BLAHUT LOOKING FOR WINNING IMAGE.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI 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 ARCADIA - Don Blahut of Newhall made his money in a downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or business called the Collating House, which specializes in assembling the pages of books, calendars and documents. At Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
Blahut is a part-owner of Southern Image, trainer Mike Machowsky's up-and-coming threat to favorite Pleasantly Perfect Pleasantly Perfect (born April 2, 1998 in Lexington, Kentucky) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who retired as the fourth richest American horse in career earnings. A son of Pleasant Colony, winner of the 1981 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, he was out of the mare Regal State who in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in the late winter at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses three years old and up, and is considered the most important race for older horses in North America during . ``Being in my later ages, it would be a crowning glory for me (to win),'' Blahut said this week after the Big 'Cap's nine-horse field was set. ``I'm 74 years old. I'm the eldest of the three (owners). I've been in the racing business 22 years. I've been with Mike Machowsky since he started in 1991. This is the first real good horse I've had. So I'm elated, of course. ``He augments Social Security pretty well.'' A Kansas native, Blahut was sent to California by his then-employer in the 1970s and settled in Granada Hills. He and his wife Shirley began going to the racetrack, he said, to stay in touch with their rural roots. Blahut's success in business allowed him to buy and breed racehorses, one of his first being a good horse appropriately named Mr. Collator (1) A punch card machine that merges two decks of cards into one or more stacks. (2) A utility program that merges records from two or more files into one file. . He had a second-place finish Noun 1. second-place finish - a finish in second place (as in a race) runner-up finish finish - designated event that concludes a contest (especially a race); "excitement grew as the finish neared"; "my horse was several lengths behind at the finish"; "the in the Hollywood Derby The Hollywood Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses on the turf run each year in December at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. with Native Boundary. But he had never owned a horse who accomplished as much in a career as Southern Image, a Florida-bred 4-year-old by Halo's Image, has done in only five career starts. After coming back from the hind-end and foot injuries that ended his flirtation with the 2003 Kentucky Derby trail, Southern Image carried jockey Victor Espinoza to a photo-finish win in the Dec. 26 Malibu Stakes and a three-length romp in the Jan. 24 Sunshine Millions Classic The Sunshine Millions Classic is a race for thoroughbred horses held in January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California or at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Half the eight races of the Sunshine Millions are run at one track and half at the other. . The Malibu was Blahut's first Grade I victory, the Sunshine Millions his first $1 million race victory. The horse purchased for $300,000 has won four of five races and earned $781,600. ``This horse,'' Blahut said, ``is determined to beat horses.'' Blahut, who said he owns a 25 percent interest, shares the costs and profits with Tom Kagele of Glendora, Jerry Kagele of Pleasanton, and Renee, Angie and Josh Tepper of Del Mar. And they all share Southern Image's achievements with Machowsky, the 38-year-old former assistant to Pleasantly Perfect trainer Richard Mandella. ``It's one of those races I always wanted to win as a kid,'' Machowsky, a Fullerton native, said of the Santa Anita Handicap. ``Just getting one to the race is big to me.'' Blahut's wife died eight years ago. His girlfriend, Audrey Wright, has a family obligation Saturday. But two of his three children and two granddaughters will join him in the Turf Club, and he expects friends from Porter Valley Country Club to help cheer on Southern Image. Said Machowsky: ``It's good to see a fella like that get a horse like this.'' --Hard luck: When 75-1 shot Flying Kegan broke down in mid-stretch while leading the last race Wednesday at Santa Anita, it may have been the costliest ``bad beat'' in pari-mutuel gambling history. If Flying Kegan had won the race, one perfect ticket would have remained in that afternoon's giant pick-six, and it would have been worth a North American-record $4.7 million to its anonymous holder (or holders). But because that ticket didn't include 32-1 Houston Astro, the horse who went on to win the race, its holder apparently did not collect one of the pick-six's three payoffs of $1,567,984 and had to settle for the ``consolation'' payoff of $3,169. There's a remote possibility one of the $1.5 million winners is the would-be $4.7 million winner but had Flying Kegan on a separate ticket. Santa Anita officials said Thursday afternoon the three tickets were purchased for $288 by a group of nine bettors in Alpine, Calif. for $64 by a 60-year-old man at a New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of off-track facility, and for $2,160 by an unidentified party in Louisville, Ky. Thursday morning, before the tickets had been cashed, Santa Anita officials said they lacked the technology to trace the bets in the computer system and tell if the fan who missed out on $4.7 million at least collected the $1.5 million. The lack-of-technology claim is worrisome in light of the 2002 Breeders' Cup pick-six fix, fans' suspicions about late odds drops and the racing industry's trumpeting of enhanced security. That's especially so on a day like Wednesday, when a three-day carryover swelled the total pool to a North American-record $7,302,848. --Heart exam: Unbeaten Hollywood Futurity winner Lion Heart makes his 3-year-old debut in the 1-mile San Rafael Stakes The San Rafael Stakes is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Santa Anita Park, located in Arcadia, California. The race is a Grade II event with a purse of $150,000 and is open to three-year-olds willing to race one mile (8 furlongs) on the dirt. on the Santa Anita Handicap undercard un·der·card n. The event or events coming before and supporting the main event, as of boxing matches. . Ridden by Mike Smith, the son of Tale of the Cat will face as many as nine horses, including Imperialism, Lucky Pulpit, Hosco, Consecrate con·se·crate tr.v. con·se·crat·ed, con·se·crat·ing, con·se·crates 1. To declare or set apart as sacred: consecrate a church. 2. Christianity a. and Quintons Gold Rush. This weekend and next could be pivotal in the run-up to the May 1 Kentucky Derby. Sunday's Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds is led by Gradepoint and features Southern Californians Wimbledon and Borrego. Upcoming are the March 13 Florida Derby (Read the Footnotes, Master David, Tapit) and SwaleStakes (Eurosilver) at Gulfstream Park, the March 13 Santa Anita Oaks Santa Anita Oaks is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to three-year-old fillies willing to race 8.5 furlongs (1 1/16 miles) on the dirt, it currently offers a purse of $300,000. (Halfbridled), and the March 14 San Felipe (Action This Day). CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE - Kevin Modesti |
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