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IT was an emotional farewell at Ascot as the £100million horse retired from the sport.
A class apart, Frankel closed out a glorious career with a winning performance at Ascot yesterday and heads for the paddocks with a perfect 14 wins from 14 starts on his CV.
The racing fraternity took Sir Henry Cecil’s colt to their hearts.
His aggressive style of racing was hugely popular and it was an emotional farewell as Frankel was led into the winner’s enclosure.
Look at the tributes which poured in yesterday.
They reflect how Frankel became a household name in the short turf career which ended in that 14th victory at Ascot.
True, he never won a Derby or an Arc de Triomphe – indeed he never raced further than 10 furlongs – but Khalid Abdullah’s superstar is without doubt one of the greatest of all time.
Whether he’s No.1 will be argued about for generations and the jury’s still out as far as I’m concerned.
But the debates about Frankel’s place among the greats are all part of the appeal.
He was a truly magnificent racing machine and brought a charisma to the business that will be impossible to replace.
The sport needs heroes which capture the imagination of the public beyond racing’s hard core.
Cheerio, Frankel and thanks for the memories.
Wonder horse Frankel thanked for the racing memories - Daily Record
A class apart, Frankel closed out a glorious career with a winning performance at Ascot yesterday and heads for the paddocks with a perfect 14 wins from 14 starts on his CV.
The racing fraternity took Sir Henry Cecil’s colt to their hearts.
His aggressive style of racing was hugely popular and it was an emotional farewell as Frankel was led into the winner’s enclosure.
Look at the tributes which poured in yesterday.
They reflect how Frankel became a household name in the short turf career which ended in that 14th victory at Ascot.
True, he never won a Derby or an Arc de Triomphe – indeed he never raced further than 10 furlongs – but Khalid Abdullah’s superstar is without doubt one of the greatest of all time.
Whether he’s No.1 will be argued about for generations and the jury’s still out as far as I’m concerned.
But the debates about Frankel’s place among the greats are all part of the appeal.
He was a truly magnificent racing machine and brought a charisma to the business that will be impossible to replace.
The sport needs heroes which capture the imagination of the public beyond racing’s hard core.
Cheerio, Frankel and thanks for the memories.
Wonder horse Frankel thanked for the racing memories - Daily Record
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FRANKEL will be offered the very best mares at his owner Khalid Abdullah’s Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket once he begins his new career as a stallion.
The four-year-old colt ended his flawless racing days with a 14th victory in the Qipco Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday and will wind down at Sir Henry Cecil’s stables until he is ready to make the short journey to his new home.
“Prince Khalid hasn’t really sat down and done the matings yet with Philip Mitchell (Juddmonte Farms general manager),” said the owner’s racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe.
“What we can say is that our very best mares, if they think they might be suited to Frankel, will certainly go there.
“We have liaised with Henry. Frankel will be let down now and the real point will be to get him to the stage when he’s relaxed and he’s going to get used to a different life.
“That will take a week or so, maybe longer, until everyone’s happy and then he’ll come over to Banstead.”
Grimthorpe reflected on what was an extraordinary day watched by a sell-out crowd at Ascot that included Her Majesty The Queen, plus millions of racing fans throughout the world.
“It was always going to be an interesting day, whatever the outcome,” he said.
“Going into the race, we were very happy.
“The way that everyone has reacted to Frankel, and to Henry, has been one of the great sporting stories of the year – if not many years.
“It was brilliant and totally deserved.
“I think a wide-margin victory was never really going to be on the cards with that sort of going.
“Of course, everyone would have loved to have seen it.
“We didn’t have many worries when he came into the straight and he was still travelling pretty well.
Read More www-walesonline-co-uk/sports/racing-news/2012/10/22/horse-racing-only-the-best-for-frankel-91466-32077711/#ixzz2A0p60iXx
The four-year-old colt ended his flawless racing days with a 14th victory in the Qipco Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday and will wind down at Sir Henry Cecil’s stables until he is ready to make the short journey to his new home.
“Prince Khalid hasn’t really sat down and done the matings yet with Philip Mitchell (Juddmonte Farms general manager),” said the owner’s racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe.
“What we can say is that our very best mares, if they think they might be suited to Frankel, will certainly go there.
“We have liaised with Henry. Frankel will be let down now and the real point will be to get him to the stage when he’s relaxed and he’s going to get used to a different life.
“That will take a week or so, maybe longer, until everyone’s happy and then he’ll come over to Banstead.”
Grimthorpe reflected on what was an extraordinary day watched by a sell-out crowd at Ascot that included Her Majesty The Queen, plus millions of racing fans throughout the world.
“It was always going to be an interesting day, whatever the outcome,” he said.
“Going into the race, we were very happy.
“The way that everyone has reacted to Frankel, and to Henry, has been one of the great sporting stories of the year – if not many years.
“It was brilliant and totally deserved.
“I think a wide-margin victory was never really going to be on the cards with that sort of going.
“Of course, everyone would have loved to have seen it.
“We didn’t have many worries when he came into the straight and he was still travelling pretty well.
Read More www-walesonline-co-uk/sports/racing-news/2012/10/22/horse-racing-only-the-best-for-frankel-91466-32077711/#ixzz2A0p60iXx
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With the 2012 Breeders Cup, the Super Bowl of Horse Racing if you will, now less than two weeks away I believe its time to “introduce” you folks to some of the contenders for each race.
I say “introduce” because lets face it….this is horse racing….and two weeks is like an eternity in some cases. Some of the horses I mention can be injured, switch races or their owners decide to go in another direction. In other words, at this point nothing is written in stone.
Whoever is entered where and whoever runs, this years Breeders Cup looks to be the typical east vs. west showdown(s) once again.
Read More: Horse Racing: 2012 Breeders Cup....A Look Ahead
I say “introduce” because lets face it….this is horse racing….and two weeks is like an eternity in some cases. Some of the horses I mention can be injured, switch races or their owners decide to go in another direction. In other words, at this point nothing is written in stone.
Whoever is entered where and whoever runs, this years Breeders Cup looks to be the typical east vs. west showdown(s) once again.
Read More: Horse Racing: 2012 Breeders Cup....A Look Ahead
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2006/12/07
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Horse Racing phenom Frankel, who was unbeaten in 14 career starts, including 10 Group (or grade) 1 races in England has been retired Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Racing Manager Teddy Grimthorpe announced yesterday.
The gorgeous son of the great Galileo finished off his nothing short of brilliant career with a nerve racking win in last weekend’s Champion Stakes at Ascot.
In the Champion, Frankel did something I’ve never seen him do before…..he completely missed the start and quickly found himself last in a very talented field of horses including last years Champion stakes winner Cirrus des Aigles and Nathaniel, who finished second and third respectively in this year’s renewal.
The horse or jockey Tom Queally never panicked, they bided their time on the outside and, with about three or so furlongs left, Queally started pumping on his horse and the horse, like normal, responded with an enormous burst of energy.
Not taking any chances, Queally reached back and hit Frankel once left handed and then once right handed and cruised under the wire an almost two length winner
“He traveled around well,” Queally said in an interview yesterday with the BBC. “His class really showed today (Sunday)”
“I cannot believe in the history of racing that there has ever been a better racehorse,” trainer Henry Cecil said. Cecil, who is battling stomach cancer added, “I have enjoyed every moment of training him, although it has been slightly stressful at times. He’s the best that I have ever had and the best that I ever seen”.
“He was laboring on the ground and not happy on it, but he was very relaxed throughout. I have probably got him too relaxed — it used to be the other way’.
“In the end, he had plenty in hand,” Cecil said.
“This was a career-defining performance,” Grimthorpe said of the Champion Stakes. “He was slowly away, but the great thing is that he is so relaxed and he got into a rhythm again. He’s unhustled and relaxed and he had a trouble-free run into the straight. I was confident that he’d put the race to bed and that’s what he did.”
Frankel will now embark upon a stud career at Prince Khalid’s Banstead Manor near Newmarket.
“I won’t miss him because he’ll be 200 yards from my office,” Grimthorpe said smiling.
Frankel head to stud with as high of expectations on him since probably Secretariat. The difference is Secretariat was syndicated….Frankel will not be. He will remain solely owned by one of the most successful breeders in the world, Khalid Abdullah,
On a personal note, it’s a bittersweet end for the superhorse. I would have like to have seen him compete on American soil just one time because come hell or high water, wherever he ran I would have went to go see him….he was that special.
His on demand explosiveness, acceleration, determination and good looks were a sight to behold.
If I converted pounds to dollars correctly, he is valued at about $160 million.
Of all the accolades I’ve heard and seen about this horse, perhaps the greatest one came from three time champion rider Frankie Dettori, who when asked about Frankel responded:
“I’m not really sure what he looks like, I haven’t seen his face; I only saw his backside”.
That quote reminds me of another quote I heard from a certain jockey chasing another great horse. This one came from the great Braulio Baeza, who after finishing second on Twice A Prince, beaten 31 lengths in Secretariat’s tour de force Belmont Stakes said:
“Why isn’t anyone congratulating me? I won the race didn’t I? I mean, I beat every horse I could see”
I just wonder if the comparisons should stop there or not?
Thanks for reading.
Horse Racing: Superhorse Frankel Wins, Then Retires
The gorgeous son of the great Galileo finished off his nothing short of brilliant career with a nerve racking win in last weekend’s Champion Stakes at Ascot.
In the Champion, Frankel did something I’ve never seen him do before…..he completely missed the start and quickly found himself last in a very talented field of horses including last years Champion stakes winner Cirrus des Aigles and Nathaniel, who finished second and third respectively in this year’s renewal.
The horse or jockey Tom Queally never panicked, they bided their time on the outside and, with about three or so furlongs left, Queally started pumping on his horse and the horse, like normal, responded with an enormous burst of energy.
Not taking any chances, Queally reached back and hit Frankel once left handed and then once right handed and cruised under the wire an almost two length winner
“He traveled around well,” Queally said in an interview yesterday with the BBC. “His class really showed today (Sunday)”
“I cannot believe in the history of racing that there has ever been a better racehorse,” trainer Henry Cecil said. Cecil, who is battling stomach cancer added, “I have enjoyed every moment of training him, although it has been slightly stressful at times. He’s the best that I have ever had and the best that I ever seen”.
“He was laboring on the ground and not happy on it, but he was very relaxed throughout. I have probably got him too relaxed — it used to be the other way’.
“In the end, he had plenty in hand,” Cecil said.
“This was a career-defining performance,” Grimthorpe said of the Champion Stakes. “He was slowly away, but the great thing is that he is so relaxed and he got into a rhythm again. He’s unhustled and relaxed and he had a trouble-free run into the straight. I was confident that he’d put the race to bed and that’s what he did.”
Frankel will now embark upon a stud career at Prince Khalid’s Banstead Manor near Newmarket.
“I won’t miss him because he’ll be 200 yards from my office,” Grimthorpe said smiling.
Frankel head to stud with as high of expectations on him since probably Secretariat. The difference is Secretariat was syndicated….Frankel will not be. He will remain solely owned by one of the most successful breeders in the world, Khalid Abdullah,
On a personal note, it’s a bittersweet end for the superhorse. I would have like to have seen him compete on American soil just one time because come hell or high water, wherever he ran I would have went to go see him….he was that special.
His on demand explosiveness, acceleration, determination and good looks were a sight to behold.
If I converted pounds to dollars correctly, he is valued at about $160 million.
Of all the accolades I’ve heard and seen about this horse, perhaps the greatest one came from three time champion rider Frankie Dettori, who when asked about Frankel responded:
“I’m not really sure what he looks like, I haven’t seen his face; I only saw his backside”.
That quote reminds me of another quote I heard from a certain jockey chasing another great horse. This one came from the great Braulio Baeza, who after finishing second on Twice A Prince, beaten 31 lengths in Secretariat’s tour de force Belmont Stakes said:
“Why isn’t anyone congratulating me? I won the race didn’t I? I mean, I beat every horse I could see”
I just wonder if the comparisons should stop there or not?
Thanks for reading.
Horse Racing: Superhorse Frankel Wins, Then Retires
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2006/12/07
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Game On Dude will be out to avenge his agonizing loss of a year ago when he runs again in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, and a victory could give credence to a bid for Horse of the Year honors.
In 2011, Game On Dude led most of the way under the lights at Churchill Downs before getting caught in the closing yards by 14-1 shot Drosselmeyer.
Game On Dude is one of a total of 180 horses, including eight defending or former champions, which were pre-entered Wednesday for the $25 million, 15-race Breeders' Cup world championships at Santa Anita on Nov. 2-3. That's down from last year's record total of 193.
The Classic will be shown live and in prime time on Nov. 3 for the first time on NBC.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Game On Dude was pre-entered in the 1 ¼-mile Classic to be run on his home track, where he is undefeated in five starts and will be the likely favorite. A full field of 14 horses was pre-entered, including four trained by Bill Mott, whose Drosselmeyer won last year by 1 ½ lengths.
Mott had a huge weekend last year in Louisville, Ky., winning the Ladies' Classic with Royal Delta and then the Classic on the following day. He's set himself up for a possible repeat at Santa Anita.
"Both races are very, very interesting and the competition is deep in both," he said. "We'd like to do it again this year. I hope they all show up and run their best race and get a chance to show how good they are."
Game On Dude will attempt to give Baffert his first win in the Classic with new rider Rafael Bejarano, who replaced Chantal Sutherland. She retired last week, and had lost the mount following a defeat with Game On Dude in the $1 million Pacific Classic in August. Game On Dude, who has won four of six starts this year, is part-owned by retired Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre.
"That's a tough horse," Mott said of Game On Dude. "The mile-and-a-quarter sometimes get to telling on him at the end. He's got a tremendous amount of speed. With our fellas, we just hope we can be running at him at the finish."
Mott's Classic entries are Santa Anita Handicap winner Ron the Greek, Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Flat Out, Woodward winner To Honor and Serve, and Royal Delta, who was also entered in the $2 million Ladies' Classic, where she would defend her title.
Read More: Horse racing: Game On Dude to try again in Breeders' Cup Classic - MontereyHerald-com :
In 2011, Game On Dude led most of the way under the lights at Churchill Downs before getting caught in the closing yards by 14-1 shot Drosselmeyer.
Game On Dude is one of a total of 180 horses, including eight defending or former champions, which were pre-entered Wednesday for the $25 million, 15-race Breeders' Cup world championships at Santa Anita on Nov. 2-3. That's down from last year's record total of 193.
The Classic will be shown live and in prime time on Nov. 3 for the first time on NBC.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Game On Dude was pre-entered in the 1 ¼-mile Classic to be run on his home track, where he is undefeated in five starts and will be the likely favorite. A full field of 14 horses was pre-entered, including four trained by Bill Mott, whose Drosselmeyer won last year by 1 ½ lengths.
Mott had a huge weekend last year in Louisville, Ky., winning the Ladies' Classic with Royal Delta and then the Classic on the following day. He's set himself up for a possible repeat at Santa Anita.
"Both races are very, very interesting and the competition is deep in both," he said. "We'd like to do it again this year. I hope they all show up and run their best race and get a chance to show how good they are."
Game On Dude will attempt to give Baffert his first win in the Classic with new rider Rafael Bejarano, who replaced Chantal Sutherland. She retired last week, and had lost the mount following a defeat with Game On Dude in the $1 million Pacific Classic in August. Game On Dude, who has won four of six starts this year, is part-owned by retired Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre.
"That's a tough horse," Mott said of Game On Dude. "The mile-and-a-quarter sometimes get to telling on him at the end. He's got a tremendous amount of speed. With our fellas, we just hope we can be running at him at the finish."
Mott's Classic entries are Santa Anita Handicap winner Ron the Greek, Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Flat Out, Woodward winner To Honor and Serve, and Royal Delta, who was also entered in the $2 million Ladies' Classic, where she would defend her title.
Read More: Horse racing: Game On Dude to try again in Breeders' Cup Classic - MontereyHerald-com :
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CARLISLE offered slightly mixed fortunes for trainer Donald McCain with Bit Of A Jig’s impressive victory and Baltimoar’s success providing compensation for a short-priced defeat for Super Duty.
Bit Of A Jig (15-8 favourite) looks the sort to provide plenty of fun for Let’s Live Racing, progressing from two Irish point-to-point outings to take the Wheatsheaf Inn Egremont Novices’ Hurdle with plenty in hand.
Mark Ball, who runs the syndicate, said: “We wanted to have a horse with Donald and he said he had one that he had bought from Brightwells.
“I went to look at him and liked him. He was bought as a three-mile chaser and Jason Maguire said he does jump like a chaser.
Read More www-walesonline-co-uk/sports/racing-news/2012/10/26/horse-racing-mixed-day-at-carlisle-for-donald-mccain-91466-32106398/#ixzz2AO8eodrc
Bit Of A Jig (15-8 favourite) looks the sort to provide plenty of fun for Let’s Live Racing, progressing from two Irish point-to-point outings to take the Wheatsheaf Inn Egremont Novices’ Hurdle with plenty in hand.
Mark Ball, who runs the syndicate, said: “We wanted to have a horse with Donald and he said he had one that he had bought from Brightwells.
“I went to look at him and liked him. He was bought as a three-mile chaser and Jason Maguire said he does jump like a chaser.
Read More www-walesonline-co-uk/sports/racing-news/2012/10/26/horse-racing-mixed-day-at-carlisle-for-donald-mccain-91466-32106398/#ixzz2AO8eodrc
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The $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, which will be contested for the sixth time on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita, has quickly become a race dominated by European 2-year-olds.
Despite sending only 17 starters to the race's first five runnings (compared to 45 North American-based starters), the invaders from across the pond have now won it three times in five years. Can anyone doubt they'll be fiercely competitive again in 2012?
Here, then, is key handicapping factor No. 1 for the Juvenile Turf: Take the European invaders seriously. European owners and trainers send their 2-year-old colts to America fully intending to bring home a coveted Breeders' Cup trophy.
In handicapping, the Juvenile Turf, we should recognize their determination and properly respect their success.
SPEEDSTERS AND STRETCH-RUNNERS
Front-runners in turf-based mile races are usually hors de combat by the time the field reaches the wire. Anyone considering a wager on a likely Juvenile Turf front-runner should ponder the fate of the highly regarded 2011 pacesetter, Majestic City, which carved out prudent 23 3/5, 48 1/5 and 1:13 1/5 fractions before fading to 11th.
Read more here: A look at the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf - Wire Horse Racing - The Sacramento Bee
Despite sending only 17 starters to the race's first five runnings (compared to 45 North American-based starters), the invaders from across the pond have now won it three times in five years. Can anyone doubt they'll be fiercely competitive again in 2012?
Here, then, is key handicapping factor No. 1 for the Juvenile Turf: Take the European invaders seriously. European owners and trainers send their 2-year-old colts to America fully intending to bring home a coveted Breeders' Cup trophy.
In handicapping, the Juvenile Turf, we should recognize their determination and properly respect their success.
SPEEDSTERS AND STRETCH-RUNNERS
Front-runners in turf-based mile races are usually hors de combat by the time the field reaches the wire. Anyone considering a wager on a likely Juvenile Turf front-runner should ponder the fate of the highly regarded 2011 pacesetter, Majestic City, which carved out prudent 23 3/5, 48 1/5 and 1:13 1/5 fractions before fading to 11th.
Read more here: A look at the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf - Wire Horse Racing - The Sacramento Bee
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Horseplayers have been waiting all year for Monday. It's the day post positions will be drawn for the 29th Breeders' Cup on Friday and Saturday at Santa Anita. For many, delving into the past performances of the 15-race pari-mutuel frenzy is more exciting than trying to find the Kentucky Derby winner. Unfortunately, the general public never has felt the same way.
Even when it has compelling story lines that flow into the mainstream -- the Alpha mare Zenyatta trying to finish her career undefeated, Sunday Silence vs. Easy Goer -- the Breeders' Cup is pretty much a closed set. If you're passionate about racing, it's 9½ hours of must-see TV. If not, you might tune in on NBC for the prime-time debut of the grand finale, the $5-million Classic, and that's about it.
As always, there are many standouts -- Horse of the Year front-runners Wise Dan and Game On Dude, grass specialist Point of Entry and Todd Pletcher's three undefeated 2-year-olds, Shanghai Bobby and the fillies Dreaming of Julia and Kauai Katie. None of them, however, is a name recognized by anyone unfamiliar with the Daily Racing Form. The 4-year-old Animal Kingdom, in the Mile, will try to become the first Derby winner since Unbridled in 1990 to earn a Breeders' Cup trophy, but don't expect that to lead SportsCenter.
For the thoroughbred world, that doesn't detract one bit from a weekend featuring stakes worth $25.5 million. "All the best horses are there,'' Pletcher said. "The competition is always so stiff and deep. Sometimes you can run lights out and finish fifth.''
Read More: Breeders' Cup a bonanza for the serious horse racing fan
Even when it has compelling story lines that flow into the mainstream -- the Alpha mare Zenyatta trying to finish her career undefeated, Sunday Silence vs. Easy Goer -- the Breeders' Cup is pretty much a closed set. If you're passionate about racing, it's 9½ hours of must-see TV. If not, you might tune in on NBC for the prime-time debut of the grand finale, the $5-million Classic, and that's about it.
As always, there are many standouts -- Horse of the Year front-runners Wise Dan and Game On Dude, grass specialist Point of Entry and Todd Pletcher's three undefeated 2-year-olds, Shanghai Bobby and the fillies Dreaming of Julia and Kauai Katie. None of them, however, is a name recognized by anyone unfamiliar with the Daily Racing Form. The 4-year-old Animal Kingdom, in the Mile, will try to become the first Derby winner since Unbridled in 1990 to earn a Breeders' Cup trophy, but don't expect that to lead SportsCenter.
For the thoroughbred world, that doesn't detract one bit from a weekend featuring stakes worth $25.5 million. "All the best horses are there,'' Pletcher said. "The competition is always so stiff and deep. Sometimes you can run lights out and finish fifth.''
Read More: Breeders' Cup a bonanza for the serious horse racing fan
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With a fierce superstorm bearing down on the East Coast, Suffolk Downs in Boston and Yonkers Raceway in New York have called off horse racing.
Suffolk Downs scratched its card of thoroughbred racing and simulcasting for Monday. Yonkers Raceway called off live trotting and evening simulcasting for Monday and Tuesday nights as Hurricane Sandy made its way up the Atlantic.
Yonkers is just north of New York City, which shut its mass transit system, closed its schools Monday and ordered hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. Boston also closed its schools.
Also, the Washington Wizards moved up their departure from 2:30 p.m. to 8 a.m. Monday for their NBA season opener at Cleveland on Tuesday night.
Some Major League Baseball staff left Detroit on Sunday to get back to New York before the storm shut down transportation. MLB said about 25 staffers whose work was completed were carpooling back due to family concerns.
Read more here: Horse racing scratched as superstorm nears - Sports wire - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington news, weather and sports
Suffolk Downs scratched its card of thoroughbred racing and simulcasting for Monday. Yonkers Raceway called off live trotting and evening simulcasting for Monday and Tuesday nights as Hurricane Sandy made its way up the Atlantic.
Yonkers is just north of New York City, which shut its mass transit system, closed its schools Monday and ordered hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. Boston also closed its schools.
Also, the Washington Wizards moved up their departure from 2:30 p.m. to 8 a.m. Monday for their NBA season opener at Cleveland on Tuesday night.
Some Major League Baseball staff left Detroit on Sunday to get back to New York before the storm shut down transportation. MLB said about 25 staffers whose work was completed were carpooling back due to family concerns.
Read more here: Horse racing scratched as superstorm nears - Sports wire - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington news, weather and sports
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Game On Dude, runner-up in 2011, returns for another try in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic in this year's 15-race World Championships at Santa Anita Park.
The 29th Breeders' Cup, worth a total of $26 million, will be conducted on Friday and Saturday.
The post positions for all 15 races were drawn Monday at Santa Anita, with the morning line also revealed. This is the sixth year the Breeders' Cup will be held over two days, with six championship races run Friday and the remaining nine conducted on Saturday.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Game On Dude is the 9-5 favorite for the 1 1/4-mile Classic. The 5-year-old gelding will be ridden by Rafael Bejarano from post five in the 12-horse field.
Here is the field for the Classic in post position order: Pool Play, Miguel Mena, 30-1: Flat Out, Joel Rosario, 5-1; Alpha, Ramon Dominguez, 20-1; Fort Larned, Brian Hernandez, Jr., 5-1; Game On Dude, Rafael Bejarano, 9-5 Brilliant Speed, Junior Alvarado, 20-1; Handsome Mike, Mario Gutierrez, 30-1; Nonios, Martin Pedroza, 20-1; Richard's Kid, Garrett Gomez, 12-1; Ron the Greek, Jose Lezcano, 6-1; Mucho Macho Man, Mike Smith, 8-1; To Honor and Serve, John Velazquez, 8-1.
Top-rated thoroughbred Wise Dan is the 9-5 favorite in a field of nine for the $2 million Mile on Santa Anita's grass course. Wise Dan, winner of the Woodbine Mile, will break from post two with John Velazquez riding.
Friday's first day of racing will conclude with the $2 million, 1 1/8-mile Ladies' Classic. Defending champ Royal Delta will try to join Bayakoa as the only repeat winners of the race.
The 4-year-old filly is the 9-5 favorite and will break from post six in the eight-horse field. Last year she opened as the 5-2 second choice and went on to win by 2 1/2-lengths and was voted champion 3-year-old for the year.
The six races on Friday will begin at 4 p.m. (ET) with the Juvenile Sprint followed by the Marathon, Juvenile Fillies Turf, Juvenile Fillies, Filly & Mare Turf, and Ladies' Classic.
Saturday's nine championship races kickoff at 2:50 p.m. (ET) with the Juvenile Turf followed by the Filly & Mare Sprint, Dirt Mile, Turf Sprint, Juvenile, Turf, Sprint, Mile and Classic.
The 2013 Breeders' Cup World Championships will also be held at Santa Anita Park.
Read more here: Post positions drawn for 29th Breeders' Cup | Horse Racing | The Sun Herald
The 29th Breeders' Cup, worth a total of $26 million, will be conducted on Friday and Saturday.
The post positions for all 15 races were drawn Monday at Santa Anita, with the morning line also revealed. This is the sixth year the Breeders' Cup will be held over two days, with six championship races run Friday and the remaining nine conducted on Saturday.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Game On Dude is the 9-5 favorite for the 1 1/4-mile Classic. The 5-year-old gelding will be ridden by Rafael Bejarano from post five in the 12-horse field.
Here is the field for the Classic in post position order: Pool Play, Miguel Mena, 30-1: Flat Out, Joel Rosario, 5-1; Alpha, Ramon Dominguez, 20-1; Fort Larned, Brian Hernandez, Jr., 5-1; Game On Dude, Rafael Bejarano, 9-5 Brilliant Speed, Junior Alvarado, 20-1; Handsome Mike, Mario Gutierrez, 30-1; Nonios, Martin Pedroza, 20-1; Richard's Kid, Garrett Gomez, 12-1; Ron the Greek, Jose Lezcano, 6-1; Mucho Macho Man, Mike Smith, 8-1; To Honor and Serve, John Velazquez, 8-1.
Top-rated thoroughbred Wise Dan is the 9-5 favorite in a field of nine for the $2 million Mile on Santa Anita's grass course. Wise Dan, winner of the Woodbine Mile, will break from post two with John Velazquez riding.
Friday's first day of racing will conclude with the $2 million, 1 1/8-mile Ladies' Classic. Defending champ Royal Delta will try to join Bayakoa as the only repeat winners of the race.
The 4-year-old filly is the 9-5 favorite and will break from post six in the eight-horse field. Last year she opened as the 5-2 second choice and went on to win by 2 1/2-lengths and was voted champion 3-year-old for the year.
The six races on Friday will begin at 4 p.m. (ET) with the Juvenile Sprint followed by the Marathon, Juvenile Fillies Turf, Juvenile Fillies, Filly & Mare Turf, and Ladies' Classic.
Saturday's nine championship races kickoff at 2:50 p.m. (ET) with the Juvenile Turf followed by the Filly & Mare Sprint, Dirt Mile, Turf Sprint, Juvenile, Turf, Sprint, Mile and Classic.
The 2013 Breeders' Cup World Championships will also be held at Santa Anita Park.
Read more here: Post positions drawn for 29th Breeders' Cup | Horse Racing | The Sun Herald
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The province’s horse-racing industry is in line for a major makeover under the recommendations made by Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel.
Those recommendations were revealed Tuesday and include reducing the number of race dates by half to 800, basing the size of purses on the pari-mutual handle, introducing new revenue streams through horse-racing specific lottery and other betting options and turning the Ontario Racing Commission into strictly a regulatory body while creating a race-tracks alliance to handle the industry’s administrative duties.
The recommendations are designed to aid the industry in making its transition while weaning itself from the Slots at Racetracks Program that will be discontinued after the end March.
The report expects the new recommendations to cost $6 million spread over three years.
Responsibility for the horse racing industry would also fall under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The goal is to introduce the recommendations in time for the 2013 race season.
The plan would see the industry ‘right-sized’ from 1,544 race dates in 2011 to 800, a reduction of 48 per cent.
Overall purses in the province would drop by 45 per cent to $133.2-million from $243.4-million in 2011.
The smallest reduction in purses is the Thoroughbred A division with a drop of 14 per cent while the Standardbred C division will be slashed by 77 per cent.
The big change regarding purses will be in the funding.
Currently 60 per cent of purses come from money generated by the Slots at Racetracks Program.
The new plan (Sustainable Horse Racing Model) for the industry will be based on the betting pools while government dollars will be used to cover track infrastructure and related costs and require any earnings to be re-invested in the industry.
The other major change will see a new administrative body created to handle the scheduling, marketing, setting of purses through purse pooling, making sure all races in Ontario have full fields (minimum of 10 horses) and have a common agreement with all horsemen at member tracks.
This centralized race secretariat, which will be composed of a track alliance of least six tracks, will be in place within three years and will be led by industry leaders.
To help ensure the survival of the industry, which the three-member panel concluded requires public dollars in every jurisdiction where it exists around the world, several new betting games will be explored.
Among them will be a racing-specific lottery and electronic terminal betting on historical races which have proved successful in the U.S.
It’s also proposed that tracks and their off-track betting shops should be given a monopoly on sports books, which will allow betting on single games, when legalized as expected by the federal government.
Estimates put the potential revenue from the new betting games at $100-million.
The government’s new industry model would be reviewed every three years to make sure public investment in the industry doesn’t exceed the minimum needed for its survival.
The panel opted to keep that minimum funding level secret until an agreement on the model could be concluded with representatives from the horse-racing industry.
Horse racing industry proposals revealed | Windsor Star
Those recommendations were revealed Tuesday and include reducing the number of race dates by half to 800, basing the size of purses on the pari-mutual handle, introducing new revenue streams through horse-racing specific lottery and other betting options and turning the Ontario Racing Commission into strictly a regulatory body while creating a race-tracks alliance to handle the industry’s administrative duties.
The recommendations are designed to aid the industry in making its transition while weaning itself from the Slots at Racetracks Program that will be discontinued after the end March.
The report expects the new recommendations to cost $6 million spread over three years.
Responsibility for the horse racing industry would also fall under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The goal is to introduce the recommendations in time for the 2013 race season.
The plan would see the industry ‘right-sized’ from 1,544 race dates in 2011 to 800, a reduction of 48 per cent.
Overall purses in the province would drop by 45 per cent to $133.2-million from $243.4-million in 2011.
The smallest reduction in purses is the Thoroughbred A division with a drop of 14 per cent while the Standardbred C division will be slashed by 77 per cent.
The big change regarding purses will be in the funding.
Currently 60 per cent of purses come from money generated by the Slots at Racetracks Program.
The new plan (Sustainable Horse Racing Model) for the industry will be based on the betting pools while government dollars will be used to cover track infrastructure and related costs and require any earnings to be re-invested in the industry.
The other major change will see a new administrative body created to handle the scheduling, marketing, setting of purses through purse pooling, making sure all races in Ontario have full fields (minimum of 10 horses) and have a common agreement with all horsemen at member tracks.
This centralized race secretariat, which will be composed of a track alliance of least six tracks, will be in place within three years and will be led by industry leaders.
To help ensure the survival of the industry, which the three-member panel concluded requires public dollars in every jurisdiction where it exists around the world, several new betting games will be explored.
Among them will be a racing-specific lottery and electronic terminal betting on historical races which have proved successful in the U.S.
It’s also proposed that tracks and their off-track betting shops should be given a monopoly on sports books, which will allow betting on single games, when legalized as expected by the federal government.
Estimates put the potential revenue from the new betting games at $100-million.
The government’s new industry model would be reviewed every three years to make sure public investment in the industry doesn’t exceed the minimum needed for its survival.
The panel opted to keep that minimum funding level secret until an agreement on the model could be concluded with representatives from the horse-racing industry.
Horse racing industry proposals revealed | Windsor Star
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As the racetrack prepares to host the Breeders' Cup World Championships this weekend, Santa Anita Park officials are counting on a huge shoutout from celebrities who have an affinity for the ponies.
Take, for example, KFI AM-640 talk show host Tim Conway Jr. Along with his dad Tim Conway Sr. and guys like Mel Brooks and Dick Van Patten, Conway's been reading charts and past performances since he was a child.
"The celebrities who are here aren't the ones doing seven-gram rocks with prostitutes," Conway Jr. said recently from Santa Anita Park. "It's ... celebrities who have a great following ... family values-type people."
The Conways, Van Patten and Brooks will be joined by a host of entertainment and sports personalities trackside Friday and Saturday for the Breeders' Cup World Championships.
The prestigious international event features 15 races with purses and awards totaling more than $25 million.
Among those promoting the event around the United States are country superstar Toby Keith, skateboarder Rob Dyrdek, NFL star Wes Welker, chef Bobby Flay, sports talk host Jim Rome, actress Bo Derek, singer Laura Bell Bundy and University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino.
"It just seems natural, there are so many people that you don't realize have a passion for this sport," said Derek, also a California Horse Racing Commissioner. "It's wonderful that the Breeders' Cup is reaching out and taking advantage."
Celebrities have long been a part of horse racing lore.
In its heyday, Santa Anita could count Hollywood legends such as Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Merv Griffin and Jimmy Durante among those who regularly enjoyed the races.
Racetrack officials hope to restore some of that glamor to the sport.
"There's style, there's fashion, there's high-end events, there's aspirational kinds of things about this level of horse racing," said Breeders' Cup Chief Operating Officer Bob Elliston. "Then we connect the dots with the celebrities ... It's a perfect concoction there."
Crooner Tony Bennett has even been recruited to sing "The Best is Yet to Come" from the winner's circle right before Saturday's $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic. That race will be broadcast in prime time on NBC. The song, which was written for Bennett more than 50 years ago, has become a part of the Breeders' Cup branding campaign, Breeders' Cup Vice President of Media and Entertainment Peter Rotondo said.
There are celebrities who never need a gold-embossed invite.
Read more: Breeders' Cup turns to stars to evangelize horse racing - San Bernardino County Sun
Take, for example, KFI AM-640 talk show host Tim Conway Jr. Along with his dad Tim Conway Sr. and guys like Mel Brooks and Dick Van Patten, Conway's been reading charts and past performances since he was a child.
"The celebrities who are here aren't the ones doing seven-gram rocks with prostitutes," Conway Jr. said recently from Santa Anita Park. "It's ... celebrities who have a great following ... family values-type people."
The Conways, Van Patten and Brooks will be joined by a host of entertainment and sports personalities trackside Friday and Saturday for the Breeders' Cup World Championships.
The prestigious international event features 15 races with purses and awards totaling more than $25 million.
Among those promoting the event around the United States are country superstar Toby Keith, skateboarder Rob Dyrdek, NFL star Wes Welker, chef Bobby Flay, sports talk host Jim Rome, actress Bo Derek, singer Laura Bell Bundy and University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino.
"It just seems natural, there are so many people that you don't realize have a passion for this sport," said Derek, also a California Horse Racing Commissioner. "It's wonderful that the Breeders' Cup is reaching out and taking advantage."
Celebrities have long been a part of horse racing lore.
In its heyday, Santa Anita could count Hollywood legends such as Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Merv Griffin and Jimmy Durante among those who regularly enjoyed the races.
Racetrack officials hope to restore some of that glamor to the sport.
"There's style, there's fashion, there's high-end events, there's aspirational kinds of things about this level of horse racing," said Breeders' Cup Chief Operating Officer Bob Elliston. "Then we connect the dots with the celebrities ... It's a perfect concoction there."
Crooner Tony Bennett has even been recruited to sing "The Best is Yet to Come" from the winner's circle right before Saturday's $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic. That race will be broadcast in prime time on NBC. The song, which was written for Bennett more than 50 years ago, has become a part of the Breeders' Cup branding campaign, Breeders' Cup Vice President of Media and Entertainment Peter Rotondo said.
There are celebrities who never need a gold-embossed invite.
Read more: Breeders' Cup turns to stars to evangelize horse racing - San Bernardino County Sun
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Injaaz Stud’s Tamareen won the Qatar Cup, the feature event of the races at the Al Rayyan race track yesterday.
The winner is trained by Mubarak Al Khayarin and was ridden to victory by jockey Andrew Elliot.
Elliot beat 15 other horses to claim first place.
In second place was Gojeri - ridden by Sylvain Ruis - in the 1500m turf race.
Al Madina - trained by G Mikhalides - crossed the finish line in third spot to win the proze money of QR 80,000.
Tamareen won the top prize of QR 45,000 while Gojeri - also trained by Mikhalides - secured the second prize of QR 17,600.
Results: First race: Smiling Assasin (Mark Lawson) 1, Shaqran 2, Apache 3, Aasayel 4. Won by: Shd, 1, 1/2. Time: 1:28.81.
Trained by: Ibrahim Al Malki. Owned by: Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki
Second race: Marinus (Richard Mullen) 1, Majd Al Shajaa 3, Halik 3, Hatta Diamond 4. Won by: 1/2, 3/4, 1 3/4. Time: 1:32.41.
Trained by: Ahmed Kobeissi. Owned by: Mohammed Kazim Al Ansari and Sons
Third race: Shakeemah (David Bouland) 1, Tameh 2, Al Mustanfir 3, Haizum 4. Won by: 1/2, 1 2/, Hd. Time: 1:33.24.
Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn
Fourth race: Marked Card (Romain Perruchoit) 1, Seema 2, Orientalist 3, Onebytheknows 4. Won by: 1, 2 1/2, 1/2. Time: 1:31.37. Trained by: Osama al-Dhafi. Owned by: Osama Omar al-Dhafa
Fifth race: Jusoor (Marvin Suerland) 1, Divamer 2, Al Jeali 3, Won by: 3/4, 1 1/2, 1. Time: 1:46.69. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn
Sixth race: Tamareen (Andrew Elliot) 1, Gojeri 2, Al Madina 3, Sydney Harbour 4. Won by: 1/2, 1, Shd. Time: 1:31.46.
Trained by: Mubarak al-Khayarin. Owned by: Injaaz Stud
It was the second race meeting to be held in successive days.
On Wednesday, Jassim Al Ghazali trainined Jelmud won the Al Hamla Cup who won with a time of 1 min 19:45 secs.
The next race meeting to be hosted by the Racing and Equestrian Club (REC) will be on November 7. THE PENINSULA
Horse racing: Tamareen wins the Qatar Cup
The winner is trained by Mubarak Al Khayarin and was ridden to victory by jockey Andrew Elliot.
Elliot beat 15 other horses to claim first place.
In second place was Gojeri - ridden by Sylvain Ruis - in the 1500m turf race.
Al Madina - trained by G Mikhalides - crossed the finish line in third spot to win the proze money of QR 80,000.
Tamareen won the top prize of QR 45,000 while Gojeri - also trained by Mikhalides - secured the second prize of QR 17,600.
Results: First race: Smiling Assasin (Mark Lawson) 1, Shaqran 2, Apache 3, Aasayel 4. Won by: Shd, 1, 1/2. Time: 1:28.81.
Trained by: Ibrahim Al Malki. Owned by: Ibrahim Saeed Al Malki
Second race: Marinus (Richard Mullen) 1, Majd Al Shajaa 3, Halik 3, Hatta Diamond 4. Won by: 1/2, 3/4, 1 3/4. Time: 1:32.41.
Trained by: Ahmed Kobeissi. Owned by: Mohammed Kazim Al Ansari and Sons
Third race: Shakeemah (David Bouland) 1, Tameh 2, Al Mustanfir 3, Haizum 4. Won by: 1/2, 1 2/, Hd. Time: 1:33.24.
Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn
Fourth race: Marked Card (Romain Perruchoit) 1, Seema 2, Orientalist 3, Onebytheknows 4. Won by: 1, 2 1/2, 1/2. Time: 1:31.37. Trained by: Osama al-Dhafi. Owned by: Osama Omar al-Dhafa
Fifth race: Jusoor (Marvin Suerland) 1, Divamer 2, Al Jeali 3, Won by: 3/4, 1 1/2, 1. Time: 1:46.69. Trained by: Alban de Mieulle. Owned by: Umm Qarn
Sixth race: Tamareen (Andrew Elliot) 1, Gojeri 2, Al Madina 3, Sydney Harbour 4. Won by: 1/2, 1, Shd. Time: 1:31.46.
Trained by: Mubarak al-Khayarin. Owned by: Injaaz Stud
It was the second race meeting to be held in successive days.
On Wednesday, Jassim Al Ghazali trainined Jelmud won the Al Hamla Cup who won with a time of 1 min 19:45 secs.
The next race meeting to be hosted by the Racing and Equestrian Club (REC) will be on November 7. THE PENINSULA
Horse racing: Tamareen wins the Qatar Cup
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After the US Triple Crown, the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships is the biggest annual horse racing event in the United States, and the 2012 Breeders' Cup which kicks off today (Friday, November 2) at Santa Anita Park in Los Angeles, California will certainly be no different judging by the top entries.
Horse race betting fans from across the United States and beyond will be tuned into their TV sets later today for the start of this epic horse racing which has attracted many of the best runners, jockeys and trainers from across the U.S, especially those entered in Saturday's feature - the 2012 Breeders' Cup Classic (Gr 1).
15 Breeders' Cup Races Today and Tomorrow
Bovada Sportsbook Review - Online Sportsbooks
In fact, of the 15 Breeders' Cup races scheduled for today and tomorrow, no doubt the race that will attract the most attention (as it always does) is the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, a 1 1/4 mile outing for 3-year-olds and up over dirt, which is also the final race of the Championships every year.
This year's Classic has attracted a formidable field of 12 runners, including betting favourites Game On Dude, Flat Out, Mucho Macho Man and Ron The Greek. But if history has taught us anything, it's that the Classic can be a very predictable race, where anything could happen, making it a hard race to bet on.
But bet on the Breeders' Cup Classic and the other Breeders' Cup races plenty of punters will (yours truly included). So looking at the Classic, here's how I see the lineup (starting with the betting favourites as posted by William Hill Online) for Saturday's big race:
2012 Breeders' Cup Classic Betting Preview
Game On Dude 2/1 odds
With three wins from his last four outings at Santa Anita, it's no wonder oddsmakers have posted Game On Dude as the betting favourite. My pick - second or third.
Bovada Sportsbook Review - Online Sportsbooks
Flat Out 6/1 odds
After his jaw-dropping performance in the recent Jockey Club Gold Cup, this Bill Mott-trained runner has more than enough potential top romp home first. My pick - winner.
Mucho Macho Man 7/1 odds
Over the last couple of years a lot has been expected from this colt, however he has yet to deliver according to expectation. Perhaps the Classic will be his time to shine. My pick - fourth or fifth.
Ron The Greek 7/1 odds
Stats don't lie, and with four victories and four places out of 10 races, this Bill Mott-trained runner could well be amongst the first to cross the line. My pick - second or third.
Fort Larned 8/1 odds
Trained by Ian Wilkes, this runner is in the Classic based on his surprise victory in the Whitney. However, whether he has a shot against such a strong field is the question. My pick - fifth or sixth.
To Honor And Serve 11/1 odds
The third and arguably weakest of Bill Mott's Breeders' Cup entries, this runner famously beat Mucho Macho Man in this year's Woodward, but this outing may be a bridge too far. My pick - not a threat.
Richards Kid 16/1 odds
One of the Classic's older contenders, this horse has not had a standout season. My pick - long shot bet.
Handsome Mike 20/1 odds
Handsome this runner may be, but a serious challenger to cross the line first tomorrow he is not. My pick - not a threat.
Alpha 25/1 odds
After a superb summer at Saratoga racetrack in New York, this colt was on an upward trajectory. But a poor sixth place finish last time (for no apparent reason) has many punters running for the hills, me included. My pick - not a threat.
Brilliant Speed 25/1 odds
Despite his name, don't expect this runner to tear up Santa Anita on Saturday. With his last win recorded way back in 2011, don't hold your breathe here. My pick - back of the field.
Nonios 25/1 odds
If you have deep pockets and are a fan of long shots, then this is the horse for you. After finishing second in the Haskell, he was widely touted to gobble up the field in the Travers. But hungry he wasn't in that race as many expect him not to be tomorrow. My pick - take as a long shot.
Pool Play 25/1 odds
At the tender age of seven, this horse is considered an 'old timer' in horse racing circles, which his long shot status at most land and online sportsbooks will attest to. My pick - stone last. Bovada Sportsbook Review - Online Sportsbooks
Horse race betting fans from across the United States and beyond will be tuned into their TV sets later today for the start of this epic horse racing which has attracted many of the best runners, jockeys and trainers from across the U.S, especially those entered in Saturday's feature - the 2012 Breeders' Cup Classic (Gr 1).
15 Breeders' Cup Races Today and Tomorrow
Bovada Sportsbook Review - Online Sportsbooks
In fact, of the 15 Breeders' Cup races scheduled for today and tomorrow, no doubt the race that will attract the most attention (as it always does) is the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, a 1 1/4 mile outing for 3-year-olds and up over dirt, which is also the final race of the Championships every year.
This year's Classic has attracted a formidable field of 12 runners, including betting favourites Game On Dude, Flat Out, Mucho Macho Man and Ron The Greek. But if history has taught us anything, it's that the Classic can be a very predictable race, where anything could happen, making it a hard race to bet on.
But bet on the Breeders' Cup Classic and the other Breeders' Cup races plenty of punters will (yours truly included). So looking at the Classic, here's how I see the lineup (starting with the betting favourites as posted by William Hill Online) for Saturday's big race:
2012 Breeders' Cup Classic Betting Preview
Game On Dude 2/1 odds
With three wins from his last four outings at Santa Anita, it's no wonder oddsmakers have posted Game On Dude as the betting favourite. My pick - second or third.
Bovada Sportsbook Review - Online Sportsbooks
Flat Out 6/1 odds
After his jaw-dropping performance in the recent Jockey Club Gold Cup, this Bill Mott-trained runner has more than enough potential top romp home first. My pick - winner.
Mucho Macho Man 7/1 odds
Over the last couple of years a lot has been expected from this colt, however he has yet to deliver according to expectation. Perhaps the Classic will be his time to shine. My pick - fourth or fifth.
Ron The Greek 7/1 odds
Stats don't lie, and with four victories and four places out of 10 races, this Bill Mott-trained runner could well be amongst the first to cross the line. My pick - second or third.
Fort Larned 8/1 odds
Trained by Ian Wilkes, this runner is in the Classic based on his surprise victory in the Whitney. However, whether he has a shot against such a strong field is the question. My pick - fifth or sixth.
To Honor And Serve 11/1 odds
The third and arguably weakest of Bill Mott's Breeders' Cup entries, this runner famously beat Mucho Macho Man in this year's Woodward, but this outing may be a bridge too far. My pick - not a threat.
Richards Kid 16/1 odds
One of the Classic's older contenders, this horse has not had a standout season. My pick - long shot bet.
Handsome Mike 20/1 odds
Handsome this runner may be, but a serious challenger to cross the line first tomorrow he is not. My pick - not a threat.
Alpha 25/1 odds
After a superb summer at Saratoga racetrack in New York, this colt was on an upward trajectory. But a poor sixth place finish last time (for no apparent reason) has many punters running for the hills, me included. My pick - not a threat.
Brilliant Speed 25/1 odds
Despite his name, don't expect this runner to tear up Santa Anita on Saturday. With his last win recorded way back in 2011, don't hold your breathe here. My pick - back of the field.
Nonios 25/1 odds
If you have deep pockets and are a fan of long shots, then this is the horse for you. After finishing second in the Haskell, he was widely touted to gobble up the field in the Travers. But hungry he wasn't in that race as many expect him not to be tomorrow. My pick - take as a long shot.
Pool Play 25/1 odds
At the tender age of seven, this horse is considered an 'old timer' in horse racing circles, which his long shot status at most land and online sportsbooks will attest to. My pick - stone last. Bovada Sportsbook Review - Online Sportsbooks
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Nov 3 (Reuters) - Winners of the Breeders' Cup Classic (horse, jockey, trainer).
2012 Fort Larned, Brian Hernandez, Ian Wilkes 2011 Drosselmeyer, Mike Smith, Bill Mott 2010 Blame, Garrett Gomez, Albert Stall 2009 Zenyatta, Mike Smith, John Shirreffs 2008 Raven's Pass, Frankie Dettori, John Gosden 2007 Curlin, Robby Albarado, Steve Asmussen 2006 Invasor, Fernando Jara, Kiaran McLaughlin 2005 Saint Liam, Jerry Bailey, Richard Dutrow 2004 Ghostzapper, Javier Castellano, Robert Frankel 2003 Pleasantly Perfect, Alex Solis, Richard Mandella 2002 Volponi, Jose Santos, Phillip Johnson 2001 Tiznow, Chris McCarron, Jay Robbins 2000 Tiznow, Chris McCarron, Jay Robbins 1999 Cat Thief, Pat Day, D. Wayne Lukas 1998 Awesome Again, Pat Day, Patrick Byrne 1997 Skip Away, Mike Smith, Sonny Hine 1996 Alphabet Soup, Chris McCarron, David Hofmans 1995 Cigar, Jerry Bailey, Bill Mott 1994 Concern, Jerry Bailey, Richard Small 1993 Arcangues, Jerry Bailey, Andre Fabre 1992 A.P. Indy, Ed Delahoussaye, Neil Drysdale 1991 Black Tie Affair, Jerry Bailey, Ernie Poulos 1990 Unbridled, Pat Day, Carl Nafzger 1989 Sunday Silence, Chris McCarron, Charlie Whittingham 1988 Alysheba, Chris McCarron, Jack Van Berg 1987 Ferdinand, Bill Shoemaker, Charlie Whittingham 1986 Skywalker, Laffit Pincay, Jr., Michael Whittingham 1985 Proud Truth, Jorge Velasquez, John Veitch 1984 Wild Again, Pat Day, Vincent Timphony (Compiled by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
Horse racing-Breeders' Cup Classic winners - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
2012 Fort Larned, Brian Hernandez, Ian Wilkes 2011 Drosselmeyer, Mike Smith, Bill Mott 2010 Blame, Garrett Gomez, Albert Stall 2009 Zenyatta, Mike Smith, John Shirreffs 2008 Raven's Pass, Frankie Dettori, John Gosden 2007 Curlin, Robby Albarado, Steve Asmussen 2006 Invasor, Fernando Jara, Kiaran McLaughlin 2005 Saint Liam, Jerry Bailey, Richard Dutrow 2004 Ghostzapper, Javier Castellano, Robert Frankel 2003 Pleasantly Perfect, Alex Solis, Richard Mandella 2002 Volponi, Jose Santos, Phillip Johnson 2001 Tiznow, Chris McCarron, Jay Robbins 2000 Tiznow, Chris McCarron, Jay Robbins 1999 Cat Thief, Pat Day, D. Wayne Lukas 1998 Awesome Again, Pat Day, Patrick Byrne 1997 Skip Away, Mike Smith, Sonny Hine 1996 Alphabet Soup, Chris McCarron, David Hofmans 1995 Cigar, Jerry Bailey, Bill Mott 1994 Concern, Jerry Bailey, Richard Small 1993 Arcangues, Jerry Bailey, Andre Fabre 1992 A.P. Indy, Ed Delahoussaye, Neil Drysdale 1991 Black Tie Affair, Jerry Bailey, Ernie Poulos 1990 Unbridled, Pat Day, Carl Nafzger 1989 Sunday Silence, Chris McCarron, Charlie Whittingham 1988 Alysheba, Chris McCarron, Jack Van Berg 1987 Ferdinand, Bill Shoemaker, Charlie Whittingham 1986 Skywalker, Laffit Pincay, Jr., Michael Whittingham 1985 Proud Truth, Jorge Velasquez, John Veitch 1984 Wild Again, Pat Day, Vincent Timphony (Compiled by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
Horse racing-Breeders' Cup Classic winners - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
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Fort Larned stole the show with a brave victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday, out-duelling Mucho Macho Man and leaving favorite Game On Dude in the dust. Game On Dude, unbeaten in five prior starts on the dirt track at Santa Anita, was the overwhelming favorite to give trainer Bob Baffert a first victory in the $5 million Classic – the richest race in North America.
Instead, he trailed in seventh, piling on the misery for Baffert, who had 10 runners over two days of Breeders’ Cup racing and departed without a winner. “It really was a tough week, but what are you going to do,” Baffert said. “When these things happen, when things are hard, you’ve just got to move on,” added Baffert, who received words of encouragement from Game On Dude co-owner Joe Torre, the former World Series-winning manager of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees.
“A few minutes ago Joe Torre told me that you’ve got to forget it,” Baffert said. “Things that happened five seconds ago, you’ve got to let them go and move on. That’s what will happen.” As Baffert went back to the drawing board, Fort Larned trainer Ian Wilkes and jockey Brian Hernandez were celebrating their first Breeders’ Cup triumph – and in the race that capped the two-day, 15-race slate worth a total of $25 million. Hernandez and Fort Larned took the lead into the first turn, extended it on the backstretch, then held on in a furious duel in the final straight to beat Mucho Macho Man by half a length.
“He was gaining on us, but our horse wasn’t going to let him by,” said Hernandez, who called the win a perfect 27th birthday present. Flat Out was third as Game On Dude, never beaten in five prior starts on the dirt track at Santa Anita, finished seventh in the 12-horse field in the 1 1/4-mile race. It was just one of the upsets produced in nine races at the Breeders’ Cup on Saturday.
Little Mike was the big surprise in the $3 million Turf. Sent off at 17-to-1, the five-year-old gelding reminded observers he is a multiple grade one winner this year, holding off fancied home hope Point of Entry as well as St Nicholas Abbey – who had won at Churchill Downs last year to continue Europe’s run in the 1 1/2-mile race. Joseph O’Brien, whose victory last year aboard St Nicholas Abbey had made him the youngest jockey to win a Breeders’ Cup race, said his horse ran well, but just didn’t have quite enough for unheralded Little Mike. “When I asked him, he responded. We had to go a bit wide on the turn, but nonetheless he ran very well,” O’Brien said.
Read More: Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
Instead, he trailed in seventh, piling on the misery for Baffert, who had 10 runners over two days of Breeders’ Cup racing and departed without a winner. “It really was a tough week, but what are you going to do,” Baffert said. “When these things happen, when things are hard, you’ve just got to move on,” added Baffert, who received words of encouragement from Game On Dude co-owner Joe Torre, the former World Series-winning manager of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees.
“A few minutes ago Joe Torre told me that you’ve got to forget it,” Baffert said. “Things that happened five seconds ago, you’ve got to let them go and move on. That’s what will happen.” As Baffert went back to the drawing board, Fort Larned trainer Ian Wilkes and jockey Brian Hernandez were celebrating their first Breeders’ Cup triumph – and in the race that capped the two-day, 15-race slate worth a total of $25 million. Hernandez and Fort Larned took the lead into the first turn, extended it on the backstretch, then held on in a furious duel in the final straight to beat Mucho Macho Man by half a length.
“He was gaining on us, but our horse wasn’t going to let him by,” said Hernandez, who called the win a perfect 27th birthday present. Flat Out was third as Game On Dude, never beaten in five prior starts on the dirt track at Santa Anita, finished seventh in the 12-horse field in the 1 1/4-mile race. It was just one of the upsets produced in nine races at the Breeders’ Cup on Saturday.
Little Mike was the big surprise in the $3 million Turf. Sent off at 17-to-1, the five-year-old gelding reminded observers he is a multiple grade one winner this year, holding off fancied home hope Point of Entry as well as St Nicholas Abbey – who had won at Churchill Downs last year to continue Europe’s run in the 1 1/2-mile race. Joseph O’Brien, whose victory last year aboard St Nicholas Abbey had made him the youngest jockey to win a Breeders’ Cup race, said his horse ran well, but just didn’t have quite enough for unheralded Little Mike. “When I asked him, he responded. We had to go a bit wide on the turn, but nonetheless he ran very well,” O’Brien said.
Read More: Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
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Australian-trained Green Moon produced a powerful finish to beat off a strong foreign contingent and win the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday after the race build-up was overshadowed by a betting scandal.
Ridden by Hong Kong-based Australian jockey Brett Prebble and trained by Robert Hickmott, Green Moon (19-1) finished one length clear of another Australian-trained runner Fiorente (30-1) in Australia's two-miler.
Third-placed Jakkalberry (80-1), trained at Newmarket by Italian-born Marco Botti, flew the flag for the eight foreign raiders trying to lift the biggest prize in Australian racing in the A$6 million ($6.2 million) event.
It was one the strongest international fields to contest the Melbourne Cup in its 152nd year with Prince Charles and his wife Camilla among the huge crowd.
A betting scandal overshadowed the build-up after top jockey Damien Oliver, riding one of the favourites Americain, reportedly admitted putting money on a rival horse in a race in 2010.
The two-time winner at Flemington wagered A$10,000 and expected to be charged soon, Fairfax Media said.
Fairfax said sources close to the champion jockey confirmed he admitted last month to breaching the rules of racing by betting on rival horse Miss Octopussy, which won a race two years ago at Melbourne's Moonee Valley.
Oliver, competing in the same race, finished sixth.
Publicly, Oliver has refused to deny placing the bet and Fairfax said there were serious questions about why he had been allowed to continue riding and why he had not been charged by stewards.
Prebble flew in from Hong Kong to drive Green Moon to the front halfway down the long Flemington straight for his first Cup win.
The four main international hopes - Mount Athos (5th), Red Cadeaux (8th), Americain (11th) and last year's winner and 6-1 favourite Dunaden (14th) could not finish in the top four.
"It's my life dream to do it," jockey Prebble said.
"I was never going to get beat. I got a severe check 250 metres after the start and it put me back on the fence and he was on and off the bridle.
"I was very confident they weren't going to pick him up -- he ran all the way through to the wire."
Green Moon is an imported Irish-bred stayer who has been racing under Hickmott in Australia since August last year. The Melbourne Cup was his seventh win in 20 starts.
The win gave well-known Australian owner/breeder Lloyd Williams his fourth Melbourne Cup success. His previous winners were Just a Dash, What a Nuisance and Efficient.
Fiorente was the third Cup runner-up for Sydney trainer Gai Waterhouse, who previously trained Te Akau Nick (1993) and Nothin' Leica Dane in 1995.
The global Goldolphin stable's sole runner Cavalryman (30-1) and ridden by Frankie Dettori finished 12th.
Godolphin has finished second in the race three times after Crime Scene was pipped by Shocking in 2009 to join Central Park (1999) and Give The Slip (2001) as the stable's runners-up.
Horse Racing: Green Moon wins Melbourne Cup - Channel NewsAsia
Ridden by Hong Kong-based Australian jockey Brett Prebble and trained by Robert Hickmott, Green Moon (19-1) finished one length clear of another Australian-trained runner Fiorente (30-1) in Australia's two-miler.
Third-placed Jakkalberry (80-1), trained at Newmarket by Italian-born Marco Botti, flew the flag for the eight foreign raiders trying to lift the biggest prize in Australian racing in the A$6 million ($6.2 million) event.
It was one the strongest international fields to contest the Melbourne Cup in its 152nd year with Prince Charles and his wife Camilla among the huge crowd.
A betting scandal overshadowed the build-up after top jockey Damien Oliver, riding one of the favourites Americain, reportedly admitted putting money on a rival horse in a race in 2010.
The two-time winner at Flemington wagered A$10,000 and expected to be charged soon, Fairfax Media said.
Fairfax said sources close to the champion jockey confirmed he admitted last month to breaching the rules of racing by betting on rival horse Miss Octopussy, which won a race two years ago at Melbourne's Moonee Valley.
Oliver, competing in the same race, finished sixth.
Publicly, Oliver has refused to deny placing the bet and Fairfax said there were serious questions about why he had been allowed to continue riding and why he had not been charged by stewards.
Prebble flew in from Hong Kong to drive Green Moon to the front halfway down the long Flemington straight for his first Cup win.
The four main international hopes - Mount Athos (5th), Red Cadeaux (8th), Americain (11th) and last year's winner and 6-1 favourite Dunaden (14th) could not finish in the top four.
"It's my life dream to do it," jockey Prebble said.
"I was never going to get beat. I got a severe check 250 metres after the start and it put me back on the fence and he was on and off the bridle.
"I was very confident they weren't going to pick him up -- he ran all the way through to the wire."
Green Moon is an imported Irish-bred stayer who has been racing under Hickmott in Australia since August last year. The Melbourne Cup was his seventh win in 20 starts.
The win gave well-known Australian owner/breeder Lloyd Williams his fourth Melbourne Cup success. His previous winners were Just a Dash, What a Nuisance and Efficient.
Fiorente was the third Cup runner-up for Sydney trainer Gai Waterhouse, who previously trained Te Akau Nick (1993) and Nothin' Leica Dane in 1995.
The global Goldolphin stable's sole runner Cavalryman (30-1) and ridden by Frankie Dettori finished 12th.
Godolphin has finished second in the race three times after Crime Scene was pipped by Shocking in 2009 to join Central Park (1999) and Give The Slip (2001) as the stable's runners-up.
Horse Racing: Green Moon wins Melbourne Cup - Channel NewsAsia
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Like cocktails and fascinators, horse racing can be cool again.
The Breeders' Cup again demonstrated that its "dying sport" still has legs – and glamour, too. Thoroughbred racing's just-concluded world championships definitely have the best-dressed crowd at any sporting event.
One look around the packed Santa Anita paddock and clubhouse Friday and Saturday in Arcadia confirmed that horse racing is bringing in new fans who come for the party as much as the ponies. In fedoras and flirty hats, thousands of 20- and 30-somethings toasted the winners while looking like swells.
Over two days, almost 90,000 fans turned out to see the Cup. Millions more watched on TV. The first prime-time telecast of Saturday's $5 million Classic, America's richest race, drew a 2.2 overnight Nielsen rating, almost double last year's 1.2.
In another upward indicator, national wagering already surpassed $9.2 billion this year, up 2 percent from 2011, as racing continues to rebound from the recession. Fans bet more than $144 million on Cup weekend.
If those Cup fans cashed some tickets, they'll be back. Next year's Breeders' Cup will be at Santa Anita, too.
Read more here: Leading Off: Breeders' Cup gives boost to horse racing - Horse Racing - The Sacramento Bee
The Breeders' Cup again demonstrated that its "dying sport" still has legs – and glamour, too. Thoroughbred racing's just-concluded world championships definitely have the best-dressed crowd at any sporting event.
One look around the packed Santa Anita paddock and clubhouse Friday and Saturday in Arcadia confirmed that horse racing is bringing in new fans who come for the party as much as the ponies. In fedoras and flirty hats, thousands of 20- and 30-somethings toasted the winners while looking like swells.
Over two days, almost 90,000 fans turned out to see the Cup. Millions more watched on TV. The first prime-time telecast of Saturday's $5 million Classic, America's richest race, drew a 2.2 overnight Nielsen rating, almost double last year's 1.2.
In another upward indicator, national wagering already surpassed $9.2 billion this year, up 2 percent from 2011, as racing continues to rebound from the recession. Fans bet more than $144 million on Cup weekend.
If those Cup fans cashed some tickets, they'll be back. Next year's Breeders' Cup will be at Santa Anita, too.
Read more here: Leading Off: Breeders' Cup gives boost to horse racing - Horse Racing - The Sacramento Bee
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2006/12/07
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L MENORAH is to be a given a thorough check-up after a disappointing run in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter on Tuesday.
Last season’s Grade One-winning chaser trailed home 34 lengths third behind Cue Card, a show that left connections puzzled.
“He was very lethargic throughout the race and we’ve no idea why. We are going to examine him,” said trainer Philip Hobbs’s wife, Sarah. “There’s something wrong. There’s five weeks to the Peterborough Chase, so we’ve got plenty of time to work out what’s wrong with him.”
Read More www-walesonline-co-uk/sports/racing-news/2012/11/08/horse-racing-check-up-for-disappointing-menorah-91466-32188984/#ixzz2BcniCaq3
Last season’s Grade One-winning chaser trailed home 34 lengths third behind Cue Card, a show that left connections puzzled.
“He was very lethargic throughout the race and we’ve no idea why. We are going to examine him,” said trainer Philip Hobbs’s wife, Sarah. “There’s something wrong. There’s five weeks to the Peterborough Chase, so we’ve got plenty of time to work out what’s wrong with him.”
Read More www-walesonline-co-uk/sports/racing-news/2012/11/08/horse-racing-check-up-for-disappointing-menorah-91466-32188984/#ixzz2BcniCaq3
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Luckity-com is aimed at gamblers with more interest in betting than in the intricacies of horse racing, The Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal reports. But winning bets are based on the outcomes of races around the world so the online gambling is legal under a new federal law allowing interstate wagers on horse racing.
But bettors do not have to know, unless they choose to, that a Luckity Fast 2 bet is an Exacta bet at Beulah Park in Ohio.
Ted Gay, president of Churchill Downs' interactive subsidiary, said Luckity is aimed at women over 35, gamblers who like slot machines and interactive games and are more likely to place horse racing bets based on their favorite jockey or a competitors' name than serious examination of the field.
"Luckity is really designed with those fans in mind and with an effort to bring other fans like that to racing," Gay said.
Serious horse players and owners will gain, he added, by a bigger betting pool.
Churchill Downs Inc. owns the Louisville track where the Kentucky Derby is run along with Arlington Park in the Chicago area, Calder Park in South Florida and the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, among other holdings.
Read more: Churchill Downs Inc. aims online betting at new audience - UPI-com