Horse Racing: 2020 conclusion: $323,000 (Santa Anita) and $106,000 (Aqueduct) Pick 6 hit on New Year's Eve

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Quite the scene in person. I was at the 2008 game. Saw the AHL Phantoms that night in their final season at the Spectrum.

been to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Philadelphia..... with a sidetrip to Pocono Downs in 2001

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

been to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Philadelphia..... with a sidetrip to Pocono Downs in 2001

Good stuff. I'd like to hit Keeneland at some point. A friend who has been to most east coast tracks attended Del Mar last year and he was speechless including for things not limited to horse racing.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Good stuff. I'd like to hit Keeneland at some point. A friend who has been to most east coast tracks attended Del Mar last year and he was speechless including for things not limited to horse racing.

my 2nd cousin is like an insider to the California tracks.....

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

my 2nd cousin is like an insider to the California tracks.....

Southern Cal or the fair tracks? There is a meeting June 11 to decide the fate of the fair tracks. Cali has a very unique setup as to the simulcast. Basically the state is broken into north and south. Last year, or was it the prior year, the northern tracks had a beef with the Stronach Group. Each state can have very dedicated procedures.

Arizona is another state that has different gambling rules and how OTBs operate. Seems like a fun adventure.

I forget if it was 2008-9, in that area, when I was in downtown Chicago and saw a restaurant with a horse's image on the exterior. I know it wasn't there the prior year. It got my curiosity as it wasn't my plan to be inside on such a warm summer day. A woman said "Come on in..." Next thing, horse racing on the feed and waitresses placed bets. Chicago?! The place didn't last too long as Chicago obviously has many restaurants, arguably the deepest restaurant city in America but it wowed me.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Southern Cal or the fair tracks? There is a meeting June 11 to decide the fate of the fair tracks. Cali has a very unique setup as to the simulcast. Basically the state is broken into north and south. Last year, or was it the prior year, the northern tracks had a beef with the Stronach Group. Each state can have very dedicated procedures.

Arizona is another state that has different gambling rules and how OTBs operate. Seems like a fun adventure.

I forget if it was 2008-9, in that area, when I was in downtown Chicago and saw a restaurant with a horse's image on the exterior. I know it wasn't there the prior year. It got my curiosity as it wasn't my plan to be inside on such a warm summer day. A woman said "Come on in..." Next thing, horse racing on the feed and waitresses placed bets. Chicago?! The place didn't last too long as Chicago obviously has many restaurants, arguably the deepest restaurant city in America but it wowed me.

AFAIU, Santa Anita Del Mar and Golden Gate.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Zenyatta delivered a Candy Ride foal this morning. A baby girl. That is Zenyatta's fourth baby.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Good stuff. I'd like to hit Keeneland at some point. A friend who has been to most east coast tracks attended Del Mar last year and he was speechless including for things not limited to horse racing.

Keeneland is a must do. I've been to Saratoga 2 or 3 times and there are a lot of similarities. Keeneland sales are quite the experience as well. Sit on your hands if you've got some Italian in you like me or you might make a $400,000 unintentional bid on a nag. Came very, very close to that once.

Did you ever see a hockey game at the Civic Center in Philly? When I lived there (79-84) it was right after the Firebirds had folded/left so I never did see an event there. Never saw a game at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City either. Only arena I've seen hockey in the area was at the Spectrum. Never insult Bobby Clarke at the Spectrum. Never. I learned the hard way

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Zenyatta delivered a Candy Ride foal this morning. A baby girl. That is Zenyatta's fourth baby.

What are the histories of the other three foals? The yearling prices were probably obscene.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Keeneland is a must do. I've been to Saratoga 2 or 3 times and there are a lot of similarities. Keeneland sales are quite the experience as well. Sit on your hands if you've got some Italian in you like me or you might make a $400,000 unintentional bid on a nag. Came very, very close to that once.

Did you ever see a hockey game at the Civic Center in Philly? When I lived there (79-84) it was right after the Firebirds had folded/left so I never did see an event there. Never saw a game at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City either. Only arena I've seen hockey in the area was at the Spectrum. Never insult Bobby Clarke at the Spectrum. Never. I learned the hard way

You mean where the Zamboni crashed through the ice on opening night of the WHA? Never.

I have Napolitano blood 100%.

And one should be held accountable in such situations.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

What are the histories of the other three foals? The yearling prices were probably obscene.

She has not had much good fortune. She lost two babies both sired by War Front. One was due to a lung issue and the other a paddock accident. None of the following three were public auctions.

• The male horse Cozmic One (Bernardini) foaled in 2012 failed to hit the board in five starts, last raced in 2017 and is retired.
• The male horse Ziconic (Tapit) foaled in 2013 failed to win in 12 starts, last raced in 2018 and is retired.
• The filly Zellda (Medaglia d'Oro) foaled in 2017 has never raced.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

I mentioned this horse in the past. I watched this sale and had no idea how the price would escalate. My attention was caught by his stature and then when he was sold for $2.5 million nothing more needed to be said.. He is now an unraced 4-year-old. Today he had his latest workout. I am not sure what the future holds. He was penciled into the Kiaran McLaughlin camp a while ago who has since retired as a trainer.

Horse name	Tatweej
Activity type	Workout
Activity date	05-17-2020
Track	Palm Beach Downs
Surface	Dirt (Gate)
Distance	5 Furlongs
Workout type	Breezing
Workout time	1:03.12
Track condition	Fast

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday, March 17, 2020

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Race 11: The $.20 Pick 6 paid $18.48 after three races had "all" winners. The $.50 Pick 5 paid over $19,000.
• Race 3: Jose Alvarez was the winning rider, his first victory in 2020 with his 47th mount. He last won on his second to last start in 2019.
• Victor Lebron won the last two races.
• Irad Ortiz. Jr. won consecutive races. He is one of two riders with over 100 wins this year in North America. He ended the day 9 2-6-0 with six straight place finishes. That is nearly impossible.
• Luis Saez, the winningest rider in North America this year, has three wins with the card ongoing.
• Todd Pletcher had two winners.

Churchill Downs (Kentucky):

• Handle: Over $12 million bet today. Roughly $27 million in the opening two days
• Turf: Tampa Bay and California tracks have beautiful turf courses but Churchill looks magnificent
• John Velazquez has won two of the first four races including a $57 winner.
• Joel Rosario has won twice.
• Race 3: Cat's Pajamas (John Velazquez/Graham Motion) broke her maiden in her third start. She is a daughter to Street Sense.
• Race 5: Not often that a 4-to-5 shot tops a ticket with a $.50 tri worth over $800. Two bombs followed.
• Race 11: The $.50 Pick 5 paid out an immense $147,000+.
• Eleven Races: 11 different trainers were victorious.

Santa Anita (California):

• Flavien Prat won six times which is one short of the track record and had a chance to tie on board the favorite in the finale but the horse never fired. The most recent time a jockey won six at Santa Anita was in 2006. Other jockeys with 6+ wins at Santa Anita on one card: Laffit Pincay (7 wins), Rafael Bejarano , Sandy Hawley, Darrel McHargue, Corey Nakatani, Martin Pedroza, Bill Shoemaker, Steve Valdez and Pat Valenzuela. He is the leading rider at the meet with 54 wins.
• Handle: Over $12 million bet.
• Race 8: Bellafina (Flavien Prat/Simon Callaghan) returned to her favorite track and won the $100,000 feature race. She is 7 5-2-0 at Santa Anita and 15 7-3-1 overall. She has earned over $1.5 million.

​

• Race 7: Regal Beauty (Abel Cedillo/Bob Baffert) won at 11-to-1. Baffert's other starter who was purchased in 2017 for $750,000 and was out for the first time, Crystal Ball, was well-beaten.
• Geo Franco is off his mounts due to timing related to the C-virus. He is expected to ride Friday.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

You mean where the Zamboni crashed through the ice on opening night of the WHA? Never.

I have Napolitano blood 100%.

And one should be held accountable in such situations.

Something about getting blood from a turnip comes to mind regarding my almost half million faux pas.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Something about getting blood from a turnip comes to mind regarding my almost half million faux pas.

I made a rare journey into the baseball thread. See what you think.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

I made a rare journey into the baseball thread. See what you think.

Wonderful post! Very nice analysis of the reasons why the dynasty didn't occur. Dick Wagner's and Bob Howson's lack of vision about the ramifications of not engaging in free agency was the core issue, imo. Losing Perez was huge as you pointed.

That team was so good that 3 of the 5 most important players on the 75-76 teams-Perez, Morgan and Rose-were on the Phillies Wheez Kids in their 1983 WS loss to Baltimore. Johnny Bench and George Foster would be the others.

Got a chance to play golf a few times with Dreissen in the late 80s. Super nice guy.



Visions of Bobby Tolan's game 7 follies will now dance through my head all day! (33:30 miscue #1). Also my mother used to say "If George (Foster) can't do it, then Dennis (Menke) can". Good memories!

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Wonderful post! Very nice analysis of the reasons why the dynasty didn't occur. Dick Wagner's and Bob Howson's lack of vision about the ramifications of not engaging in free agency was the core issue, imo. Losing Perez was huge as you pointed.

That team was so good that 3 of the 5 most important players on the 75-76 teams-Perez, Morgan and Rose-were on the Phillies Wheez Kids in their 1983 WS loss to Baltimore. Johnny Bench and George Foster would be the others.

Got a chance to play golf a few times with Dreissen in the late 80s. Super nice guy.



Visions of Bobby Tolan's game 7 follies will now dance through my head all day! (33:30 miscue #1)

Bobby Tolan screwing up his ankle in the 1970/71 off-season during a charity basketball game -- took away much of his speed. He seemed to be an unhappy camper with the Reds. Sparky Anderson said it was his greatest disappointment or some such word because he could never get through to him.

Yes, Bob Howsam was a winner. He was old-school and felt treating players like family members was enough. Cincinnati was a baseball powerhouse, a small city that was the envy of much larger markets. A regional team. But the era was changing. I have no qualms with Howsam. He made arguably the best trade of the 1970s in acquiring Billingham, Morgan, Geronimo and company from Houston. Great memories.

BTW, if anyone wants to ever see what the Big Red Machine was all about, watch the ninth inning of Game 3 of the 1976 Series against Philadelphia.

 

[GKJ]

The other Bob Baffert horse wins at 11/1, SA9

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

The other Bob Baffert horse wins at 11/1, SA9

Even when he loses...he wins!

Is that 5 wins for Flavien Prat today?

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Is that 5 wins for Flavien Prat today?

It was five.

It is now six.

 

[GKJ]

One short of the Santa Anita record.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Re-opening weekend at Santa Anita (CA) produced about $38 million wagered in three days.

Opening weekend at Churchill Downs (KY) produced about $27 million wagered in two days. The numbers for CD represent an increase of 185% over comparable days last year.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

One short of the Santa Anita record.

He was in a groove. He had a chance on the favorite in the finale but the horse didn't fire. Historically, Santa Anita has been one of the most competitive rider colonies in North America though that took a sizable hit in the last, roughly, 48 months. The most recent time a jockey had six wins on a card was in 2006. Interesting to look at the complete list who won six or more at Santa Anita; some prestigious names..

• Laffit Pincay (lone rider with 7 wins; Hall of Famer; 9,000+ career wins; in discussion as greatest jockey ever)
• Rafael Bejarano (4,000+ career wins; big name for years in California before moving his tack this spring)
• Sandy Hawley (Hall of Famer born in Canada; 6,000+ career wins).
• Darrel McHargue (Hall of Fame inductee this year)
• Corey Nakatani (big name for years in California before retiring a few months ago; over $234,000,000 earned lifetime)
• Martin Pedroza (within 100 wins of 4,000 lifetime)
• Bill Shoemaker (8,800+ wins; undoubtedly among the top jockeys ever, perhaps the biggest name of all)
• Steve Valdez (The one name that captured my attention. Eclipse Award winner for North America bug of the year in 1973. He ballooned and was reportedly at over 150 pounds at his highest weight but that was perhaps the cause he won less than 200 times in his career.
• Pat Valenzuela (4,000+ career wins; had much detailed problems off the track with drug abuse which likely prevented him from attaining additional stardom. One of the era's greats when he was on his game. Won seven Breeders' Cup races in addition to many graded stakes.)

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Keeneland is a must do. I've been to Saratoga 2 or 3 times and there are a lot of similarities. Keeneland sales are quite the experience as well. Sit on your hands if you've got some Italian in you like me or you might make a $400,000 unintentional bid on a nag. Came very, very close to that once.

Did you ever see a hockey game at the Civic Center in Philly? When I lived there (79-84) it was right after the Firebirds had folded/left so I never did see an event there. Never saw a game at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City either. Only arena I've seen hockey in the area was at the Spectrum. Never insult Bobby Clarke at the Spectrum. Never. I learned the hard way

Portland's arena, Cyclones, is modeled after the Spectrum

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Portland's arena, Cyclones, is modeled after the Spectrum

A very creative logo in the Mariners infancy when the Flyers' farm club operated there.

Elvis Presley was supposed to play the facility the day (or next day) he died.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

A very creative logo in the Mariners infancy when the Flyers' farm club operated there.

Elvis Presley was supposed to play the facility the day (or next day) he died.

and Spectra still operates the facility and the current team today.... different logo and different affiliation