This is the 200th Insider!

Restrain yourself from standing up and applauding this milestone column. But thanks for the sentiment, anyway. Instead, applaud the efforts of two serious local horseplayers who are intent on helping YOU make money for Christmas. This is a unique opportunity. See that item below.

TONIGHT'S TASTE SENSATION:  Chinese.  All you can eat in the inviting ambiance of the Terrace Dining Room.  $14.95  Menu.  Call Samantha at 885-3330 ext. 0 to reserve.

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WHO DESERVES TO BE HORSE OF THE YEAR? Zenyatta (left) #4 sweeping to victory Saturday in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Rachel Alexandra winning the Woodward against the boys at Saratoga in August.

So the debate is on!  Which female horse is more deserving of Horse of the Year honours?  The 3-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra who beat the boys three times on the dirt?  Or 5-year-old mare Zenyatta who powered by a field of male horses on the synthetic surface at Santa Anita to win Saturday's $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic?

Here's my take:  As impressive as Zenyatta looked in the Classic, she won the race on her "home" track and I don't think you can hand out Horse of the Year honours to a horse that hasn't ventured beyond Southern California's synthetic tracks except for one victory at Oaklawn last year against five females.  By comparison, Rachel beat the best colts in the Preakness Stakes, then did so again at Monmouth in the Haskell, then ventured to Saratoga to beat older males in the Woodward.  She's won races in Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York and New Jersey.  That shows versatility.  As much as I respect Zenyatta's accomplishments, she's going to have to beat males in a major race beyond California's synthetic borders to be considered for top horse.  What do you think?

What Zenyatta HAS accomplished, though, is firmly establish 2009 as "the year of the female horse."  We have Zenyatta and Rachel.  And add to that the 4-year-old filly Goldicova who won the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile against males on the turf last Saturday. 

Will we ever see a dream match-up of Zenyatta and Rachel?  Only if someone somewhere builds a race track that has side-by-side dirt and synthetic surfaces. That's interesting to contemplate, actually, but is purely a pipe dream.  So we'll have to draw conclusions based only on other factors. One additional comment:  If the Breeders' Cup had been held on Churchill's dirt track this year instead of next, would Zenyatta have entered the Classic?  I strongly doubt it. 

Moving along to something more seasonal.  With the Breeders' Cup behind us, let's find out ......

HOW TO MAKE MONEY FOR CHRISTMAS

Stretch and Everett to outline their system on Saturday

This is unlike any horseplayer seminar you've ever attended.  At noon this Saturday in the Finish Line banquet hall, Stretch, host of the Bettor's Blog, and his partner, Everett Shade,

Is Xmas money in your future? Get the "tools" Saturday.

will outline a new service that has the serious objective of  putting extra money into your pockets and purses just in time for Christmas.  Sound too good to be true? 

Just let me say this:  Stretch has been posting plays on his blog site using the system.  Two Sundays ago, he posted three picks from Hawthorne.  Here's what happened:  Race 1:  Horse won.  Paid $13.20, $4.60 and $2.40.  Race 4:  Horse won.  Paid $15.20, $6.60 and $3.60.  Race 9:  Horse finished second.  Paid $3.80 to place, $2.80 to show.  If you had bet $2 to win on all three ($6), you would have collected $28.40.  If you had bet $2 win, place, show ($18), you would have collected $52.20. 

That's what this Saturday's session is all about.  Helping you make those kinds of plays.  Best of all, Stretch and Everett will provide you with their strategic data and then will be available all afternoon to coach you in using that data to pick winners.  Last Saturday I could have capitalized on their data to win a $1,000 superfecta at Turf Paradise for $1 but was busy playing Breeders' Cup races.  Obviously, very useful stuff.  That's noon Saturday down in the Finish Line.  If you plan to be there, email Stretch at gsirkis@hotmail.com or Everett at rightwaysports@mts.net.

STRANGEST BREEDERS' CUP

No middle ground in payoffs; what was learned?

There's never been a Breeders' Cup like it.  Essentially, there was no middle payoff ground in last Saturday's eight 'Cup races.  Either the horses paid under $9 or more than $44.  Those of you, perhaps like me, who included  "middle ground" horses on your pick-3, pick-

ELITE 8 CONTEST WINNER: Supermarket clerk Wesley Joss, with help from dad Dave, predicted a remarkable 5 of 8 Breeders' Cup winners Saturday in the "Elite 8" contest, winning the $100 top prize. There were 141 entrants.

4 or pick-6 tickets were out of luck.  The same goes for the triactor and superfecta tickets where the favourite won but very improbable horses completed the exotic combinations.  Goldicova, for example, paid $4.80 to win in  the Mile.  But a $1 superfecta still paid $6,600 because the horses under her were hard to figure.  Zenyatta paid $7.60 in the Classic but the $1 superfecta paid $3,400 and the $1 pentafecta (Super High 5) paid $50,000. 

The only people I saw making money were those making substantial bets on the relatively "easy" horses or those guessing at longshot possibilities and wheeling the horse top and bottom in exactors.  Making money was possible, too, by wheeling highly regarded horse such as Goldikova with all horses in the pick-3s.  ALL-ALL-Goldikova paid $2,600 (ticket cost:  $117)  ALL-Goldikova-ALL paid $1,700 (ticket cost: $130)  and Goldikova-ALL-ALL paid $190 because a $4 favourite, Conduit,  won the third leg but, still, the winnings were three times higher than the $80 cost of the ticket. 

That's going to be my strategy at next year's Breeders' Cup--doing more pick-3 wheeling.  Even the pick-6 was playable using that strategy.  Three of the legs were won by relatively obvious horses:  Goldikova, Conduit and Zenyatta.  Wheeling the other three races would have cost  $2,340 for a $2 ticket. There was only one winning ticket, purchased somewhere in Maine, U.S., which paid $1.8 million. 

Of course, everything looks gettable in hindsight but the wheeling aspect--using ALL where there is no standout horse--is a strategy well worth considering in the future.  I've actually said that for previous 'Cups, especially for pick-3s, but didn't follow my own advice because I had spent so much time handicapping the races and thought that "middle ground" horses were going to win a few races.  They won none. Go figure.

'CUP QUICKIES

Group pick-6 fizzles early

HOPES DIE EARLY:  A 25-1 winner followed by a 30-1 longshot put an early end to the hopes of 50 people holding a free share in a $288 Breeders' Cup pick-6 ticket put together last Saturday morning at a seminar. After Zenyatta had won the last race and the crying had died down, the ticket held just three of the six winners. To be sure, the ticket did contain longshots but none as "impossible" as the horses in three of the legs.  That's why only one winning ticket had been sold in all of North America.  It paid $1.8 million. Local horseowner Tony Tweed (Dark Cloud Stables) said next year one pick-6 ticket should contain ALL horses in the first leg so the group at least has a momentary thrill. This was the second year in a row the balloon of hope was burst after only one race.  I hear ya, Tony.  I hear ya!  

SHARING ONE HAMBURGER:  Win or lose, the Breeders' Cup races are just a lot of fun and I had numerous players telling me that Saturday.  One veteran player said he and three others were going to drop into McDonald's on the way home to pool their resources to buy one hamburger and share it.  But he said it, of course, with a big smile--even as he pulled his remaining money, a pile of coins, from his pocket.  Anyone playing the horses knows how the fickle finger of fate can zap a bankroll to bits but, at other times, make it big, fat and round.  I managed to claw back some of my Breeders' Cup losses by playing Australian races and Los Alamitos quarter horses that night.

IT'S BACK TO GOOD OLD DIRT:  Next year, the 'Cup returns to the dirt track of Churchill Downs.  Remember the stuff?  It's the material horses have been running over for 5,000 years before entrepreneurs thought they could improve on Mother Nature by mixing together rubber chunks, synthetic fibres and sand and coat the concoction in wax. The return to dirt will come none too soon for Eastern U.S. horsemen but will disappoint Europeans.  New York-based horses, no matter how good, simply spun their wheels on Santa's synthetic mix while European turf horses could be entered with confidence--so they had the choice of turf OR synthetics.  Next year, they'll pretty much be sticking to the turf track.  Last weekend's Breeders' Cup was lobsidedly the California/ European Cup because of its bias against dirt horses.

DECREASED HANDLE BECAUSE OF BIZZARRE RESULTS?   Santa Anita officials are blaming a poor economy for a six per cent drop in common pool wagering on the Breeders' Cup races last Saturday.  I have another explanation:  Bombs-away winners that few people had bet on meant money wasn't being recycled.  From a business perspective a race track gets its biggest handle when popular horses win or finish in the money.  That means more people are cashing tickets and that leads to more betting.

NUTTIN' BUT WINNERS

Accountant wins Bombers' points contest

Accountant Tim Maxymowich was the lucky person (brilliant psychic?) who won four Breeders' Cup brunches and $100 for predicting 238 points for the Winnipeg Blue

Tim Maxymowich Predicted Bomber points

Bombers in 10 games in my Bombers Points Contest.  He and another entrant, Donna Cretney, were both closest to the actual total of 244 but he won the game based on a tie-breaker that predicted four Bomber wins. Cretney had predicted one.  Nice going, Tim!

BREEDERS' CUP MERCHANDISE PACKAGE:  The three winners of a Breeders' Cup gift pak Saturday containing two glasses, ball cap and T-shirt were Merv Pilkey, James Trimble and Ron Davey.  Kudos to Merv for giving his two glasses to a couple who wanted them for their collection.  "I owe you one," GM Sharon Gulyas told Merv.

5-ALIVE FRIDAY:  Two entrants predicted all five races at Remington (three show horses, a place horse and a winner) and shared $100:  Reg Pluchinske of Manitoba Lotteries Corp. and retired legal secretary Pat Stockmann.  The two betting spree winners spun their wheels.  The spree mark to beat: $54.  Play 5-Alive tomorrow to get a chance to make that happen!

FREEROLL POKER FRIDAY:  Car salesman Tom Papaioannou won the 7:30 p.m. game and city worker Ziggy Sigurdson the second at 10:30 p.m.  Both received $50 and 5 points.  The more points a player gets, the bigger his starting bankroll will be in the finales in February when three trips to Vegas will be awarded. To see current player rankings, go here.

FREEROLL POKER SATURDAY:  Daniel Kives, son of K-Tel king Phil Kives, won the early game and Darren Geller's ace-king beat his wife's pair of 10s and he emerged victorious in the second game. 

LADIES' NIGHT FRIDAY--SPA DRAW:  Barb Moran, manager of the Indigenous Leadership Development Institute, was last Friday's lucky winner. And talk about being pampered!  Here's how Downs general manager Sharon Gulyas described  the weekly prize package:  A manicure, pedicure and massage courtesy of Fingers & Toes Day Spa located on St. Anne's Road and Henderson Highway,  300 tanning minutes, lotion and eyewear from Fabutan Suntan Studios at 3025 Portage Avenue and a basket of "pampering goods" courtesy of ASD. Package value in excess of $300.
 

GOOSE WATCH:  False alarm; geese still around   My mention in the last Insider that the geese were gone from the Downs infield was premature.  In the absence of the official goose judge, Russ Passey, three of us at the track made a determination the geese were nowhere to be found and therefore had caught a ride south on a brisk north wind.  Wrong.  Judge Passey returned to remind me the geese have to be gone for a 24-hour cycle and that hasn't happened yet.  So, entrants to my "When will the geese leave?" contest, the goose watch continues.  And I'll quit meddling in the business of those who are more goose-savvy than me.  Here are the predictions again.

UPCOMING EVENTS:  Win $2,500 in Hollywood contest

Hollywood's autumn race meet begins tomorrow (Friday) at 9:05 p.m.  The meet has been shortened to 27 days from last fall's 40 days.  Their biggest weekend is the turf festival during the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend at the end of November. Enter the free "Show Me the Money" contest which begins Sunday.  Just pick a show horse each day and $2,500 could be yours!  (Remember, Red River College math prof Jim Roberts won last year's prize of $5,000.)

SUNSHINE MILLIONS AT CALDER:  Eight Florida-bred stakes races worth $1.2 million will be featured Saturday at Calder in one of their biggest days of the year.

SECOND-LAST HORSEPLAYER CONTEST:  The second-last horseplayer contest for a trip to Las Vegas is Saturday, Nov. 21, a week from this Saturday.  Enter today ($25 entry fee).  Players receive cash prizes and points toward being named the Handicapper of the Year..  The top handicapper--which will be decided after the last tournament is held on Saturday, Dec. 12--will earn a trip to Las Vegas and entry into a $1 million handicapping tournament there.  See current Handicapper of the Year standings here.

NEXT INSIDER:  Who entered a horse in the very first race at the Downs 51 years ago and is still racing?