SOME HORSIN' AROUND QUESTIONS FOR BREEDERS' CUP.Byline: Kevin Modesti Most days at the racetrack, these are the frequently asked questions. Who d'ya like? (I like the long shot and people who never have to say, ``Who d'ya like?'') Where's the ATM? (Next to the Large Wagers window, usually). And, What color is a gelding gelding castrated male horse. ? (Blue.) But in the coming week, those will be drowned out Drowned Out is a 2002 documentary by Franny Armstrong about the controversial Sardar Sarovar Project. It closely follows a family that is unwilling to leave its village home as the water levels of the Narmada River, mostly because the government provides them no viable by larger, smarter questions as horseplayers and horsemen prepare for Saturday's 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. races at Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino is a racetrack and county-approved racino in Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the United States. During its annual meet, which spans January through March, it is one of the most important venues for horse racing in America. near Miami. The 16th Breeders' Cup will include eight races - covering both sexes, all ages and a range of dirt, turf and distance specialties - with $13 million in purses and most year-end championships up for grabs. These are the questions that will shape it. Will Bob Baffert have a day for the history books, or a blank page? The dominant trainer aims to saddle contenders in five of the eight races, including 3-year-old General Challenge and 7-year-old River Keen in the $4 million Classic. He could break the record of three winners at a single Breeders' Cup set by D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. in 1988 at Churchill Downs. Or he could shoot the most embarrassing 0-fer in racing history. Baffert's horses will be the most closely watched in the exercise gallops this week. Is Silverbulletday out of this world, or out of gas? The 3-year-old queen is the hardest of Baffert's horses to figure. After winning 11 races in a row against fillies her age, she was dominated by 4-year-old Beautiful Pleasure on a sloppy track at Belmont Park last time out. Now she faces Beautiful Pleasure and other older fillies and mares in the $1 million 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. . Was Silverbulletday outclassed out·class tr.v. out·classed, out·class·ing, out·class·es To surpass decisively, so as to appear of a higher class. Adj. 1. by an elder? Is she tuckered out as she nears the end of a long season? Or is that defeat an aberration? Will Europeans complain it's not the horse, it's the humidity? Eighty-degree Florida weather was blamed when English- and French-prepped horses went winless in 28 starts at the 1989 and 1992 Breeders' Cups at Gulfstream. European horses are growing their winter coats this time of year. Gulfstream officials prevented a Euro boycott by cranking up the quarantine-barn air conditioning and allowing early-morning turf workouts. Twenty-one Euro-prepped horses are among the 128 ``pre-entries.'' They include Daylami and Royal Anthem, contenders in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. The race's current title sponsor is John Deere. . Is the Gulfstream turf course ``firm,'' ``good,'' ``yielding'' - or submerged? The infield lake overflowed in Hurricane Irene, soaking the clay-based grass oval, which remains soggy. ``In Florida, we don't ever rely on forecasts, but if we don't get much (more) rain, it should be OK,'' said Gulfstream president Doug Donn. If not, the Florida climate might turn out to help the Europeans, who are used to softer footing. Is another Arazi hiding in one of those barns? Injuries and early retirements have taken away some of the event's equine marquee power. But sometimes it helps to establish a new star, as when transatlantic 2-year-old Arazi created a sensation in the 1991 Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. at Churchill Downs. Some possibilities: Chilukki and Surfside surf·side adj. Situated or sited at or near the seashore: surfside parties; a surfside road. ($1 million Juvenile Fillies), Forest Camp, Dixie Union, and English-based Brahms and Mull of Kintyre The Mull of Kintyre is the most southwesterly section of the long Kintyre Peninsula in southwestern Scotland. The name is an Anglicization of the Gaelic Maol Ceanntìre. (Juvenile), and 3-year-old General Challenge (Classic). Will the ``Ultra Pick Six'' be too difficult to bet on? The Breeders' Cup pick-six's latest format excludes the usually formful Distaff and Juvenile Fillies, and challenges fans to link the winners of six of the world's toughest races. Before putting together a ticket, anyone without the bankroll bank·roll n. 1. A roll of paper money. 2. Informal One's ready cash. tr.v. bank·rolled, bank·roll·ing, bank·rolls Informal to cover thousands of combinations must decide if it's worth the trouble, although the guaranteed $5 million pool will make a $12 stab hard to resist. Can Bobby Frankel overcome his Breeders' Cup jinx jinx n. 1. A person or thing that is believed to bring bad luck. 2. A condition or period of bad luck that appears to have been caused by a specific person or thing. tr.v. ? This event would seem to owe one to Frankel, the wonderfully profane, Brooklyn-born trainer who is in the Hall of Fame despite never winning a Breeders' Cup or Triple Crown race. Frankel has saddled four second- and five third-place Breeders' Cup finishers - most recently Bertrando in the Classic won by 133-1 Arcangues at Santa Anita in 1993 - and is 10th on the earnings list with $2.9 million in purses. ``Is it frustrating? Only when you guys bring it up,'' said Frankel, who'll try again with Chester House (Classic), Keeper Hill (Distaff), Kirkwall ($1 million Mile) and Spanish Fern ($1 million Filly and Mare Turf). ``I just go about it like any other race.'' Who will clinch ``Jockey of the '90s'' honors - Gary Stevens, Jerry Bailey or Pat Day? Each of the three has been inducted into the Hall of Fame, won at least one Eclipse Award, won at least one Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont and been among the 1990s' leaders in Breeders' Cup victories, Bailey with seven and Stevens and Day with six. (Mike Smith has eight, but has flopped in the Triple Crown races.) A big day Saturday could push one to the fore. Can we get through a Gulfstream Park Breeders' Cup without tragedy? On the Line was injured in the 1989 Sprint and died weeks later. Mr Brooks was fatally injured in the 1992 Sprint and legendary English jockey Lester Piggott was seriously injured in the fall. The Breeders' Cup, once plagued by accidents, hasn't had a fatal mishap since Mr Brooks. Will Easy Goer finally go past Sunday Silence? The two rivals retired in 1990. Easy Goer has been dead since 1994. But Easy Goer's fans in the eastern press haven't given up hope that one day they'll wake up to find his neck loss to California-based Sunday Silence in 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 Gulfstream a decade ago was only a nightmare. ``You will never convince me that Easy Goer shouldn't have won that Classic,'' 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. handicapper hand·i·cap·per n. Sports & Games 1. One who assigns handicaps. 2. One who predicts the winners in a horserace, especially one who publishes such predictions as a guide for bettors. Noun 1. Mike Watchmaker wrote this week, citing trouble caused by the horse and jockey Horse and Jockey (An Marcach) is a village in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, on the N8 National Primary Route from Dublin to Cork. It is situated km ( mi) south of Thurles, at the junction of the N8 and the N62. Pat Day. Watchmaker made Easy Goer and Sunday Silence the only co-honorees in a race-by-race best-of-the-Breeders' Cup list. For most of us, 1999's questions are challenging enough without agonizing over 1989's. BREEDERS' CUP WEEK AT A GLANCE Today, Monday, Tuesday: The last of the Breeders' Cup hopefuls arrive at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla., as most horses go through their final formal workouts before Saturday's races. Wednesday: Entry fees are paid, race fields and jockey assignments for the Breeders' Cup races are finalized, starting spots are chosen by blind draw and morning-line odds are announced. Thursday: Serious horseplayers begin to settle on their picks and wagering strategies for Saturday; facing large, contentious Breeders' Cup fields, you can't wait for the night before. Friday: Gulfstream's special, three-day ``season'' opens with a 10-race card including eight stakes and a guaranteed $1 million pick-six pool. Saturday: The eight-race Breeders' Cup begins at 10:10 a.m. PST PST Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, see there with the Distaff and concludes 3 hours, 45 minutes later with the Classic. TV coverage on Channel 4 starts at 10 a.m. A pick-six with a guaranteed $5 million pool starts with the third Breeders' Cup race, the Mile on turf. At Santa Anita, gates open at 7:30 a.m. for wagering on the Breeders' Cup; live races start at 9:15 a.m. Sunday: Winners, losers and Horse of the Year voters sort out the results. Insatiable bettors tackle another 10-race Gulfstream card featuring eight more stakes and another guaranteed $1 million pick-six pool. CAPTION(S): box BOX: Breeders' Cup week at a glance (see text) |
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