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What was playing on the radio 50 years
ago--the year Assiniboia Downs was born?
Sugartime
The McGuire Sisters
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Happy Valentine's, Sweetie! And to you, too, you big ape!
There's still room in the Terrace Dining Room tonight to take in the
special Valentine's buffet or a la carte menu from 5 to 8 p.m. Looking for a hunch bet
tonight? Play a horse with "love" or something close to
"love" in its name. Remember what happened last St. Patrick's
Day? The horse with an Irish
name, Finnegan Hanover, closed out the harness racing card at
Woodbine with a win. Let’s
see if there’s a similar coincidence for Valentine’s Day.
Thanks for voting for your best Triple Crown logo in
my last Insider. The
results weren't even close, as you’ll see shortly. And seeing some of your email with
the subject line:
“I’m a rat” was entertaining. I'll bet you've never boldly--and
probably proudly--made that statement about yourself before. But, of course, making that admission
was worth it--it won three of you a theme night dinner for two because
you were born in the Chinese “year of the rat.” Names of winners are listed under
"Who won?"
Heading into the first-ever holiday long weekend in
February (yeah!), here's what else is cooking:
• On a losing streak? 10
ways to bounce back
• Why getting to the track by 10:30 a.m. Saturday could get you a share in $1 million.
• What's on the minds of horses at Santa Anita as the track
surface continues to be changed? A revealing conversation follows.
• Why was the kick-off Saturday night of the new Double Play game
such a hit?
It wasn't just
the prize money.
• What secret was hidden in a pair of grungy cut-offs lying on
the floor? See “My Most
Memorable Moment”
• Are Manitoba lawmakers closet horseplayers?
After all, they picked this Monday
as an annual
holiday.
All of that, and more, on
Valentine’s day—a day for lovers . . . of horses, too!
WANNA SHARE IN $1
MILLION?
Then don't sleep in on Saturday
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Everett Shade
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Downs clocker and handicapper extraordinaire Everett
Shade is pumped about this Saturday. He lobbied me to hold a horseplayer
seminar down in the Finish Line at 10:30 a.m. Saturday to discuss the formation of a group ticket on the Magna Pick-5
that afternoon—a pool that will be worth at least $1
million. I couldn’t pass
on his energy. And neither, I
suggest, should you. I’m
going to go the extra mile for you, too, to point out HOT PLAYS from other tracks that afternoon—something that may
help you in the afternoon horseplayer tourney if you’re playing
in it. Free coffee and sweet
rolls, of course. Sleep-in at
your peril! We’re due for
a nice hit. Bring your points of view!
IT'S
"PYRO" POWER!
The colt's first race of the year
was scary good.
Super-horse was written all over the performance
Saturday of Pyro, the 3-year-old colt that Downs clocker Everett Shade and I have been talking about for
some time. He blazed from last to
first in the final quarter of the 1 1/16-mile Risen Star Stakes at the
Fair Grounds and--get this--he did it against a soft early pace. No ordinary horse gobbles up that
kind of ground against a quality group of rivals that are setting
slowish early fractions. "Unbelievable,"
jockey Shaun Bridgmohan was quoted as saying. "I never even hit him."
Futures pool: It’s no surprise that Pyro was the favoured horse in the
first Derby Futures pool last weekend. If he wins the Derby, you’ll get about $12. War Pass, the horse that beat Pyro in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile,
was second choice at 5-1. A ticket on the field (all horses not listed
by name) would pay 3-1. The next futures pool is in early March.
HOW TO BOUNCE
BACK FROM A LOSING STREAK
10 things you can do to turn the
tide
1. Re-create winning conditions. What were you doing the
last time you had a big win? For
example, I've had some of my biggest scores handicapping races while
soaking in the bathtub.
2. Bring one-third the money you normally might bring.
Why? Because it
concentrates your attention more.
You'll make fewer dumb plays.
3. Play less risky bets to restore your confidence.
If you're getting slaughtered playing exactors or triactors,
play win, place or show.
4. Pre-bet your best races. Very important. Nothing is more disheartening than
getting to a race you love and having only a few dollars left.
5. Really want to win. Sounds obvious but it's
not. If having a good time is
more important than winning, then recognize that fact and stop
punishing yourself for not winning.
6. Recognize that winning is streaky. You'll have good days
and bad days. When a film crew
followed around speed guru Andy Beyer some years back, he didn't
win a single race. Yet he also
wrote a book documenting "My $50,000 year at the races."
7. Stop replaying "just
abouts" in your mind. That's racing--just like rimming the
cup in golf. Move on.
8. Do some work. How often do you see a
play when it's too late? Think
about picking up a racing program the day before.
9. Specialize in a track or two. Recognize the huge edge
you'll have on bettors that play everything in sight.
10. Look for value, not winners. Example: Bet a horse when you think he should be 2-1 on the
board but you're getting 4-1.
PSST!
What horses at Santa Anita are saying about the track
As Santa Anita completed its track resurfacing last
week, your intrepid reporter had a recording device planted in the
stalls of two horses waiting to dig their hooves into the newest concoction
of Australian-inspired Pro-Ride synthetic ingredients mixed in with
undraining Cushion Track "porridge."
Horse A: "So . . . see what
we'll be racing over today?"
Horse B: "Yah, cotton
balls."
A: "Is that what that white fluffy
stuff is?"
B: "Well, maybe it isn't cotton
balls but it looks like cotton balls."
A: "Sounds soft and cushy to
me. Do you think we'll be able
to go fast?"
B: "Well, it isn't JUST cotton balls. There are
still bits of rubber and sand and carpet fibres covered in wax."
A: "I'm not sure I want to dig my
hooves into THAT. What happened
to the stuff we used to race over."
B: "You mean dirt?"
A: "Yah, dirt."
B: "C'mon, this is the 21st
century. Cushy sandy bouncy cotton
balls and stuff is better because it reduces the concussion on our
hooves."
A: "The what?"
B: "The concussion. You know, the vibration that goes
through our legs when we slam down on hard stuff--like pavement. It's supposed to be better for
us."
A: "You know what really would be
better for us?"
B: "Not racing at all?"
A: "Naw, racing is kinda fun--it
adds meaning to our lives."
B: "Meaning? Where did that come from? Don't get all philosophical with
me."
A: "Philo ...?"
B: "... sophical. What would we be doing
otherwise?"
A: "Galloping around eating grass
and looking at the sky and nuzzling each other."
B: "Bo---ring."
A: "Precisely. But cotton
balls? Shouldn't we put our hooves
down and say 'enough is enough?' How adaptable do they think we
are?"
B: "Stop whinnying. If that doesn't work, I hear they
have sponge bits, crushed Bouncy Gym balls and Play Dough waiting to
dump out there."
A: "You're kidding, right?"
B. "And varnished Cheerios and
petrified English muffin tops and crushed Styrofoam coffee cups."
A: "Okay, enough! Fields of cotton and rubber bits and
carpet fibres, and whatever, here we come. Leave well enough alone!"
B: "And toothbrush bristles and
pencil erasers and shredded wheat ...."
"MY MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT"
Discarded cut-offs holds $8,000
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Cut-offs hide secret
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Thought you might enjoy one of my memorable moments,
a rather quirky one. Early
1990's, a week night in late July. I'm not really in the mood to go to
the races because I'm visiting beautiful gardens, one of my other
passions. Enticed by a bit of
carryover in the Twin Triactor pool, though, I make it to the track for
the last three live races. Long
story short: After winning the first triactor, I get two chances at winning the
second triactor and the $8,000 in the pool. I remember thinking that jockey Frank
Licata would finish either first or third because he didn't seem to
try once he was beaten for first.
That bit of knowledge won me the pool. But, wanting to return as quickly as
possible to my serene gardening mood, I tuck the ticket worth $8,000 into
my cut-off jeans and I'm outta there.
The next morning, I head to my favourite
jogging/workout venue, the YMHA on Hargrave (now defunct). Once down on the jogging track, I
strip off my ragged cut-offs holding the $8,000 ticket (I have jogging shorts underneath)
and throw them onto the floor near a post at the centre of the jogging
area. Throughout my 60 laps or
so, I have this delicious thought of the $8,000 sitting in what looks
like a rag and wondering what others working out on the exercise equipment
around my shorts would have thought had they known my little
secret. I dunno. One of those
goofy memorable moments still worth a smirk.
WHO WON? Rats get dinner, Double Play energizes
Dinner for Rats: Congrats to these three who
were the first to notify me via email that they were born in a Year of
the Rat--the lead animal in the 12-animal Chinese zodiac: Krista Bouchard of Cypress
River, Keith MacLennan ("I have been called a rat many
times but I was unaware it was completely accurate.") and Treena
Chabotar. They receive
dinners for two at Thursday's popular theme night buffet.
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Promo gal Chelsea congratulates Reg Pluchinske, the first
big Double Play winner
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Saturday night Double Play: People who turned out at
the Clubhouse Saturday night to play the new game, Double Play,
appeared to agree that it's an exciting, high-energy game. Six races in 75 minutes--alternating
between three thoroughbred and three harness--with carryovers if no one
won each game. The place was
buzzing. A Double Play is scored
when an entrant correctly predicts both a show horse and the added-up
saddle cloth numbers of the top three finishers in a race. Reg Pluchinske was the biggest
winner on the night, picking up $100 in betting vouchers which included
$75 in carryover money. Two other winners on the night were: Shawn Gorrie and Terry
Pagee who received $25 each for a tie in another race. Come out (or stay) this Saturday
evening to see why this new game has the joint jumpin'!
Show parlay challenge: Jeff Rozmus won
$25
Friday night poker: Teacher Rick Zaretsky
improved on his second-place finish last week, this time winning $100
in vouchers for top spot in the 10-seat game. Turning point:
"Going all-in on the last couple of hands and getting great cards,
including trips (three of a kind)." Shawn Gorrie finished
second. Top two each week get
into the $1,000 finale March 28.
Tour d' Champs "classy merchandise" draw: Shawn Gorrie, Bruce
Barkwell, Marie White
Death by Bay
Meadows: Two friends, blogger Glen
"Stretch" Sirkis and Marshall Posner, put away 22 other entrants and went
head-to-head for two races, with Stretch using his trainer smarts to
pick a recently-claimed horse as a wire-to-wire victor in a cheap
$4,000 claiming race, the sixth race at the Bay. He received $100 in vouchers.
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Two votes
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One vote
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Seventeen votes
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HOW YOU VOTED
Belmont Stakes logo by “seven furlongs”
It was no contest. Most of you told me you like the
Belmont Stakes logo best--with only one of you emailing a strong
comment for the Preakness one. The tally: Kentucky Derby--two votes, Preakness--one vote, Belmont Stakes--17
votes. "It looks like
the real thing for racing," wrote Donna Cretney. Wrote Robert and Kathy Gates:
"This one is not even close. Belmont by about seven furlongs," Wrote G.
Starr: "Belmont is traditional. Looks like some Artsy Fartsy did the
other ones and quite frankly they look awful." Grant
Yersh thinks the Kentucky Derby logo is "too
cartoonish" and "the horse looks like a show
jumper." Only one
strong comment in favour of the Preakness logo: "This is by far the best
logo," said Doug Kowalchuk. I have to say I'm in the minority
here, too, as is Sheri, the person who mails The Insider
to you. We thought the Preakness to be particularly striking. Maybe we're around horses and
traditional horse images so much that it's refreshing to see an image
that is less traditional. Thanks
for your input!
TIP O' THE WEEK: Pace standout makes exotics easier
If you can spot races in which there is likely
to be a clear front-end winner, then you are 80 per cent there in
picking an exactor, triactor and superfecta in that race. If a horse has a giant
"pace" number, then take this horse on top and select these
kinds of horses underneath: the
best closers (i.e. big speed numbers), a horse with the second-best
pace number, horses with equipment changes or horses just claimed,
horses that "bounced" in their last race (in other words, a
horse that finished miserably last time after winning its previous race). You'll be surprised at the number of
exotic bets you'll cash by following this simple strategy.
LONG WEEKEND OF FUN: U.S. holiday on Monday, too!
Are Manitoba lawmakers closet horseplayers?
Probably not, but they couldn't have picked a better Monday in
February for an annual holiday.
Louis Riel Day coincides with Presidents' Day in the U.S. which means great racing from all the major tracks this Monday
beginning with Aqueduct at 11:30 a.m. I wonder what many of you will be doing this Monday? As if I have to ask. Other weekend highlights:
Friday: $1,000 poker. Also, sign up for Saturday's horseplayer tourney by 9 p.m.
Saturday morning: You’re invited to
a 10:30 a.m. seminar in the Finish Line to construct a winning Magna pick-5
ticket and learn about HOT PLAYS
Saturday afternoon: monthly horseplayer
tourney with a $1,000 twist. The twist?
The top three finishers, in addition to winning regular prize
money up to $500, will be invited back to a $1,000 winner-take-all Tournament of Champions in May. Also, play Death by Bay Meadows.
Saturday evening: Week two of the
high-energy Double Play game starts at 7:30 p.m. $200 in prize money up
for grabs.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Dakota OTB closes
A reminder to players who go to the Dakota off-track
betting location. It will
permanently close at the end of Sunday's races. The two other locations in the
general area--the Pembina Hotel and the Windsor Hotel will welcome
players who have been frequenting the Dakota.
Have a great
long weekend!
See you Saturday
for a stab at $1 million!
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