(wendyu) The Homeboykris crew on the walk over, the embodiment of cheerful!

Sure, I could focus on all my horrid plays yesterday and how I stupidly left Ice Box off my tickets, especially since 1) I deliberated between using him and Mission Impazible and 2) I had Paddy O’Prado on my tickets, but I’m going to choose to be cheerful today, after all, it’s not often one calls the Derby winner publicly (so I’m going to enjoy it while I can… and sorry for the long sentence).

Since I’m not blogging a much these days, here are some things I had to say elsewhere about Super Saver… over at Twitter there was a discussion going on re: Super Saver and at least one esteemed colleague (@o_crunk) wasn’t buying him. My thought was this:

SS could pick up the pieces if he rates like he did in Ark Derby and there’s a pace meltdown. least that’s how I look at it

Reading Val’s piece for Hello Race Fans! on pedigree and Derby Distance + the reports out of Churchill that he was looking good in the morning definitely informed my thought process. Over at the other evil social media site, Facebook, I commented to a friend about my choice:

The services of one Mr. Calvin Borel aren’t too shabby either… but more than that, I think he got something out of his last two races and looked to me be getting underway at the end of the race last out. From what I’ve read his breeding suggests the distance should be no problem, which lines up with how I interpreted what I saw. I’m pretty jazzed about his odds too! (editor’s note: before they went south)

(Note: Facebook is so evil in fact that I can’t even directly link to that post!)

So, while I would have liked to have turned that into a nice score, my future wagers kept the weekend from being a total blood bath… and my parade play of Le Grand Cru in the Westchester. I’m now one for one at Belmont!

Also cheery making is that both Oaks and Derby handle were up, despite the massive AmTote crash that effected XpressBet, TwinSpires and a few tracks. On the bright side, at least it was clear on TwinSpires that a bet had gone through or not! On the downside I’m still annoyed over TwinSpiresTV blocking the Churchill simulcast signal. I’m still trying to find out more about that, so far I’ve gathered that Churchill was broadcasting it’s signal and leaving it up to the individual outlets to decide what to do with it, but nothing specifically about TwinSpiresTV.

At any rate, I’m still remaining cheerful… and might even do a couple of more blog posts!

Posted by dana on May 02 2010    
Filed Under: Twinspires, Twitter, 2010, Super Saver, Internet, Churchill Downs, Derby Trail, Triple Crown, Calvin Borel, Kentucky Derby, Racing

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Super Saver and Calvin Borel winning at Churchill in the Kentucky Jockey Club (ChurchillDowns)

There aren’t too many shots of 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver over at flickr at the moment (unless you count images of yarn)… I suppose that will all change soon enough!

It was another stellar ride by Borel, and yes, Super Saver was my pick!

Congrats to the connections, and see you in two weeks!

LOL at the guy who yells “briiiing it!!” right before the race starts. Could have been one of the owners of Homeboykris?

Posted by dana on May 01 2010    
Filed Under: Churchill Downs, 2010, Super Saver, Kentucky Derby, Todd Pletcher, Derby Trail, Calvin Borel, 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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Big thanks to Jess Jackson for letting her prove how good she really is, let’s hope more owners of fillies and mares follow his lead:

(partymanners)

And the crowd went wild!

(equidaily)

And Ernie was there to capture it all:

(Ernie Munick)

Posted by dana on Sep 05 2009    
Filed Under: History, Racing History, HOY, 2009, Woodward Stakes, Rachel Alexandra, Impressive, Steve Asmussen, Calvin Borel, Race Replay, Inspirational, YouTube, Legend, Saratoga

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Rachel and Calvin bringin’ home the bacon. (Sarah K. Andrew)

I don’t subscribe to the theory that any one thing can “save” racing, but a quick look at the attendance and handle figures from the last two Saturdays at Belmont indicate that having well publicized stars around helps not only attendance but the bottom line.

Saturday June 20th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 4703
On Track Mutuel Pool: $863,292
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,116,700
ISW Mutuel Pool: $5,246,269

Saturday June 27th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 13352
On Track Mutuel Pool: $1,357,534
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,657,212
ISW Mutuel Pool: $8,361,822

That’s an increase of:
8649 / 65% increase in attendance
$494,242 / 36% of on track handle
$3,115,553 / 37% increase in interstate wagering

I’m never sure if IST/ISW includes ADW wagering, I assume it does. ITW, or tracks within New York, didn’t show a notable increase. Sure, per capita wagering could always be better but you gotta start somewhere!

Players definitely took advantage of getting a freebie in multi-race wagers with the Pick 4 and Pick 6 pools pretty much doubling.

Pick 4 Pool:
Saturday June 20th, 2009: $257,050
Saturday June 27th, 2009: $484,588
$227,538 / 47% increase

Pick 6 Pool:
Saturday June 20th, 2009: $61,617
Saturday June 27th, 2009: $138,250
$76,633 / 55% increase

The feature on the 20th was a Grade 3, not a Grade 1… perhaps a comparison to this coming Saturday, July 4th with the Suburban, Prioress and Dwyer + a holiday would be a better comparison. Either way, I think it’s safe to say that having/keeping stars around can only help.

Posted by dana on Jun 28 2009    
Filed Under: Industry, Sarah K. Andrew, 2009, Rachel Alexandra, Handle, Pick 6, Pick 4, Belmont, Wagering, Calvin Borel, Marketing, NYRA, Racing

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