting a Pick 6. The article also mentions that a $24 ticket in Victorville also hit the Pick 6 that day.
One bettor at Los Alamitos hit Monday's record pick six at Hollywood Park twice with a $2 bet and a $4 wager for a combined payoff of $1,152,128.80.
It just goes to show how much luck is involved in hitting a Pick 6. The article also mentions that a $24 ticket in Victorville also hit the Pick 6 that day.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Lava Man Is Smart
Lava Man is a smart horse. He just knows where the finish line is. His win in the Gold Cup on Saturday was one of the most dramatic I've seen in a long time. Just check out Vic Stauffer, what a great call he gave us. Thank you Vic!
Now, if Lava Man were an east coast horse, would it matter that he couldn't "ship"? Would the racing press still treat him like a glorified side show? He's a great horse, plain and simple.
He doesn't like to fly (or travel) and has been doing his best to communicate that to his connections but they just don't pay attention to him.
I watched the Gold Cup a few times on You Tube and it reminded me of a race, the '88 San Bernadino Handicap, with Alysheba, Ferdinand and Good Taste nearly hitting the wire together. Alysheba was another great horse that just knew where the wire was. And he threw in a clunker once in a while too.
2007 Hollywood Gold Cup
1988 San Bernadino Handicap
Now, if Lava Man were an east coast horse, would it matter that he couldn't "ship"? Would the racing press still treat him like a glorified side show? He's a great horse, plain and simple.
He doesn't like to fly (or travel) and has been doing his best to communicate that to his connections but they just don't pay attention to him.
I watched the Gold Cup a few times on You Tube and it reminded me of a race, the '88 San Bernadino Handicap, with Alysheba, Ferdinand and Good Taste nearly hitting the wire together. Alysheba was another great horse that just knew where the wire was. And he threw in a clunker once in a while too.
2007 Hollywood Gold Cup
1988 San Bernadino Handicap
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Invasor Retires
He got dinged during a workout Saturday morning. I feel like we hardly got to know the guy. But I'm just glad his people did the right thing and retired him rather than risk serious injury.
Simulcast Blues
I had the day off from work on Friday so I decided to head over the the track and play some simulcast races, particularly races from the Stockton Fair. Hollywood Park had their races at night on Friday so there were no "local" tracks running during the day.
But after yesterdays experience I don't think I'll be going back to Santa Anita on Fridays when Hollywood runs at night. The problem I had is that all the patrons are funneled down into a cavernous, fully enclosed, air-conditioned, underground room, surrounded by banks of television sets and self-service betting machines. How hard would it have been to turn on a couple of betting machines upstairs? The pavilion and the runways under the grandstand were open but the only way to bet from up there was to walk around the corner and go down the stairs.
Things have changed so much at the track in the last 10-20 years. What's the difference between a quinella and an exacta box? For me, the whole simulcast experience is hard to get used to. I mean, I understand it but I don't like it much. There were 10 or more different tracks running yesterday including Mohawk. Mohawk? I was trying to concentrate on Stockton but the TV in front of my table that was featuring Stockton somehow ended up showing races from Mohawk and the Meadowlands. You know, races with horses pulling carts loaded up with an aerodynamic pilot called a driver. Yeah. It was disappointing to say the least.
Part of what makes Santa Anita such a great track is the atmosphere. Yesterday I might as well have been at a sportsbook at some sleezy casino out in the California desert. The pavilion at Santa Anita is a great place. So is the grandstand and the runways behind the grandstand.
The underground room isn't such a nice place.
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