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LAST CHANCE TO WIN TRIP!
This Saturday is your very last chance
to pick up a Tour d' Champs contest card for a
chance, in fact three chances, to win a trip to the Breeders' Cup in the
fall. Pick up your card between noon and 4 p.m. at the Race Book kiosk in the Clubhouse. You also will be eligible for Santa
Anita merchandise draws in the afternoon.
Wow! Heart-stopping! Didn't you think so? Last Saturday's
running of the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and of the Santa Anita Derby were billed as important prep races for 3-year-olds
looking to get into the Kentucky Derby. But who knew those two races
would be that exciting? Race
watchers barely had time to catch their breath after watching favourite War
Pass just get beaten at the wire after setting sizzling fractions at
Aqueduct, when favourite Colonel John was put to a furious drive
to just get up at the wire in the Santa Anita Derby. What action! What racing! How many sleeps to the Kentucky Derby
when these talented 3-year-olds race against each other? I can't recall
the last time the run-up to the Derby had such drama. And there
are two more big prep races this Saturday: Come-from-behind specialist and
Louisiana Derby winner Pyro will run his
first race over Polytrack in the $750,000 Bluegrass Stakes at Keeneland
and the $1 million Arkansas Derby runs at Oaklawn. And don't forget to get your Tour d' Champs card stamped!
What else is
cooking this week?
• Why is a derby a derby?
• Why did veteran player Jack
the Candyman beg for a "Charlie
horse?"
• What to look for in horse workouts--from the best in the business
• Cancelling races was unheard-of--until the year of the
"tornado."
See "My Most Memorable Moment"
LUCKY YOU
Best horseplayers at your service on Saturday
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Saturday
at 10
a.m. in the Finish Line
will be your first opportunity to watch a DVD of the very best people in the horseplaying world
talking about critical subjects.
Saturday's topic is: "Making
Workouts Work to Your Advantage." The discussion is so good, says former Downs clocker Everett Shade, that he watched the
hour-long presentation twice. The DVD was recorded at the Daily Racing Form's Horseplayer
Expo last year in Las Vegas that would have cost you $500 to attend. The Downs purchased the 18 hours of DVDs to show in hour-long
segments on future Saturdays.
Presenters in Saturday's session include: Toby Callet
(author of the Florida Handicappers Sheet), Steve Davidowitz
(DRF writer and author of The Best and Worst of Thoroughbred Racing),
Michael Dickinson (world class trainer and designer of the Tapeta racing surface), Bob
Ike (public handicapper in Southern California). Says Everett: "It includes how and
when to incorporate workouts into the handicapping process and how
workout patterns can unearth key first time starters. Also, come see how
workouts can show the bettor which horses are ready off their winter
layoffs and which ones aren't." Complimentary coffee and rolls will be
served and Everett will lead a discussion afterward.
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Epsom Downs: Home of the original Derby
founded in 1780
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WHAT MAKES A DERBY A DERBY?
What do all Derbies have in common?
Question: Anytime you
hear a race is called a Derby, what should you immediately assume?
Answer: The race is
for 3-year-old horses.
That means all the Derbies
scheduled at various race tracks during the 10-week countdown to the
Kentucky Derby, whether it's the Florida Derby, the Santa Anita Derby or
the Arkansas Derby this Saturday, all contain 3-year-olds, most of whom
are vying to get into the biggest
dance of them all in North America, the Kentucky Derby on the first
Saturday in May. But the Kentucky
Derby isn't the granddaddy of Derbies. That status belongs to the Epsom
Derby in Surrey, England (above), founded by the 12th Earl of Derby(shire) in 1780. The Epsom Derby runs in England the first week of June. Not every important race for
3-year-olds, of course, is called a Derby. In fact, New
York doesn't even have a race it calls a Derby. Their important prep races for
3-year-olds are called the Gotham (March 1) and the Wood Memorial (April 5) and, this
Saturday at Keeneland, the race for 3-year-olds is called the Blue Grass
Stakes.
FICKLE FUTURES
Big Brown is the newest flavour in Derby futures bet
How quickly
horseplayers turn on horses they used to love. In the final round of Kentucky Derby
futures bets last weekend, War Pass, once favoured as the
likely Derby winner, slipped to 14-1. Big Brown, the unbeaten colt
that cruised to victory in the Florida Derby, emerged the favourite at
3-1. Pyro, who will be racing
this Saturday in the Blue Grass at Keeneland, slipped slightly to
5-1. Colonel John, winner of the
Santa Anita Derby, closed at 6-1 after starting the weekend at 14-1. Churchill Downs reported that interest
in the futures bet declined this year to $1 million. It was at its peak of $1.66 million in
2005.
SLUGFEST ENDS WITH SUSPENSE
Congrats to Donna Cretney for
predicting Stretch's win
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Stretch vs Bigg
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Fittingly, the 20-day slugfest
between Stretch and me came down to my last play last night, a 6-1
horse named Rocky Secret at Penn National, that would have boosted
my bankroll just enough to win this little contest. For about 3/4 of the race Stretch, I'm
sure, was on pins and needles wondering whether Rocky had enough left in
the drive to the wire but two extreme longshots,
35-1 and 14-1, edged him out, relegating him to the show position where
he paid $7.40. So Stretch is the
champion by $139.50 and the person who came closest to predicting that
difference between us was Donna Cretney
who had predicted $138. She receives $50.
My thoughts? Making $20 bets on 20
horses is not the way I usually play and it's not the way most people
win. You have to have the ability
to increase your wager for better horses and cut back on riskier
plays. Early on, I had some rough
trips that I could not recover from because my betting amount was
limited. And my style is different
from that of Stretch: He regularly
plays less-than-even-money horses but I look for value. His bankroll was always within catching
distance but, in this contest at least, that didn't happen. Following
Stretch, you'll get more low-price wins; following my method, you'll
catch horses that will complete triactors and superfectas at big prices. Congrats to Stretch, then,
on his win and thanks to everyone who supported either of us in this fun event.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I want a Charlie horse!" -- Jack the Candyman,
pleads for a longshot horse (a "Charlie horse") to win the last
leg on his pick-4 ticket at Keeneland last Friday--a leg in which he had
"all" horses. He asked
for a "Charlie horse" because he wanted a longshot horse just
like Charlie had earlier in the day when a $130 horse won the third leg
of a pick-3 at Gulfstream, giving Charles the
biggest pick-3 payoff of his life--more than $7,000. Jack didn't get the
longest shot on the board, but a 10-1 horse did win, giving him a return
of more than $3,000 for his pick-4 ticket.
MEMORY LANE: Did you know that . . . the longest horserace ever held
in Canada was held at Assiniboia Downs in 1964? It covered 2 1/4 miles. After watching the start of the race,
you could order a hamburger and take a washroom break and still catch the
finish! Speaking of which, watch
live racing this summer for a series of marathon races--but not as long
as this race was.
LOOKING FOR CLASSIC
HORSEPLAYING BOOKS? Then you have
good reason to visit Black's Vintage Books and Antiques at 2059 Portage Avenue in St. James. The store's
owner, nice guy Dan Black, you may recall, won one of last
summer's monthly horseplayer rounds during live racing and earned a trip
to the $1 million handicapping contest in Las Vegas. (See Insider #77) I asked him to list some
of his classic titles and here they are:
The Complete Horseplayer by Tom Ainslie, Down the
Stretch, How to Make Money at the Races, Harness Racing Gold, Hoofprint on My Heart, Payday at the Races, Pro-Rated
Longshots, The Best of Thoroughbred
Handicapping and much more.
What's nice is you're dealing with a bookseller who REALLY knows
these books and can tell you about them.
Say "hi!" for me.
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What was
playing on the radio the year Assiniboia Downs was born?
At The Hop
Danny and the Juniors
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McDonald's opens new outlet 1958
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"MY MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT"
Cancelling racing was unheard of--until this!
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Gerry
Hart
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Track photographer Gerry
Hart, who's been taking pictures of every stretch drive and Winner's
Circle presentation for 41 years obviously has many memories,
including being one of only two official photographers of Queen
Elizabeth when she visited the Downs in mid-July 1970. And, as night copy boy in 1963 at
the Winnipeg Free Press shortly before becoming track photographer,
he recalls hearing this line on the police radio: "Four horses are heading
east on Portage Avenue and they're not stopping for lights." The horses had apparently gotten
away at the Downs.
But a muggy day in the summer
of 1977 or 1978 is most vivid in his mind: He was in the Clubhouse overhearing
the conversation of two Texans:
"Them's
looks like tornado clouds," he recalls one of them saying,
as they looked southward.
"We don't get tornados," Gerry told them and went
outside to shoot his next race "when the wind came up
something fierce and it rained cats and dogs. I got completely
soaked." 'When he
took cover, he noticed a woman still outside "holding on to a
tree sapling. Her legs were
outstretched like a flag!" and he made his way outside to
help her inside. Huge panes of
glass from the grandstand came crashing to the ground. "So that old Texan was
correct," he said.
And, for the first time he could ever recall up to that day,
the balance of the racing card was cancelled.
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WINNER'S CORNER
First qualifiers for trip to World Series of Poker named
Federal civil servant Gerry
Cavers and horseman Harold Wiens
became the first two poker players to qualify for the September poker
finale that will send someone to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. In the second-last hand
of the usual Texas hold 'em game Friday night,
Gerry's "straight" beat out Harold's ace/queen so he received
$100 cash to Harold's $50 in addition to their seats in the finale. Third was retiree Bill Bartlett
who received $25 cash. The free
cash game continues each Friday with players qualifying by playing
"show parlay challenge" at Lone Star. Other weekend winners:
•
Show parlay Friday night:
Barrie Outar received $25 when
his imaginary $10
increased to $34.85.
• Death by Stampede Saturday afternoon: Barbara Debreuil and Merv
Pilkey
decided to split the $100 in wagering vouchers when they were
the only ones
standing during the seventh race.
• Double Play Saturday night: Felix Berthelette picked up $75 as the only person
to get a double play all night. That means $100 is carried over
to this Saturday.
Hank Stockman predicted all six show horses, however, and
received $25 for
his brilliant handicapping.
• Santa Anita merchandise draw Saturday
afternoon: horseman Grant
Buckoski (who now has his own
apparel, since his wife snapped up the
beautiful burgundy fleece pullover the first time he won), Gaye
Bell, Bob Moug.
TIP O' THE WEEK: Be careful when betting closers
Generally, horseplayers like to
bet horses that finished second last time. But if those horses are deep closers
(i.e. come from way back) they're bad bets UNLESS THE RACE SETS UP FOR
THEM! Before betting that kind of
horse, you must determine that two or more horses will push each other
early in the race to set up for the late closer down the stretch. If you don't see this scenario
happening, wagering on the closer is a bad bet.
TONIGHT'S TANGY
TASTE TREAT: Mexican
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Tequila Lime Chicken
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Now, for
something completely different, come out to the Terrace Dining Room
between 5 and 8 p.m. tonight for an all-you-can-eat Mexican buffet
featuring some fascinating cuisine including: green chili cheese beer bread, Mariscos seafood salad with lime dressing, red rub
roast pork with Chipotle ranchero sauce and, of course, lots more. Only $14.95. Next Thurday's theme: French.
Phone 885-3330 to reserve.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Lone Star begins/Sign up for tourney
• Horses have moved from Houston to Lone Star for the start of Lone Star's meet
tonight at 7 p.m.
• Sign up for the next Players' Choice Horseplayer Tourney which will be
held in the Clubhouse a week from this Saturday. Remember, the top three also get seats
at
the $1,000 winner-takes-all tourney in May. Details.
Don't forget the DVD session on workouts Saturday at 10 a.m.!
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