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Welcome to your
favourite corn site! Actually, I'm hearing nothing  but
positive comments from those of you who "flew over" the corn
maze of dueling horses near Stonewall.
If you haven't done so yet, click here to view three minutes of aerial footage. It's
awesome. It gave me the same
tingling sensation I had when I got my first-ever glimpse of mountains travelling through Wyoming as a kid.
You have to give credit to the incredible patience of graphic designer Brent Polson who created and
mowed the intricate horse-race design using GPS (Global Positioning
System) that, he said, is often frustrating to use because of biospheric interference with the satellite images
on his receiver.
In
other news, it's been a sad week with the death of the world's greatest
tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, and
I've found myself humming the melody of his signature Nessun Dorma. How does this relate to horse-racing,
you ask? Actually, in a big way
for me. He--and the other two
tenors he did a recording with--played a big role in my having a very
good summer of picking horses. How? I'll tell you why in a moment; it
may be instructive.
Also,
a crescendo of great live racing starts this weekend with two $45,000
stakes events and builds to a climatic final weekend of racing glory
and giveaways: two $70,000 stakes races, a VIP Party, fan appreciation
discounts and two tournaments that will send the top horseplayer and
the best poker player to Las Vegas to participate in million-dollar
events. Let's go ....
BEST HORSE NAME: I think this is one of the best names for a horse
I've ever seen. It's a playfully brilliant play on words. The name is: Neighsayer,
a horse that raced a couple of weeks ago at Penn National. I wish I had thought of that one.
HUGE PLACE PRICE: Big bet triggers chatter
It was one of those aberrations that was
the talk of the track on Sunday.
Suddenly, an additional $4,000 appeared in the win and place
pool on Island in the Sky in
the sixth race and his odds dropped to 1-9. Unfortunately for the big bettor, his
horse, a just-claimed speed horse, was facing another improving
speedball on the rail, Shrike's
Coin, a horse coincidentally that I had notes on and had keyed in
my pick-4 and pick-3 tickets after he had run a very game race last
out, giving way very begrudgingly in the closing strides. My horse put away the 1 to 9 horse
and he faded to third. Not a
happy day for his big backer but the place price on my horse, which
normally would have been about $5 to $6, was $36.40. (The win price was $44.90.) The horse that finished second in the
race, Windearance,
the only strong closer, paid $9 to place, almost three times the
expected price. Players are used to seeing occasional giant show bets,
by so-called "bridge-jumpers," but this kind of play is a
rarity and reminded even grizzled veterans that each race day is an
adventure where the unexpected is to be expected.
HOW PAVAROTTI HELPED MY HORSEPLAYING
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Pavarotti:
liberating
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Making
money at the races has more to do with attitude than with the ability
to pick horses. A lot of you
tell me that. One summer,
I discovered all of the right elements to win at the races and,
interestingly, the late great tenor Luciano
Pavarotti played a role.
It was a summer in the early 1990's, a time when live racing was
the main game. This was a typical race day:
•
I
carefully analyzed all races for that particular day at home,
referring to notes written in programs saved from previous
race days. I circled horses that would be my biggest bets
and worked
on exotic plays.
• Before
leaving for the track--about 90 minutes before post time for the first
race--I meditated for about 10 minutes. Meditation, for those
who haven't done it, is amazing: it drains all
tensions from your body, puts you at peace and energizes you.
I can flick a switch in my brain and do it instantly
anywhere anytime. I liken it to recharging a battery.
• On the drive
to the track, timed so I got there well ahead of the replays from the
previous day's races, I listened to a tape of The Three
Tenors: Pavarotti, Placido
Domingo, Jose Carreras. Nessun Dorma was my favourite. I found the music
liberating and arrived at the track with a clear, refreshed
brain.
•
I
watched televised replays from the previous day of live racing and
documented how the races went, making notes of horses who
perhaps got into trouble, were making a big move and got
shut off, got into a heated pace duel, etc. and I saved those
programs.
•
I
made my bets and, overall throughout the summer, made money. More importantly, I
proved I could do it and showed what it took to do it. It was very enjoyable.
My
attitude throughout was this:
racing is a season, not a day. Ups and downs on a particular day
would be irrelevant and emotions would be kept in check because of
this. I realized I had achieved
my desired mental state when a jockey's less-than-perfect ride cost me
$5,000 in triactor winnings but I remained perfectly calm. Friends were asking me why I wasn't
kicking the furniture; I have to say it really didn't bother me because
I had acknowledged this was part of racing. I was even surprised at
myself.
These
days I have to confess I'm a crazy man, playing everything in sight,
although from time to time I get a grip again, usually after a bad
losing streak, and have reversed the tide with huge wins, usually in superfectas in maiden claiming races, my specialty.
I know what it takes to be a winner because I've done it. I hope you find something here that
can help you become as good a horseplayer and money-maker as you want
to be, too.
CHAMPIONSHIP RACES: Last chance for VIP stamp
This
is your second-last weekend of top-calibre
stakes races at the Downs and your last chance to get your VIP Party
Card stamped to gain entry into the VIP party on the final day of live
racing, Sunday, Sept. 23. Manitoba-breds will duke it out this weekend in route races:
Saturday, it's the $45,000 J.W. Sifton for
3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles; Sunday, 2-year-olds get their chance to go
the testing distance of one mile in the $45,000 Buffalo Stakes. Remember: six filled-in spaces on your VIP
Party Card will have you enjoying free food, beverages and a T-shirt in
the Finish Line on the final day of live racing while you're enjoying
the $70,000 Gold Breeders' Cup (for the best horses on the grounds,
3-years-and-up) and the $45,000 Winnipeg Futurity for the best
2-year-olds.
FINAL SIX DAYS OF LIVE:
What to expect
What should players be asking themselves as they bet the
final six days of live races?
• What horses are game and which horses
aren't? Horses coming off big
wins are game.Those dropping in class or coming off a
layoff often aren't. Horses coming
off a layoff are to be regarded suspiciously; because the
season is ending, a
trainer may simply put a horse into a race just in case he
can nab a bit of the purse (which is paid to horses finishing
anywhere in the top six positions).
• Look at horses coming from Fargo
as well. Marq Time, a horse who had
previously raced in Fargo,
was ignored at the windows in race two last Sunday and paid
$72.60 when he won.
•
Horses claimed out of their last race are usually worth looking at,
too.
FUN 'N' GAME$: Six days left to
"show" off
Are you going to let Charles
Scotlend
walk off with $100 and the trophy for the best show-parlayer
of the season without a fight?
You have six days of live racing left to unseat the current show
king and beat his $450. Just play the free show parlay challenge on the
live card from races three
to five. Sure, $450 is a
huge amount to shoot for, but a couple of longshots
could do it for you. A longshot
in the third and fifth races would probably do it. Maybe play the parlay with that in
mind! (See the current top-10 parlayers of the season listed on the Show Parlay Challenge Honour Roll on the main floor at the Downs.) Top winners from the past week:
• Best show parlayers: Congrats to Rob Clake who turned his mythical
$10 into $173 by letting his money ride in the show pool in
races three
to five. Off track, Adolf Latta turned
his $10 into $99 at the Selkirk OTB.
•
Friday's Insta-Frame Fantastic Fan: Dave
Shand's name was chosen from
show parlay entrants to make a Winners' Circle presentation
and get a framed
photo and jockey's autographed picture marking the special
occasion.
•
Best at poker: Friday--Doug Oberek $100, Larry Liebriecht
$50, Andrew McNaught $25. Saturday--Harry Woroniuk
$100, Gail Peltz
$50, Tom Papaioannou $25. Top two also get into Sept. 23
finale for trip to World Series
of Poker.
•
Best newspaper selector: George
Williams
of the Free Press appears to
have an insurmountable lead over the Sun's Bill Bilous
174
to 162.
HORSEPLAY TIP OF THE WEEK:
Rate your horse
How much will your horse win by? If you say "four or five
lengths," bet him to win.
If you say "two or three lengths," bet him to
place. If you say "one
length" or less, bet him to show.
Again and again you'll notice horses that should win easily just
squeeze out a victory. So,
generally speaking, you should bet a horse to win only when you feel
the horse is far superior. Another
time to bet a horse to win is when the odds on him are higher than you
think they should be. The return on your bet when you do win that kind
of bet should be high enough to compensate you for the times you don't
win--and then some.
NEW WINNING LUCKY
NUMBER$ for this week: Did you pick
up a free Lucky Number card for September when you were at the track on
the Labour Day long weekend? If the number on your card matches
one of these numbers, you're a winner!
$25
winner: 0829 $10
winners: 0490, 0711 $5 winners:
0585, 0120, 0689, 0643, 1014. Claim your prize at www.assiniboiadowns.com See additional lucky numbers worth up to $200
posted weekly on the Lucky Numbers page on the website.
TEXAS BARBEQUE BEEF RIBS. Need I say more?
That finger-licking  entree
headlines tonight's big bold Texas-themed Taste the World all you can
eat buffet in the Terrace Dining Room which also features Texas
tortilla soup, potato salad with creamy cajun dressing, slow-smoked
barbeque pulled pork, Texas pecan-pie and--need I say more? I just love those ribs! From 5 to 8
p.m.,
all you can eat $14.95. Full menu. Next
Thursday's theme:
Greek. Phone 885-3330 to
reserve.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Next weekend marks an end and a beginning: The end of live racing and a
countdown to the Oct. 27 Breeders' Cup Championship and to the biggest
celebrations in Downs' history: it's 50th birthday year. Lots of excitement is
brewing. Stay tuned.
STANDARDBRED TRIPLE CROWN: Little Brown Jug
goes Thursday
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Always a Virgin captures
first leg of Triple Crown
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Always a Virgin, an easy victor in the Cane Pace on Labour Day at Freehold Raceway--the first leg of standardbred's Triple Crown--will enter the second
leg next Thursday, the $541,000 Little Brown Jug, in Delaware, Ohio, as the prohibitive favourite. This 62nd
edition of this premier event for 3-year-old pacers is now so big it
costs $110 to rent box seats at the half-mile track. The
Triple Crown has been won only 10 times since its 1956
inception. The Jugette, for female
3-year-old pacers, goes on Wednesday. Simulcasting
for both race cards, which are filled with special races, is 11:30 a.m. The final leg for the pacing Triple
Crown will be held at Yonkers on the biggest day in thoroughbred racing,
Breeders' Cup Day, Oct. 27.
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