PLENTY TO SAVOR IN 2003.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 INGLEWOOD - In the eternal debate between those who say horse racing is a spectator sport and those who call it a gambling game, the first group grabbed the lead in 2003. It was a good year to appreciate horses, jockeys and trainers doing great things at Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, tracks. It wasn't such a good year to bet on them - unless you're a fan of five-horse fields. What should horse players remember from this local season, which concludes unofficially Sunday when Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may be several places:
There was the comeback of Julie Krone Julie A. Krone (b. July 24, 1963, Benton Harbor, Michigan), is an American jockey. In 1993, she became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair. , who returned from retirement to compete against men in a way that put Annika Sorenstam to shame, becoming the first woman to ride a 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. winner and coming close to the jockey championship at Del Mar Del Mar is the name of several places in the United States of America:
There was the continued success of Pat Valenzuela Patrick Valenzuela (born October 17, 1962 in Montrose, Colorado) is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born into a racing family, his father plus three of his uncles were jockeys. , who goes into this weekend with a chance to complete the first sweep of the circuit's major- track jockey titles since Chris McCarron's in 1983. There was the record performance by Richard Mandella Richard Mandella (born November 5, 1950 in Beaumont, California) is a Thoroughbred horse trainer and a member of the Racing Hall of Fame. Mandella's father, a blacksmith, introduced him to horses at an early age and while still in high school he began breaking and training , who trained four winners in the eight Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
There was the emergence of four-footed stars Candy Ride, winner of the Pacific Classic under Krone in the year's highest-rated two-turn race, and Halfbridled, undefeated winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a 1 1/16-mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt (although the distance has varied, depending on the configuration of the host track) for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part with Krone. There were the standard-setting achievements of trainer Bobby Frankel, who set national records for Grade I stakes victories and purse earnings, and jockey Jerry Bailey, who set a national record for stakes wins. There was the Kentucky Derby upset by Funny Cide, who became the first gelding gelding castrated male horse. since 1929 to win America's most famous race and the first New York-bred ever to win it, making a band of Saratoga-area owners the toast of Broadway. There were the deaths of Bill Shoemaker and Johnny Longden, and the retirement of Laffit Pincay because of a neck injury, sad developments that inspired outpourings of admiration for the past three holders of the record for career riding victories. And there was the popularity of ``Seabiscuit,'' the movie that humanized thoroughbred racing for a lot of outsiders. ``Some of the things that happened in racing this year were really kind of extraordinary,'' said Allen Gutterman, Hollywood Park's vice president for marketing. ``As an attraction, I think the sport is pretty healthy.'' As for the gambling side, Gutterman said, ``I think next year certain things will get better.'' The horse shortage at the geographically isolated California tracks has become so acute that late in the season, programs such as Thursday's at Hollywood Park, which had only 53 runners in eight races, no longer are remarkable. Almost every day now, California bettors can find larger fields - promising more choices and challenge and therefore higher payoffs - at racetracks in 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 , Kentucky, Florida and Louisiana. Hopes for improvement depend on California horsemen getting relief from prohibitive workers-compensation insurance rates, on the drive for a ballot measure that could permit racetracks to install slot machines, and the occasional arrival of an intrepid owner such as Maryland-based Michael Gill. Outsiders have always teased racing fans by saying nobody would pay any attention to the sport if it weren't for the betting. It was always a strange criticism, a little like saying nobody would go to boxing matches if it weren't for the punching. Anyway, this year the jibe became obsolete. Now the knock should be that nobody would do their gambling at the racetrack if it weren't that the sport was fun to watch. --The weekend: Having said that, Hollywood Park's second-to-last program Saturday could be the most attractive of the 30-day meet, featuring the Hollywood Futurity and four double-digit fields among nine races. The Hollywood Futurity - whose past champions include Triple Crown-race winners Point Given, Real Quiet, A.P. Indy and Snow Chief - shapes up as a showcase for undefeated Lion Heart. The $1.4 million colt by Tale of the Cat could make a late bid for the 2-year-old division Eclipse Award if he repeats his six-length Hollywood Prevue victory. Mike Smith rides for trainer Patrick Biancone. With three days left in the meet, the jockeys' and trainers' races were as close as can be. Valenzuela's 24 victories gave him a lead of one over Krone, who will miss the rest of the year after last Friday's fall, two over Victor Espinoza and three over Tyler Baze and Martin Pedroza. Jeff Mullins and Bobby Frankel were tied with 12 victories, one more than Bob Baffert and Doug O'Neill. After four days off, local thoroughbred racing's longest break of 2003, Santa Anita will open its 67th season next Friday at noon. First post at the Arcadia track will be 1 p.m. most weekdays and 12:30 p.m. most weekends. Racing will be held each day except Dec. 30 from Dec. 26 to Jan. 4. CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE - Kevin Modesti |
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