A DAY TO HORSE AROUND; RUB ELBOWS WITH THE CELEBS AS RACING'S BIG DAY ARRIVES.Byline: Keith Marder Daily News Television Writer Horse racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with , once considered the sport of kings, would now settle for being called the sport of anyone, as long as there are a lot of them. The sport has been in decline during much of the past two decades as attendance figures show that only about half the people who used to spend a day at the races At The Races is a British television channel, originally co-founded with Channel 4, but now owned by a partnership between British Sky Broadcasting, Arena Leisure PLC and 28 (out of the 59) UK racecourses. are still going today. With an explosion of gambling opportunities, such as American Indian American Indian or Native American or Amerindian or indigenous American Any member of the various aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of the Eskimos (Inuit) and the Aleuts. and riverboat casinos, the growth of Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. , state lotteries and other entertainment options, horse racing - with its half-hour wait for two minutes of excitement - has suffered. The leaders of the industry are constantly looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a way to improve the sport's image and bring the masses back through their gates. And, if some of the right people from Hollywood's A-list show up today for racing's biggest event - the seven-race, $11 million Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I thoroughbred horse races operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982 by a consortium of North American racing organizations, led by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. at Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may be several places:
``We're hoping for star quality from a human and equine standpoint,'' said D.G. Van Clief Jr., president of Breeders' Cup Limited. ``We are likely to have celebrities, and it adds to the flair and the cachet cachet /ca·chet/ (ka-sha´) a disk-shaped wafer or capsule enclosing a dose of medicine. ca·chet n. An edible wafer capsule used for enclosing an unpleasant-tasting drug. of the event. If that person becomes more involved in racing as a sport, it could become more on trend and hip and current. That's what we need to be and haven't.'' The horsey set hit Hollywood last week, and they kicked things off in style; the pre-entries were announced at Spago Beverly Hills. ``It's nice to be here in zip code 90201,'' said track announcer Tom Durkin, screwing up the world's most famous postal code. Leading up to the races, many of the top horses have dropped out, leaving no star to excite crowds. There will be no Cigar, who wowed fans last year. No Easy Goer and Sunday Silence or Ferdinand and Alysheba matchups of years past. So, the appearance of movie and TV stars is as important as ever. Many of the celebrities who will attend the races today are the kind of people the sport always has attracted - older stars, including Alex Trebek, Bo Derek Bo Derek A slang term used to describe a perfect stock or investment. Notes: The term comes from the name of the actress (Bo Derek) in the 1979 movie "10," in which she portrayed the "perfect woman. , Stefanie Powers and Ed McMahon. Other probable attendees include Tim Conway, Mel Brooks and Alan Thicke. But a new group, including D.B. Sweeney, Reba McEntire and maybe even Mick Jagger may come out for a day of fun and profit. And that, racing fans, is the new blood the sport's hoping to bring in. ``People like to see celebrities,'' said Hollywood Park chairman R.D. Hubbard. ``If a lot of celebrities show up, the racetrack could become the place to be.'' The first Breeders' Cup was held at Hollywood Park, with a who's who list that could have rivaled a major motion picture premiere. Durkin, who has been at the microphone for every Breeders' Cup race, was in search of a post-race cocktail on that sunny Saturday afternoon in 1984. He happened upon a room with a festive gathering, and his all-access pass got him in. ``I wanted to put my binoculars down so I could get a beer,'' Durkin said. ``I turned to a guy who looked like a security guard - he had an earpiece in and looked like a security kind of guy - and I asked him if he would watch my binoculars. He said, `Yes, but when my guy goes, I have to go.' I asked him who his guy was and he pointed - to Gerald Ford. Then I looked around the room and there was Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra. That room was papered in gold leaf. Anytime this is in Tinseltown, it could use a little tinsel tin·sel n. 1. Very thin sheets, strips, or threads of a glittering material used as a decoration. 2. Something sparkling or showy but basically valueless: the tinsel of parties and promotional events. .'' He's not yet at that level of the Chairman of the Board, but Sweeney will stick up for racing with the biggest of stars. He has a long history with the sport; his uncle, jockey Warren Mehrtens, won the 1946 Triple Crown aboard Assault. The star of ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. drama ``C16'' owns two thoroughbreds and frequently drags along friends, such as co-star Morris Chesnut and Chicago Blackhawks hockey player ChriSs Chelios. ``I'm just surprised that it's not more popular,'' Sweeney said. Unlike other sports, where tickets are expensive and a large beer will set you back $4.75, he said the sport of kings is fit for the budget of a pauper An impoverished person who is supported at public expense; an indigent litigant who is permitted to sue or defend without paying costs; an impoverished criminal defendant who has a right to receive legal services without charge. PAUPER. . ``At the track, you can have a beer or a soda and you don't have someone ramming it down your throat. You can go there and not bet a nickel and just enjoy the beauty of the horses running around and get out of there for 10 bucks. You can't do that at any other sporting event,'' Sweeney said. ``You can also bet $2 on an exacta ex·act·a n. A method of betting, as on a horserace, in which the bettor must correctly pick those finishing in the first and second places in precisely that sequence. Also called perfecta. and walk out with $93.'' For some of the stars more advanced in years, racing brings back memories of a different, and more formal, time. McMahon, who is now a co-star on ``The Tom Show,'' is a throwback throwback see atavism. racing fan. He has been going to the track since it was populated by bluebloods. McMahon often sees others from his era such as Dick Van Patten Dick Van Patten (born December 9, 1928 in New York City, New York) is an American actor. Dick Van Patten is the son of Josephine Rose Acerno and Richard Byron Van Patten. He is the older brother of actress Joyce Van Patten and the uncle of Talia Balsam. , Merv Griffin, Jack Klugman, Don Adams and Conway at the track. To McMahon, days spent at the races are always special. ``I love to go to the track,'' McMahon said. ``It's a great way to spend an afternoon. I still wear a tie to the track. I can remember when my father took me and a woman wouldn't think of going to the track without wearing a hat.'' If history serves, Hollywood Park will be buzzing today. In the 14-year history of the Breeders' Cup, the fifth and sixth biggest crowds attended the event at Hollywood (65,254 in 1984 and 57,734 in 1987). Southern California's other track, Santa Anita, has welcomed the third- and seventh-largest crowds (69,155 in 1986 and 55,130 in 1993). The largest crowd for a Breeders' Cup - 71,671 - got together in 1994 in horse country, Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. But horse racing's heydays ended in the mid-'80s, when all-time-high attendance rates like the 74.7 million who turned out to watch thoroughbreds run in 1980, began a downhill spiral, according to the Association of Racing Commissioners. By 1990, on-track attendance was dSown to 63.8 million, and in 1995 it had fallen to a mere 38.9 million. Granted, some of those people has been siphoned off by off-track betting parlors, casinos and simulcast outlets. Still, racing has earned a bad reputation among many people - whatever their reasons. ``It's like watching grass grow - or not grow,'' said Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, who will not be among the 50,000-plus in attendance. ``People I like a lot love horse racing. I can't figure out why.'' THE FACTS What: The 14th running of the Breeders' Cup. When: Today. First post time is 10 a.m., first Breeders' Cup race is at 10:52 a.m. with the Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade 1 Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 years old and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles (2012 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. at 2:35 p.m. Where: Hollywood Park. Television: 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. today on NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. (Channel 4). CAPTION(S): 6 Photos Photo: (1--4--Cover--Color) Hollywood Park Big celebrity turnout could give sport of kings more subjects Alex Trebek Stefanie Powers Bo Derek Ed McMahon Photo illustration by Traci Wooden (5) Horses are led onto the track before each race after the bugler has sounded. David Crane/Daily News (6) Bo Derek is one of several celebrities who will be on hand when the Breeders' Cup races begin today at Hollywood Park. |
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