"GUESS THE HANDLE" CONTEST RESULTS: The combined Tuesday/Wednesday handle was $378,622 and, once again, none of your predictions came within $1,000 of the actual amount. So the pot grows by another $50, giving someone the opportunity to win $250 next week!

Youngest new trainer is two for three! Rob Atras (at right), 24, has won two of three races at the Downs since earning his trainer license in late April. "I'm going to retire now," he joked after longshot Muffin's Star wired the field at 9-1 odds last Tuesday with blinkers off and Alan Cuthbertson aboard. Andrew NcNaught is the owner and groom.

Fort Erie

EDDIE O TALKS:  DON'T MISS HIM!

Learn betting strategies; ask questions

So, you ask:  What can a hockey player tell you about horse racing?  Well, it seems to me that when that former player has the smarts to win a $500,000 pick-6 at Hollywood, he's got a lot to say.  Have any of us come even close to that kind of score?  What

See Eddie Olczyk Saturday 5:30 p.m.

does it take?  Maybe it has something to do with attitude.  Maybe Eddie Olczyk has transferred his on-ice aggression as a forward to at-the-betting-windows aggression.  Whatever it is, I'm looking forward to hearing what he has to say this Saturday down in the Finish Line banquet hall at 5:30 p.m. where, of course, y'all are invited.

Wear a white Jets T-shirt or jersey and your first $5 bet is on the house! 

Eddie, 42, who played for the Winnipeg Jets for six years in the 1990's, will be part of a panel discussion led by track announcer Darren Dunn.  Topics will include betting strategies, answering hockey questions (bring yours!) and pointing out prime plays in Saturday night's live program.  Joining Eddie on the panel will be paddock host Kirt Contois, Bettor’s Blog host Stretch, clocker Everett Shade and yours truly.  When's the last time you talked to someone who made $500,000 playing the horses?   Maybe this Saturday's session will be your springboard to a similar accomplishment!    Don't miss it.  Call 885-3330 to guarantee your seat.

 Did you know . . .  Eddie Olczyk's younger brother, Rick, 38, is assistant general manager for the Edmonton Oilers and that Eddie has two sons who play for Junior A hockey teams in Iowa? 

IT'S IN THE ANGLE: A camera which is moored 10 feet to the right of the finish line (left), televises each race but the true race placings come from a camera positioned near the roof of the grandstand and lined up precisely with the finish line. It transmits the race finish at 3,200 images a second to a computer screen (right) in the steward's stand.

PEEVED PLAYERS PROTEST PLACINGS

Fooled by camera angle

Several recent local races--especially the fifth race last Saturday--elicited an avalanche of complaints from TV viewers who insisted the second-place horse near the rail had actually beaten the wide horse posted as the winner. I had thought the same thing and tried to get to the bottom of the illusion.  The answer, I found out with the help of federal agriculture official Peter Fuchs, is that the TV camera IS 10 FEET TO THE RIGHT OF THE FINISH LINE.   In tight finishes, then, the inside horse appears to be the winner when, in fact, a horse on the outside can be nosing him out. 

The important camera--the one that determines the exact finish of a race--is situated directly above the finish line and is calibrated before the races each day by the same person, Krystal, the e-photo operator who walks along a catwalk at the top of the grandstand to check it.  That camera snaps an incredible 3,200 images a second as the horses cross the finish line, leaving no room for doubt.  The images are captured on her computer in the stewards' stand.  Horseplayers being horseplayers, though, like to read all sorts of nefarious goings-on into a race result but the feds are there on behalf of fans to ensure absolute integrity.  It doesn't sound sexy but them's the goods and, after I saw it all first-hand, it satisfied me.

QUICK BITS:   Parting shots; Woodbine’s pick-6 sputters  

Shooters honour fallen friend:  After a memorial service last Friday at the Bridge Church with an overflow crowd of 500 and a reception in the Finish Line at the track, many of the closest friends of late popular valet, Andy Neufeld, 42, went to the spot he had died of a heart attack just outside the jock's room the previous Friday and gulped down a shooter of tequila to his memory, a fitting tribute to a fun-loving guy who had touched each of them in a profound way.

Steve Szego Sr. 1933-2009

Racing loses another:  A familiar race and contest player,  Hungarian-born Steve Szego, 76, a one-time competitive soccer player, died last week, leaving both ASD staff and players stunned at his sudden departure. "This is sad news," said corporate sales executive Chelsea Obsniuk.  "He was fixture here and I will definitely miss him."  Read obituary here.

Woodbine takes foot off the gas:  Woodbine Entertainment's costly three-Sunday experiment to ramp up interest in its races by pumping $150,000 into a weekly "turbo-charged" pick-6 pool has ended without producing the anticipated result. On Queen's Plate Day, $140,000 was bet into the pool but only $51,000 and $85,000 were bet on subsequent Sundays.  Sean Pinsonneault, vice-president of wagering services, said they were hoping the pool would carry over but that didn't happen.  "We were plagued with too many favourites which was contrary to any statistical analysis done on our racing prior to this promotion," he said and added that Woodbine will continue to feature pick-6s on Sundays--minus seed money--and may revisit a souped-up six later.

Pick-7 won at ASD Saturday:  One ticket at the track scooped the entire pool of $5,679 last Saturday.  The Downs now is offering a more traditional pick-6 bet like most tracks do--on the last six races of each card.  The minimum bet per combination is still $1, though.

Where's Frankel?  Bobby Frankel, 68, one of the my favourite trainers, especially on the turf in California, has mysteriously not shown up at any track the last few weeks leading to speculation he is seriously ill.  His horses have been performing uncharacteristically poorly at the current Hollywood meet, winning one race in 33 starts.

DID THE TROLL HELP?

Poker prop pool goes

Allen Lasko brought his troll "friend" to the Texas hold 'em poker tables Friday for good luck and maybe that was the edge he needed to become the only person out of three to win the prop pool of $400 by winning a hand with a king and queen of diamonds.  Yes, unbelievably, THREE players got the two elusive diamond cards but the first two players, without a troll as backup, couldn't win their hands  Congrats, Allen, you've given me a new appreciation for trolls since my childhood days when trolls were nasty characters who hung around under bridges waiting to grab and eat billygoats as they crossed.  Allen also received $25 and a seat in the September finale for finishing third in the game. 

The winner was electrical contractor and horse owner Larry Liebrecht who crushed his final rival with triple aces. He received $100 and the title of king.  Inventory worker Rod Zaretsky was second and received $50.  They also will be in the finale which will send someone to Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker. 

OTHER WINNERS

Back-to-back Triple Q Challenge winners

It looks like players are developing a knack for picking quinellas.  There were back-to-back winners of the Triple Q Challenge Friday and Saturday:  Domestic engineer Gail Payne won $150 Friday (included $50 carryover) and retired North Dakota farmer James Rinde won $100 on Saturday, a kind of Independence Day treat.  I hope everyone's playing their selections at the windows, too!

Super-spin Saturday:  After live racing Saturday, Kerry Sampson hit $100 on the Wheel of Fortune in the VLT lounge to give himself the opportunity of spinning for $1,000 at midnight--but he couldn't duplicate the feat so he picked up $50 as a consolation prize.  Remember, the top 20 players in the Triple Q Challenge and 10 VLT players at random get to spin for $5 to $100 after the races each Saturday night.  Then there's a playoff to see who will get to make the super-spin at midnight for $1,000.

Dinner for eight:  Congratulations to Delaney Macaig who won my contest to honour an outstanding individual. Delaney wrote a moving account of how her husband, Trevor, selflessly sacrificed himself to help her through hospital stays and health problems and worked 16-hour days to overcome financial difficulties. She, her husband and six others have won a race-night buffet and will enjoy the perks of having a race named in honour of her husband.

HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR STAKE?  The $30,000 Wheat City Stakes goes tomorrow during live racing featuring 3-year-olds and up going one mile;  Saturday night is for 3-year-olds--the $30,000 Harry Jeffrey

UPCOMING EVENTS:  Hollywood Gold Cup on Saturday

It's one of Hollywood's biggest days Saturday featuring the $700,000 Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles.  Belmont Park is featuring the $500,000 Man o' War Stakes, 1 3/8 miles on the turf.