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Challenge: Pick a winner in 10 seconds! Click here to see a program page from last Sunday's races at
Oaklawn. Your objective is to
pick the winner in under 10 seconds.
Go ahead, I'll wait. Time
yourself. Former Downs clocker Everett Shade spotted the winner in
six seconds. So did Laj, one of the
top students at my seminars.
Maybe you can even do it in fewer than six.
Okay, back from
scanning the race? So how long
did it take you to spot the horse with a blow-em-away,
staggeringly high 110 pace number? And do you know what it paid? $15.40 for a $2 win bet. Need I say more?
If you haven't clued in to this type of horse, you're not
picking up the almost-free money sitting out there waiting to be
collected. If you had seen the
running of the race you would have been even more impressed. The horse, Good Account, left
very poorly, veering sideways and trailed the field, about 20 lengths
behind the leader. He looked like a sure loser. Then--you should have seen it--he flew
down the stretch and won the race by about 12 lengths. For a replay of the race, go to www.racereplays.com
(costs $10 for 100 replays). To find out the payoffs for the race go to
www.drf.com
and click on "results."
If you're not sure why this kind of horse is a standout play,
see the tips on pace and speed in Secrets to Picking Winners on the Downs website.
So what else is
cracking on this thankfully last week of winter?
• Live racing is seven weeks away but some 300 horses are working out already
as horsemen try to get a leg up on the competition
• Time is running out for you to pick a side in the Stretch vs
Bigg spring slug fest
• A four-letter word, Pyro, is on the
lips of horse watchers everywhere after the
horse romped to another easy victory in the Louisiana Derby
• This
Saturday sizzles with another
crop of Kentucky Derby hopefuls running in
the Tampa Bay Derby.
Get your Tour d' Champs
card stamped!
• Want to
earn $2,000 an hour? See a case in point below.
• Free bet
on St. Patrick's
day!
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More fun than a Jamaican beach?
When you really
love horseracing, how's this for sacrifice? Troy Sinclair left his balmy
Jamaican home to come up to the Downs to exercise horses in the face
of numbing windchills to get them ready for
opening day Friday, May 2.
He's shown here on Monday working Hyroad
Stable's Jezawi, trained by Randy
Gray. The exercise rider's dedication appears to be paying
off. Operations manager Darren
Dunn said Troy looks like he's ready for apprentice
jockey status.
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$8 t icket
paid $783.80
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$32 t icket
paid $1150.80
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HOW TO EARN $2,000 AN HOUR
It's amazing what a little homework will do
We're lazy. No, let me re-phrase that. I'm lazy. I admit to trying to pick horses
without doing all the work and my conscience, none other than Stretch,
the guy I'm competing against soon, keeps reminding me of that
fact. But I gotta
say this--his lesson finally struck a really deep chord on
Saturday. I had dismissed the
Magna Pick-5 that afternoon as being unplayable because it appeared so
difficult but Stretch had spent two hours at home viewing replays and
looking at trainer stats. He
came up with a mere $50 ticket with three keys, including a turf race
from Santa Anita that I thought required four horses. Bottom line: the ticket won and paid just under
$1,500. I was semi-stunned and
admit to being really, really impressed.
But it led to my
doing something I hadn't done for some time: I took the Bay Meadows program for
the next day home with me that night.
And, on Sunday morning, while others were thinking about turning
their clocks ahead to daylight saving time, I was at my computer
viewing some replays as well as weighing various competing factors on
the nine-race card for about 90 minutes. I arrived at the track ready for
bear. But I got more than bear:
I got back almost $3,000 or roughly $2,000 an hour for the time spent
that morning. Two of the tickets
are above: I spent $32 on a place pick-9 ticket which brought me a
return of more than $1,100 and I won the pick-6 twice including the
ticket above which cost $8 and returned more than $700. Why am I telling you this story? It should be obvious. I write this
column with the hopes that all of you can be winners. And, by writing this, I hope I'm
setting an example for you, just as Stretch did for me last
Saturday. If this prompts you to
become a better player, please share your success story. Email theinsider@assiniboiadowns.com
SLUG FEST STARTS SOON
Stretch gets in early jabs; who will win?
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Stretch vs
Bigg begins soon
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My horse-picking slug fest
against Stretch doesn't begin until the first day of spring, March 21,
but Stretch is already getting in some early licks. Referring to my
last Insider, he wrote: "If you want to continue to
boast about your one win (last August) that is fine. Over the
past two years I have challenged the people, myself and you. I have raised my bankroll in every
month that was attempted (six times)." He added that he found it
"funny" that I didn't remember the time his $501 accumulated
bankroll beat my $257 "just like when you pick losers." Hey, since the gloves are off, I'll
invite readers to go back to the Bettor's
Blog last August to see if Stretch gave me even the tiniest bit of
credit for being able to double my $1,000 bankroll--as I said I
would--in the face of concerted Ivan-bashing and his saying I'd never
do it. Despite all this parrying
and thrusting, though, I still have to shout from the rooftops that
Stretch is good for the game (see above story). He shows how horseplayers can be
successful if they are truly willing to do a little work. If you're not
paying attention to the insights in his blog,
you're missing out.
So, against this backdrop,
predict whom you think will win The Great
Spring Slug Fest on March 21 and by how much and email your
prediction to contests@assiniboiadowns.com. (E.g. Bigg
by $193.) The entrant with the
closest prediction gets $50.
Stretch and I will each start with a $400 cash bankroll
and make 20 plays of $20 win, place or show within 20 days. We can
increase our bets to five per cent of our bankrolls as our bankrolls
grow. You have one week left to predict the
winner. Stretch will
begin posting our plays on his Bettor's
Blog starting Friday, March
21.
"MY MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT"
"So loud I
couldn't hear myself calling the race!"
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Darren Dunn
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He's praised by locals as being
one of the best race-callers in the business. To see him in action in his
announcer's booth is a treat and evokes admiration. So, in a career that started with
grooming horses and being a "gopher" and photo-picture-runner
in his teens, what does operations manager Darren Dunn pick as
his most memorable moment after 25 years around the Downs? "Calling my
first-ever Manitoba Derby in 1989," he recalls. "Local connections had not won the Derby since Merry's
Jay in 1976 and when Rough Catch, with Todd Kabel aboard, turned for home in the lead, the
crowd was cheering so loudly I could not hear myself call the stretch
drive. Rough Catch held on to win and it was celebration time at
Assiniboia Downs that day--especially after the races." It sounds to me like
maybe the "after the races" was the most memorable of all.
QUOTE OF THE
WEEK: "Pyro is the real
deal!" -- Former Downs clocker Everett Shade after Pyro picked his way through horses in the
$600,000 Louisiana Derby Saturday, posting another impressive victory
on the road to the Kentucky Derby in seven weeks.
WHO WON? Big carryover in Saturday's Double Play
Friday
poker: John "the Greek" Ganas picked up $100 in betting vouchers. He
and James Tunchuk win a seat in
the $1,000 poker finale March 28.
Show parlay
challenge: Glen Sirkis received $25 in
vouchers.
Saturday's Death by Bay Meadows: Roy Hunchak was the sole survivor of 30 entrants
after the third race. He
received $100 to play the horses.
Saturday
evening's Double Play: Marked the first week
the King of Double Play, Reg
Pluchinske, was shut out. Winners included: Rod Zaretsky
($75), Marshall Posner and Andy Koloiejchuk
split $50, Jim Roberts ($50), Andrew Wilson, Terry Pagee and Glen Miller divided up $25
(received $10 apiece), Dorothy Miller, Doug Wedgewood and Barry Outar
divided up $50 (received $15 each).
Carryover! $100 will be available to the show
winner this Saturday.
Santa Anita
merchandise draw (Saturday afternoon): Peggy
Turner
TIP O' THE WEEK: Read a great book--at a great price!
Lucky you. Great books on racing are available
from the Daily Racing Form but the problem is,
the shipping costs are exhorbitant. It can cost you $50 to get an $18
book. So the Downs has gone to bat for you.
It has ordered in some of the best titles available and IS
MAKING THEM AVAILABLE AT THE U.S. PRICE LISTED ON THE BOOK. They will be available this Saturday
from noon to 4 p.m. at the kiosk next to the Race Book. Here are the titles and the cost. Very limited availability. First
come, first served.
ST. PATRICK'S DAY IS MONDAY but you can pre-
celebrate with a great feast of Irish favourites at tonight's
all-you-can-eat buffet in the Terrace Dining Room. Menu. Served from 5 to 8 p.m. for only $14.95. Go
Irish all the way and order a Guinness, too--the beer with the
fascinating ball at the bottom! Next Thursday's theme: International cuisine. Easter
brunch March 23: Menu. Phone 885-3330 to
reserve.
ST. PATRICK'S DAY DEAL: Wear something green to the track on St. Patrick's Day Monday and your first bet is
on the house. Go to the mutuel
supervisor, show your green and you'll receive a free $2 wager. One per
person. Yes, green hair
counts. As do green eyes. Green mouldy
oranges don't count.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Horseplayer tourney Saturday
The next Player's Choice horseplayer tournament goes
this Saturday. Remember that the
top three finishers not only win the usual cash prizes, they also
get invited back to a $1,000 winner-takes-all tourney on May 24 with
only 12 players. Sign up at the
track or at an OTB location before 9 p.m. tomorrow.
Pembina Hotel
offers late racing on Sundays: This OTB location now features Sunday
simulcast racing until it ends that night, which means players can make
late tab deposits/withdrawals and pick up programs and forms for Monday
racing.
Ready for bear?
Big pools await your expertise!
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