Woodbine fans get a chance to play for millions today..betting on Good Friday was $3 million, hopefully not just American money, Canadian-breds continue to surge south of the border. Friday recap…
GOOD BETTER BEST
“I will never rest…”
Canadian-bred GOOD BETTER BEST won his 3yo debut at Keeneland yesterday, a 9 furlong off-the-turf race and his first start since the fall, and quickly the son of Best of the Bests goes up the top 10 Queen’s Plate contenders list.
A buy-back at auction – $23,000 – the Harlequin Ranches homebred was well prepared by trainer Roger Attfield and the 3rd foal from the stakes winner Miss Crissy earned a 72 Beyer Figure.
GOOD BETTER BEST surges to his win yesterday at Keeneland…thanks to EquiSport photos as always..
MONEY MONEY MONEY….MONEY!
Big Gulfstream Rainbow Pick 6 available to Woodbine customers on Saturday
TORONTO, April 22 – Gulfstream Park’s Rainbow Pick 6 has been a very popular wager across the United States this winter.
On Saturday, with a lucrative carryover of $1.42 million up for grabs, Woodbine’s customers will be able to bet the wager for the first time.
Throughout the Gulfstream meet, which began on January 5, the Rainbow Pick 6 asked fans to pick six straight winners on one ticket. The catch? The pool would only be paid out if there was a single winning ticket. With end of the racing season in south Florida now near, the entire pool will be dispersed in one afternoon.
Canadians were shut out of the Rainbow Pick 6 pool and its 10-cent minimum bet this winter because of federal regulations. The
winner could only have a 10-cent base ticket, which Canadians could not bet. Now, with the pool opened up, Canadians can bet a $1 ticket and still expect to be paid off.
Reports have the pool growing past $3 million on Saturday, including carryover and betting on the day.
The Rainbow Pick 6 can be bet on-track during Woodbine’s Thoroughbred card, which carries a post-time of 1 p.m., or anywhere in the country HPI is offered.
http://www.drf.com/news/rainbow-6-players-chase-what-could-be-5-million-jackpot-gulfstream-park
CANADIAN-BRED EMBUR’S SONG CRUSHES!
93 Beyer Figure for Embur’s Song’s Grade 3 win
EMBUR’S SONG – EquiSport photos
from Lexington Herald Leader…
Embur’s Song wires Doubledogdare for Pletcher
By Alicia Wincze Hughes — awincze@herald-leader.com
Half the battle in getting Embur’s Song to perform at her best is getting the temperamental daughter of Unbridled’s Song to stay out of her own way.
So when trainer Todd Pletcher saw the bay filly was minding her manners on Friday, it was of little shock to the future Hall of Famer that positive results soon followed.
Embur’s Song balanced her headstrong nature and innate talent during the Grade III, $125,000 Doubledogdare Stakes at Keeneland as she held off Grade I winner Check the Label by a neck to capture the 11⁄16-mile test in track-record time.
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/04/23/1716650/emburs-song-wires-doubledogdare.html#ixzz1KLJxrs1v
WOODBINE ON WINDY GOOD FRIDAY
Fifty Proof impressive in return
The winds out of the east made for a tough headwind down the backstretch for horses yesterday at Woodbine and speed runners did not do well. The rail was blatantly treacherous as one contender after another dropped back. One gal did ride close to the rail to win and that was KERRY CONVENT in RACE 7.
Justin Stein rode like a genius (shall we say Ein Stein?) and EMILE RAMSAMMY booked off after that nasty spill on Sunday…
There was a lot of rumblings before the featured 4th race at Woodbine yesterday as to whether FIFTY PROOF was going to be a candidate to win the 7 furlong Polytrack race off the layoff. After all, the giant Whiskey Wisdom dude has given some the impression he is a strictly a long distance grass horse. But wait! His grandsire is the chestnut, white faced Horatius (some familar?) and he was a sprinter. And Fifty Proof just about won his 6 furlong opener last year.
So fear not, under a patient, relaxed ride by Justin (Ein) Stein, the big dude raced wide and went to the lead on the turn and galloped home on the wrong lead to win the allowance/optional claiming event. Good start for the 5yo who is owned by John Fielding, Ben Hutzel and Kinghaven Farm. The gelding was bred by Anderson Farms.
His 1:23.40 time was good for an 87 Beyer.
More stuff
Race 10 – a couple of Bears were the big faves in a maiden claiming race and after LET’S GO BEAR went wild on the pace and opening up a huge lead, his entrymate BEARS REDNECK blew by to capture a 1-2 run for Bear Stables and trainer Reade Baker.
Race 9 – SINISTER QUILL remained unbeaten with her win in the 9th race, an Ontario sired allowance. The 3yo by Old Forester – Sinhouse, bred by Mark Hughes and Mike Mailhot, stalked the pace and drove to the lead 3 wide off the turn and held off closers to win her 3rd outing and first of the year. She is co-owned by trainer Danny Vella plus Allan Schaffer, and partners. Emma-Jayne Wilson got the pick up mount from Ramsammy.
The race featured a rough stretch run with PRESS HERE getting steadied and then squeezed back and she lost all chance.
Race 5 – QUICK CODE had a quick debut outing and in fact, the impressive win left many wondering why this one was in for $32,000 claiming for the debut? At 9 to 2, the son of Omega Code – She Ain’t Much chased the pace near the bad rail but then shifted out 3 wide on the turn and blew by for a strong win at 5 1/2 furlongs with a 79 Beyer Figure.
Nicknamed ‘Spanky’ by his breeder, Ericka Rusnak, this colt was a $20,000 yearling purchase by Sylon Stable and trainer Mike DePaulo.
The mare She Ain’t Much (SAM) is also the dam of the 2yo filly KARDASHIAN, who won an training race at Aiken last month.
SMOKIN ABBY had big workout times heading into a maiden allowance for Ontario sired 3yo fillies in race 6 and ran to those preps. It was not a tough field and thus was easy to like, especially at 15 to 1 in the morning line, but she went off at just 9 to 2 and rallied very wide off the turn and from off the pace to beat 3 battling gals in the nick of time.
The daughter of top sire BOLD EXECUTIVE was a popular winner for owner Fred Harrison and partners, trainer Bill Tharrenos and jockey Ryan Pacheco.
Race 7 was the faster split of the maiden allowance for Ontario sired gals – and the winner was Dr. Paul O’Broen’s homebred KERRY CONVENT, a Philanthropist filly out of Northernset, by Vice Regent. At just 5 to 2, the filly was parked behind speed duelers into the turn and when a large opening developed, she darted through and won nicely for Stein’s 3rd win of the day.
Race 8 went to ARTICULATING, bred by Billie Steinhoff, a Bold n Flashy mare who was 2nd in her season debut after a poor start and premature move. Somehow, this gal was let go at 16 to 1 but she wore down speedy Tennis Bracelet and held off Classical Humor to win for the 4th time in her career; She only added blinkers 2 starts ago for trainer Robert Gerl.. She benefiited from a patient ride by Matt Moore.
Race 3 – more trouble for rail runners – even-money shot LUNA BLU battled with 2 others on the rail and all 3 pooped out in the stretch as HINT OF LEMON rallied from off the rail and 4 wide into the stretch to win under Jono Jones, his 2nd mount of the season. The Lemon Drop Kid filly was well prepared by trainer Francesca Armata to win the $20,000.
The latest winner for Ontario sired MILWAUKEE BREW was GINGER MINT, who won the 2nd race, a maiden A allowance that had a big favourite in SPEETHA. The latter broke rank and literally pulled jockey Luis Contreras out of the tack and he had to sit on her neck almost as the saddle slipped. The leader used up all her energy into the tough wind and faded as GINGER MINT rallied between chargers in mid stretch to win for owner/trainer Laurie Silvera and partners Love 2 Win Stable.
Ginger Mint is a Florida bred who turned back in distance and switched from turf to Polytrack after winter racing.
The rail path may have hindered the chances of Elegant Affair, who stalled as one of the choices on the turn for Pin Oak Stable.
Race 1 marked the first score for the Alex Martiniez barn as MYAH’S FLIGHT was tough off the rail on the pace into the stretch and held off big fave Sovereign Grace. The winner won the $9,500 claiming event and it was her 2nd score in her 22nd race. Eurico Rosa Da Silva rode the winner.
BEYER ON DROP IN BETTING ON RACING
“I talk to a lot of gamblers, and I hear the same refrain from all of them. The complaints are not the familiar ones about high takeout or illegal drugs. Serious gamblers say can’t find enough tracks offering enough races that are worth betting.”- Andrew Beyer
WASHINGTON POST
By Andrew Beyer, Friday, April 22, 6:56 PM
Anyone who cares about thoroughbred racing — from leaders of the industry to fans in the grandstand — has to be worried about the health of the sport. Since 2007, when $14.7 billion was wagered on U.S. races, betting totals have dropped year after year, falling to $11.4 billion in 2010. In the first quarter of this year — even as other segments of the overall economy were beginning to recover — the sharp decline continued.
Faced with these grim facts, the Jockey Club commissioned the prestigious consulting firm McKinsey & Co. to “examine the current course of the sport” and make recommendations for change. McKinsey has been interviewing people from all segments of the sport, and the researchers’ preliminary findings are distressing. “In their modeling,” said Jim Gagliano, president of the Jockey Club, “the industry will continue to contract at the same pace.” This means that betting totals will keep dropping unless the horse business changes course. But how?
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DULAY JEWELRY ON DISPLAY
The master of www.horse-races.net, Cindy Pierson Dulay, will have her jewelry up for sale at next weeks Toronto Etsy Street show in downtown Toronto.
If you’ll be in the area and want to see (and possibly purchase!) some of her work, she will be a vendor at the Toronto Etsy Street Team Craft Show on Saturday April 30 10AM-4PM at the Gladstone Hotel in downtown Toronto.
Craft show info:
http://www.gladstonehotel.com/events/event-listings/upcoming-events/event-detail?eid=3421
Some of her items currently for sale:
http://lostcode.horse-races.net/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lostcode
Her next show will be Artfest on the Esplanade in Pickering, May 28 from 11AM-5PM,
outdoors in the park behind Pickering City Hall.
