Brett Robinson Suspended For 10 Years: EPO Positive

Ontario Horse Improvement Program to be restructured for 2008 I wonder if we are going to see Ontario bred or sired claiming races in thoroughbred races. As I've mentioned before, I think it will do wonders to make Ontario breds worth a lot more money.

EPO positive for Brett Robinson. The harness horseman is now suspended for 10 years.

Layne Giliforte taking a shot at Presque Isle Downs with Sugarcoat on opening day.

Melissa Polkey has a very good week at Thistledown with 4 wins.


Lou Raffetto from Laurel being deliberately dishonest or just plain stupid about the low track takeout experiment. WEG boycott it. Youbet and IRG also didn't allow bets on it this year as opposed to last. Also, there was no mention of the overall handle at the track on other tracks. Bettors got more money back, and my educated guess is that most of it went back into the windows...maybe not Laurel but other simulcast events.
One thing I do know, rebate shops will get 90% of my action from here on in.

Magna Entertainment Corp. ("MEC") (NASDAQ: MECA; TSX: MEC.A) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary AmTote Canada, Inc. ("AmTote Canada") has entered into a Totalisator Service Agreement with Attractions Hippiques Quebec Inc. ("AHQ")


Biancone to get a 15 day vacation for drugging a horse


Woodbine launched free online game Wednesday night. 360 people played. I'm sure it will grow from here. Very little info is available for newbies to figure out who to pick. Prize money is good considering it doesn't cost a dime to play it. I know the guy who finished second;)

Bettor's Buycott Update: This week, the focus will be Yavapai in Arizona on Tuesday.

Initial Bettor's Buycott Deemed Success

Initial Bettor's Buycott action deemed a success:
'A group of bettors angered at the divisive state of advance deposit wagering has taken action by staging what it termed a “buycott” at a New Mexico racetrack, and also launched a protest Web site against a content provider.

The initial wagering protest involved focused betting on the Aug. 25 card at The Downs Racetrack & Casino at Albuquerque. The group claimed victory, saying its influence was felt in helping raise the off-track handle 78.6% to $126,057 from a $70,596 total recorded at the track Aug. 18.

“Unofficially, today's handle was the highest of the meet,” the track’s racing secretary, Stuart Slagle, wrote Aug. 25 in a post on PaceAdvantage.com'

Russell Baze gets 15 days suspension for whipping a horse that should have been pulled up. To view the stretch run click here.

NOTE: Apparently I upset a few jockeys with my analysis and ratings. First off, I want to say that I'm not a licensed horseman (jockey, trainer, owner, groom, or jock's agent, etc.), the ratings and comments are my personal opinion as a handicapper and fan. Secondly, why do jockeys get pissed off over these things? Buy a fantasy football guide and you will find ratings for every offensive player from 1 right to the bottom. Why should jockeys be immune to public opinion and ratings? Do jockeys get mad because Equibase publishes stats for the public to see? If some jockeys think I have given them a bad report, be my guest, prove me wrong. Maybe they will climb up the list next time I publish one.

FEX Straw Manufacturing a subsidiary of Magna Entertainment gets a multi year licensing agreement.

Showdown looming for legal internet gambling in the USA

Australia horse racing should resume soon. It was stopped due to equine influenza concerns. Concern is still high.

Scott Lake to invade Presque Isle Downs. Meet starting soon. Purses are huge.

Result of Laurel's low takeout experiment called inconclusive. WEG didn't carry it. I'm not sure who else didn't allow their clients to play either. I had no access to it, or I would have played for sure.

Signals restored in Indiana for Arlington and Calder

Jockey Terry Houghton gets win number 4000

I'm Not Too Hard On WEG

Some may think I'm too hard on WEG. I would love to give WEG all my action and support them 100%. All I want is the following:
1) The ability to bet on all low takeout tracks (like Laurel and the Ellis Park Win 4) at the track takeout being offered by the individual track.
2) The same rewards or rebate that I can get elsewhere within reason.

Pretty simple. I'm just asking WEG to compete fairly for the horseplayer's action, instead of in a bullying unethical anti-competitive manner. They may be deluded enough to think they are a monopoly, but they aint no monopoly, and they are losing lots of business as they further piss off and alienate educated bettors.

Unfortunately, I can't see things changing under the current short sighted management. They are too far gone. WEG needs to clean house.

WEG may not understand why their handles aren't great considering all the efforts they put in to advertise, but I do. The horseplayer is getting smart. Here is an example of what WEG's neglect of the bettor's real needs and wants yields:

Woodbine Race 9 on Friday (post time 5:07) 40,000 NW2 $44,000 purse
9 horse race

WPS pool 84k
Exactor pool 42k
Triactor pool 48k
Superfecta pool 23k

Fort Erie yesterday (Monday) post time 5:11 5,000 maiden claimer $9,000 purse
12 horse race

WPS pool 68k
Exactor pool 56k
Triactor pool 58k
Superfecta pool 26k
*********************************
BOYCOTT/BUYCOTT

Pace Advantage has managed to get some very good exposure since posting a petition against the practices and game playing by Advance Deposit Wagering (AWD) companies.
They decided to give AWD's a sub forum because of the popularity of the discussions about them.

One member made a cute avatar. See right.

Bloodhorse got wind of the boycott/buycott plans and wrote an article about it. There are over 400 signatures right now

Plans are to buycott (bet on a selected track that is bettor friendly to reward them) Albuquerque this Saturday. How you can support the buycott.

Super horse Dance Smartly dead at 19. Wikipedia entry. Great horse.
1991 Breeder's Cup Distaff:

More Youtube videos with Dance Smartly

Biancone's vet suspended in Kentucky

Daily Racing Form sold to private equity group for close to $200 million


Ray Paulick leaves post at Blood-Horse

Indiana commission bans Calder and Arlington signals

Trainer David MacLean dead at 49 of cancer

Robbie King becomes the first jockey in 30 years to win 6 on a Fort Erie card He needs another 6 wins to make up for his mistake in taking a mount on the wrong horse in the Rainbow Connection:)

Native owned casino in Winnipeg bans smoking for more slots

PEI considering Sunday racino action.

Canadian Hall of Fame inductions today ..... "This year's voters on the Thoroughbred side elected Jammed Lovely, L'Enjoleur, Natalma, former jockey Chris Loseth, and breeders Russ and Lois Bennett. Canadian Champ gained entrance through the veterans committee.
The Standardbred inductees are Bettors Delight, Cathedra, and breeder Jack McNiven."

Beyer on the upcoming Presque Isle meet

RATING THE JOCKEYS AT FORT ERIE AND WOODBINE

UPDATE: Apparently I upset a few jockeys with my analysis and ratings. First off, I want to say that I'm not a licensed horseman (jockey, trainer, owner, groom, or jock's agent, etc.), the ratings and comments are my personal opinion as a handicapper and fan. Secondly, why do jockeys get pissed off over these things? Buy a fantasy football guide and you will find ratings for every offensive player from 1 right to the bottom. Why should jockeys be immune to public opinion and ratings? Do jockeys get mad because Equibase publishes stats for the public to see? If some jockeys think I have given them a bad report, be my guest, prove me wrong. Maybe they will climb up the list next time I publish one.

I know I'm going to piss off a few people with my analysis. It is not my intention to do so, and many will most likely not agree with my rankings. I realize that hot jockeys get the best mounts as well, and some talented jockeys just get in a rut because they can't put a streak together. Streaks are hard too when struggling, because jockeys who aren't on winning streaks tend to get average to poor mounts. Generally though, below average jockeys get below average mounts. All I can say is that I've been following Ontario horse racing for many years, since I was a kid. I've been doing speed figures since the late 70's as a teenager. And I base my analysis on how well jockeys do when they are on horses who figure to be right there, and also if they tend to move up horses who don't really figure. Most jockeys, like horses, usually look good in a wire to wire victory, so I am trying not to count these type of victories when rating them. If a jockey has more mounts at Fort Erie, I consider that jock a Fort Erie jockey. Same thing applies to Woodbine jockeys.

FORT ERIE

1. Daniel David- He is probably the most natural rider on the Ontario circuit. He is an extension of the horse. He constantly battles weight and health problems, but when he is on, he is the best.
2. Robbie King- Fort Erie suits him. He owns the track right now. Uses brains and finesse. Gets the choice mounts deservedly. Sometimes he gets overbet because he is a fan favourite.
3. Kristopher Robinson- Injury prone so far. He moves up many horses with his ability to rate.
4. Chad Beckon- Money jock. Gets the most of his good mounts.
5. Christopher Griffith- Best of the rest. With Villeneuve gone, he is probably the best grass jockey on the grounds.
6. Cory Clark- Usually is right there when she is on one of the top 3 horses. Good on the turf too.
7. Roderick Dacosta- Has put up good numbers on limited mounts over the last couple of years.
8. Happy Ando- Just back from an injury. Was improving before the injury.
9. Sunny Singh- Close to being considered a low ranked Woodbine jockey, he gets a lot of good mounts at the Fort from Woodbine.
10.Schemlin Montoute- Good numbers in limited tries. By appointment only.
11 Brian Bochinski- He'll hit the board when given the talent.
12.Regina Sealock- I don't mind her on route horses that figure. Her style suits the track. She is slightly underrated.
13.Dale Hemsley- Rides a lot of bad horses. He knows the track well. He doesn't move a horse up, but he doesn't hurt a horses chances either.
14.Monique Dionne- Her numbers tell the story. Just a little below average.
15.Mike Quong- Rides a lot of bad horses too. Good on front runners and horses who come from last when the pace collapses. Not much when in between.
16.David Piques- Give him a mount, and he'll ride it.
17.Maree Richards- Admirably she at least attempted a comeback. I can't say she moves a horse up anymore.
18.Michael McMullen- Rides mostly for family. Usually just a passenger.
19.Eldridge Lindsay- If the race is over 6 furlongs, look elsewhere. Can go wire to wire in sprints though, and he'll pull out all the tricks to get one over.
20.Jeff McLaren- Still learning. The jury is out. Can't bet with any confidence yet.
21.Marty Mercieca- Doesn't seem to make good choices when rating a horse.
22.Valerie Thompson- Only rides one horse these days, but she got him to win. In 1981 she owned Greenwood.
23.Lisa Cadedu- Has had some opportunities as a bug girl, but hasn't done much with them.
24.Gilbert Searchwell- Will his mount get past the vet?
25.Rawle Mitchell- Couldn't get many mounts if he rode for free.
26.Richard Morrow- Richard who? Juries out.
27.Dennis Persaud- Not impressive at all.


WOODBINE

1. Patrick Husbands- He deservedly gets the top mounts. He owns the turf course too.
2. Emile Ramsammy- He has usurped Kabel as the jockey who can get a horse to the lead, who didn't necessarily look like the speed of the field, and then steal the race.
3. Chantal Sutherland- As predicted earlier by me, her style is perfect for the Polytrack. And she is very good on the turf as well.
4. Emma Jayne Wilson- Moves a horse up. She takes a lot of obscure mounts though, which hurts her percentage.
5. Tyler Pizarro- The go to apprentice. Always a threat to hit the board. Gets live mounts especially with Rainford and Deverell on the shelf.
6. James McAlaney- Gets real good mounts. Rides sprint races (7 furlongs or less) better than routes.
7. Todd Kabel- Better when he is not on the figure horse for some reason. Looks like he is in semi-retirement these days. Still above average. Doesn't have as much of an edge on the Poly which is not kind to speed usually.
8. Martin Ramirez- Style is suited for the Polytrack. He just doesn't seem to get good mounts. Give him David Clark's mounts and he'd have 60 wins at Woodbine right now. Needs to relax when he is on a horse with a fringe chance. He is trying too hard on them out of the gate.
9. David Clark- Gets great steer jobs. Probably has the best agent at Woodbine. I don't think he moves a horse up though...but he is 50 plus. Might get a well earned vacation soon.
10. Constant Montpellier- Better on the turf. Just a little better than average when he has the horse. Was better on the dirt track.
11.Garry Cruise- Does well on limited live mounts.
12.Jono Jones- Better on the turf. Just a passenger on the dirt.
13.Justin Stein- Could easily be in the top 8 with a little more experience.
14.Eurica Rosa Da Silva- Doesn't move a horse up, but doesn't move one down either. Too aggresive a style for the Poly.
15.Corey Fraser- Could make better decisions during the race. Needs to get Tiller's confidence back.
16.Slade Callaghan- Average jockey who doesn't get many live mounts.
17.Jerry Olguin- Not overly confident when he is on a selection, which is a rare event.
18.Richard Dos Ramos- Rides like he is trying to get third but will take the win. Another jockey who should thank his agent, oh and Attfield.
19.Jerry Baird- Having a better than average year so far. It is early still. Knows where the rail is, which is a plus on the Poly, usually.
20.Steven Bahen- Pretty much a passenger.
21.Ray Sabourin- Doesn't get many mounts these days. His better days are behind him.
22.Robert Landry- Gets some OK mounts, but doesn't move them up at all.
23.Dino Luciani- Isn't riding much anymore. Not sure if it is his choice or the choice of trainers. He is very good when given a good horse on the lawn.
24.Jack Lauzon- OK going short. Kinghaven days are way way gone.
25.Stephanie Fedora- When she is on a figure horse, she isn't all that bad.
26.Catherine O'Brien- Improving a bit. Still a shaky bet. Gets better mounts than Fedora so far.
27.Na Somsanith- Can't remember the last time he was on a real live one.
28.Matt Moore- Take away Arden Belle and what do you have? Too one dimensional.
29.David Garcia- Below average so far.
30.Rui Pimental- Not sure if he is a Woodbine, Fort Erie, or a Kingston jockey.
31.Julia Brimo- Probably should move her tack to the Fort.
32.Simon Husbands- What I said about his brother, only the opposite.
33.Anthony Stephen- Not liking him at all yet.
34.Shane Ellis- If he is one of your top selections, sit out the race.

REMEMBER, IF YOU NEED TO BET WOODBINE, BET WITH A REBATE SHOP. WEG DOESN'T GIVE A RATS ASS ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS, THE BETTORS. THEY NEED TO BE PUNISHED FOR THAT. MAYBE THEY WILL START TO CARE IF PUNISHED.

Fort Erie Needs Help From The Government (And A New Owner)

Fort Erie wants to plead its case at Queen's Park
Facing declining casino revenues once more as well as new competition from Presque Isle Downs, Fort Erie has few options.
1) Race 50-60 days next year.
2) Run for next to nothing in purses next year during an 80-84 day schedule.
3) Get the government to give them a bigger cut of casino revenues. Right now they get 10% of the slots with Nordic Gaming (the owners of the track who don't give a rats ass about horse racing) getting 10% as well. Forget Nordic getting a bigger cut. They should do everyone a favor and sell the joint. But I can see a case being made so that the horsemen of border tracks get an additional 5-10% of the slot revenues. OLG gets plenty, and the idea of slots is to help the communities that have slots as well as the horsemen. The extra 5-10% will be spent within the Niagara region by winning connections most likely, so to me it is a no brainer. But to get the government to play ball.....well that is another thing.
Ontario just announced they had a 2.3 billion dollar surplus. Surely, they won't miss another 5 million dollars, especially if it helps hundreds of people stay away from welfare line.

Again, the $300 million plan is just insane. Nobody is going to pay good money to have a condo next to truck fumes on the Peace Bridge. And Niagara Falls is 20 minutes away. I can see condos working there, but not Fort Erie. It will never happen. It is just a ploy by the owners to give the track some smoke and mirror value while they are looking for someone to buy the joint.

Trainer and jocks agent have quite a tiff at Thursday's Rainbow Connection draw at Fort Erie.


Did you know that the Flunkey Monkeys at WEG increased the track takeout last year on Win 4's from 14.75% back to 25%? I follow the news pretty good, and I don't remember seeing Woodbine announce anything about this. Instead of betting with WEG, buy lottery tickets.

Woodbine expands their grey area telephone wagering system


Richard Eng's article on lower track takeouts. Great read. Although he predicted no one would boycott the Laurel short meet, I am not shocked that WEG didn't offer it to their customers.

Baymount gives update on the New Quinte Racino Development

Jockey Club Petition at Pace Advantage Forum getting serious notice.

Charles Town Dash controversy includes allegations against Charles Town HBPA President who was the owner of the eventual winner.

Guelph conducting research on race horse's hearts

Magna to downsize big time. Stronach is probably looking to get out of racetrack ownership altogether.


Female jockey Lucy Burch dies in car crash at 28. She was riding at Louisiana Downs

World Poker Tour returns to Fallsview October 26th

Can A Canadian Bet On Horses Outside Of Canada From Home?

First some humour.

How can a horse lover not love this clip:

H/T Railbird Blog

Now back to reality:

Well at least Woodbine reads the blogs. Too bad they miss the message: YOU DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS ABOUT THE BETTOR!

Here is what a poster named Woodbine put in the comments of my last post:

There appears to be some confusion surrounding the WEG press release and the corresponding response from Premier Turf Club, so here are the facts.

1. PTC & WEG Sign Contract – PTC pursued and willingly signed a legal simulcast contract to take wagers on Woodbine racing products. The terms of the agreement included the statement, “Under no circumstances is Guest (PTC) permitted to conduct account wagering with Canadian residents.” This is in section 1 of the agreement and in bold lettering to ensure clarity. There is no room for interpretation with this clause and it is clearly not limited to Woodbine product or residents from Ontario. The purpose of this clause is to ensure that WEG does not aid and abet someone breaching the Criminal Code of Canada which clearly states that an entity not licensed in Canada is breaking the law when it accepts or offers to accept a bet from a Canadian resident on a horse race. WEG is therefore obligated to enforce the clause or put its own license in jeopardy.

2. PTC Violates Contract – WEG learned shortly thereafter of other Canadian players wagering through their site and we were able to get the necessary proof. This evidence has been supported further by Canadian customers reporting through these various blogs that they had been betting through PTC. This violation is clearly not a one time mistake and is definitely not a “hub error” as PTC would like you to believe because PTC is the one responsible for setting up the accounts.

3. WEG Terminates Contract – This evidence has proven without a doubt that the contract that PTC signed with us had been breached and we terminated the agreement.

It is unfortunate to learn that there are operators that choose to execute contracts but have no intention to follow them. Simulcast contracts are required for a reason and they clearly did not live up to their commitments. Mr. Ian Meyers of PTC stated in his press release, “While we respect WEG’s decision, we at Premier Turf Club firmly believe in open access of all signals to residents of all countries where internet wagering is permitted. We are naturally quite disappointed that WEG believes all Canadian residents must play only through the Canadian ADW.” This quote clearly demonstrates Mr. Meyer’s lack of understanding of Canadian criminal law as stipulated in point 1.

Woodbine

August 13, 2007 3:51 PM

*************************************************

First off, the Criminal Code only states that it is illegal for an unlicensed company to set up shop inside of Canada, like Starnet did. There is no such ruling that I know of that prevents Canadians from betting with Betfair or any other offshore betting house.
Here is what I dug up on the web regarding Betfair and Canada:

Betfair also offers its services in Canada, where its legal status is somewhat uncertain. The Criminal Code of Canada effectively prohibits private individuals from operating an online gambling website in Canada. The Canadian provinces are permitted to offer sports betting and all provinces do through the Sport Select program, but offering single sports betting (Betfair's forte) is prohibited even to the provinces. On the other hand, an individual placing a bet (even a single sports bet) from within Canada to a foreign website is not violating the Criminal Code. As a result, Betfair's services are considered to be grey market in Canada - no laws are broken when a Canadian bets with Betfair, but the Canadian courts could not likely be used to resolve disputes either. In addition, not all Canadian credit cards can be used to deposit money with Betfair. This is because the credit card departments of some Canadian financial institutions are intertwined with American firms, meaning Betfair cannot be certain of the nationality of the card number.

Secondly, I know I can bet on horse racing in Aruba and Vegas. I've done it, and it was not illegal. And I doubt that Aruba's betting shop is licensed in Canada.

Third point: Phone and computer betting in Canada is still a grey area. Just like international internet betting is by Canadians. But I don't see you calling HPI illegal too, since grey means illegal to you.

I haven't phoned the CPMA yet (613-949-0735), but I know someone who did. He was told that Canadians can bet offshore on horse racing.

So it is clear that you, Woodbine, is either ignorant of the laws, or that you are trying to pretend that what you are doing is not anti-competitive collusive practice.
In my not so humble opinion, you are being dishonest now about why you put the clause that prevents those who get your signal from taking Canadian bettors.

If I am wrong I apologize, but as far as I know from searching the internet and from past readings and experience, the only reason you sign these deals is to try to make it so that Canadians have no choice but to bet through you if they want to bet on horses on the internet.

Woodbine knows without having these collusive deals in place (that I think must be illegal), they will lose a lot of their customers, who want more choice and lower takeouts.

If Woodbine is to have these deals in place to keep their customers, they should give their customers EXACTLY what they could get elsewhere. Or else they are violating consumer's rights.


Woodbine has been rebating for a while now. Crappy rebates (for those Canadians in certain areas, most areas get nada), but rebates just the same. If they had a clue, they would realize that the rebates are generally bet off again, until they disappear in the players account. The same would be true if they upped the rebates/lowered the takeouts, even drastically. The thing is that it would attract back all the offshore money, and give a player a chance to actually win in the long run, and it will most likely bring in new people to gamble by word of mouth.

Horse handicapping is enjoyable, but it takes a lot of time. And Woodbine does not give anyone a chance to win money in the long run. Woodbine treats horse players like they are lottery or slot players. They just don't get it, and they just don't give a rat's ass about the bettor.

The internet changes things. It gives people like me a chance to expose things that are clearly wrong to a large amount of people that count. This includes the dinosaur mentality of most of the track owners when it comes to the bettors. I wrote a piece about having a 10% takeout across the board for all racetracks in North America, and two weeks later, Laurel announced they were trying exactly that.

One more thought. A lot of people compared Woodbine to Bell or the CRTC. First off Bell, is no longer a monopoly, and I don't use their services anymore. I have a choice. When it comes to the CRTC, they try to ensure Canadian content, but they don't stop me from watching American stations, and I don't have to pay a premium to watch them. Also it is ILLEGAL to use an American satellite provider. It is NOT ILLEGAL to bet with an American hub. I just can't because of WEG's underhanded tactics in signing collusive deals that work against the bettor.

Woodbine Doesn't Give A Rat's Ass About The Bettor

UPDATE: I found this doing a quick internet search. And it appears WEG is guilty of not abiding by it:

Competition Act

The Competition Act is Canada’s antitrust legislation. The purpose of this Act is to maintain and encourage fair competition in Canada. It regulates trade and commerce activities and monitors trade practices. For example, mergers and acquisitions that can reduce competition are often subject to review by the Competition Tribunal. The Act may be conveniently divided into three principal areas: criminal offences, civil offences and merger regulation.

The Competition Bureau is responsible for administration and enforcement of the Competition Act. Its role is to promote and maintain fair competition so that Canadians can benefit from lower prices and product choices.
***************************
A simple violation is that Canadians can't open up accounts to bet on Ellis Park with US ADW's to take advantage of the 4% takeout on Win 4's, but they takeout 25-28% on the Win 4 if a Canadian were to hit it with WEG.

Signing deals which don't let Canadians bet on Laurel to take advantage of the 10% takeout is another.

Signing collusive deals that do not let Canadians in their non rebate areas get rebates from other ADW's. For example, Brisbet recently gave 10 points back for betting on Mountaineer a couple of Friday nights ago.

Signing collusive deals that stipulate that Canadians can not set up accounts with the buyer of their signals

Here is a link to Canada's position on competition with regards to North America
********************************************************************

Yesterday, WEG cut off Premier Turf Club. Here is their press release:

WEG Cuts Off Premier Turf Club

August 10, 2007

Woodbine Entertainment Group announced today that it has cut off Premier Turf Club for breach of their simulcast contract, effective immediately.

According to a statement posted on the WEG website, the organization cautiously allowed Premier Turf Club to participate in its pools recently after agreeing on specific terms and an appropriate host fee. These terms clearly indicated that Premier Turf Club was not permitted to take account wagers from Canadian residents but WEG has indisputable evidence that they signed up a resident from WEG's home market area and permitted the account holder to wager on Woodbine.

"We are very disheartened by the issue", said Sean Pinsonneault, WEG's vice president of Wagering Services. "We acted in good faith with Premier Turf Club and they demonstrated just the opposite. It's a shame that it had to come to this but we are not prepared to do business with rogue operators under any conditions. Operators such as this threaten the integrity and viability of our industry's pari-mutuel system."

(WEG)
**************************************************
Premier Turf Club responded:

As of today, Premier Turf Club will no longer be permitted to accept wagers on Woodbine races. PTC inadvertently allowed an Ontario resident, Sanny Lee to place a $1 wager on a Woodbine event yesterday. We believe this wager was placed as a result of a hub error, as Ontario residents should not have been permitted access to the Woodbine pools.

While we respect WEG’s decision, we at Premier Turf Club firmly believe in open access of all signals to residents of all countries where internet wagering is permitted. We are naturally quite disappointed that WEG believes all Canadian residents must play only through the Canadian ADW. We feel this lack of choice works against race tracks, horsemen and horse players alike. Further we strongly disagree as to the characterization of this mistake as an “event that undermines the integrity of the game”, and are disappointed at the level of rhetoric WEG chose to use.

We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers and to WEG.
*******************************************
When it comes to Woodbine's integrity and the integrity of the race tracks in general, check this out. In fact, read this whole thread at Pace Advantage's Forum.

Getting back to Woodbine and their total disregard for the gambler:

1. They didn't want PTC to have any members from all of Canada, not just the Canadians who "benefit" from HPI's paltry rewards.

2. They whine about competition like Betfair and other offshore gambling houses that compete for the gambler by giving the gambler an actual chance to win money in the long run by reducing takeout through smaller commissions or larger rebates.

3. It is not illegal for a Canadian to bet with Brisbet, Youbet, etc. But WEG has bullied it's way in an attempt to be a Canadian monopoly by signing collusion deals with these companies. WEG won't take Americans and these companies won't take Canadians. Of course, this goes against the rights of the gambler (the CPMA should look into this). In fact, it is pretty much criminal. Integrity? Yeah right.

4. Woodbine, in taking Ellis Park and their 4% take out Win Four, jacks up their commission in a way that if someone wins the bet on HPI they get paid off as if the takeout was 25-28% (whatever HPI's rip off rate is for triactor wagering).

5. HPI didn't carry Laurel yesterday and probably won't for the entire 10 days of the Laurel meet, because Laurel is experimenting with an 11-12% track takeout. Of course, Canadians can't bet on Laurel with Bris or Youbet, etc., because of Woodbines collusive practices.

Here is a letter sent by "Trying To Win" (not me) on the Pace Advantage Board. It was posted by him last night:
"Hello:

I just read a press release from some of the WEG flunkeys and their unfair denigration of PREMIER TURF CLUB. Talk about sleazy, underhanded tactics to justify cancelling a contract with an above-board ADW company like PTC. These WEG flunkeys should hang their heads in shame.

I'm a customer at PTC and make the occasional bet through HORSEPLAYER INTERACTIVE as well. However, after finding out about these low-down tactics of WEG, I'll be looking into sending my WOODBINE/MOHAWK harness bets through an offshore racebook now. And I'll tell all my horseplayer friends to shun WEG, and your cheapskate, two-bit betting outfit called HPI. I'll advise these friends to wager somewhere else,where the betting companies have scruples, and actually have generous cash rewards and superior customer service (such as PREMIER TURF CLUB has, and WEG does not appear to have these virtues).

May WEG go bankrupt in the near future.
************************************************
Personally, I've seen enough of Woodbine's idiocy and greed. They have a dinosaur mentality that is prevalent in the industry. They don't get that lowering the takeout means more money and more gamblers in the long run, and they don't care, because they don't need to thanks to slots.
All they do is whine and bitch and bully when it comes to competition. That isn't what capitalism is about. And I'm into capitalism.
I will not bet another dime through HPI. There are many other alternatives. I just started doing daily track variants for Ellis Park and Mountaineer, for example.

Headlines For August 8th

Concussions force Michelle Ranford on the sideline for the rest of the 2007 season.

Fort Erie lowers the bar and writes $3000 claiming races. And horses who run for $3000 most likely won't get claimed because they aren't worth $3000, and if a horse isn't worth $3000 he or she should be retired, since it costs between $1500 to $2000 a month to keep these has beens in training. $3000 races really cheapen the track, but also look bad on those who enter in the races. And I can't see the public lining up to bet on 6 horse fields of ultra cheap horses.

Buffalo casino a huge mistake for Buffalo. But nobody said Buffalo was full of rocket scientists.


Gato Del Sol dead at 28

Churchill Downs announces second quarter results


Youbet announces second quarter too

Laurel begins low takeout experiment on Friday

Beyer on the Laurel experiment. Great read.

Indiana Downs sales close to being finalized

Ex jockey Greta Kuntzweiler gets probation for meth charges

This Time The Stewards Threw The Horse Down At Woodbine

Yesterday's 8th race at Woodbine, a clipped heels accident resulted in a disqualification, unlike the one last week, when an accident resulted in the death of a horse. Were the stewards pressured into yesterdays decision from all the heat they took last week? Probably. Last weeks decision only promotes dangerous riding, which is bad for the sport all around.
But maybe they just flipped a coin, and this time it was tails instead of heads.

Grand River to begin pilot project where the groom gets 1% of the purse received by a horse for running Ist to 5th. It will be done on a voluntary basis. Owners and trainers must agree to it. Grooms will also be listed in the Grand River program.
Great idea. Grooms deserve credit.

Workers at Sudbury Downs on strike. No racing in the meantime.

Todd Gray's 10 year suspension for EPO upheld. Fine reduced.

ORC demands CPMA release all Aminorex Docs having to do with their ongoing investigation


Tracknet signs deal with offshore betting shops. Only people who bet over $1 million a year will be able to get rebates. This just goes to show the idiocy that goes on in the horse racing industry. Check this quote out by Scott Daruty, chief executive officer of TrackNet: “There are people out there that bet tens or hundreds of millions of dollars into racetrack pools, and they’re not racetrack guys. They’re financial or mathematical geniuses who have figured out a very sophisticated way of playing this game,” Daruty said. “These are guys I think we need to encourage.”
Bite me, Tracknet.

Brisbet gave a 10% rebate on Mountaineer last night. Times are changing for the bettor (pun).

Language Harmful to US Thoroughbred Shipping Stripped From New US Government Bill

Emerald Casino closes in Saskatoon


Brian Hollingsworth, a jockey at Clark County Fair in Illinois sweeps the card. He won all 8 races. He rides at Ellis Park today; home of the 4% Win Four takeout.

Betfair voids bet on possibly rigged tennis match. They received 10 times their regular action on the match and most of it was bet on the underdog.

WOODBINE/FOR ERIE PICKS FOR THIS WEEKEND

Kilmoganny (1st WO)
Banker's Street (3rd WO)
Hot As Ice (4th WO)
True Jean (6th WO)
Jimmy the Link (5th FE)
Onother Reptile (7th FE)
Sparkman (8th FE)

Tomorrow: I tried to make heads or tails out of the Breeders, and I found myself eliminating most of the field in order to find a contender or two. I like It's A Danzig by default with Marchfield staggering for place.

Veyana (4th WO)
Dancer's Bajan (5th WO)
Victory Romance (7th WO)
Saffi (8th WO)

Campari (2nd FE) I have this horse by 9 lengths
Cashin Ashes (3rd FE) I have him by 4 lengths
Reflects Ridge (4th FE)
Dream Treasure (6th FE) By 6 lengths
Bates Bold Beauty (8th FE)

Headlines For August 1st

Canada's first nomination in The Melbourne Cup: Jambalaya Australia has very tough drug policies, which act as a deterrent to North American trained horses.

Woodbine bias report. Front runners almost have no chance is sprint races. Chantal Sutherland is the hot jock right now. Justin Stein is cold.

Quinte new racetrack project moving along slowly but surely

Week old news: Premier Turf Club announced the release of their new Conditional Odds Software. This feature allows the bettor to wager only on those selections that meet their minimum odds thresholds. Premier Turf Club is an advertiser for the Thoroughbred Blogger's Alliance, which I'm a member of (see sidebar). They are a is a U.S. based parimutuel national account wagering provider that offers cash rewards to their members. They are having a problem getting the A tracks to play ball with them (because of industry collusion), but if you don't mind getting real nice rebates for Delaware and Mountaineer, for example, that are debited in your account the very next day, you should consider joining.

Jose Santos retires at 46 due to injuries

New York racing regulators get tough on milkshakes and betting by tellers on the days they are working

Slots miss the mark in Florida


USA warned about internet gambling ban. If it continues, they could have to pay billions.

Legal Opinion: If the US would ban internet horse race gambling, they would be compliant with WTO rules

Colic 101: We all here that a horse either had a bought with colic or died from colic. This explains what it is.