If you’re one of the many people scouring the internet for last minute ideas on Kentucky Derby wagering strategy or you’re looking for 2010 Kentucky Derby picks, or perhaps you’re looking to learn more about the 2010 Kentucky Derby Contenders or just learn about horse racing… this is not the post for you. Good thing there are plenty of other places for you to find for that sort of thing!

After yesterday’s bloodbath I’ve rebounded a little today picking Sheryl’s Melody. I also liked winner Zimmer but played him with the incorrectly named Win It. So far, with the exception of Zimmer (with Bo-rail aboard), winners have been a little wide on the track but when asked about no one is saying it’s because the rail is dead. Needless to say I’ll be keeping an eye on it. Also interesting is that it’s been all front runners and stalkers so far… closers haven’t been able to get there yet.

With no dime supers I feel a little bit like my super power (har har) has been stripped away. I was on a super streak at Gulfstream a few weeks that put me considerably up for the year. Not something I get to say often! If things keep heading in the same direction that won’t be the case by the end of the day… such is life!

And feast your eyes on the genius of Blind Luck and Evening Jewel… what a race:

Best of luck to everyone today, and let’s hope everyone stays safe. Don’t forget to check those Kentucky Derby Odds!

Posted by dana on May 01 2010    
Filed Under: Kentucky Oaks, Superfecta, 2010, YouTube, 3yo, Race Replay, Kentucky Derby, Racing

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(Jason Moran)

NYRA announced a generous fan appreciation / boost attendance on a slow day giveaway called Thousand Dollar Thursday. On Thousand Dollar Thursdays there will be 15 $1,000 betting vouchers up for grabs to anyone who shows up to say “thank you” for making Saratoga such a smashing success.

“Thousand Dollar Thursday is our way of extending our appreciation to the finest horseracing fans in the world,” said NYRA Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Hal Handel. “Saratoga’s fans have helped to make this year a phenomenal success, despite a challenging economy, and we would like to take this opportunity to reward them with $15,000 worth of wagering on us.”

Beginning at 11 a.m. on the final Thursday of the meet, tickets will be distributed at the admissions booths of Saratoga Race Course and will be available to the public; track admission is not required.

While this makes a great press release and is certainly is an excellent gesture, it just seems to miss the mark on appreciating the folks who actually made the meet a success.

Sure, NYRA is going to make 15% off live handle compared to only 5% (if that) on simulcast/ADW, but that backyard is full of picnickers who might not wager much & bring their own food, yet they can win a $1k voucher & those of us who play remotely can’t? One of the things that makes Saratoga great AND an attraction are the giant payouts and EVERYONE who wagers contributes to that not just anyone who shows up.

Midway through the meet on the on-track handle was up a whopping 12.3% compared to the all sources handle “only” up 4.8% (how many tracks would kill for a 4.8% increase?). As of last week the numbers were still up with on-track being up 3.2% to all sources up 1% but according to a press release sent out today but not yet posted at on their site, the numbers are finally down a little after a horribly rainy week.

Attendance and handle turned fractionally down for the first time during the 2009 Saratoga Race Course meet after two inches of rain Friday night and Saturday lowered attendance on Shadwell Travers Day and forced seven of the weekend’s 11 carded turf races off the turf. Attendance is down 1.6 percent, on-track handle down 1.6 percent, and all-sources handle down 2.8 percent from 2008 totals through Week Five.

While the on-track handle has contributed more to the success of the meet, it’s not like all sources wasn’t up too. Why not make a couple of vouchers available to folks who wager with NYRA Rewards remotely?

I would even argue that the way to make sure people who contributed to the success reap the benefit is to make it only available to NYRA Rewards wagerers regardless of where they’re wagering from. Sure this makes the whole thing more complicated but it keeps John & Jane Layabout who came out once for a hat (and left promptly) from turning up Thursday without even paying admission and getting a big fat voucher. I don’t have a NYRA Rewards account but I might be inclined to open one for a shot at winning a $1k voucher every now and again.

And now for the bigger question, how many of those vouchers are gonna be used on $1000 to win tickets on Rachel come Saturday?

(NYRAvideo)

Posted by dana on Aug 31 2009    
Filed Under: Workouts, Jason Moran, 2009, Rachel Alexandra, YouTube, NYRA, Wagering, Saratoga, Marketing, Racing

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Summer Bird enjoying a celebratory post Travers carrot from owner Dr. Jayaraman (Sarah K. Andrew)

In addition to the already mentioned inter-generational two-peat, Travers Day 2009 was also a day of come backs and other notables.

Wow. Vineyard Haven might come down but Godolphin is cashing all those supposed clunkers in today!

Indeed, Godolphin owned Sara Louise, Vineyard Haven and Music Note all had fabulous comebacks, but they weren’t alone. Bob Baffert finally got a win on the card with 2yo Bulldogger in the 8th.

It’s also notable that Ian Wilkes got his first Grade 1 win with Capt Candyman Can in the Kings Bishop and Javier Castellano took both turf races, both of which were first time rides for him. Castellano (19) and Johnny V (20) had 3 wins a piece while Prado (19) had 2.

For the most part the meet leaders didn’t fair so well. Dominguez (36), the current leader, only had one win and current #2 Garcia (30) didn’t have any wins, however they’re both still safely ahead of the rest of the gang with Leparoux being the next closest with 23 wins. Linda Rice (14) also didn’t have any wins on the day but Pletcher’s (14) 2 wins bring him neck and neck with the queen. They both have plenty of chances to over take the other today with her 7 entries to his 6, is any wonder they’re the meet leaders?

There’s a reason why I wait until the parade to make my final picks on the first race of a pick 4 or pick 6, and Salve Germania in the Ballston Spa is the perfect example of that reason. I put that crazy, only previously so-so German invader in all of my P4 tickets and she won at 24-1. She was my parade play of the year! Music Note was the only thing that kept me from cashing what would have been the biggest ticket I had ever cashed, and I only have myself to blame to cheaping out and not including her when I had a chance to make a score a like that. On the bright side I had a nice win bet on der crazy invader and the cold exacta as I put her over Rutherienne, My Princess Jess and Captain’s Lover, too bad I didn’t think to key her in a tri as well!

Looking forward for a moment:

another glimpse of what’s to come for #BC09 re: so-so euros wiping up the turf with our runners

And lastly, a big shout out to Andy Serling on this notable call:

Maybe I’m crazy but I will try to at least get Hold Me Back in the number. I feel like the race could collapse late.

Posted by dana on Aug 30 2009    
Filed Under: Sarah K. Andrew, Alan Garcia, Pick 6, Wrap Up, Rutherienne, Travers, Twitter, 2009, Pick 4, Turf, Todd Pletcher, Saratoga, That's Why They Call it Gambling, Ramon Dominguez, Edgar Prado, Come Back, Javier Castellano, John Velazquez, Racing

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Asiatic Boy and his long body (Capitol149)

Because I’m only doing posts about things that have already been posted about today, here’s a recap of yesterday at Belmont!

Swifty’s birthday has usually been celebrated at the track and this year was no different. Teresa had been trying to organize a birthday gathering at NYRA’s new Top of the Stretch picnic areas so I suggested to Swifty (out of total self-interest) that maybe we should get in on that action and have a co-birthday party. The results? It crushed the field.

The area itself was great, apparently it was so muddy that our little pen required some straw to hide the mud. This added a nice barn-like ambiance to the affair. There was a festive air amongst all the Top of the Stretch-ers. On one side was a group of young-ish folks who enthusiastically (and drunkenly) hooted and hollered regardless of the outcome of any race (although a couple of them seemed to cash big in a couple of instances) and what looked to be a children’s birthday party on the other side.

We had a great assortment of well wishers for our co-birthday hosts. Naturally, Papa Backstretch was in attendance, which afforded me the opportunity to try to get a little information out of him. After picking the winner in the second, he gave up that he liked the drop in class with the cut back. He even let me know which horse he liked with at least 5 minutes to post once (he must have forgotten himself for a moment!). No doubt I’ll be trying to get more info out of him in a couple of weeks at Saratoga.

Trying to spy on Papa Backstretch, who worked diligently as the party went on around him

Swifty’s crowd included some folks who had gone to the track with us before and some who hadn’t. Not only did everyone enjoy themselves, many seemed to marvel at just how much fun they had “I can’t believe I spent 5 hours at the track, and it was GREAT!” exclaimed one first time guest, who’s 5ish year old daughter cashed on Trusted Heart (pictured below).

Guests marked their beverages while a new chapter of Future Handicappers of America was started

Several folks cashed on name plays, including our grill master Dan who naturally had Dantastic. His wife, a martial arts enthusiast had a nice $73 score with Offensive Attack. She also boxed him with Hero Figure (”I like fighting”). The Ben in the group did not get as lucky as Dan with Just Ben, but don’t feel too bad for him, he also had Offensive Attack!

Yours truly had a somewhat lousy day at the windows. I was too busy eating hot dogs and chatting with all the fab guests which included Andy Serling (now on Twitter!), Dave Grening, Bill Tivenan & Cassandra Cook who authored the excellent Off to Flying Start (more on that to come!), Jessica & Mr. Railbird and various members of the NYRA press office.

It’s always a pleasure when Mrs. Swifty comes to the track as she’s a very knowledgeable horsewoman who’s great to have around during the parade. Fortunately for my quickly shrinking voucher, Dry Martini jumped out at both of us. I liked only horses that had done well at the distance (Asiatic Boy, Rising Moon and Finallymadeit) and was hoping they would look ready to rock in the parade.

Seeing Asiatic Boy’s odds plummet, I was very interested in Mrs. Swifty’s take… when he galloped by she made a somewhat delighted “oh!” and confirmed that he looked good, in particular she liked his long body (something I would never notice or even know why I should I notice). Ready’s Echo also stood out to both of us but I felt strongly that he couldn’t get the distance… but damn he looked good! I put him in a dime super with Dry Martini, Asiatic Boy and Rising Moon… almost!

No doubt we’ll be doing this whole affair again next year but we had a such blast that we were talking about doing it again in the fall. If you’re a local with a will to picnic, you should definitely book a day at the Top of the Stretch… and take some potential new fans, will you?

Posted by dana on Jul 05 2009    
Filed Under: Superfecta, Becoming a Fan, Payouts, 2009, Geldings, NYRA, Gambling, Fans, Belmont, Racing

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Rachel beginning to pull away (Jason Moran)

Robert at They’re in the Gate already posted about this but in my previous post on the matter, Rachel Raises Attendance AND Handle, I stated that I would follow-up with a comparison of this Saturday, so what the heck!

Saturday June 27th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 13,352
On Track Mutuel Pool: $1,357,534
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,657,212
ISW Mutuel Pool: $8,361,822

Saturday July 4th, 2009:
Belmont Park Attendance: 7,667
On Track Mutuel Pool: $1,378,296
ITW Mutuel Pool: $2,969,277
ISW Mutuel Pool: $9,564,986

Attendance down: 5,685 / 42%
On Track Handle up: $20,762 / 1.5%
ITW up: $312,065 / 12%
ISW up: $1,203,164 / 14%

Robert already pointed a couple of things, such as last Saturday had not only 1 stakes race vs. 3 on this Saturday’s card, but 3 that were a lot more wide open from a gambling perceptive than the Mother Goose. This Saturday also had an additional race.

One interesting uptick was that the bump in the Intra-State wagering. I’m wondering if this had anything to do with Sweetnorthernsaint at Finger Lakes? While I couldn’t scare up attendance figures, according to the charts from DRF, handle from last Saturday was $596,897 while handle from this Saturday was $623,518, an increase of 4.5%. Probably not a direct cause but perhaps a contributing cause.

Now that I feel somewhat committed to the quest to find a true apples to apples comparison, I’m going to do this (hopefully only) one more time. The next three Saturday’s at Belmont are similar in conditions to Mother Goose day, one featured stakes race on the card and no national holiday. Let’s hope one (if not all) of them has spectacular weather so we can get a fair gauge of the impact of a marquee star.

Posted by dana on Jul 05 2009    
Filed Under: Jason Moran, 2009, Rachel Alexandra, Handle, Industry, NYRA, Wagering, Belmont, Marketing, Racing

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