I see #11, #10, #9, #5, #4 and #2! (EVENT OF THE YEAR PHOTOS)

It’s getting to be that time of the year, the time for year end polls! Thoroughbred Times unveiled theirs today and it’s pretty good. Last week they asked for some feedback and ideas on Twitter and my suggestion became question 14!

But the three answers on the Thoroughbred Times poll aren’t the only fan friendly moves that took place this year. In fact, I would argue it was a great year to be racing fan. Plenty of talent racing? Check. Exciting and down right historical races? Yep. The industry remembering that owners and breeders are not their only customers? Indeed and a welcome trend it is.

In no particular order other than as they came to me, here’s what I came up with so far, let me know in the comments what else I’ve missed. There could even be more! I didn’t include Churchill’s night racing because of the complaints of the ticket price ($10). But, if you think it belongs in the poll let me know.

BC saddle cloth standardization
Some people didn’t like this while others gave it the big “eh”. This is actually my vote for most player friendly move. I know it helped me to be able to tell who was who both in the warm up and the races.

BC ticket prices
It’s always nice not to be gouged! This move received plenty of positive response in the form of “it’s about time” (the horseplayers version of positive feedback?). It seems to have worked since attendance was up 11%!

BC online ticket sales
It seems so simple yet so few do it, moving ticket sales online might have also helped with the attendance increase. Should I be filling out my Saratoga form yet? Where’s that pen?

CD/KEE/FG in HD
Several tracks started broadcasting their simulcast signals in HD this year and Allicansayiswow! Seriously, this game was meant to be broadcast in HD and not to harp on a point (stage whisper) all the other sports are doing it.

YouBet My ROI
If you don’t have a YouBet account you’re missing out on some serious metrics. With a single click you can determine your ROI by track, bet type, surface, race type, breed, distance, trainer and jockey/driver. I seriously hope this feature is rolled into TwinSpires. TwinSpiresTV + My ROI = perfection.

@BH_RaceResults
Oh ye of little Twitter faith are missing a handy Twitter stream provided by Bloodhorse that provides race results from what seems to be every track. Each result also links to a handy race result page on the Bloodhorse site that provides results, payouts, pedigree information and replays where available.

DRF’s Digitized Archive
The beginnings of the DRF’s outstanding digital archive was rolled out by the Keeneland Library this year. Obviously this is an incredible and important source available for all to use, for free… so feel free to donate while you’re whiling away the hours over there!

DRF Ticketmaker
Making tickets for multi-race exotics is a giant pain, but thanks to DRF you can now get a little help! I don’t get that fancy with the multi-race wagers but the few times I did it took freakin’ forever to make the tickets, and that time is better spent making actual handicapping decisions.

Equibase Scratches Today
We have our pals at HANA to thank for the next two entries. Through their hard work and perseverance on behalf of players everywhere, Equibase now provides real time scratches! Another one to file under “it’s about time”.

Bris/Equibase Free Historical Charts
And finally, some free data for the people! Sure one can quibble that Bris requires a credit card AND your social security number to open an account (and to add insult to injury the SS# is for forgotten password verification! feel free to use a fake SS# when registering, just write it down in case you forget your password! FAIL.). But back to the data, say it with me everyone… “it’s about time!”.

Three cheers and keep up the good work to all in the industry who have pushed for and succeeded in getting innovations and change on behalf of fans and players. THANK YOU!

In our last poll about Lava Man being back in training, the majority of you were cautiously optimistic and jazzed about stem cells. This poll started off in a dead heat. Up until about 16 votes in each category it could have gone to any of the answers. He still hasn’t raced so we’ll just continue to be cautiously optimistic and know that at the very least he’s probably more happy training than hanging out in the pasture.

As always, thanks!

Update - Late Entry!

TwinSpires Cancel Bet
I KNEW I was forgetting something! How many times have you wished you could cancel a bet? (and I’m not talking about after the race!) Of course, the first time I used this featured the bet I canceled ended up being the winning exacta, but that doesn’t mean the feature isn’t innovative and fan friendly!

Posted by dana on Nov 17 2009    
Filed Under: Impressive, 2009, Twitter, HANA, Industry, Poll, Fans, Lava Man, :), Internet, Racing

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(Sarah K. Andrew)

I’m no investigative journalist (or any kind journalist for that matter) however I am a Facebook user. And on Facebook I uncovered (just happened to notice) that a Facebook friend (i.e., someone I don’t know otherwise) who works for a horse transportation charter said their phones were ringing off the hook this morning with people wanting to ship their horses to California.

And who can blame them after how well shippers did yesterday. Cowboy Cal and Gitano Hernando shipped in to California while Court Vision, Diamondrella and Negligee all shipped in to Keeneland for the win.

While it doesn’t look like there are any local preps left at Santa Anita, perhaps Cowboy Cal’s win yesterday has emboldened connections to throw caution to wind against B-list euro shippers such as Gitano Hernando.

Speaking of which, who knows what the heck is going to come over from Europe. This little passage in the Thoroughbred Times Goodwood article hints at what’s to come.

If the Goodwood is an indicator of how the Breeders’ Cup Classic will unfold in four weeks, the American contenders could be in trouble after Gitano Hernando, Group 3-placed in England, turned aside some of the strongest Classic contenders. Last year, European-based runners Raven’s Pass and Henrythenavigator finished first and second, respectively, in the Classic, and this year superstar Sea The Stars and Group 1 winners Rip Van Winkle and Mastercraftsman are among the potential European contingent for the Classic.

You can always check in here to find out more about the euros.

Since I doubled my money yesterday, primarily because of the Oak Tree races (and a whole lotta luck… parade handicapping seems to be surface agnostic!), I’m looking forward to seeing who and what turns up in California. It should be interesting… that is if you’re willing to look at it the whole affair as it’s own particular set of circumstances. If not, you’re probably going to be miserable and probably not even bet on the Breeders’ Cup… it’s your choice!

And regardless of what you think about any of this, racing got some big time mainstream sports coverage yesterday…

Can I get some love from the racing tweeps. Two Big Time races were part of college football on ESPN yestrday. That’s huge…

And I thought it was played very well - seeing Lou Holz talk about horse racing “trifectas” was an unexpected gem

Huge? Indeed.

Posted by dana on Oct 11 2009    
Filed Under: Industry, Keeneland, 2009, Twitter, Internet, Court Vision, Breeders' Cup, Santa Anita, Sarah K. Andrew, Mainstream Media, Racing

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(raymond)

I’ve noticed several comments, tweets and at least one post about Calvin’s use of the whip on Rachel. My only question is, what took you so long? Did people just now notice that American jocks whip horses too much?

Check out Calvin’s ride of Lady Joanne in the 2007 Alabama (not on YouTube, sorry!) or Mike Smith on Tiago in the Santa Anita Derby:

(partymanners)

And these are just two that came to mind immediately. AND how about all those horses who aren’t Rachel Alexandra, Lady Joanne or Tiago?

If Rachel can get some meaningful discussion going about use of the whip it will be one more stellar accomplishment for her to add to her impressive resume. It’s easy to blame the jocks, lord knows I’ve done it, but the issue is bigger than that. We have vague rules that are hard to enforce which makes it that much harder for stewards to actually do something about it.

I’m a huge fan of whip reform. Sadly as regular fans and players we’re all used to it but commenter ljk summed it up nicely on a post last year when he said:

I’ll say it again: to newcomers our sport looks like people with sticks beating horses to make them run

Word.

Posted by dana on Sep 08 2009    
Filed Under: Stewards, The Whip, 2009, Mike Smith, Rachel Alexandra, Twitter, Raymond Haddad, Internet, Grrrr, Fans, Tiago, Race Replay, YouTube, Calvin Borel, Racing

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(Bud Morton)

Me:

JJ is probably playing a little poker to see if he can get NYRA to sweeten the pot

The Internet:

And just for the occasion, Saratoga has increased the purse of the Woodward from $500,000 to $750,000

Mine That Bird had this to say:

Now that JJ has made up his mind the press can get back to focusing on me — Your 2009 KY Derby Winner

And if you’re looking for something else to read about, try Randy Moss’s new blog at DRF!

Posted by dana on Aug 24 2009    
Filed Under: Bud Morton, Geldings, 2009, Twitter, Mine That Bird, Rachel Alexandra, Internet, Sportsmanship, NYRA, Wooo!, 3yo, :), Randy Moss, Racing

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As someone with a blog I get asked to review books all the time. Yours truly is not the world’s biggest reader so I frequently take a pass as the concept of having to turn around a review strikes fear into my heart. But enough about me, except that I was smart enough to say “yes” to about “Off to a Flying Start: Horsing Around the Language”!

The idea for the book grew out of a Saratoga paddock conversation by authors Bill Tivenan & Cassandra Cook:

We’d just seen a horse with his tongue tied off to one side (which we’re told they don’t mind), and we wondered “Is that where the term “tongue tied” comes from?”

The book breaks out each included phrase into a page or two with an illustration, an explanation of the phrase’s racing origins and how the phrase is used today.

For example, Take in Stride:

To take a hurdle without change of gait, or in stride, was a term that originated with descriptions of horses leaping hedges. It has come to mean being unfazed by an obstacle or something unexpected.

“The candidate took his opponent’s mudslinging in stride.”

The format makes it easy to either read straight through or jump around, something this blog authoress loves in a book! While there are plenty of phrases that any horse player could spot from a mile such as “set the pace” or “photo finish” there are definitely some surprises such as “hands down”, “hot to trot”, “get your goat” and “cinch” to name a few.

When I had the pleasure of chatting with the authors recently over hot dogs, I asked if their intended primary audience were potential racing fans. Cassandra explained that one of the biggest things they wanted to acheive with the book was to show how much racing had been ingrained in the mainstream culture. Mission accomplished… by compiling 60+ examples it’s clear that racing was at one point much more tightly integrated into the popular culture, something we all take for granted but can be a point of curiosity and interest for potential fans.

It’s a fun, easy read and must have for racing fans even if you’re not surprised by many of the entries! Off to a Flying Start would make a great gift for any language buff and/or lover of a good turn of phrase. This book will definitely be on my recommended holiday gift list post later in the year! Additionally both Mary Forney and Maryjean Wall have recommended this book.

You can get your hands on it in a number of ways… by visiting the author’s site, which also has even more entries than the book, at Amazon or in any number of track gift shops such as Saratoga, Del Mar, Emerald Downs and the National Racing Museum to name a few.

I’d also like to thank Bill and Cassandra for choosing the Hello Race Fans Ad Network to help promote their book during the kick off of summer racing at Del Mar and Saratoga! I hope you’ll visit their site and pick up a copy of their excellent book. It’s another great example of racing fans taking it upon themselves to independently produce a project that not only speaks to their love of racing, but hopes to share that love with a wider audience. What’s not to like about that?

Posted by dana on Jul 24 2009    
Filed Under: 2009, Hello Race Fans, Del Mar, History, Internet, Saratoga, Racing in Pop Culture, :), Racing

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