Youbet.net

Now here's an idea that leaves you sctratching you head, wondering why 100 other companies haven't done it yet. Youbet.com is going to launch a Youbet.net web site. The site will be to horse racing what the free poker sites are to Texas Hold 'Em. Amateur handicappers will be able to play for points and get tutorials on how to play the game. It's a risk-free way to get involved and learn a little before you put your money on the line. Great idea. Good luck to them. I think it's a great way to get new blood in the door. Let the governments screw around with their failed attempts at VLTs, rebate programs and "reform". Creative private companies will lead the way to new revenue streams and the betterment of the sport.

The Shrinking Colony

The Maryland jockey colony is losing another good young jockey. Abel Castellano announced yesterday that he will be leaving Maryland to seek greener pastures at the Calder Race Course in Florida. Why do they have better purses in Florida....EXPANDED GAMBLING AT TRACKS. This is just the beginning for the Maryland jockey colony. As soon as slots are operational in Pennsylvania and New York the flood gates will open in Maryland.

Good Luck to Abel in south Florida.....We will miss you!

To whip or not to whip....that is the question

Over the past few months I have read a number of articles about jockeys using the whip too much. I did not really pay much attention, thinking that it was animal rights folks giving it to the horse industry. This past weekend I was at a small track in Pennsylvania watching the bottom of the barrel. It was a $3500 claiming race at 6 furlongs. Coming around the clubhouse turn, the horse in front had a two length lead on the second horse, and it looked like he was pulling away. The jockey started whipping the horse at about the 1/2 pole. By the time the jockey hit the 5/8 pole he had opened up a 4 length lead. He was still whipping. I expected the trainer to grab the jockey by the neck after the race, but he gave him a high five and marched over to the winners circle. Later that night I saw a horse beaten so bad that it was bleeding from a bad whip to the belly. I started thinking about all the articles I had read recently. Maybe they are right? Maybe someone can help me out on this. Please give me your opinions.

Mr. Sekiguchi

Mr. Sekiguchi, who was purchased for $8 million as a yearling in 2004, may have found his game. He ran the 4 furlong bullet at Santa Anita on Saturday, which at 45.2 seconds was faster than the 32 other horses at this distance.

This so-far disappointing son of Storm Cat (previously nicknamed Fusaichi Slowpoke) showed some promise in his first race last month and may just be a late bloomer that will make some waves by the end of the year.

It will be interesting to watch Mr. Sekiguchi and his nephew The Green Monkey to see if the big risks taken by their owners even get close to paying off.

Great for the Sport

Deleware Onlinehas a nice article on apprentice jockey Maria Charles. Young jockeys like Charles and Maryland's Rosie Napravnik are great for the sport of horse racing. People love to cheer for the underdog. It is easy for the news media to grab onto a story about a good young jockey, especially if she is female. We can only hope that stories like this are being written everyday. As I have stated in previous posts, the sport needs to promote the success of the jockeys. These is very crucial for the success of the sport at tracks that may be sub par or ones that don't host million dollar cards.

The Bug Boys feel this is a nice story, but she is just a poor man's Rosie Napravnik! (JUST KIDDING) - Get well soon Maria!

What a day for Rosie

Apprentice jockey, and favorite of the Bug Boys, Rosie Napravnik took Our Peak to the winners circle as a 73-1 long shot in the $85,000 Private Terms Stakes at Laurel yesterday. (Just a side note......Our Peak inched ahead of Ah Day by Malibu Moon). Our girl Rosie also finished in the money 7 times in 9 mounts yesterday. The 18 year old jockey is tops in the standingsat Laurel, and has increased her in the money percentage to 60%, and wins to 22%. Not bad for a girl who still has her bug!

Going, Going, Almost Gone

As I have stated in past postings, the thoroughbred industry in Maryland is in bad shape. Today the Baltimore Sun ran an article explaining how Maryland is losing the great trainers, jockeys, and breeders to our surrounding states. Why are these great horseman leaving......WE DON'T HAVE SLOTS. The legislature of Maryland feels that slot machine would lead to crime and problems. For those of you who don't already know this....Baltimore has one of the highest murder rates in the country, we also fall into the top 10 in drug use, STD's, and teen pregnancy. Will slot machines make things worse? Wake up and smell the opportunity. Slot Machines will not only help save the horse racing industry, but will help fund additional state programs, create jobs, and increase tax revenue. I don't know what these people are thinking about.

In last weeks print addition of the Bloodhorse, they had a multi page article about how many trainers, and farms have moved to Pennsylvania since they announced the approval of slots. Not a single one armed bandit has been plugged in yet, and already people are buying land for breeding farms. Some of the finest names in the bluegrass have even set up agreements to stand stalions in the keystone state.

I hope these jackasses wake up before it is too late.

The Rising Moon

Malibu Moon, the 9 year old son of A.P. Indy is beginning to make a solid name for himself. After starting his stud career in Maryland at a price of $3,000, he has made the move to Kentucky. It was just announced that his 2007 stud fee will rise from $30,000 to $50,000. The few people that can recall the name Malibu Moon, know him as the sire of one time derby favorite Declan's Moon. Most horse racing fans have not realized that he is currently #32 on the sire list, and has produced 87 winners out of 210 foals of racing age (41%). He also has 14 stakes winners. I can go on and on telling you about his statistics. You may be saying to yourself "Baloo is crazy. These numbers are not that great". Let me remind you that he started his career as a $3,000 stud in Maryland. He was not being visited by the best and most quality mares. He has been producing great runners with average mares. Now that he is getting some respect, he is getting the dates with black type mares in the breeding shed.

Keep an eye out for the Malibu Moon's running in your hometown. They will help you cash a winning ticket!

Jockey's - The Ones I Watch

From reading other blogs, I have noticed that everyone follows the currently "great" jockeys. All I read about is Patrick Valenzuela, Victor Espinoza, Garrett Gomez, Dominges, Prado, etc. I wanted to take a moment to point out some other great jockeys.

California

David Cohen - He is a young, great jock. His numbers don't put him on the top of any list, but keep an eye out for this guy.

Matt Garcia - Has great potential, but does not get the great mounts that he deserves.

Florida

Jeremy Rose - It took his mounts on Afleet Alex for people to pay attention to him. Now that he is down at Gulfstream people are noticing what a great jockey this guy has become.

Maryland

A. Rosie Napravnik - Still an apprentice, she is the top rider in Maryland. Mark my words....She will become the top female jockey of all time. I know these are huge shoes to fill, but I believe she is one of the most talented riders in the country. At age 18, she has a long career ahead of her, and the potential to be one of the greatest of all time.

Pennsylvania

Emilio Flores - At the current Penn National meet, this guy is in the money 50% of the time. Emilio has about 7 mounts a night, and not even 25% of them are favorites. I am assuming that he will be make a move to a bigger and better track shortly. Keep an eye out for him this summer at a new track.

The Race Is Not Always to the Swift

I was going to write about the races in Dubai this weekend, but John topped anything I could have said.

Enjoy his post below!

UAE Derby brought to you by The Race is Not to the Swift

March Madness

What a great time of year! The NCAA Basketball Tournament and the Road to the Roses going on at the same time. This is the first time that I have been as interested in the racing as the basketball. As I thought about why my tastes have changed I realized that these two sports have a lot more in common than you would expect.

1) The successful Underdogs- The basketball tourney always brings a few Cinderellas to our attention. This weekend we had Bradley and George Mason. Likewise in racing, we had Like Now and Deputy Glitters.

2) The Marathon- The basketball season consists of dozens of games over months and it is years after recruiting that you see if your team is any good. The Derby preps also go on for months and it is years after breeding that you find out if you have a racehorse.

3) The Future- Some of the stars will be back for their Senior college year, some will go pro. Some of the horses will be back for a 4-year-old campaign, some will be retired to the breeding shed.

4) The Consistent Pieces- Although the basketball players change every year, most root for a particular school, or root for a particular big time coach. In the Triple Crown world, the horses change every year but the big time trainers have a following that translates to the horses. And in some cases, fans root for the horses of their favorite owners or breeders.

and of course....

5) The Gambling- You scour the point spreads on the games looking for value much like you analyze the odds on the races.

So maybe these two events are variations on the same theme. I guess it's not so surprising that I am interested in both. However, there are two clear reasons to me why the Derby preps may be better. First, it's not single-elimination like the basketball tournament. If that were the case, Bluegrass Cat, Bob and John & Keyed Entry would be done for the year. Also, we have the Preakness and Belmont ahead. The basketball folks have nothing else.

I think I have a new favorite early Spring sport!

A Sad State

The horse racing industry in Maryland is going down the crapper. Our current Govenor once pushed slot machines and horse racing as a prime part of his agenda. Now that it is an election year, the slot machines have fallen off the table. The current push is to add $10 million to the breeders fund (See Article). Legislature of Maryland, WAKE UP! This is a band aid fix to a hemorrhage. We have already lost a number of large breeding and training operations to neighboring states with healthy racing programs. The people of Maryland will not wake up until we lose our jewel of the triple crown. As I have stated in previous posts, The Preakness Stakes is everything to people in Maryland. When we lose the Preakness, it will be too late to save racing in Maryland. Look at any card for racing at Penn National, Delaware Park, Philly Park, and Mountaineer, they are filled with Maryland bred horses. I guess in 5 or 7 years, we will no longer see the (MD) after a horses name.

It pains me to see the greatPimlico Race Track in such shambles. This track is in terrible shape, and they run only about 40 days a year. Pimlico holds the memories of some of horse racing's greatest moments. It is a shame that the legislature of Maryland is will to let all of this fade away.

Marketing 101 (For Owners and Breeders)

NAMES
1. Don't give your horse a name that is only funny to you, your family, or friends.
2. Your colt may stand stud some day. 20 years from now someone may say "My filly is 3 by 2 Green Monkey"
3. If you are going to name a horse after a person, make it flow.
..........Examples that work: Stevie Wonderboy, Declans Moon, Giacomo
..........Examples that do not work: Pretty as my Lucy, mysonjackstoy

SILKS
1. KEEP THEM SIMPLE
.......Lime green, lavender, and red do not look good together
.......No pictures...I think I saw the Mona Lisa on the back of a jockey at Charles Town

ADVERTISING
1.Don't take out a full page ad in the Bloodhorse with photos of poorly confirmed foals.
2.Don't forget the following info on stallion ads: Name of farm, name of stallion, address, phone, website, price.
(I can't tell you how many adds I see that are missing important information)
3. If you stand the leading stallion in Maine, don't advertise nationally. Nobody in Kentucky, or California, or even New Jersey is going to send you a mare. Save your money and advertise in the PennySaver.

I can go on for days, but anymore info is going to cost you!

Is he running in the Preakness?

You know I am a big fan of horse racing. Unfortunately, not all of my friends and family understand the game as well as I do. Yesterday I was having a casual conversation with a friend about a 3 year old gelding running at Penn National. Another friend chimed in and asked "what's the name of that horse?" Before we could answer, we were hit with the question: "Is he running in the Preakness?" (unlike the rest of the world where people are familiar with the Kentucky Derby, here in Baltimore the only horse race that matters is Preakness). If you are reading this, you know that a 14k maiden race at Penn National is not a derby prep race. I told my friend that I doubt it highly that this horse will be running on the 3rd Saturday in May. It frustrates me that people look at horse racing as just the triple crown. If you are a baseball fan, you enjoy a double or triple A game, right? Why can't people understand that I like the Wednesday card at Laurel or Penn National. Many people that call themselves fans of horseracing look down on any race that is not run on a weekend with the word "stakes".

So today my friends, I salute the blue collar horses, jockeys, and trainers running on "lesser" cards all across this country.
whether it is a $3,500 claimer at Charles Town or an $80,000 allowance at Santa Anita, a win is a win. Try telling the guy in the winner circle picture that it is "no big deal!"

Market the Jockey - Not the horse

Everyday we read stories about the problems in the horse racing industry. We hear that attendance is down at the tracks, the jockeys need insurance, the purses are dropping, and the racing days are being cut. The net day we read a story that the only way to save racing is to attach it to slot machines and casino gambling. Lets take a step back, take a deep breath and think about this for a second.

Fans follow superstars. Did fans in Washington come out to see the Wizards (formerly the Bullets) when they were playing the Chicago Bulls? No! They came out to see Michael Jordan. The attendance at almost all arenas doubled when the Bulls came to town. The same goes for Roger Clemens and Tiger Woods. Do fans come out to see the number 24 car in a NASCAR race? No! They come out to see Jeff Gordon. In NASCAR, both the car and the driver go to the winners circle, but it is the driver that gets all the publicity. I understand this is not exactly the same as horse racing, but you get the idea.

(A funny thought - Do you think they would retire the car to the breeding shed after it won the Daytona 500 of blew out a tire?)

As fans and bloggers, we must help the thoroughbred industry along by promoting the success of both the horse and the jockey. We need to make the jockeys the stars. One of my favorite jockeys is Laurel (apprentice) Rosie Napravnik. Read the story about Rosie Bet on it, this rider is a natural?, and lets start talking about the jocks!

Sirius-ly Great Programming

I am trying to learn as much as I can about this new obsession of mine. The internet is rich with resources and my brother sends me his Bloodhorse magazines when he is done with them (I'm ready for the next batch, Baloo). However, I didn't expect to find one of the best sources of knowledge to be on my Sirius sattelite radio subscription.

I have become a big fan of "At the Races and Beyond" hosted by JJ Graci on Channel 125, 4pm EST, Monday through Friday. This show covers racing, breeding, handicapping and whatever is relevant that day. The guests include some of the biggest names in the sport.

If you can get past JJ's gruff, know-it-all demeanor and pretty much anything said by his sidekick Samm, there is a lot of entertainment to be had and information to learn from this show. You can also stream the live show and download past shows on their web site: www.attheracesandbeyond.com.

Sirius also offers "Down the Stretch" on Saturday mornings at 10am EST. They have been providing great weekend previews of the Derby preps and more interesting interviews (yesterday they spoke with our favorite girl Rosie Napravnik).

I'm really surprised that my subscription to hear Howard Stern would lead to some great horse racing radio too. Sirius is great!

Thank Goodness You Were Gelded

Yesterday was the 31st birthday of the great John Henry. The 1990 Hall of Fame inductee had an awesome racing career with over $6.1 million in earnings. Furtuately for racing fans (unfortunately for John Henry and his owners) you were gelded at the age of 2. If the son of Old Bob Bowers was able to keep his family jewels, I am sure he would have been retired after his 3 or 4 year old campaign. Lucky for us, we were able to watch you race past your 9th birthday and win 7 graded stakes in your last year. Kudos to you John Henry. May your remaining days at the Lexington Horse Park be great ones!

Jockeys suspended for riding like NASCAR drivers?

This is a crazy story! All you need to do is change a few names and it sounds like every weekends NASCAR report.
Fortunately, no human or horse was hurt. 100 lb men riding 1200 lb. animals doing the dance down the homestretch.
This reminded me of the scene from the beginning of Seabiscuit when the amateur riders were whipping each other.
I think 30 days suspending is a fair punishment. The two riders were aggressively pursuing on another, and someone could have gotten really hurt.

Speaking about suspensions.........I did not even check the card at Larel yesterday. It is my own little boycott! Free Rosie!!!

Funny Posting

I don't know anyone who hasn't questioned the $16 million purchase last week of a Forestry colt. John from "The Race Is Not To The Swift" puts a lot into perspective as well as some funny name ideas.

What Did Demi O'Byrne Have for Lunch?

ENJOY!

Too Early To Brag

Over the past week I have seen ads, articles, and blogs praising stallions for their current place on the "Leading Sire" list. Hello people, we are only six days into March. I understand the idea that you must stike while the iron is hot, but we are already a month into breeding season. Most mares half already scheduled a date with the luck guy for this season.

The one that bothers me most is todays current leader Slew City Slew. He is on top of the list with 1.3 million in earnings. That is pretty good for the first week in March. However, Lava Man makes up 1.1 million of the total. Last year Slew City Slew finished the year with 3.2 million in earnings. That placed him 58 on the Leading Sire list. That is repectable, and Lava Man only accounted for a little over $700,000.

Before I step down from my soap box, I have this to say to Airdrie Stud: If this were a two furlong race, you would be the winner, unfortunately, we still have a long way to go.

Maybe Early Retirement Isn't So Bad?

Much has been written on how the recent retirement of several thoroughbreds in their prime is bad for racing. If Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex, Ghostzapper, Saint Liam and the many others gracing the advertisements in The Bloodhorse were still racing, there would most definitely be greater interest and excitement in the sport. Sure, injuries have taken their toll on the Grade I ranks, but if the lure of the paychecks from breeding weren't out there, these horses would be in rehab with sights on the next big purse.

That being said, I'm glad that I will never have to see these great champs be trashed like Derby winners Giacomo and Funny Cide were yesterday. These two unfortunate athletes didn't have all of the credentials to transition into the enviable life of a champion at stud. Giacomo was never taken too seriously because many believe he was the beneficiary of a crowded Derby field that didn't let the cream rise to the very top. His owners had to campaign him as a 4 year old and win a few big races to prove that he deserves a $50k stud fee. That apparently is not gonna' happen.

Poor Funny Cide is missing more than just credibility. As a gelding, neither he nor the Sackatoga folks will every get to the promised land of breeding. He has no other revenue streams other than racing, so he will continue running until he gets injured or he becomes an embarrasment. I think the latter option may be near. He showed some speed yesterday before tiring, so maybe a shorter race in in his future.

So what is worse, a brilliant career cut short, or the athlete who stays in the game too long? I don't know the answer, but it sure is more tolerable to watch when the athlete himself is making the decision and not an owner.

Suspension will hurt racing

See The Article


The suspension of apprentice jockey Rosie Napravnik will hurt the already damaged racing industry in Maryland.
Napravnik was given a 5 day suspension for careless riding. 5 days for an apprentice? Come on, doesn't the title apprentice tell us that she is still learning. 5 days is a little steep.

Having Rosie take a week off is going to hurt the track attendance and wagering. Many people (the bug boys included) watch and wager on Rosie everyday. She is the top jock at Laurel, and the 18 year old has a great story. Because of her success, many people bet on her, no matter what the odds are on the horse. I know I may not pay as much attention this week.

Sign the petition today "Free Rosie" (just kidding)