Horse Racing: Arkansas Derby day recap: $41,000,000 bet, Nadal and Charlatan win Ky. Derby preps

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Well, not only did Oaklawn set a record, it smashed it! Over $41,000,000 bet today. The previous mark was under $20 mil.

 

[Preds Partisan]

How do you see it? CDI putting the squeeze on Belterra with their own property nearby and ultimately killing racing at Arlington?

That's a good question. CDI does what's best for CDI and I'm not sure that's what's best for us.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

So apparently this is a permanent HRR facility, not temporary as many were led to believe. This will be built first, while design and architectural work at Turfway Park is on HOLD until further notice.

Editorial: CDI is more concerned with a non-racing facility cutting into the customer base of Belterra Park racino and the downtown Cincy casino than completing work at Turfway. I was shocked that they're not even completing design work while the old track is being demolished. This would seem to add several months to the full reopening of TP. Also, the $38 million construction at the secondary HRR facility may in fact be taken from the money originally earmarked for track improvements.

Now back to the normal racing discussion.

FORT THOMAS MATTERS: Newport Shopping Center to be Site of New Horse Racing Facility owned by Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs, Inc., officials have confirmed plans are underway to open two new historical horse racing (HHR) facilities in Northern Kentucky. One of these will be added to a newly remodeled Turfway Park in Florence, and the other is planned to be built at the Newport Shopping Center.

The facility will include a bar, wagering area and 500 Historical Horse Racing (HHR) games. Timing is uncertain at this point due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the plan is to open in the fourth quarter of this year.

I always thought that the notion that Turfway would be complete in time for next racing season seemed farfetched. Given the uncertainty of most things right now, I'm not overly concerned with the hold on various parts of the new Turfway project. As I understood things, there was a plan all along to have another facility for off track betting prior to the new race track's opening-although I was told that it would be a temporary facility.

I drove by the Turfway facility just a few hours ago and there appeared to be only very limited progress on demolition. It was dark when I drove by but I didn't see anything other than some limited removal of some facing of the facility. The structure appeared to be pretty much intact. There were fences around the facility and a few pieces of construction equipment. The skeleton of the tent for the cancelled Jeff Ruby Stakes was still there in the same state as it was when I was last at Turfway in late March. I would have to say that the entire demolition is pretty much on hold based on my observations.

The location of the new HHR facility is intriguing and supports your theory of cutting into the customer bases of the two facilities. The site is 6 miles from Belterra and 4 miles from the JACK Casino in downtown Cincinnati. It's 15 miles (fastest route) to Turfway. I would tend to look at this as a play by CDI to create a stranglehold on Northern Kentucky gambling for themselves once full service casinos get approved. Which may or may not happen before the sun burns itself out.

 

[plank]

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

Sunday. May 3, 2020

• The only major tracks racing this afternoon are the two Florida facilities.
• TELEVISION
  • 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 2
  • 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1
  • 4:00 - 8:00 pm ET on NBCSN (coverage from TVG)
  • Gulfstream live stream: Live Stream | World-Class Thoroughbred Horse Racing | Gulfstream Park

Tampa Bay (Florida):

• Daniel Centeno and Willie Martinez both rode three winners.
• Race 2: Julio Mera, the winning jockey, was 15-for-148 lifetime entering today. Though he has ridden occasionally at Tampa Bay, I don't recall him. He has one other win since 2014. Through Equibase, he broke his maiden in 2000 at the now shuttered Great Lakes in Muskegon, Michigan. The state does not conduct live T-bred racing anymore.
• Race 4: Liane Davis was the winning trainer. She ships to Tampa Bay but her horses mostly run at Illinois tracks. Her last win at Tampa Bay was in March 2018.
• Race 7: Summer Love (Angel Suarez/Michael Stidham) won and among those defeated was a first-time starter All Others Follow (Antonio Gallardo/Chad Brown) who was bred in Great Britain and owned by multi-gazillionaire Peter Brant. Brown was hitting on all cylinders this meet at 16 5-5-3 (31%/81%). Stidham is second at the meet in victories.
• Race 8: Willie Martinez rode his third winner of the day. I do not know the last time he won three in one day at Tampa Bay. My one lasting memory of Willie Martinez involves Brass Hat who won the 2007 Mass Cap at Suffolk Downs a year after getting DQ'd from second place in the Dubai World Cup due to the horse testing positive after the fact.
• Race 9: Daniel Centeno-J.Kent Sweezey teamed for the second win of the day; they also won the opener.

Gulfstream (Florida):

• Irad Ortiz, Jr. has won three times. He's back! Two of the wins were for Saffie Joseph, Jr.
• Race 3: Aransas (Dylan Davis/Michael Matz) won after a 1 year, 8 month layoff. was the winning trainer.
• Race 7: Dance d'Oro (Emisael Jaramillo/Ralph Nicks) won at 20-to-1 and looked splendid. It was the trainer's second win at the meet, second in two days.
• Tyler Gaffalione is off his mounts today. I did not see a reason. He rode earlier. UPDATE: he was "lightheaded" and "dehydrated" per a report.

 

[GKJ]

Santa Anita planning to reopen May 15

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

^Yup. There is more info in post #982 on the previous page.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

A new thread has been borne since this reached the suggested max of 1,000 posts.

Horse Racing: - $41,000,000 bet; Nadal and Charlatan win Arkansas Derbys (Ky. Derby preps), both Baffert-trained