Preakness Result

24/05/08

Trainer Dutrow: Prado tried to box in Big Brown at the Preakness

NEW YORK -- Outspoken Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. had some harsh words for jockey Edgar Prado, who often rides for him but was aboard a competitor during the Preakness.

Asked on Wednesday to elaborate on comments made after Big Brown's win Saturday, Dutrow suggested that Prado, on longshot Riley Tucker, needlessly tried to block Big Brown, who heads into the Belmont Stakes with a shot at the U.S. thoroughbred racing Triple Crown. Prado said he did nothing inappropriate.

"It looked like he was just trying to keep our horse in the box," Dutrow said. "It didn't look like he was out to get the best finish out of his horse."

During the first turn, Big Brown was on the rail with Riley Tucker outside of him. Riley Tucker briefly angled toward Big Brown, but it appeared that was the result of being bumped by Hey Byrn.

"I got paid to win the race, not to pay favours," Prado said in a phone interview between races at Belmont Park.

Prado, a Hall of Fame jockey, was set to ride Big Brown in the horse's career debut in September but was injured two races beforehand. Big Brown's owners later chose Kent Desormeaux over Prado for his three-year-old season.

"Edgar being with us so much, it looks like he did something just to keep our horse in behind the other horse," Dutrow said. "He had to go way out of his way to do it. So we're not real happy about that, either."

Big Brown eventually passed Riley Tucker, who wound up finishing last.

Prado might ride the horse considered Big Brown's greatest challenge in the Belmont on June 7, Casino Drive. Casino Drive's jockey has yet to be named.

Big Brown, who won the Kentucky Derby by 4 3/4 lengths before capturing the Preakness by 5 1/4 lengths, went for his first jog at Belmont Park early Wednesday morning. He did a lap around the main track.

"I wish it was now because our horse is good," Dutrow said of the Belmont Stakes, still 2 1/2 weeks away. "I'm expecting things to just get better from here with the horse. The more he comes out of his race, the longer he is away from his race, the better he's going to be. Time is on our side right now, because our horse is good."

08/05/08

Horse racing needs to put someone in charge

LEXINGTON, Ky. - When the NBA suffered the embarrassment of a referee involved in a gambling scandal, Commissioner David Stern stepped forward to issue proclamations, answer questions and take the heat.

When the NFL endured a spate of off-the-field embarrassments, Commissioner Roger Goodell stepped forward to levy fines, issue suspensions, and crack down on bad behavior.

But now that the practices of horse racing have been called into question since Saturday's tragic death of the filly Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby, who will step forward to make a public stand on behalf of the sport?

Thoroughbred racing has no commissioner. Instead, it is fractionalized to the point of dysfunction. States have separate racing authorities or commissions, all with differing rules and stipulations. There is no one body to address major issues at hand.

That is especially costly now, when Eight Belles' death has reinvigorated the debate regarding safety. It's the same debate that caught fire with Barbaro's injury in the 2006 Preakness, but in that case it lessened somewhat when attention turned to the admirable effort and cutting-edge medical procedures used to first save and then prolong Barbaro's life.

There is no courageous, feel-good story this time. Yes, winner Big Brown turned in a historic performance, winning from the No. 20 hole. But how many of your friends or co-workers have even talked about that? All you have to do is listen to the radio or watch the national news to know the tragic and unexplained breakdown of the filly has been the dominant storyline of the weekend.

Unfortunately, the grisly opportunists at PETA have muddied the waters through their grandstanding. To blame jockey Gabriel Saez for Eight Belles' fate reaches beyond ridiculous. And the PETA representative who appeared on Mike Tirico's ESPN radio show Monday was comical in the frozen way she kept to her obviously pre-written script.

Horse racing is not cruel. It is not barbaric. For the most part, racehorses are looked after in a loving manner. As the race analyst Randy Moss told Tirico, racing's dirty little secret is that the horses often receive much better care than the people who take care of the horses.

But, as has been discussed the past few days, it is a sport already fading in popularity and it faces pressing issues if it wants to survive.

Examples: Breeding for speed instead of durability has made horses more fragile. More horses should be tested for soundness before races, not after. If synthetic tracks prove to be safer, there should be a push for uniformity.

And, as Big Brown progresses in this Triple Crown run, expect to hear more about drugs, especially given the laundry list of fines and suspensions levied on trainer Rick Dutrow for using illegal medications on his horses.

If you don't think those questions need to be addressed, ask yourself this: How many corporate sponsors do you think are lining up right now to advertise on next year's Derby telecast?

The problem is, who's going to lead that push for the changes the sport needs?

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association is a promotional vehicle, not a governing body. And for the most part, racing consists of wealthy, influential people accustomed to making their own rules. Few wish to bend to the common good. As a result, there is no one voice above the others.

Like David Stern is the voice of the NBA.

Like Roger Goodell is the voice of the NFL.

Right now, that's what horse racing needs.

01/05/08

History Challenge answers

1. Three jockeys rode in the Kentucky Derby only one time, winning the Triple Crown that year with their mount.

In 1935, William "Smokey" Saunders guided Omaha from far back to capture the 61st Derby as the 4-1 second choice. Eleven years later, Warren Mehrtens rode Assault to a record-equaling eight-length win in the 72nd Derby. The colt was 8-1.

In 1978, Steve Cauthen, at age 18, was aboard Affirmed, the second betting choice in the 104th Derby. Affirmed won by 1 1/2 lengths over favored Alydar. Of the three jockeys, only Cauthen is enshrined in the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Cauthen went on to a riding career in England the year following his Triple Crown win. He is the only Kentucky Derby-winning jockey to also win the Epsom Derby (with Slip Anchor in 1985 and Reference Point in 1987).

Despite his age, Cauthen was far from the youngest rider to win the Derby. Alonzo Clayton (aboard Azra in 1892) and James "Soup" Perkins (Halma in 1895) were both 15.

2. Isaac Murphy, among the greatest riders of the 19th century, rode in the Kentucky Derby 11 times from 1877 to 1893, winning three times (27 percent), a figure second only to that of Bill Hartack and 3 percentage points ahead of Eddie Arcaro (24 percent).

Murphy's record of three wins in the Derby was tied in 1930 by the legendary Earl Sande, but was not broken until Arcaro guided Citation to the rider's fourth win in the Derby in 1948.

Only one other rider with 10 or more Derby mounts has a winning percentage of 20 or more. Conn McCreary rode in the classic 10 times, winning twice.

3. Thirteen months after jockey Eugene James rode Burgoo King to a five-length win in the Kentucky Derby, his body was pulled from Lake Michigan. He was only 19.

The official cause of death was listed as "accidental suffocation due to drowning," but rumors persisted for years among the racing community that the jockey either committed suicide or was the victim of a Mafia hit. The fact that James went swimming in the lake in the dark of night only added fuel to the gossip.

Burgoo King was not the horse a jockey wanted to be on. Three other riders were aboard the horse during his 21-race career. Two of them - Laverne Fator and Gilbert Elston - committed suicide in 1936. The other, Don Meade, had his career almost ruined by constant run-ins with the stewards. In 1936, Meade was suspended for two years for betting against his horse in a race.

4. The headline in a Louisville newspaper the day following the 1903 Derby proclaimed that Judge Himes won the race, but the subheading told the story: "Ill-timed ride by Winkfield, the great jockey, responsible for the result."

Winkfield was so anxious to win his third straight Derby that he prematurely rushed his mount, Early. As a result, the colt had little left to meet the challenge of Judge Himes, ridden by Harold "Hal" Booker.

Winkfield, who was elected to racing's Hall of Fame in 2004, always blamed himself for losing the 1903 Derby.

5. Willie Simms is the only African-American jockey to be victorious in all the Triple Crown races. Simms won the only two runnings of the Kentucky Derby in which he rode (Ben Brush in 1896 and Plaudit in 1898).

He won the Preakness Stakes (run then at Gravesend Race Course in New York) in 1898 aboard Sly Fox and consecutive runnings of the Belmont Stakes (run then at Morris Park) aboard Commanche in 1893 and Henry of Navarre in 1894.

Simms was enshrined in racing's Hall of Fame in 1977.- Ron Hale

drf.com

25/04/08

Another season of small fields at area tracks

Few tracks in the nation offer the ambience of Delaware Park, which offers the first of 136 days of racing today.
Unfortunately for the charming Stanton track, few tracks offer smaller fields and more limited betting opportunities.

The Mid-Atlantic tracks that struggle to adequately fill races will reach a near-crisis situation in the coming weeks.

With Philadelphia Park, Pimlico, and Delaware operating and Monmouth Park set to open May 9, compact fields have become the rule.

Atlantic City Race Course, which is slated for six days of racing beginning Wednesday, also puts a further drain on the limited horse population.

Only 52 horses were entered for the eight thoroughbred races carded for today, a problem that has typified early- and late-season dates in recent years at Delaware Park.

Racing secretary Izzie Trejo said Tuesday that about 700 horses were on the backstretch, with several hundred more expected to arrive this weekend.

Entries usually increase with the renewal of turf racing and also when the Maryland schedule moves to Virginia in June.

With increased slots competition from Harrah's in Chester, Philadelphia Park, and the anticipated opening of two casinos in Center City, rumors that decreased profits would result in a more condensed racing schedule have been denied by Delaware Thoroughbred Racing chairman Bernard Daney.

"Current law mandates 100 dates yearly, and there is a bill in the legislature that would raise the total to 136," he said. "There will always be [at least] 100 days of racing at Delaware Park."

Bill Fasy, the track's chief operating officer, said slots revenues have decreased by 10 percent but pointed out that some observers had predicted a 36 percent downturn.

He said it has been vital to integrate the casino and horse businesses and that a 1,000-room hotel would be completed near the track's golf course within two years, making the complex a resort attraction.

The annual Del 'Cap weekend is slated for July 12-13 and offers $2.5 million in stakes purses. The meeting will conclude Nov. 11.

The 71st opening-day card includes the $100,000 Peach Blossom Stakes and a handicapping contest.

Servis on the trail again. John Servis saddled Smarty Jones to a terrific 111/2-length romp in the 2004 Preakness Stakes and could take another shot at Pimlico's signature race on May 17.

Servis will send out Indian Jump in today's $150,000 Federico Tesio Stakes for 3-year-olds at 111/8 miles. The front-running son of Yonaguska boasts a three-race winning streak at Philly Park and will have the red-hot Kendrick Carmouche aboard.

Cave's Valley, trained by Mike Trombetta, tops the Tesio field.

Amazing comeback. Caitlin Morrissey has ridden horses since she was 21/2 years old, and the equestrian, now 11, began a successful new career as an owner at Philly Park on Tuesday.

Caitlin acquired Jack Sparrow from Garvin Kelly, a West Coast uncle who shared her love for horses, after meeting him at a local wedding two years ago.

It seems Jack Sparrow had stumbled and lost his rider in a race at Del Mar in the summer of 2005, subsequently crashing over the inside rail while being pursued by outriders.

The chestnut gelding raced one more time before a tendon injury was discovered in his left front leg, forcing the then 3-year-old to the sidelines.

In May 2006, Jack Sparrow was shipped cross-country to the Westhampton Thoroughbred Training Facility in Mount Holly, Burlington County, to begin a new career. But the gelding was difficult and too big for Caitlin to ride and was unhappy about his attempted transformation to a hunter-jumper.

"He's a nice horse; he would never hurt anybody," Caitlin's father, Jim, a Huntingdon Valley resident, said yesterday.

"Caitlin loves him and would take him snacks every weekend," Morrissey said.

Last Dec. 29, Jack Sparrow was returned to the track and is now in trainer Ron Glorioso's Barn 14 at Philly Park.

"I told Jim to give me 30 days with the horse, and I'd let him know if he was worth the trouble," Glorioso recalled. "He's the nicest horse in the barn, but when he gets to the track he's all business."

In Tuesday's first race, Jack Sparrow went right to the front against maiden claimers and led throughout under Victor Molina, romping home by six lengths and paying $7.80 to win.

The Morrissey clan and friends ordered about 25 winner's circle photos to mark the occasion.

Caitlin, who attends fifth grade in Wyncote along with her brother and sister, was picked up early from school to attend the race, a 12:25 p.m. start.

Although she is not old enough to wager herself, an uncle made an "investment" on Jack Sparrow for the ecstatic Caitlin, who pocketed her winnings.

Her mother, Siobhan, then returned Caitlin to school.

"I doubt if she learned too much that day," Jim Morrissey said.

10/04/08

Race ready

The rapid construction of the Indiana Live! Casino is impossible to ignore, but the activity level at the Indiana Downs racetrack also is moving into high gear as the opening date for live racing approaches.

The track will host its first live thoroughbred quarter- horse races of 2008 on April 25 with a grand opening on April 26. Post time on the weekends is always 6:55 p.m., with the elaborate buffet in the clubhouse starting at 5:30.

The 54 days of thoroughbred and quarter-horse racing will continue on Monday through Wednesday, with a post time of 4:55 p.m., through July 8. After an eight-day break to work on the surface of the track, harness racing starts on July 16 and follows the same time schedule as the thoroughbreds and quarter horses.

The track is closed every Thursday and Sunday. with the exception of a couple of Thursdays in July during harness racing. However, sales manager and community relations manager Janie Schuster said that private parties are often booked on those days.

The upcoming calendar of events at the track also includes a special Kentucky Derby party complete with a hat contest for those who want to view a simulcast of the 134th Running of the Roses on May 3 surrounded by other racing fans and then finish the day with live racing at the local track in the evening.

Patrons can make a day of it with a deli buffet lunch, commemorative Derby glass, munchies and dinner prior to the live racing. Similar deals are available for the Preakness on May 17 and the Belmont on June 7.

Although the buffet by chef Greg Schiesser is a big pull on the weekends, clubhouse patrons can always order from the menu, and food is available off the menu beginning at 3:30 on Mondays through Wednesdays. Schiesser said that he will continue to feature "homemade foods with a modern twist," and he is pleased that Indiana Downs will offer its Mother's Day buffet again this year.

Schiesser and Schuster agreed that the construction for the casino and its resulting mud, heavy machinery and rerouted traffic have not slowed down the party bookings in the clubhouse. Schuster said that even on Friday and Saturday, she is still reserving smaller private parties along with the public in the clubhouse, but the private third-floor suites are currently booked through July.

Visitors to the track are asked to park in a temporary lot across from the former entrance to the track and then take a shuttle bus up to the building. Anyone who tries to attempt the lengthy walk between the parking lot and the facility will find it necessary to hop over water-filled ruts and jump out of the way of thundering bulldozers, so waiting for the shuttle is suggested.

A parking garage is under construction in the area that was previously used for valet parking at the track, and it is expected to furnish convenient parking for those attending clubhouse events as well as guests to the casino. The four-level structure will provide 1,200 parking spots, and it is anticipated to open around the beginning of 2009.

Schuster said that the shuttles have worked well even when large numbers of guests arrive close to the same time to attend a special event. If needed, seven shuttles are available to transport them quickly and efficiently.

To accommodate the massive new permanent casino that is targeted to open in late December or early 2009, the original jockey quarters at Indiana Downs were demolished and reconstructed to the north of the grandstand. The new quarters are 6,500 square feet, only slightly larger that the facility it replaced, but the number of horse stalls was trimmed from 20 to 14.

Jon Schuster, general manager at Indiana Downs, said that the new quarters are "more open and more efficient," and additional room was allotted to the men's side since women jockeys are still a rare breed. The spacious quarters offer beds if the jockeys want to relax or nap, a kitchen area where food is prepared for them, a dressing room with lockers and special hangers for their boots - and a sauna for those who want to steam off a few pounds or soothe their muscles before a race.

Indiana Downs is also constructing a total of four new horse barns which will add more than 150 stalls. Jon Schuster said that Indiana Downs was low on stalls from the beginning, so the additions are welcome even without the anticipated additional horse traffic expected as a result of the casino opening.

Jon Schuster said that once a portion of the money from the slot machine gambling trickles down to the horse racing purses, Indiana Downs is likely to attract more and better horses.

"It is unlikely that this will happen before thoroughbred racing is done this year," Schuster said, "but it should help with the harness racing purses."

The amount of money, or the purse, that a horse earns in a race is a major reason why horse owners select certain tracks. One persuasive argument in favor of legalizing slot machine gambling in Indiana was the positive influence that larger purses would have on Indiana's two horse racing tracks.

As horses circled the track to practice on Friday, Schuster said that the high-strung animals did not seem bothered by the noise and confusion of the ongoing construction at the track, but he did note that noise would always stop before the actual live races would begin on race days.

A harried-looking Jon Schuster admitted that he would definitely describe the atmosphere at the track as "semi-controlled madness," but he declared that Indiana Downs is ready for live racing, and safety concerns for the horsemen and the guests have been addressed.

Content (c) The Shelbyville News

03/04/08

ALL EYES ON SUPERSTAR CURLIN

After getting satisfactory results when googling 'why do my knees hurt?' I decided to see if the famous web search tool had the answers to this weekend's fantastic card in Dubai.

Firstly I typed in 'who will win Dubai World Cup', and the page I came across showed a beaming Frankie Dettori, clad in Godolphin blue, aboard the winner - Moon Ballad. If only I'd thought of this in the spring of 2003.

Not one to give up after initial disappointment, I tried a different tactic. 'Curlin will win Dubai World Cup' brought up 29,100 results, where as 'Jalil will win Dubai World Cup' produced only 3250. For me, it's cut and dried.

Last summer, it would've been surprising had Jalil brought up any results at all. I remember watching this near $10million yearling struggle to break his maiden tag at the third attempt at odds of 2/9 in a five-runner contest at Ripon.

At the time he looked about as wise an investment as Paul Jewell's camcorder purchase, making heavy weather of beating Mark Johnston's Fantastic Morning when running as green as grass.

Grass it seems, was the problem. While Fantastic Morning has gone on to barely beat a rival in three attempts over hurdles, Jalil has thrived for the switch to dirt, winning three times at Nad Al Sheba this year.

His latest success was in the third round of the Maktoum Challenge, a race won by subsequent World Cup winners Dubai Millennium, Street Cry and Electrocutionist in the past. Consequently, he is second favourite for the world's richest race.

We don't need Google to tell us it would be a huge shock if he were to beat Curlin though. The Preakness and Breeders' Cup Classic winner is easily the best dirt horse in the world, and at a lofty peak of 129, the highest-rated to run at the Dubai Carnival since Cigar, the inaugural World Cup winner in 1996.

The only problem is his predictably cramped odds of 2/5. It'll be too short for many to get involved, but fear not, there are plenty of other betting opportunities in the top-class supporting races.

The best bet of the night could be Literato in the Group One Dubai Duty Free. It's his first start for Godolphin and I'd expect him to give Frankie Dettori extra confidence going into the World Cup aboard Jalil.

Formerly trained by Jean-Claude Rouget he ended last season's excellent campaign on a high when winning the Emirates Airlines Champion Stakes at Newmarket. He was six lengths in front of new stablemate Creachadoir that day, and he reopposes here.

It is difficult to see Creachadoir reversing the form in Dubai, though the nine-furlong trip will suit him better than the 10-furlongs of the Champion Stakes. Though Literato looks a 10-furlong specialist himself, he has such a devastating turn of foot at the end of his races it is doubtful the slightly shorter trip will inconvenience him too much.

In-between the Duty Free and the World Cup is the the Dubai Sheema Classic and Doctor Dino is taken to upset hot favourite Viva Pataca and Arc runner-up Youmzain.

He stepped up to a mile-and-a-half for the first time when driven out to win the Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin in December and he obviously benefitted for the extra distance having improved on all previous form.

Surprisingly for a renowned world traveller this is his first appearance at the Carnival but he can make it a winning one for France-based handler Richard Gibson.

The only slight negative is 'Doctor Dino will win Dubai Sheema Classic' brings up only 414 search engine results, where as 'Viva Pataca will win Dubai Sheema Classic' registers a relatively massive 1190.

Though not one to knock the World Wide Web after all it has done for me, I reckon it's got this one wrong and take Doctor Dino to defy the stats and oblige at tasty prices as big as 8/1.

29/03/08