(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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(Charles Pravata)

Let’s put aside any discussion about Horse of the Year or Rachel Alexandra vs. Zenyatta for a moment and just enjoy this incredible moment. 13-13 is nothing to sneeze at… thank you Zenyatta, we’re lucky to have you!

Posted by dana on Oct 10 2009    
Filed Under: :), Zenyatta, Impressive, 2009, Charles Pravata, Santa Anita, Race Replay, Inspirational, YouTube, Racing

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(visualkaos)

Those of who have become fans of Chantal Sutherland by watching the show Jockeys no doubt will be pulling for her to improve her place in the jockey standings at her home track of Woodbine in Canada.

The most recent episode featured Sutherland pulling out all the stops to get Smith to propose, and therefore give her a reason to stay in SoCal. Smith didn’t take the bait and advised her to do whatever it is that she needed to do (i.e., go back to Woodbine where she can get better mounts and make more money). After toiling on claimers to be with her beloved she decided to back to whence she came in search of the big bucks. But how has it worked out?

Currently Chantal Sutherland is 2nd in the Woodbine jockey standings behind Patrick Husbands. As of September 12th she’s had 608 mounts, won 88 times, placed 89 times and showed 89 times. Her earning so far are $5,028,992.

Compare this to how Sutherland did at Santa Anita where she ended up 11th (not 10th!). She made just 155 starts, won 18 times, placed 21 times and showed 19 times. Her win percentage was 12% compared to her current 14% but no earnings were available.

Obviously it’s not an apples to apples comparison if you look at the number of starts the top riders at Woodbine have compared to the number of starts for the top riders at Santa Anita but I think it’s safe to say that things have worked out for her!

You can keep track of Chantal’s current place in the Woodbine standings here and keep track of her race results here by scrolling down to Woodbine.

Posted by dana on Sep 13 2009    
Filed Under: Mike Smith, Jockeys TV Show, 2009, Santa Anita, Chantal Sutherland, Woodbine, Racing

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(Sarah K. Andrew)

Sure, there’s the giant deficit and issues with W&YI, not to mention the ongoing call for change with the upcoming board vote. Even Blood Horse, who’s been accused by some of being an industry mouth piece, has been busting BC chops (ok, not really busting chops per se).

While it’s annoying that the BC isn’t running any W&YI races at Saratoga, it certainly doesn’t mean there won’t be great racing at the Spa. I still have my fingers crossed for a 2011 BC at Belmont but there’s plenty of time to get worked up over that one, although I think o_crunk is on to something.

In the meantime, there are few good things worth pointing out in Breeders’ Cup-ville. As mentioned many times before, yours truly is not a sports fan. So when the Breeders’ Cup announced a charity partnership V Foundation I was a little confused. Why are they not supporting a racing charity?

I was chatting about it with Swifty and he clued me in on the V Foundation. For those of you who also don’t give a rat’s ass about sports, The V Foundation is named after Jimmy Valvano, a beloved coach and sports broadcaster who died from cancer. Knowing that one of the Breeders’ Cup missions is to grow the event, this partnership started to made a lot more sense.

One of the perks of this arrangement is that the Breeders’ Cup has an excellent donated auction item in the upcoming annual “Don’t Give Up” auction to benefit the V Foundation and promote the ESPYs. The auction takes place on the Mike and Mike show July 15th at 7:00am (apparently a great morning talk show time slot).

Saddle Up for the Breeder’s Cup! This package includes two (2) tickets in the exclusive Trophy Lounge for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Friday, November 6, 2009 and Saturday, November 7, 2009 at Santa Anita Park, California. Also included: two (2) tickets to the VIP Winner’s Circle Celebration Kick-Off event on Thursday, November 5th, a meet and greet with the talent at the celebration, and a visit with the horses in the Saddling Ring prior to the Ladies’ Classic. Winners will get an exclusive meet and greet with a Breeders’ Cup favorite at their stall at Santa Anita AND two (2) spots to watch from the Winner’s Circle for the Ladies’ Classic on Friday and the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday. This experience is non-transferable. Dates and details subject to change. This package is for the winner and one (1) guest.

I wonder if the talent are the horses? I guess so given the saddling ring and stall visit. No matter who runs in the F/M Classic it’s always cool to hang out in the paddock with the fancy people (not like I’ve ever done that). I also wonder which race they’ll pick to visit the favorite prior to the race? Let’s hope that either someone who loves racing and can appreciate it wins OR that whoever wins falls in love with racing after doing those things.

But as I was saying earlier, what about a racing charity? TCA is this year’s Breeders’ Cup racing charity. After seeing the V Foundation news I was curious about what the BC has planned for the TCA so I asked Peter Rotondo, VP of Media and Entertainment.

Besides what he characterized as a “sizable donation”, the BC plans on offering the TCA copious media promotion opportunities during their broadcasts, plenty of on track presence during the event and the general access/exposure that comes along with a big event such as the BC.

So, not ALL bad, right? Supporting the those who support our retired equine stars and getting racing in front of new folks… now if we can just get those new folks to bet! Show parlay anyone?

Full Disclosure - the Breeders’ Cup is a Hello Race Fans advertiser.

Posted by dana on Jul 07 2009    
Filed Under: Sarah K. Andrew, 2009, Santa Anita, Marketing, Breeders' Cup, Racing

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Channing Hill at Santa Anita (yausser)

Since I was smart enough to DVR the Florida Derby this week I have now have added a screen capture of the DRF Formulator ad showing two women with the text overlay “for every skill level”, you know, in case you didn’t believe me or thought I might be exaggerating (who, me?).

I’m finding it a touch odd that folks have waited until now to make the many & valid points being raised re: the new British automatic berth. All of these issues were apparent when it was announced, right? As a friend pointed out, “no one complained last week when it knocked Beethoven off the list”. Indeed.

Reminder, the first HANA Pool Party is tomorrow, WRD R6. Check out the HANA blog for free PPs and more. I’ll be playing a $1 exacta box of 1,2,3,6,10,11 with a couple of bucks of on 2 & 6 to win.

After this weekend Quality Road has moved on to my “like like” list, and how! Over at PDI I rated him #2 behind Freisan Fire but in all reality I can’t make a strong case of why one should be over the other so I’m just leaving Freisan Fire in #1 for now. I’m not really buying the LA Derby as non-legit path to winning the Derby. Sure the numbers are daunting but that didn’t stop Street Sense from proving the numbers wrong about Juvenile winners.

Guess I really oughta come up with a new poll now that it’s official that IEAH bought 50% of I Want Revenge. Way to go, those who voted for “Buy Another Derby Prospect”, perhaps you should apply to work at IEAH!

And speaking of that poll, as much as I’d love to see Stardom Bound in the Derby, the more I see the depth in the 3yo filly division the more I want them all to run in the Oaks against each other. Rachel Alexandra vs. Stardom Bound could be the rivalry of the year. And when War Echo comes back later in the year, look out! Check out this eyewitness account of Stardom Bound working at Keeneland.

It should also be noted that several fillies ran with colts this weekend on dirt and they didn’t break down! Please people, let’s move on from fear-based assumption that fillies and colts don’t mix. Just ask Indian Blessing, who picked a very nice check for solid effort against her male colleagues!

Posted by dana on Mar 30 2009    
Filed Under: Stardom Bound, 2009, Indian Blessing, Iavarone, Quality Road, I Want Revenge, Rachel Alexandra, Kentucky Oaks, Channing Hill, Kentucky Derby, Derby Trail, You Can Help, 3yo, Santa Anita, Exacta, Racing

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