Congrats, Jim!   You "showed" 'em!   Yes, Red River College math prof Jim Roberts disposed of a whopping 2,832 entrants in a free Hollywood Park online contest called Show Me the Money and has won the $5,000

Jim Roberts Beats the world

(U.S.) winner-takes-all prize.  Some feat!  The contest required entrants to pick one show horse at Hollywood each day of its current meet.  After 31 days of picks, Jim won Sunday when his pick won the second race and his opponent's horse finished fourth in the fourth race.  So the prize money isn't going to some player in California or New York or Kentucky or Ontario.  It's coming to the modest prairies!  You've done all local horseplayers proud, Jim!   What was his strategy?  He tells you here. 

 

But Jim has also shown that you, too, could be on the lookout for similar online contests that offer free money for thoughtfulness on your part.  The Insider will search out these contests and tell you about them.  Santa Anita usually holds a similar contest but I haven't seen anything on its website yet.

JANINE GETS LAST LAUGH

Aggressive local rider wins top apprentice award

Janine Stianson Top apprentice

CONTROVERSY RAGES

Did Simon Husbands "stiff" horse at Woodbine?

The severe one-year riding suspension handed Simon Husbands at Woodbine for not trying hard on Bug's Boy to beat his brother's horse in a race on Nov. 30 has elicited strong opinions on all sides.  The horse's trainer, as you'll note below, states Simon rode according to instructions.  Watch race here.

READERS WRITE:  Ivan:  "Give me a break!  Granted this is the kind of controversy that is almost impossible to prove but to me it just plain stinks. The "evidence" is simple. Look at the top five finishers.  The second place horse was the only one that was given a "hand ride" to the finish. -- Bob Gates

Ivan:  "I went through the videos of Bug's Boy's previous four races in which he was ridden by three different jockeys--Chantal Sutherland, Slade Callaghan (2) and Simon Husbands. In all four of them, when Bug's Boy was in contention and the jockey went for the whip, he regressed. Obviously, he did not like it." -- Alex Sidor

Ivan:  "It looked like an O.K. ride to me. All jocks don't have the same style." -- "Mtwain"

Ivan:  "Simon's horse had lots of gas left in the tank and he didn't do much to get the horse going. He definitely did not try his best to win the race." -- Eric Bayer

Ivan:  "Wow! Watched the race video for the first time and it was so easy to tell that he never, ever asked his horse for the good stuff. Two thumbs up for the stewards on that one." -- Dave Boehmer

THE HORSE'S TRAINER WRITES (in Jen's ThoroughBlog):  "Bug’s Boy was ridden by Simon exactly as I instructed him and as we discussed. This horse dropped in for $16,000 last start and hit a brick wall and stopped as soon as Simon began to get aggressive with him. I wanted to try something different. I told Simon to keep him covered up as long as possible.  Tap him on the shoulder, and DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT PUSH HIM, or HIT him, but rather hold him on the bit and nudge him.  As you can see Simon’s attention to the instruction resulted in the horse’s best finish yet.  This horse also did not switch leads down the stretch once again until he crossed the wire, compromising his late burst. Galloping him every morning, I can tell you he is a very quirky horse. While we were ecstatic with the improvement Bug’s Boy showed on Sunday, still he did not win, and make no mistake, that’s what he, Simon and our family went there to do." -- John LeBlanc, Jr., trainer of Bug's Boy

WHOOPS!   I got it wrong; you made it right  Yes, you're right, JIM McAleney, not PETER McAleney, competed against Patrick Husbands for top riding honours this year at Woodbine (Patrick won).  Peter, in fact, rode at Assiniboia Downs in the 1980's.  It was crazy that didn't register with me in the story I wrote last week and, yes, I'm doing humble penance. And thanks to all who straightened me out. "As much as Peter would of wanted to be leading rider at Woodbine, he has retired," wrote Debbie Richardson. Of course, I could pretend I purposely used the wrong McAleney to see if you were paying attention but you'd catch me on that charade, too.

POKER WINNERS:   House appraiser on a poker roll

Bob Dunn: On a poker roll

Tomorrow's prop has a seasonal twist:  the first player to win a hand with a pair of snowmen (eights) wins $50 cash.  But a player with eights must hum "Frosty the Snowman" to win the prize.  Hmm, maybe not.  If no one wins with eights, the $50 cash is added to the Dec. 26 prize.

LIGHTNING ROUND WINNERS:  Fast caller sets record

Who knew anyone could call that many $2 tickets in a mere one-minute!  Businessman Rick Dow placed an amazing $134 in bets Saturday night.  His winnings amounted to $155.  Previously, no one has been able to reach $100 in bets.  Did he practice?  The other winner of a betting spree Saturday night was retired electrician George Newbury but he couldn't connect.  None of $92 in bets paid off.

Friday's Lightning Round:  Ed McKenna (see poker above) also won a chance at the Lightning Round.  His $82 in wagers earned him $52.70.  Robert LeBrun, also an assembly technician at Boeing, was able to call $74 in tickets.  His winnings were $16.40.  Get into the Lightning Round draw yourself tomorrow and Saturday and see if you can beat Rick Dow's record!  The top two this month get to do it again Saturday, Dec. 27 for more money and title of Zeus.

TIP O' THE WEEK:  Boxing horses is bad strategy   You read right.  If you had attended last Thursday's "Climb the Ladder" workshop in the Finish Line, you would have heard horseplaying experts tell you how wrong you are if you box horses in exactor or triactor tickets or play pick-4 and "gorilla" pick-6 tickets that simply wheel all the horses you like in all legs.  This is a lazy way of betting that doesn't give you a chance at a really big score, they said.  You need to take a stand, keying horses you really like, and you need to develop alternative scenarios for races you like, perhaps concluding that extreme longshots DO have a chance at winning a leg--and play that ticket as well, keying horses in other legs.

FREE XMAS PUDDING SATURDAY!  If you're in the Race Book this

Saturday, Chef Cheryl will have a special treat for you:  delicious Christmas pudding with hot caramel/rum sauce.  After sampling some last week, I'm really looking forward to some again.  The sauce is spectacular.  And, of course, you may want to grab a cup of coffee, too.  It's always free.   

TIME IS RUNNING OUT!   Reserve now for New Year's Eve.  Enjoy a memorable night featuring an amazing multi-course dinner (see menu here), dancing, party favours and Champagne at midnight in the unique ambience of the Terrace Dining Room only $39.99 per person.  Call 885-3330.  Limited space available.

UPCOMING EVENTS:  Treasure trove of baby races Sat.

The countdown to the Kentucky Derby in May kinda starts this Saturday with the running of many rich races for 2-year-olds. Hollywood features the $750,000 CashCall Futurity,  Fair Grounds has the $100,000 Sugar Bowl and the $100,000 Letellier Memorial, Golden Gate features the $75,000 Gold Rush Stakes, Turfway Park has the $50,000 Gowell Stakes and Charles Town showcases the $45,000 Eleanor M. Casey Stakes.  Great races to watch!  Get a head start on predicting a Derby winner!

WATCH FOR NEXT INSIDER TUESDAY:  Because Christmas and New Year's Day fall on Thursdays, you'll be receiving the next two Insiders on Tuesday, updating you on holiday racing and special events. You may be surprised to discover there's a connection between the opening day at Santa Anita and the sad death of a Winnipeg jockey in 1927.  Watch for that story in next week's Insider.