Santa Anita Nov. 2 & 3

PRE-ENTRIES RELEASED NEXT WEEK:  Next Wednesday, Oct. 24, pre-entries for the 15 Breeders' Cup races will be announced and an advanced edition of the Daily Racing Form will be available.  Six races will be run Friday, Nov. 2 and nine on Saturday, Nov. 3, with one change taking place since last year:  the Marathon Race has been moved back to Friday and the Fillies and Mares Sprint will be moved to Saturday.  The order in which the races will be run will also be announced next Wednesday.

TURF HANDICAPPING ANGLE:  In the last two years of Breeders' Cups at Santa Anita (2008-2009), European horses won half of the 10 races that were run on the turf, which may be counter-intuitive because European horses would not be expected to take to a hard turf surface.  I expect that shows that Santa Anita thoroughly drenched their turf course in the days leading up to the Breeders' Cup.  I would expect them to do the same this year. 

NOTE FROM LAST YEAR'S BREEDERS' CUP:   Woodbine horses were exceptionally competitive on the turf (remember Perfect Shirl's victory in the Fillies and Mare Turf at 27-1?).  Box European and Woodbine horses in your tri's and super's for what could be monster scores.

BOOK THE BRUNCH:  Phone 204-885-3330 to reserve the all-you-can-eat brunch in the Terrace Dining Room Saturday, Nov. 3, and keep your seat all afternoon.

BC WORKSHOP:  10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 3 on the main level.  Share in group tickets in the pick-6 and/or other bets.

Out of money . . .

But not out of luck

Dave Boehmer From broke to beaming

It was late Sunday afternoon in the Race Book and curler/roofer/nice guy Dave Boehmer was out of money. Or was he? "I thought I was broke but found a $20 bill in my right front pocket and dug through my jacket pocket for the other $4." So, back in business, he plays a $24 pick-4 ticket at Hastings (which pays more than $1,000 for $1) and gets four of five in the pick-5 to collect $350.  And once again does what almost seems a mantra for him: scratching and clawing his way out of a deep hole.  He once increased a mere $3 left in his phone account to $1,200 the same night.

And he wasn't through on Sunday.  "I was taking off but Mountaineer's last race was getting close so I played the superfecta keying just #10 in the fourth position at 28-1. You guessed it. I got it!"  Which added another $400 to his bankroll and showed another aspect to his play. Long odds don't scare him. In fact, what often kills his pick-3 and pick-4 tickets is eliminating the odds-on favourite in a leg.  Which means when he's on a roll, he's looking for extra pockets to stuff all his loot into. And, on Sunday, having to fend off hangers-on who can sniff out winning horseplayers like a pig rooting out truffles. But, hey, being charitable could earn him extra karma to keep his streak going!  Here's wishing, Dave!

---

Quick bits  . . .

With the removal of the wall in the Clubhouse which was separating the VLT lounge from the Race Book, kids under 18 will only be permitted to enter and dine in the south side of the Terrace Dining Room so they don't see the VLTs.  

NEVER A DULL MOMENT:  In case you haven't noticed, you can now bet and watch races from Sweden, Hong Kong and Japan on your HPI account in addition to England and Ireland.       

"I WON BIG" GROUP SETTLES FOR 5 OF 6:  The first words out of my mouth at last Saturday's "I won big" pick-6 workshop on Belmont Park races turned out to be prophetic, unfortunately. I said race 10, the last leg of the pick-6, was very tricky and we'd need to take numerous horses on our ticket.  We had two horses--they finished second and third--but not the $41 winner which produced an $8,000 payout.  We got back $121 for five of six.  On further reflection, that horse was not as tricky as one might expect and, I promise, once the workshop attendees see why--and they will this Saturday--they will NEVER miss this kind of horse again.  I promise. 

On a positive note, a big shout-out to Trevor Tillston-Jones. He insisted the group include another tricky horse and, thankfully, everyone listened to him.  Otherwise, the ticket might have had four of six.  Such are the dynamics of group play.  So we'll be back at it again in the Finish Line this Saturday at 11 a.m., the second-last workshop until the Breeders' Cup.  Everyone's invited and receives a free $5 share.

Ibrahim Gundogdu rides in Australia

MISLEADING IMPRESSION:  Recipients of the DRF newsletter could get the misleading impression that all of racing in Canada is in immediate danger rather than just Ontario, which is what they really mean.  "Ontario" ought to be substituted for "Canadian" to be fair to other provinces.  That's like saying racing in the U.S. is in trouble because a state government is non-supportive of racing in that state.

MOST UNUSUAL JOCKEY NAME?   I. Gundogdu is the name of a highly-successful jockey riding in Australia ("I" stands for Ibrahim).  That name is common in Turkey, where he originated, and there's a city and a prominent female volleyball player with that name in Turkey as well.

Blogger Rob loves horse racing and statistics and, fortunately for Insider readers, he has combined both interests to produce the best-ever weekly update on local trainers and horses

Trainer Blair Miller Empties barn at Turf Paradise

Trainer Blair Miller will empty his barn this weekend as he looks for his second win at Turf Paradise. Scotty Q (ridden by Jennifer Reid) should move forward tomorrow afternoon off his last race and Tannat looks like he should like the turf.  Too bad they are in the same race. Lewiston and Patrician Snoop (who broke his maiden at ASD after a couple runner-up finishes) are both in the ATBA Sales Stakes and I give the advantage to Lewiston who rallied impressively to finish third in his first start at Turf and then won a maiden optional claimer for $30,000. Reid rides Patrician.

       Who's racing over the next few days? CLICK HERE to see the database.  

       Note that PAGE ONE lists local horses currently entered. 

       Note that PAGE TWO will list the result of EVERY start made by a local horse.

THIS DAY IN RACING HISTORY: