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They're here!
Amtote touch totes installed Tuesday |
A NEW ERA IN BETTING HAS ARRIVED AT ASD! The Amtote touch tote terminals are in! So get ready to fly through your bets at dizzying speed at the track and at OTBs. Also, by getting a new number for your expired TAB account, you can now bet online, watch replays and download race programs or continue to bet by phone. Simply call the mutuel desk (885-3330 ext. 225) or sign up at www.horseplayerinteractive.com. Playing the races has suddenly become easier and more fun!
HUGE GIVEAWAY! 3,000 MAGNUM ICE CREAM BARS: To introduce it's new giant ice-cream bar called Magnum, Breyer's will give away a whopping 3,000 of them at what is expected to be a wild and crazy inaugural edition of the Downs' Sport & Leisure Show this Saturday and Sunday at the Downs. See Looking forward to . . . below.
NOTE DIFFERENT DAY: DERBY CONTEST DAY IS SUNDAY. This weekend's big Kentucky Derby prep race, the $1 million Florida Derby, runs on Sunday so that's the day to enter the weekly $1,000 Road to the Triple Crown contest. (All the other important Derby dates are Saturdays.) Current standings.
TONIGHT'S CHARLES TOWN PICK 'EM CONTEST: Prize money has grown to $140! Nobody won last week's Delta pick-'em contest so tonight's cash awards at Charles Town have been increased. (1) Predict the winner in race 7 and (2) the pick-3 in races 7 to 9 and put your picks in the subject line of your email and send to theinsider@ASDowns.com by 8 p.m. tonight. Prizes: Correct winner--$40, correct pick three--$60. AND winners receive a $20 bonus if present at the announcement 8 p.m. Friday in the Race Book. (Draw will determine winner if there are multiple correct answers.) Usual rules apply.
TRIVIA TEASER: Listen to this golden oldie Can you guess what it has to do with Zenyatta's owner, Jerry Moss? See answer at the bottom of this column.
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And what were YOU doing Saturday morning at 7 a.m.?
It's interesting how the race track, even at 7 a.m. on a bone-chilling minus-eight Saturday morning, has a certain appeal to it, especially under the awesome prairie sky. In the last walk of the season Saturday, these fans headed to the barns to visit Jon's Golden Run--who will celebrate his second birthday tomorrow--and to see how the Equi-Ciser operates. (Inset: Race historian Bob Gates with the affectionate Jon.) Horses will replace humans soon. You can follow horse workouts on the 24-hour webcam. The next opportunity for a human invasion will come on Canada Day, July 1, after the races. |
A horseplayer gene?
Scientists discover why some horseplayers are better
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Do successful horseplayers have a "smart" gene? |
Who would have thunk it? The best horseplayers appear to have a rare gene that less successful players don't have. That's the result of a study of horseplayers at race tracks in California over the past 10 years. Details will be released next week in a scientific journal.
"When we started this research, we did it purely on speculation," said Dr. Alfred Derfla, director of behavioural studies at Stanford University in San Francisco. He said he got the idea for his research from going to Golden Gate Fields across the bay from San Francisco where he said he is a passionate player. "We had no idea we'd make the discovery we did."
The obvious question, then, is how does someone find out if he's carrying the gene. And can horseplayers who don't have this gene still play successfully?
"I wouldn't look at it that way," Dr. Derfla said. "Some people are just plain lucky and can win despite their genetic shortfall."
When I brought this study to the attention of some players in the Race Book, a few weren't surprised. "See? I've always known that something was against me," said one regular who is often heard complaining "why me?'" "This research confirms it," he said. "I'm a born loser."
Or maybe this story is just an early April Fool's joke because tomorrow is April Fool's day. Yes, of course it is. April Fool! (Loser!)
Richest race for babies
Australian 2-year-olds compete for $3.5 million tomorrow
Being a baby down-under has its lucrative benefits. Two-year-olds will compete tomorrow (Friday) at Rosehill Gardens in Australia for a giant $3.5 million purse in the Golden Slipper Stakes. No baby races anywhere else come close to that rich purse. (The Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity have $2 million purses.)
It will be a 17-horse field, with all eyes on a very talented colt by the name of Sepoy who has won all four lifetime starts, setting a track record in his last, the $1 million Blue Diamond Stakes, which he won by four lengths. He will attempt to become the first horse in two decades to win both races. Post time for Australian racing tomorrow is 9 p.m. Have a look!
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Shoemaker wins horseplayer tournament again!
Well, if names mean anything, Monte Shoemaker is living up to his last name. The roads worker has absolutely no connection with the late great rider Willy Shoemaker but he can take a bow because he won Saturday's "So you think you can handicap?" for the second consecutive month, pocketing the $1,000 grand prize again with a winning bankroll of $134.60. That ain't easy! That's him seated (left) next to the second-place finisher, courier company owner Dale Keast who received $500 (bankroll $132.90). Standing, from left, are: retiree Gord Balanduk who won $100 for finishing fifth ($76.90 bankroll) and gym teacher Grant Buckoski and postal worker Murray Chaban who received $175 each for a third-place tie ($127 bankroll). The top four all had picked a $98 first-time starter at Tampa Bay so they divided up the $100 prize for picking the highest-priced horse. Missing from the picture: Len Charney who won $200 for increasing his $10 show parlay to $168.90. Now that's more like it! Great going to all! In the random draw from the 40 entrants, Wayne Misko won the $100 prize. The final contest before live racing will take place Saturday, April 30. |
Quick bits . . .
Guess who's having a baby? Is she "smiling?"
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Anna Bella, seen here winning the Sun Stakes last summer,
was bred to Devil. |
Anna Bella, the ASD mare misidentified as "Smiling" for four years until her true heritage was uncovered last spring, presumably has reason to be "smiling" again. She's having a baby. She was down in Kentucky last weekend dallying with the Devil, Devil His Due, according to co-owner Tony Tweed of Dark Cloud Racing Stables. I suspect the news will have her fans smiling, too, one of which is me. She was my favourite gutsy mare who always gave her best. Devil's stud fee, as listed on the internet, is $3,500, a real bargain considering the fact he fathered Roses in May who won the Dubai World Cup, the world's richest race, in 2005.
DISSES DADDY: Race blogger and 2009 handicapper of the year Ron Phelps has found his match. And that match is his own son, Trevor. The two of them went head-to-head in an eight-week test to see who could earn the most points picking one horse each weekend with
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Trevor Phelps
Inscription reads:
"Bragging rights for a year" |
a morning line of at least 6-1. Well, coming into the final weekend, Ron had one win and a second-place horse and son Trevor had picked one winner. In his final stab at overtaking Papa, Trevor did the remarkable: He found a horse at Gulfstream Friday afternoon that won (and paid $21). Ron needed at least a third-place finish for his pick on the turf at Fair Grounds Saturday to tie the contest. Coming down the stretch, his horse made a moderate move but then flattened. Which had Trevor beaming and looking for a trophy to diss Daddy with. He got a little help from the Downs in professionalizing the inscription: "Trevor Phelps. Bragging rights for a year." It's gonna be a long year for someone whose blog you can read here. But kudos to both for putting their talents on public view while under pressure to pick longshots. That shows true grit.
FIVE OF SIX--AGAIN: The "I won big" group just can't pull out of its five-of-six rut. They did it again Saturday morning, about 30 of them. All they got from their effort was five of six a couple times and a small pick-3 so they have just over $100 to be added to another attempt this Saturday. We need fresh brain power to put us over the top! What about yours? But at least a superfecta recommendation brought bang-on results: A $40 outlay earned $260. I hope a bunch of you played it. So there are other ways to profit from these discussions. See you this Saturday at 11 a.m.! (Because of the lunch buffet for Sport & Leisure Trade Show attendees, the workshop will be held at the north end of the Clubhouse.) As usual, a free $5 share is yours if you attend.
NIXES PHOTO RADAR: If you don't like photo radar tickets, the place to be living in is South Carolina. The state senate by a vote of 40-0 banned photo radar speeding tickets in the state and said an officer must give a ticket in person to the offending driver at the time the offense takes place. The Downs will continue to ease photo radar pain during live racing when it pays for someone's ticket on the last Saturday of each month.
After four weeks of the eight-week Road to the Kentucky Derby contest, four players remain in the lead because they predicted the winners of two contest races:
5-ALIVE CHALLENGE: It's been two $50 consolation wins in a row for random-numbers picker and homemaker Marcella Chartrand! The jackpot remains at $250 for this week's contest which requires you to pick three show horses, a place horse and a winner at Charles Town. 
So you think you can handicap? Prove it! Next horseplayer tournament: Saturday, April 30. Cash prizes awarded for: (1) top five biggest bankrolls (bet $2 win/place on 10 races) (2) biggest show parlay in six races (3) biggest longshot and (4) get your entry drawn. 
NEW! TOUCH TOTE MANIA SPREES!: 
MOLSON FREEROLL POKER: Do you read 
Did you know . . .