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IMPORTANT
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING:
Why play alone? Learn
from the expertise of others and socialize, too! An organizational meeting to form a Saturday-morning horseplayer club
will be held in nine days, Saturday, Sept. 29, with the election of a
president, secretary and naming the club. Get more details below under UPCOMING
EVENTS. NEW CABLE CHANNEL BEGINS TODAY: Shaw cable has changed its racing
channel to 87.
Take a deep breath,
folks! This weekend's a doozer!
Alan Cuthbertson Will he hit 100?
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Where
to begin? This is the final
weekend of live racing, a chance for you to enjoy generous "fan
appreciation" perks at the track and see if the oldest
full-time jockey in North America, Alan Cuthbertson, achieves a remarkable 100th win of
the season. (He's got 98.) But this weekend also marks the beginning of
the countdown to the biggest day in racing, the Breeders' Cup, five weeks
away and then it is full-speed-ahead on preparations for the biggest
celebration in the Down's history: its 50th anniversary year is only three months off. (Psst! A trip to next year's Breeders' Cup
at Santa Anita will be one of the giveaways!)
Juan Crawford Will he be back
in '08?
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There's
even a hint of controversy already over next year's live season with
news that jockey Juan Crawford,
a fan favourite who rankled former race officials with his aggressive
riding style and got into fisticuffs in the jock's room several years
ago, may have overcome immigration hurdles and could be riding here on
opening day May 2. And I didn't
even mention a simulcast event from Belmont last
Saturday that shook the racing world: The Green Monkey, purchased at auction for a record
$16
million, got spanked, finishing a "desperate" third in his
first
lifetime start.
First
things first. Here are 10 reasons not to miss the final weekend of live
racing:
1. VEGAS TRIP #1 (SATURDAY): This trip will be awarded to the best
horseplayer Saturday night. Anyone can play. Bet
imaginary $2 win/place on Downs races. Person with the biggest closing
bankroll goes to Las Vegas, all
expenses paid, with a guest. Plus a paid entry into the $1
Million Coast Casinos Horseplayer World Series in January. If you
haven't qualified, you can still get into the tourney by paying $50 by 9
p.m.
tomorrow (Friday) at the track or one of our OTB locations.
2. VEGAS TRIP #2 (SUNDAY): This trip--which includes a seat in
the World Series of Poker at the Rio--will be
awarded to the winner of the Coors Light Texas Hold'em grand finale at the track Sunday after
live racing. Your last chance to
get into the finale comes tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday in the poker
tournaments after the races. If you finish first or second, you're
in!
3. FAN APPRECIATION DAYS: All weekend, Friday thru Sunday--free
Clubhouse parking, $1.25 programs, 50-cent tip sheet, happy hour bar
prices, concession specials, betting voucher draws and a 35% discount on gift shop merchandise.
4. WILL HE OR WON'T HE? Leading jockey Alan Cuthbertson has 98 wins heading into the last three
days of live racing. Will he hit
the elusive, landmark 100? If so, on what day and on what horse? Friday, except for Thunderacchi
(3-1) in the fourth, he's mainly riding longshots.
5. TWO $70,000 STAKES RACES: On Saturday, the best female horses on
the grounds (3-years-and-up) clash in the Matron Breeders' Cup. On Sunday, it's the boys' turn: the
Gold Breeders' Cup.
6. WINNIPEG FUTURITY STAKES: The best babies (2-year-olds) on the grounds
stretch out to a mile on Sunday for a $45,000 purse.
7. LAST CHANCE TO DANCE: Final Roadshow
Sound social of the season Friday night after the races in the Finish
Line. Happy hour prices & food specials. Free admission.
8. VIP PARTY: If you have at least six spaces
stamped on your VIP Party Card, then come on down Sunday afternoon--to
the Finish Line to enjoy a free drink, eats,
T-shirt, and, if you have all 12
spaces stamped, you get a theme night coupon and a $10 betting voucher
as well! Watch for a new
Championship Days card featuring top simulcast races during the winter.
The ultimate prize? A trip to
the 2008 Breeders' Cup!
Pick up your lucky number
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9. $500 VERY VERY LUCKY NUMBER GIVEAWAY: Ask for your Breeders' Cup bonus number at
Guest Services (main floor entrance) Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Then return on Breeders' Cup Day
Saturday, Oct. 27 where a draw will be made for $500, $250 and
$100
winners. Also, 20 $10 betting
vouchers will be given away. BONUS! Your number will also be eligible for daily draws on the
Downs website and weekly $50 bonus draws in The Insider!
10. CROWNING OF "SHOW PARLAY
CHALLENGE" CHAMPION:
Will it be Charles Scotlend
winning the $100 and trophy for increasing his $10 to $450? Or is there an upstart in the wings,
ready to capture the glory? You
have three days left to outplay Scotlend. (See "honour
roll" on the main level.)
TRIVIA QUESTION: What is a hinny? Hint: hee-haw. (See answer at end
of column.)
$16 MILLION HORSE DEBUTS:
This Monkey falls
flat
The Green Monkey:
Made a monkey of backers
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What
does a $16 million horse look like?
Like a $25,000 claimer last Saturday. Horse watchers everywhere could
hardly wait for the first lifetime start for The Green Monkey, purchased
at a world record $16 million at auction by wealthy (obviously)
Irishmen who outbid a Dubai sheikh in February last year. They paid that price based on a
sizzling effortless 1-furlong training workout by the then-2-year-old of
9.4 seconds and the fact he was royally bred (Forestry, with a $125,000 stud fee). But assistant trainer Tristan Berry, who works with
highly regarded trainer Todd Pletcher, has been saying all along that the
Monkey just didn't shine in the mornings. And Saturday's debut in a maiden
special-weight race at Belmont proved
it. Sent off at prohibitive 2-5
odds, Belmont race-caller Tom
Durkin was left to announce that The Green Monkey, named for a golf
course in Barbados with connections to the horse's owners, was all-out
holding onto a "desperate" third-place finish. Trainer Pletcher
noted the race was very fast (1:09.1 for the six furlong sprint) and
suggested the Monkey may made amends in a longer race. But will it be good enough to take the
monkey off Pletcher's back?
QUICK BITS: Kirt is a "natural," Santa is smart
Kirt is a "natural:" If track
announcer Darren Dunn is the
consummate race-call professional, the Downs is lucky to
have, on the sidelines, a "natural" in the racing game:
paddock host Kirt Contois.
When Darren's voice gave out out Saturday, Kirt
suddenly was in the announcer's stand, calling the races as if he's
been doing it forever. How tough
is that? Ask radio and TV
announcers who tried to do it last summer in the "celebrity
race-call" contest. They produced lots of laughs, but little
clarity.
Santa
is smart: How do young horses get used to the
starting gate? They're brought
over to sniff it and walk around and through it to make them feel
comfortable with the contraption.
The smart people at Santa Anita are applying this concept to
race fans--and they're doing it with their new synthetic Cushion Track
surface. They're having a
free-for-all on the track surface at an "open house" this
Sunday, allowing people to walk and run over it to get the feel of this
space-age concoction of waxed rubber bits, fibres
and silicon. Good for them! I'd love the opportunity. By understanding how your own body
responds underfoot, you also would get the feel of how horses might
respond. Santa Anita's fall Oak
Tree meet begins next Wednesday at 3
p.m. This will be the biggest test yet for
synthetic-track racing. Will it
be a success or polyunfortunate? I gotta say
I'm on pins and needles.
FUN 'N' GAME$: Play first/worst
tomorrow; win $100 cash!
For predicting the first and last place finisher in
tomorrow's selected simulcast race, you could win $100 cash. That's because no one won the
free-to-enter game last weekend, resulting in a three-day carryover of
$75 into tomorrow's contest.
Last Sunday in Belmont Park's sixth race, no one predicted that
one-half of the #1entry would finish first and the other half (#1A),
would finish last, resulting in the biggest carryover since the
first/worst game was launched at the beginning of the 2007 live race
season in May. Of course, you
can back up your opinion by betting on the race, too! Come early so you can give special
attention to that race. It's
free money!
• Best show parlayers: Congrats to Rick Sarmiento who
turned his mythical $10 into $81.60 by letting his money ride in the
show pool in races three
to five. Off track, K.
Joseph turned his $10 into $73.60..
• Friday's Insta-Frame
Fantastic Fan: Gordon
Overly name was chosen from show parlay entrants to make a Winners'
Circle presentation and get a beautifully framed photo and jockey's
autographed picture marking the special occasion.
• Best at poker: Friday--Bill Bartlett $100, Cameron
Caldwell $50, Felix
Berthelette$25. Saturday--Alan Hampton $100, Fred Bruenger
$50, Jim Roberts $25. Top two also get into Sept. 23 finale for trip to World Series of Poker.
• Best newspaper selector: For
the second year, George
Williams of the Free Press appears to
have the best-selector title cinched.
He leads the Sun's
Bill Bilous 181 to 168.
HORSEPLAY TIP OF THE WEEK:
What are you best
at?
Play your strengths and cut back significantly or avoid
making bets on elements you are weak at. Common sense, isn't it? But I hit a nerve, didn't I? That's why I think a horseplayers'
club is such a good idea: people
with different strengths sharing information and putting together
pick-3, pick-4 and pick-6 tickets.
Come out Saturday, Sept. 29 at 11 a.m. to the Finish Line where an
organizational meeting will be held to form such a club.
NEW WINNING LUCKY NUMBER$ 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: 1505 $10
winners: 1500, 0080 $5
winners: 0490, 1460, 0174, 0158, 0540. Claim your prize at www.assiniboiadowns.com. See additional lucky numbers worth up
to $200 posted on the Lucky Numbers page on the website. Watch for
new numbers Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend: the numbers
could make you $500, $250, $100 or one of 20 $10 betting vouchers on
Breeders' Cup Day, Saturday, Oct. 27.
ARE SPANOKOPITTA & MOUSAKA GREEK TO
YOU? They should be.
Those are two of the entrees in tonight's delicious
all-you-can-eat Taste the World buffet featuring Greek cuisine from 5 to 8
p.m.
in the Terrace Dining Room.
$14.95. Full menu. Next week's theme: New Orleans night.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Form club to share in fun and riches
Nobody
is an expert in all types of races. So look at the power you would have
if you had the added talent of other horseplayers in a regular
horseplayer club? By sharing in
opinions, you'd win more often and, playing as a group, have a better
chance at cashing sizeable pick-3s, pick-4s and pick-6s. The socializing
would be fun, too. That's why I'm arranging an organizational meeting
Saturday, Sept. 30 at 11 a.m. in the
Finish Line. You can elect a president, secretary and decide on a name
for your club. The Downs would
provide the meeting location, technical assistance (such as overhead
projector and screen), free coffee and sweet rolls and a breakfast
special. You could discuss your
prime plays for the afternoon, perhaps discuss
previous successes, share names of horses to watch, etc. Please email me your intention to
attend: theinsider@assiniboiadowns.com. This is an
opportunity for you to have a lucrative, fun-filled simulcast season!
Hinny
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Answer to trivia
question: A hinny is a cross between a male horse and a female
donkey. (A mule is the reverse: female horse, male donkey.) A hinny is apparently more
intelligent than a horse and less stubborn than a mule. Ears are
shorter than a mule's.
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