Toughest Card to Handicap

If you thought the Breeders Cup card was tough to handicap, you should see the program at this weeks (Maryland legislative) special session in Annapolis. Every state tax is on the table, but this time it appears that slots will be a go. Governor Martin O'Malley is trying to prove that the only way to reverse the deficit is through slots and taxes. I will not get into the political stuff about the taxes, but let me share my views on the slots and horses.

The locations for the machines are not set in stone, but it looks like the only horse racing venue will be Laurel Park. Laurel Park is in a commercially zoned area off of major highways , between Baltimore and Washington DC. This is a good location! At first, Baltimore City and its interim mayor fought against slots located anywhere in Baltimore City. Then the governor endorsed the interim mayor (who replaced him when he became governor) in the upcoming election, and things changed. One of the proposed slot locations in in Baltimore city, a few blocks south-east from the football and baseball stadium. Now I ask, if you are going to allow slot machines in the city, why not at Pimlico? The Pimlico area and the neighborhood people need a renaissance. What better way to revitalize a neighborhood than with jobs, improved infrastructure, and an influx of capital. (side note - the area around the famed Pimlico Race Course resembles Berlin circa 1945. Burned out building, row homes collapsing, and roads that appear to have been paved about the same time we were bombing the Germans).

Now for the good news!!!!

With all of this talk about taxes, a referendum for slots, and a host of other fiscal concerns, the horse industry seems to be on the sunny side of the debates. The $100 million annual subsidy to the industry is still on the table. This is a lot of money for purses, owner and breeder incentives, and events. Now for the questions.......Will the quality of racing increase with increased purses? Will more fans come out to watch these higher quality races? Will all of this save the struggling horse racing industry in Maryland?

Stay tuned!

ATTENTION ALL HORSEMEN

To the left is the image of Maryland horse racing.

This is posted on the Laurel Park website, and all over Pimlico, Laurel and Bowie Training Center. If you have the opportunity, please go and support our industry!

Monday Morning and Everything has Changed

It is Monday morning in Baltimore, and everything you read about horse racing in Maryland has changed since last Friday. The great slot proposal by the Governor has changed, the number of machines have changed, where they are going has changed, and so on. Here are some bullet point od what we think we know about slots in Maryland.

- A referendum will be put to the people next November (one year from now for lobbyist to spend lots of money on bad commercials) to decide if slots will be legal in Maryland.

- The total number of machines is now over 15,000 (total) at 5 locations

- The machines will be owned by the state, and operated by Magna, I mean a n entity other than the state.

- The operator will receive 5.5% of the profits

- All horse racing (training, racing,etc) will be canceled on Friday so the horse industry can load everyone on buses to demonstrate outside the State House.

- Pimlico was no included in the slot locations, and will be closed for good! State and Magna will fight over who "owns" the Preakness Stakes, Slots will be the bargaining chip!

Stay tuned. It should be an interesting week!

Breeder's Cup Thoughts

Why do bad things happen to good people? - I don't know how Gretchen and Roy Jackson are going to deal with the death of George Washington. Once in a lifetime is bad enough, but TWICE?. It's such a horrible ending considering that he should be at a peaceful stud farm preparing for his second season.

Bloggers are gaining more credibility with every big event - Alan Mann and Jessica Chapel did excellent jobs of live blogging for the Breeders Cup Site and the DRF, respectively. Their timely and useful posts made you feel like you were at the track. Great job!, and thanks!

That sound you hear is the rush of cash towards Lanes End Farm. - Sons of Smart Strike, English Channel and Curlin replayed their same-day G1 winning performance of September 30, 2007. Lanes End has already announced a $150,000 stud fee for the honor of Smart Strike's services in 2008. I'd imagine they will have no problem filling the book after the last month of outrageous success. I believe Smart Strike stood for $75,000 this year and just $20,000 in 2003 when Curlin was conceived.

New York, New York (sung to the Sinatra tune). - A preponderance of today's winners competed on the New York circuit this year. At this time when the future of the franchise is in question, it is meaningful to see the importance of New York racing on the national and international scene. They are Curlin, English Channel, Ginger Punch, Midnight Lute, War Pass, Indian Blessing, Corinthian, Lahudood and Maryfield. 9 of 11. I think that's more than a coincidence.

Less expensive sires can throw BC winners too. - Kip Deville's sire, Kipling, stands for $2,500 in Oklahoma. Midnight Lute's sire, Real Quiet, stands for $5,000 in Pennsylvania. Nownownow's sire, Whywhywhy, stands for $7,500 at Gainesway in Kentucky.

Right Ideas, wrong horses. - My BC handicapping was based on two premises. 1) Stand against horses that compete mostly on synthetic tracks, and 2) Stand against the Europeans. The concepts proved perfect. No winner had run this year on synthetics except for Midnight Lute's 4th at Keeneland in April. And none of the European invaders won either. Lahudood spent all of 2007 competing in the U.S., so he does not qualify as an invader. Unfortunately, I generally picked the wrong non-synthetic, non-European runners and had only 2 winners.

TBA Handicapping Contest Entries

With the embarrasment that I have not publicly picked a winner since Barbaro, I offer my entries into the TBA Breeder's Cup Handicapping Contest:

JF: Irish Smoke
Juv: War Pass
FMT: Nashoba's Key
S: Smokey Stover
M: Nobiz Like Shobiz
D: Unbridled Belle
T: English Channel
C: Lawyer Ron

And some bonus Friday picks:
FMS: La Traviata
JT: Cherokee Triangle
DM: Gottcha Gold

And 3 big prices that I will be putting some money on:
FMS: Maryfield
JT: Cannonball
S: Kelly's Landing

Rosie coming back to Maryland

Jockey Rosie Napravnik will make her return to racing on October 31. She has been sidelined since July 6, when she broke her left wrist and the pinkie finger on her right hand in a spill. Before her injury, Rosie had moved her tack to Delaware. She will return to the Maryland colony with a new agent, former trainer Bob Klesaris. Good luck and stay healthy!

Cuts, Cuts, and More Cuts

During yesterdays Maryland Racing commission meeting, we learned the following:

- 15 days will be cut from the Laurel winter meet. No more racing on Sundays. (I think I would have cut Wednesday)

- If slots are not approved in the next 5 months, the Pimlico meet will be cut from 40 days to 25 days (from 8 weeks, down to 5)

- If Pimlico dates are cut, they will close the track to training from May to November.

My take: One last nail in the coffin of Maryland racing before the special legislative session for slots starts on Monday. I hope this game works!

"It's That Russian Geography Exacta"

These are the words that Tom Durkin used to describe the 5th race at Belmont today as Leningrad and Stalingrad finshed one-two.

Leningrad, a 3-year-old colt by Aptitude, is trained by Richard Dutrow and was ridden by Kent Desormeaux. He paid $35.60 to win and the $2 exacta paid $134. That's a lotta rubles.

Record Crowd, Record Handle

The 2007 Maryland Million saw a record crowd (26,788) fill the grandstands at Laurel Park. The record attendance contributed to a record handle of $5,985,793. That shattered the previous high set in 2005 by more than $900,000.

"We hear from some people that racing is a dead sport," said Lou Raffetto, the Maryland Jockey Club president and chief operating officer. "Anyone that was in attendance [yesterday] at Laurel Park knows that is the farthest thing from the truth. We had a record crowd together with a record handle, almost a million dollars higher than ever before. The Maryland Million is a small sample of what Maryland racing is capable of when given the financial resources to compete."

Trainer Chris Grove started the day with high hopes for his nine entries........."Everybody came back sound," Grove said. "I'm not unhappy. A lot of trainers here today would like to go home with two seconds and a third. None of the nine raced bad. I can't cry. It was a good day, and we'll fight another day."

Click here for full results of the 2007 Maryland Million

Friday Morning

Here are just a few things to start off your Friday morning.

- Andy Beyer gives a brief history of the Maryland breeding industry.

- Maryland trainer Chris Grove will saddle 9 horse in tomorrows Maryland Million. 3 are favorites!

- 39 stallions will be represented at the 2007 Maryland Million. 17 entries by Not For Love.

If you live in the area, go out to Laurel Park tomorrow and support our horse breeding/racing industry. If you can't make it, check it out on MASN (Mid Atlantic Sports Network).

Maryland Million to be Televised

MASN (Mid Atlantic Sports Network) will produce and televise the 22nd running of the Maryland Million during a special telecast Saturday, October 13. MASN will televise 11 races (2-12) and provide complete coverage of the day of racing from Laurel Park during the 2 hour telecast starting at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Anchoring MASN’s coverage of the event from the finish line will be Laffit Pincay III and Caton Bredar. Handicappers Jay Privman and Andy Serling will provide insights and analysis.

"MASN will cover the race from every possible angle with seven cameras, including a jib camera at the finish line. The production and talent of this year’s coverage is unprecedented in the history of the race."

One question to readers.... Does anyone outside of Maryland/DC get MASN?

Thanks For The Memories

“The mighty heart of the great John Henry has, at long last, yielded to time"

“John Henry was a testament to the fact a horse’s value is far greater than the sum of his pedigree, conformation, sales price, and race record" - John Nicholson, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park

RIP John Henry

"John Henry was foaled March 9, 1975, in Kentucky, the result of a mating between Ole Bob Bowers and the Double Jay mare Once Double. Lehmann’s Golden Chance Farm bred the horse, little knowing the status he would achieve. Famously bad-tempered, John Henry sold as a yearling for just $1,100 in 1976."

"John Henry went on to become one of the greatest champions of the modern era, amassing 39 wins from 83 career starts and retiring in 1985 with a then record $6,591,860 in earnings. His victories included 16 Grade 1 races"

"John Henry was voted champion grass horse in 1980, ’81, ’83, and ’84; champion older horse in 1981; and Horse of the Year in 1981 and 1984." (DRF via NTRA)

Wow. An unbelievable career. A career made possible by the fact that he was a gelding, but unbelievable anyway. RIP John Henry.

2007 Maryland Million

This years Maryland Million will have a total of $1.7 Million available for the 12 races on the card. As the week goes on, I plan on posting more about this special day of Maryland racing. For now, here is the bloodhorse story.

And here are the entries!

No Slots For Pimlico

It is almost a done deal that Maryland will have slot machines in the near future, but it appears that Pimlico Race Course will be left out of the excitement.

The Governor has proposed 9500 slot machines to be owned and operated by the state, but has not said where he will be putting these machines. Other members of the State Legislature have not been so tight lipped. The jockeying for who should, and who should not receive the slots has started, and it looks like it should be heating up soon.

Senator Lisa Gladden (Majority Whip) said said she is convinced Pimlico is out of the mix, based on conversations with the Senate staff and House delegates Gladden also said that House Speaker Mike Busch doesn't favor slots in general and is dead set against slots at Pimlico because he believes slots would addict poorer people in the Park Heights area near the track. Gladden said the Laurel racetrack is a likelier site for slots because Magna Entertainment Corp., the owner of Pimlico and Laurel, has spent $20 million upgrading Laurel and "nothing" on Pimlico.

It would be a huge mistake to give up the opportunity to infuse money, jobs, and needed infrastructure into the Pimlico neighborhood. Stop trying to hide the slot machines for the poor. If they want to gamble, they will. Put the machines, the jobs, the job training, and the improvements into the neighborhood that needs it most. Pimlico should be the first place they put slots. Pimlico only runs a 40 day meet (currently), and the place needs a lot of work. As it, and the neighborhood deteriorate, they may only run one day a year, the Preakness. What will the people of the neighborhood get out of that? What if Magna sells the property? What will happen then? Will someone come in and build a job training center, and revitalize the neighborhood? I don't think so! PUT SLOTS AT PIMLICO!!!!!!