SNUB GIVES GOMEZ MOTIVATION.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 - Garrett Gomez got rooked in the 2006 jockey-of- the-year voting announced Monday at the Eclipse Awards dinner in Beverly Hills amid talk that Edgar Prado backers might have been swayed by incomplete information. So in case he needed extra motivation to win Saturday's $1 million 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. at Gulfstream Park, in the richest race of the unique California vs.Florida event split between Gulfstream and Santa Anita, he has a shot at a measure of revenge if his Texcess beats Prado's Silver Wagon. Not that anybody is mad at Prado for winning the Eclipse for outstanding jockey, or for the shockingly out-sided balloting that saw Prado get 56percent of the first-place votes to Gomez's 33 percent and scattered support for Russell Baze and others. The recriminations have focused on National Thoroughbred Racing Association The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) is the main governing body of Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States. They are also the main governing body of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. executives' decision to exclude $1.8 million earned by Gomez's mounts in threemajor races in Dubai from the statistics sent to Eclipse voters in early December. The subtraction subtraction, fundamental operation of arithmetic; the inverse of addition. If a and b are real numbers (see number), then the number a−b is that number (called the difference) which when added to b (the subtractor) equals meant Prado and not Gomez appeared at the top of the earnings list that many voters read. ``I really and truly believe,'' said Ron Anderson, agent for Gomez, ``that not being on top of the money cost us whatever chance we had.'' Said Gomez: ``To think maybe we did enough to win the Eclipse, to come so close and not get it, it's a little disappointing.'' NTRA NTRA National Thoroughbred Racing Association NTRA National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (Egypt) NTRA National Training Reform Agenda NTRA Nano Technology Research Association (Korea) spokesman Jim Gluckson said Monday that only North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. earnings were printed because these are North American awards, even though the $6 million Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operated through the Emirates Horse Racing Authority (EHRA) whose Chairman is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and other races on the United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates, federation of sheikhdoms (2005 est. pop. 2,563,000), c.30,000 sq mi (77,700 sq km), SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. card each March are targets for U.S. horsemen. Gluckson said the issue will be revisited. Overlooked were Gomez's earnings from Wilko's second in the World Cup, Testimony's second in the UAE Derby and Jet West's third in the Golden Shaheen. That dropped Gomez to $18.8 million, about $800,000 behind Prado, on the list updated Nov. 29. Prado had a great year highlighted by riding Barbaro to victory in the Kentucky Derby and Round Pond to win the Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. It is sponsored by the airline Emirates. . Voters might have rewarded him for ``saving'' Barbaro by pulling the colt to a stop and jumping off quickly after the Preakness breakdown. But Gomez had a better year overall, ending up ahead of Prado on earnings ($21.9million-$19.8 million), wins (261-248), win percentage (20.5- 19.0) and Grade I wins (12-11). Riding for No. 1 trainer Todd Pletcher after John Velazquez's injury, the California-based Gomez was a factor on the East Coast for much of the year. Gomez, 35, who fought substance abuse for nearly twoyears before returning to the track in 2005, said he gained perspective on his disappointment after a conversation about gratitude Thursday with Bob Fletcher, executive director of the racetrack anti-addiction program Winners Foundation. ``It was disappointing,'' Gomez said of the vote. ``But was it mind-boggling? Did it really fry me? No, it's not a big deal. . . . If I win big races, maybe I'll have a chance to win the Eclipse next year.'' The Sunshine Millions' eight races for California- and Florida-breds offer $3.6 million in purses. Half of the card is held at Santa Anita, the rest at Gulfstream. Texcess (Gomez), coming off his Cal Cup Classic win, is 4-1 on the Classic morning line, second to 9-5 favorite Sweetnorthernsaint (Ramon Dominguez). Silver Wagon (Prado) is the 6-1 co-third choice. By traveling to the Miami area Saturday, Gomez also rides contenders May Night in the Filly & Mare Turf, Hot Storm in the Filly & Mare Sprint, and Ididn'tdoanything in the Dash. The races at Santa Anita are highlighted by the season debuts of Lava Man in the Turf and Bordonaro in the Sprint. Horse walks into a bar ...: The NTRA announced Monday that Grey Goose Vodka has signed on as sponsor of the 2007 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 and ``official spirit'' of the Breeders' Cup. Nice timing. The announcement came threedays after it was reported that a Nebraska veterinarian veterinarian /vet·er·i·nar·i·an/ (vet?er-i-nar´e-an) a person trained and authorized to practice veterinary medicine and surgery; a doctor of veterinary medicine. vet·er·i·nar·i·an n. faces charges of injecting horses with vodka to calm their nerves before races at Fonner Park. Veterinarian Jay Stewart's trial on four misdemeanor charges is scheduled for March. Racing has enough trouble with PETA Quadrillion (10 to the 15th power). See space/time. and the anti-gambling morality police without horses having to worry about sobriety checkpoints. heymodesti(AT_SIGN)aol.com (818) 713-3616 CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE - Kevin Modesti |
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