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Hi fellow Breeders'
Cup aficionados! You're
not dumb. When you waded into
the slop of Breeders' Cup races Friday and Saturday at Monmouth and
backed up your selections with cold hard cash, you knew you were
engaging in particularly risky business. But a team of wild horses couldn't
have held you back because, after all, this was the Christmas Day of
horse-racing and you were going to have a good time come hell or high
water--mostly high water. And
you were happy to count your memories, if not your cash,
afterward. Very understandable!
A pick-6 ticket that cost a syndicate $54,000 and had only
four winners, said it all. That
story follows. So does my
congratulatory note to three of you who picked five of eight winners in
a 'Cup contest at the Downs. Them's
bragging rights! Take a bow,
the three of you!
So, after a particularly lavish weekend of spending, what
do you need most? Probably a way
to recoup 'Cup Day losses. Your dutiful servant feels your need and
will suggest "easy" tracks for you to play. There's also a
contest for you to predict the day Florida
finally falls into line and opens its pools to Canadian players. Let's
go . . .
QUOTE THAT SUMMED UP 'CUP DAY: "Any Given Saturday was never
really happy today." -- Trevor
Denman, the voice of Breeders' Cup, calling the stretch run of the
final race of the day, the $5 million Classic, noting that Any Given
Saturday hated the track surface so much he was backing out of the
stretch run, similar to many horses on the day.
'CUP TRIVIA: The track is called what?
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Monmouth
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Picking winners wasn't the only tough part of Breeders'
Cup Day; trying to pronounce the name of the track was the other. Monmouth, the track, which should be
pronounced mon-muth, was usually
pronounced mammoth, the name of the hairy
elephant
that roamed earth 10,000 years ago.
How dare they
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Mammoth
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come
up with such a tricky name, you ask?
It was named for an area in the British
Isles, Monmouthshire, which residents there brought to New
Jersey when they migrated to North
America. Monmouth is a contraction of "Monnow" (a river
in Wales)
and "mouth" (mouth of that river). Got it? There will be a test on this next
week. Not.
PLAYING THE PICK-6: $54,000 ticket disintegrates in slop
Yes,
a bunch of you contributed to a group pick-6 ticket worth $600 on
Breeders' Cup Saturday. And,
yes, it was embarrassingly perfect: a perfect 0 for 6. Free Press analyst George Williams had done a
yeoman job viewing 40 hours of replays and giving the group his
picks--but no one could prepare for the soupy consistency of Monmouth
that day, a day in which everyone's best bet of the day, Dylan Thomas, almost got stuck
in the bog in the turn. But, if
you think our $600 ticket went nowhere, get a load of this: three U.S. handicapping
experts put together a group ticket that cost a staggering
$54,000. That ticket produced a
glorious four of six winners--FOUR OF SIX--not even good enough to
collect the consolation prize of $1,546 for five of six. It must have been a very long day for
the ticket-holders when the ticket didn't even pick the winner of the
first leg. Want to see the
experts and the ticket? Click here.
HOW TO RECOUP LOSSES?
Play predictable
tracks
You overdosed on uncertainty in Breeders' Cup races; now
you need predictable tracks to recoup your bankroll. Here are my three
most consistent. Look for the
highest pace and speed figures in the program. What you think should happen is
pretty much what happens at these tracks.
• Bay Meadows.
Offers short fields with lots of predictability and, surprisingly,
huge payoffs in pick-3's and pick-4's
even when easy horses win. Rolling doubles offer good
value. Hurry! Bay Meadows ends Sunday.
Races go 2:45
p.m. today thru Sunday.
•
Penn National. I know, it's a
"B" track but horses still race consistently. Just use
pace and speed numbers.
Hardly any horse gets caught in late stretch. You can catch racing
there tonight at 5:45 p.m.
Races go 5:45
p.m. Tuesday to Thursday.
•
Meadowlands. Essentially a
speed-holding track. Identify a
horse with a high pace number and he'll likely wire the
field--even at big odds. Post
time tonight, Friday and Saturday: 6:30 p.m.
Never seriously played these tracks before? Email me your experiences after a
renewed look at these. theinsider@assiniboiadowns.com
FINAL 'CUP THOUGHTS:
Watch Pyro
Remember
this horse's name: Pyro. Pyro finished second in the BC
Juvenile race, closing determinedly on the race-leading War Pass and should be a
serious contender in the months leading up to the Kentucky Derby May
3. Downs clocker Everett Shade gave a
particularly revealing description of Pyro's last shadow-jumping trip
at my Breeders' Cup preview session Saturday morning and noted other
aspects of his races that mark him as a horse with a big future.
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ENTER THIS NEW CONTEST! When will common-pooling begin with
Florida, the only state that hasn't opened its pools to
Canada? Predict the day
(without going past the correct day). Closing date for
your entries is Friday, Nov. 9 at midnight. One answer
per email address please. Prize:
a Thursday theme night dinner for two and copious
bragging rights. In the event
of a tie, the earlier entry wins the prize. Email your
prediction to: theinsider@assiniboiadowns.com
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TAKE A BOW! Three entrants pick 5 of 8 'Cup winners
When
a $54,000 ticket couldn't predict more than four of six races in the
Breeders' Cup, you really have to hand it to three Downs fans who entered their race picks in the Elite Eight
contest Saturday. The three predicted five of eight winners correctly
and each won $135. If Armand
Levesque had played a $2 straight pick-6 ticket (maybe he did!), he
would have had four correct--the same number as the $54,000 ticket in
my story above! And Armand had picked Lahudood and English
Channel, two winners missing on the $54,000 ticket! Here are the
three elite selectors, followed by their winning selections:
• Rick
Dew
(Indian Blessing, War Pass, Midnight Lute, Ginger Punch, Curlin)
•
Armand Levesque
(War Pass, Lahudood, Midnight Lute, English Channel, Curlin)
• Shelly Premachuk
(Indian Blessing, War Pass, Midnight Lute, Kip Deville, Curlin)
"SHOW" CONTESTS: $10 grows to $403; Nolin sweeps
Congrats to Allan
Gaudry who entered the three-race show parlay challenge in races
six to eight at Monmouth on Saturday and saw his imaginary $10 show bet
grow to $403. His selections
were: Lahudood, Talent Search and Cosmonaut. Hope you played it at the windows,
Allan! He picked up $25 in
wagering vouchers. Roger Nolin made parlay history
by winning both Friday and Saturday night in the regular parlays on
almost-live racing. His $10 show
at Delta Downs Saturday grew to $83 in three races.
Friday
night poker: Shawn Gorrie won
$100 in betting vouchers for scooping everyone's chips in record time
during the Texas hold 'em match after almost-live racing Friday. Free
poker continues through November.
HORSEPLAY TIP OF THE WEEK:
Check your tickets!
How elementary is that? But how often have you left a
betting window of even the most experienced seller and discovered, after
you've won the race, that you really haven't because you were given the
wrong numbers or wrong track. I
hear those whines all the time and sometimes I'm even the one
whining. Check your
tickets. CHECK YOUR TICKETS!
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Yaki-udon
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WHAT IS YAKI-UDON? Hint: it's a favourite main dish in a country famous for
sushi. Click here and you'll find out about this menu
item along with many others offered at tonight's all-you-can-eat
Japanese buffet in the Terrace Dining Room from 5 to 8 p.m. for
$14.95. Next Thursday's buffet: Soul
Food. Coming soon: Mongolian BBQ. (Really!) For reservations for these as well as
inquiries about holding your holiday parties at the Downs, phone
885-3330.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Melbourne Cup next Monday!
Australia's biggest race day, the Melbourne Cup, goes next Monday. The
full card from Down Under begins at 5:20 p.m. For my tips on how to
play Australia, click here.
Horseplayer Club formative meeting: Saturday, Nov. 10 in the Finish Line
at 11 a.m. What are the day's
prime plays?
"Player's
Choice" Horseplayer Tournament: Saturday, Nov. 24 in the
Clubhouse. $500 top prize. Entry fee: $25. Look for entry forms at track and at
OTB locations.
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