FUTURE-BOOK BETS ON RACING NOT EASY IT APPEARS THAT ONLY THE JOCKEY CONTINGENT STAYS CONSTANT.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 - When I joined the horse-racing beat 10 years ago this month, I thought the most depressing thing about the sport was the Baldwin Avenue traffic caused by all those crowds of 30,000 on weekends and 15,000 on weekdays. I thought whatever ailed racing could be cured if only a superhorse came along to capture the nation's attention, a national governing body Noun 1. governing body - the persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something; "he claims that the present administration is corrupt"; "the governance of an association is responsible to its members"; "he was organized and tracks were owned by people uninhibited uninhibited /un·in·hib·it·ed/ (un?in-hib´i-ted) free from usual constraints; not subject to normal inhibitory mechanisms. by tradition. I thought I'd better be quick about appreciating Laffit Pincay because, at 44, he wouldn't be riding much longer. Hey, what did I know? Looking back, the past decade in horse racing is remarkable for what has changed, what hasn't changed and what has changed but hasn't mattered. Crowds at the local tracks are half what they were in 1991 - you look forward to traffic on the big days now - the decline accounted for more by the advent of intertrack wagering than by diminishing interest. Racing got its superhorse (Cigar, whose 16-race winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" made him a household name), its ``commissioner's office'' (the controversial NTRA NTRA National Thoroughbred Racing Association NTRA National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (Egypt) NTRA National Training Reform Agenda NTRA Nano Technology Research Association (Korea) ), and its imaginative track owners (R.D. Hubbard, Frank Stronach Frank Stronach, CM (born September 6, 1932 as Franz Strohsack) is an Austrian and Canadian businessman. He is the founder of Magna International, an international automotive parts company based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, and Magna Entertainment Corp. ), and none of it made its rivals for the sports and gambling dollar run for the hills. Meanwhile, Pincay is 54 and going strong. He leads the Santa Anita jockey standings. The names of the top jockeys are about the only things that haven't changed dramatically. My first official day covering Santa Anita - Jan. 6, 1991 - the races were won by Pincay, Chris McCarron, Martin Pedroza, Felipe Martinez and Corey Nakatani. All of them have won races at the current meet. The top five in the standings that year were McCarron, Gary Stevens, Eddie Delahoussaye, Alex Solis and Pincay. All are in the current top 10. Between now and then, Stevens moved to Hong Kong, came back, moved to 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 , came back, and retired, and came back. The more some things change, the more other things remain the same. Playing the races is a new ballgame. Ten years ago, there were six ways to bet - the basic win-place-show, plus daily double, 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. , pick-three, pick-six and pick-nine; Santa Anita was resisting the public cry to lower its $5 exacta minimum. Now, all those bets remain in some form, augmented by quinellas, trifectas, superfectas and parlays. The eternal verity of playing the races is, well, eternal: Favorites win 33 percent of the time. In the 1990s, harness racing in Southern California slumped, surged, died, rose again - then moved to Sacramento. Hollywood Park finally hired a great announcer, lost him, hired another great announcer, and lost him. The Breeders' Cup earned the status of ``fixture'' on the national sports calendar. The Kentucky Derby remained the only racing event the nonracing fan really pays attention to. What will happen in the next 10 years? I see wagering by phone and computer from homes and offices becoming more widespread. And the sport consolidating in fewer racetracks. And Laffit Pincay retiring - eventually. So don't bet on it. --The weekend: Santa Anita fans might see a pair of Eclipse Award winners Saturday and Sunday. Kona Gold, already assured of being named the nation's outstanding sprinter of 2000, faces old rival Big Jag in the 6-furlong Palos Verdes Handicap The Palos Verdes Handicap is a race for thoroughbred horses held at Santa Anita Park, USA, each year. The race is open to horses, age three and up, willing to race six furlongs on the dirt. It carries a purse of $150,000. on Sunday. Surfside surf·side adj. Situated or sited at or near the seashore: surfside parties; a surfside road. , a contender for outstanding 3-year-old filly, has been entered for her first start of the season in the 7-furlong Santa Monica Handicap The Santa Monica Handicap is a race for thoroughbred race horses run at a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt at Santa Anita Park. The Grade I race is open to fillies and mares age, three and up, and offers a purse of $250,000. on Saturday. Eclipse Awards will be announced Tuesday in New Orleans. When the top three vote-getters in each division were announced earlier this month, it was revealed that Kona Gold is a unanimous winner. Seven-year-old Kona Gold, assigned 126 pounds, six more than 8-year-old Big Jag, would be the first Palos Verdes winner to carry that much weight since Ancient Title did it in 1974. Big Jag got a five-pound break when he won their showdown in the 1999 Palos Verdes. They carried equal weight when Kona Gold won the rematch in 2000. Surfside, off two months since beating colts in the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs, returns to the track where she beat fillies in three consecutive races last winter. Ridden by Pat Day, she's assigned 121 pounds, four more than Theresa's Tizzy tiz·zy n. pl. tiz·zies Slang A state of nervous excitement or confusion; a dither. [Origin unknown. , five more than Gourmet Girl and Hookedonthefeelin. --Early kickoff: Santa Anita will have an 11 a.m. first post Sunday - 90 minutes earlier than usual for a weekend - so racing will be over before the Super Bowl telecast starts at 3 p.m. Los Alamitos quarterhorse racing goes back under the lights after the Orange County track switched to afternoons last weekend to conserve electricity. The first live race is set for 7:15 tonight and 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Los Al won't race on Super Bowl Sunday. --Style points: Is the Santa Anita track kinder to front-runners or big finishers? It depends on the distance of the race. The most speed-favoring distances so far this season: 5 1/2 furlongs (in which 56 percent of the races have been won in wire-to-wire style), 6 furlongs (33 percent), and 6 1/2 furlongs on turf (44 percent). The most anti-speed distances: 7 furlongs (13 percent), 1 mile on turf (5 percent). OUT OF THE GATE SANTA ANITA LEADERS (Through Thursday) Jockey Wins Laffit Pincay 29 Victor Espinoza 17 David Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the 17 Gary Stevens 15 Kent Desormeaux 14 Trainer Wins Bob Baffert 13 Bill Spawr 11 Jack Carava 6 Vladimir Cerin 6 Ron Ellis 6 THE STAKES SCHEDULE Santa Anita Saturday --$200,000 Santa Monica Handicap, fillies and mares 4 and up, 7 furlongs. Sunday --$200,000 Palos Verdes Handicap, 4-year-olds and up, 6 furlongs. Gulfstream Park Saturday --$150,000 Hutcheson Stakes, 3-year-olds, 7 furlongs. Sunday --$100,000 Forward Gal, 3-year-old fillies, 7 furlongs. PINCAY WATCH Laffit Pincay rode three short-priced winners Wednesday, his third triple of the 22-day-old Santa Anita meeting. That raised his world-record career-victories total to 9,072. A WEEK 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. Hollywood Park will raise general and clubhouse admission prices by $1 starting Feb. 1, the Inglewood track's first such increase in 10 years. General admission (which includes parking and a program) will be $7, clubhouse $10. . . . Apprentice Macario Rodriguez suffered broken ribs when Roz Roz slammed him against the rail as the filly was led out of the Santa Anita saddling area before a race Wednesday. . . . Reraise, the 1998 Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs (3/4 mile), the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the winner, has been moved from trainer Craig Dollase at Santa Anita to Tom Skiffington at Gulfstream Park because his owners think the Florida track will be easier on the 6-year-old's tender feet and legs Feet and Legs See also anatomy; body, human; walking. arthropod any invertebrate of the phylum that includes insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and myriapods with jointed legs. . Skiffington told the Daily Racing Form The Daily Racing Form, LLC (DRF) is a broadsheet newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of race horses as a statistical service for bettors on horse racing in the United States. he plans to run Reraise once at Gulfstream before going to a $2 million sprint in Dubai in March. . . . Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens was reported out of danger in a rehabilitation center in Hollywood, Fla., after a case of pancreatitis. . . . Valhol finally has a stakes victory to cover the black mark next to his name. The 5-year-old won the $75,000 Diplomat Way Handicap at the New Orleans Fair Grounds on Sunday with Donnie Meche riding for trainer Dallas Keen. Valhol is best known for finishing first in the 1999 Arkansas Derby but getting disqualified dis·qual·i·fy tr.v. dis·qual·i·fied, dis·qual·i·fy·ing, dis·qual·i·fies 1. a. To render unqualified or unfit. b. To declare unqualified or ineligible. 2. because Billy Patin pat·in n. Variant of paten. was determined to have carried a buzzer. . . . Martin Pedroza's win Thursday aboard Danceswiththewind was his 1,999th. - Kevin Modesti CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: no caption (Laffit Pincay) Box: OUT OF THE GATE (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion