Headlines for November 29th

Fort Erie horses could move up on the Polytrack. "Horses either love the Polytrack, or they hate it," says Elissa Blowe. Interesting stat. In route races at Woodbine this year, posts 12-14 are 2 for 57.

Proposal for jackpot type of bets being negotiated for to boost interest in Canadian horse racing; Other significant rules changes expected as well.

Gulfstream Park to reduce slot machines and increase simulcast areas

ORC denies OHHA appeal

Bill Hartack, who rode Northern Dancer to victory in the 1964 Queeen's Plate, dead at 74.



Innisfil Council worried about Simcoe County and Ramara Township plan

Bankruptcy court approves NYRA's plan


Churchill Downs consolidates ADW's


Woodbine Bias Report: Rail a bit better, but speed still sucks. Doyle and Jono Jones are on bad streaks.

NFL Picks For Week 12: Lots Of Interesting Canadian Horse Racing Stuff

When is Woodbine going to crack down on horses getting hot peppers (or something similar) shoved up their butts prior to races? Is the practice legal? Does the public know what is going on?

Canadian John Campbell becomes first harness driver to surpass a quarter of a billion in career earnings.

Slots expected to be a boon for Belleville

Fort Erie to cut out a few Saturdays in August and July. 80 days is fine. Still no word on the purse structure though. Horsemen await news from the province, to see if the OLG is going to help them out.
The horsemen have no idea what purse structure awaits them, in the meantime many Fort Erie horses are being claimed or sold in places like Thistledown, Finger Lakes and Mountaineer. And I've heard rumours of non competitive, unsellable thoroughbreds, who ran at Fort Erie last year being meated as well. Disgusting.
The horse population available for Fort Erie 2008 is a huge question mark.

Daaher upsets rivals at Aqueduct in $300,000 Cigar. He will probably turn out to be the best Canadian bred 3 year old going forward, despite not winning any Canadian Triple Crown races.

NFL Picks For Week 12

I didn't like the Turkey day games at all. The games turned out to be real boring by half time, though Detroit almost came back when the Packers fell asleep for a couple of minutes.

Last week I went 2 and 1 again, upping my record to 16-15-2 for the season.

Today I like Houston getting 3 against Cleveland. Lots of points are expected in this potential shoot out. It might to down to the last play. I thought it was a great call by the refs last week in the Cleveland game regarding the game tying field goal review with no time left last week. It supposedly wasn't a reviewable call, but the refs went against the rule book, and made the right call after all.

St. Louis looks good today getting 3 at home against Seattle. It looks like the bookies are trying to sucker in bets for Seattle. We'll see.

Miami getting 16 against Pittsburgh. Miami is not that bad. They really aren't. And Pittsburgh may under estimate them.

In case you missed the field goal in question in the Cleveland game, here it is:

Baymount Announces Financing: Magna Puts $9 Million Price Tag On Great Lakes Downs

Baymount Incorporated secures construction financing for new Belleville harness track and slots facility. For additional information on Baymount and the Belleville race track project (the Quinte racino) as well as Baymount's other projects go to their web site here.

Magna Entertainment put prices on their holdings for sale. Great Lakes Downs is listed at $9 Million

Canada and the US having secret negotiations regarding internet gambling WTO dispute is not going away. How can the US allow internet horse race betting and fantasy sports playing, and not allow other forms of internet gambling?

New Brunswick Indian tribes ready for government showdown regarding casinos


Emma Jayne Wilson to represent not only Canada, but North America in Hong Kong


Woodbine Harness having a hard time filling races Sunday Even with good purses only a very few owners make money on Woodbine standardbreds. The expensive trainers with high vet bills (nudge nudge wink wink), win most of the money. Drugs are killing the sport.

Woodbine bias report: Glenn Magnusson has won 3 out of his last 6. Pizarro is on a roll, while Matt Moore is 0 for his last 25. Rail was more fair last week.

Now for some Silky Sullivan action:

Just In Case You Didn't Know Another Way WEG's Customers Get Ripped Off

How many online bettors with Horse Player Interactive (HPI) think they are getting the same payoffs with HPI than they would if in the USA, even though there is common pool wagering. Take the third race at Churchill today (just picking a race at random). The payoffs for Win Place Show Exactor and Double are the same. But the payoffs for the triactor, super, and pick 3 were $25.70, $149.80, and $162.60 respectively in the US, but WEG only paid out $23.80, $138.70 and $150.60 to the customers (suckers) they continue to collude for so they can only bet with only them.
If you think it doesn't seem that much, think again. The triactor payoff was 8.8% higher in the US, the super payoff was 8% higher, and the pick 3 payoff was 8.0% higher as well. That means if you cash $10,000 on these types of bets over a month for example, WEG got you for another $800. But someone has to pay Willmot's salary, as well as the rest of the short sighted execs at Woodbine Entertainment. I wonder how much they will whine when they announce that betting is down or stagnant for 2007. The players have woken up to alternatives WEG. Put it in your pipe and smoke it.

Manitoba Jockey To Reduce Takeouts on certain simulcast bets:

GOOD NEWS FOR BETTORS: Bigger return on bets!

Downs' general manager Sharon Gulyas has announced that starting Monday, Nov. 19, the non-profit Manitoba Jockey Club will be in a position to roll back its take-out on major bets at simulcast tracks, allowing players to pocket more money. "If handle increases as a result of this lower take-out," Gulyas said, "we'll be able to offer an even greater return down the road."

The rollback affects triactors, superfectas, pick-3's and 4's and pick-6 bets at 13 tracks. The pick-6 at New York tracks and Hawthorne will now be the same as the U.S. payout. The pick-4 payout at Woodbine will be the same as Woodbine's.

Players can also expect:

• Higher pick-6 returns at Hollywood, Santa Anita, Del Mar and Churchill

• Higher pick-4 returns at Churchill, Laurel, Meadowlands, Monmouth and Pimlico

• Higher pick-3 returns at Churchill, Laurel and Pimlico

• Higher superfecta returns at Churchill, Meadowlands and Pimlico

• Higher triactor returns at Churchill and Pimlico

"I hope people will see this as a positive," Gulyas said. "We're trying to do the best we can. This is phase one. You have to start somewhere." Because of special discounted bets at some U.S. tracks, the differential had been as high as 15 per cent but now, Gulyas pointed out, the differential has been reduced to single digits or entirely eliminated. The mandate of the Manitoba Jockey Club is to preserve and promote the local racing industry, an impossibility without sufficient VLT and live and simulcast revenue.

Sovereign media finalists announced. No best blog? I doubt I would win anyway. Jen's blog is much better and updated way more. Plus I don't think WEG wants my blog to exist.

Financingavailable retired. Small ligament tear; time to make babies.

Pick Six Strategies By Steve Davidowitz


Kentucky Looking Into Racinos


NFL PICKS FOR WEEK 11

Last week I went 2 and 1 to bring me back to 500 for the year (14-14-2).

I like Detroit getting 2 and a half over the Giants. This game started at a pick, the bookies knew something when they made the original line.

Look for Jacksonville to frustrate San Diego and win by at least 3.

And if Denver doesn't win this week, they might not win a game the rest of the season. Lay the 2 points over Tennessee.

Slots Open Up At Hastings; NFL Picks For Week 10; Lots More

Hastings opens temporary slots parlour

Recommendations for the restructuring of the Ontario TIP Program I like the idea of changing things back to Ontario bred instead of Ontario sired (though this may inevitably hurt small breeders because more mares might go over the border for higher quality studs and come back to foal here, like Stronach and Sam Son often do with their mares). And increasing the potential winnings for Ontario breds is a very good idea too. But I really don't like the way they are trying to take away incentives to claim an Ontario bred horse. I'm also not sure if one is to lose out on incentives if a horse is bought privately (not in a sale) either. By giving incentives to claim Ontario bred horses as well, the value of all Ontario bred horses will rise, benefiting everyone who buys Ontario horses while rewarding a large amount of owners and potential owners, instead of a smaller percentage of owners/breeders. The idea of taking away incentives if a horse is claimed will not increase the amount of owners in the game, in fact, it may drive a few away. If an owner doesn't want his or her horse claimed, they can run them in allowance races. Horses inevitably should run for what they are worth, this creates a lot more potential owners. More owners means potentially more horsemen at future sales.
And once more, there should be Ontario bred claiming races as well. It gives the owners of Ontario breds a better chance to get out on his or her horse. It also increases the value the value of all Ontario breds because it drives up the price of the lowest priced horses. Almost every other jurisdiction gets it, but Ontario is ruled by those who shun claiming and the little guy, and they don't get the big picture either.
Unfortunately, committees who come up with these restructuring ideas are those who worry about their own interest and not the interest of the masses or the game itself.

TRACK TAKEOUTS for various tracks in North America. Fort Erie isn't included on the list right now. It is near impossible to find one source that includes every track up to date when it comes to takeouts, but Track Thieves has done a great job so far in compiling a list. Check Woodbine triactor takeout (28.3%). What a rip off.

Kissin Kris to stand in Alberta next year.


New Brunswick to get rid of 650 slot machines. Province wants to cap total slot machines at 2000.

Poker revenues up at Mountaineer, but Pennsylvania slots competition hitting Mountaineer's bottom line.

Calder to cut purses 7%

Promising 2 year old trotter Timeless Winner dies suddenly. Food poisoning suspected.

Great Canadian Gaming announces improved 3rd quarter results.

I just saw this video, and it really made me sick. I'm hesitantly posting it here because I don't know if many people who watch horse racing realize how dangerous the sport is, and especially how dangerous it is when a horse unseats the rider and heads in the wrong direction. I've seen this happen live (and luckily without disaster), and I've noticed many in the crowd go "Yee Haw" as the riderless horse heads in the wrong direction past the grandstand.
The tragedy some are about to see happened 7 years ago at Prescott Downs. Here is a description first:

Stacy Burton had been living her childhood dream of being a jockey for only a
year when she was injured in a horrific head-on collision of horses on Aug. 26, 2000.
The freak accident occurred in a race for $2,000 claimers at Prescott Downs (now
known as Yavapai Downs) in Arizona. A horse named Pacific Wind, who was trailing the
field, fell over the sloppy track, then regained her feet and started running in the opposite
direction over the half-mile track. Pacific Wind collided with Burton’s mount, Lot o
Love. The accident left Stacy with a severe brain injury, three fractured vertebrae and two
fractured ribs. In a coma for 23 days, she was not expected to survive.
“She’s a miracle. She should not be here,” said Jan Hortyk, who has been caring
for Stacy since the accident.
Today, at the age 44 and with more than 20 surgeries since her accident, Stacy is
able to walk and talk, but still requires full-time care.
Jan describes Stacy as a unique individual, who before becoming a jockey earned
her masters degree and taught high school students. “Horse racing kept tugging at Stacy’s
heart strings, and she methodically set her goal to become a jockey,” Jan said.
The accident and the slow and difficult climb that followed to improve her health
have resulted in a new goal – helping others who face similar permanent disabilities.
The financial hardship that is experienced by those dealing with disabilities is
overwhelming, Jan said.
“It is a very expensive thing to have to face and there are days when you don’t know
whether you’re going to make it,” Jan said.

Again, this video is not for the squeamish:



NFL PICKS FOR WEEK 10

I'm baaaaaack! Ok, I went 3-0 last week to bring my record for the year back up to 12-13-2 (still pathetic). And I actually was beginning to think I wouldn't pick another winner the rest of the year. That is what happens when your confidence is gone.

This week I like Green Bay minus 6 over Minny. Green Bay is still playing over their heads but Minny is very one dimensional. Shut down Peterson and Green Bay should cover easily.

The Giants are getting 1 and a half against Dallas. I think the Giants will win it, but I'm looking for a lot of offense out of both teams. It might go down to the last play.

Arizona is one and a half points favored over Detroit. Look for Arizona to have a breakout game this week. I really can't see them losing.

Headlines For November 6th

California board announces experiment to allow all ADW's to accept bets from all races in the state.

Churchill Downs targeting fake scratches

Playful Act sets record for sales price for a broodmare at Keeneland sales. $10.5 million for a mare who aborted her last foal? She does trace back to Nearctic on both sides of her pedigree.


Youbet called in default of a loan because of the $1.5 million seizure by Feds regarding IRG.


Mark Guidry, 48, ready to retire on Saturday.

CPMA wants feedback on proposed changes

Headlines For November 2nd and NFL Picks For Week 9

IRS wants $1.6 Billion in taxes from bankrupt NYRA

Woodbine listened to me by now putting out a daily Polytrack Maintenance Report. Now how about lowering the track takeout 5-10 points as well:) It will never happen. They are much too stupid.

Magna Entertainment announces dismal 3rd quarter results

ORC announces directive with respect to Granting of Stays


It looks like Instant Racing is going to die in Ohio after all.

Article on Drew Cady's Fort Erie gate crew Isn't a little late in the season to talk about the gate crew. I guess Niagara This Week was looking for a story because so far they don't have one with respect to the future of Fort Erie.

Fort Erie's handle was up a bit. Probably something to do with Premier Turf Club

Saint John racino plans unveiled

Article on apprentice jockey Richard Morrow


TVG announces record handle for third quarter

CTHS Mixed Sale to have over 170 horses. Online catalogue link click here

Looks like Curlin will be sold thanks to court ruling.

Video Lottery Terminals Will Help Tracks But Hurt Casinos In Joisey


NFL PICKS

I suck. Last week to continue my horrendous slump I went 0 and 3 to bring my season total to 9-13-2.

This week I like N'Orleans minus 3 and a half, Pittsburgh minus 9, and The Jets getting 3 and a half.

Headlines for October 30th

Robbie King confident that Fort Erie will be back next year (video and article here)

Magna Entertainment announces $20 million private placement

Breeder's Cup wagering down over 20% from last year's record numbers. No coverage in Ontario other than HPI, and I have over 200 channels. Is horse racing dying? Overall TV ratings stagnant for Breeders.

Compulsive gamblers 4 times more likely to commit suicide: Canadian study

Free Trackit Access Motion Submitted

Woodbine Track Bias Report
Brian Lynch and Patrick Husbands are hot, while Dean Deverell and Gerry Olguin are not.

Breeder's Cup and NFL Picks

The Juvenile Filly race has longshot written all over it. I'm going to go with Grace Anatomy despite a bad post. She made one of those neat middle moves last time and will probably run a peak performance this time out. The question is, will her peak performance be good enough?

Favourite War Pass is the horse to beat in the boy's Juvenile. And when I come up with a favourite, that horse must look pretty good.

Wait A Minute may just do the trick in the Filly and Mare Turf. She should be 1-2-3 at least. I can't believe that a filly can go 7 for 7 (Nashoba's Key). She is due to bounce big time:) Edited 10:15 AM Oct. 27th: Wait A Minute is scratched. I'm now going with All My Loving because I'm still a Beatles fan.

I'm going out on a limb in the Sprint. I like Forefathers. Nothing wrong with him at the distance, and his current speed is as good as anything in the field. I don't like layoff horses in general, and especially in the Breeder's Cup, and it seems that the top figure horses haven't been out since September 1st in this event. But if a layoff (more than 30 days away) wins, the sprint is the most likely event for that to take place.

In the Cup Mile I'm going with Jeremy. I don't follow Europe racing at all, but something really caught my eye with Jeremy. On June 19 both he and Excellent Art (the program fave) both ran a mile at Ascot in separate events. Both won, but Jeremy's time was a full 2 seconds faster. I'm sure there was some sort of explanation, because when they hooked up August 1st, Excellent Art finished 2 lengths of Jeremy and was even more heavily bet than Jeremy. But that 2 second differential has me going with Jeremy tomorrow.

Stronach has a great chance in the Filly Distaff with Ginger Punch. Again, she looks like she is rounding into a peak race as she gave it up late last time.

In the Breeder's Cup Turf I'm going with Dylan Thomas the favorite. 2:28:2 going about 1 mile and a half in France just has to be a tough time to beat.

I had to flip a coin between Street Sense and Curlin. Street Sense won the coin toss at least, he is my pick. Lawyer Ron has the numbers, but at 0 for 3 at the distance, I have to pass on him.

Bonus pick: If you are awake at 11 in the morning, put a couple of bucks on Stunt Man in the first at Monmouth. Edited 10:15 AM Oct. 27th: Stunt Man is scratched. Go back to bed.



Still no decision concerning Fort Erie. Apparently the government has made an offer of some sort, but it has to meet the approval of Nordic. So it obviously isn't the $7 million originally being asked for. Again, I can't see how the government can give Nordic one thin dime, but I can see the government helping out the horsemen's purse account. The thing is that since Nordic has to approve the government's offering, I can't see them letting the horsemen have anything substantial. They argue that it costs them money to race, so they don't want more days, they don't even want the same amount of days as this year.
Let me make something clear, when I say Nordic, I am not talking management, I am talking Nordic the owner of the race track.
Nordic needs to go. If you can't even break even running a race track, do everyone a favor and sell the joint.
Putting things in perspective: horses will be running for purses in the last 3 Breeder's Cup races tomorrow pretty much equal to what horses ran for this entire year in 80 plus racing days at Fort Erie, but those 80 days keep food on the table for thousands of track employees.
Speaking of Fort Erie, last night was their annual awards dinner. I attended it. There is a family atmosphere amongst the horsemen at Fort Erie, they all seem to know each other and care about each other.
Horse of the year of course was the "Freak From Fort Erie," Frezacon. Mark Fournier was voted outstanding trainer by his peers, and he deserved it big time. A bit of a surprise was the winner of outstanding jockey as voted by their peers. It went to Regina Sealock. She has probably had more broken bones than anyone in the Fort Erie jocks room, yet even in her early 40's, she keeps getting back on the horse. She did have an excellent year getting the most from her mounts She is rarely on the favorite, so even seconds and thirds were accomplishments many times, and I don't think there is any jockey on the grounds better than her going two turns.


NFL PICKS FOR WEEK 8

I'm officially worse than a coin flipper as I've now fallen to 9-10-2 on the year.

This week I like Tampa Bay minus 3 and a half, Denver minus 3, and St. Louis plus 3.

Headlines For October 24th

Cloudy's Knight loves the Woodbine grass

Northern Dancer's Legacy Continues

It looks like Great Lakes Downs is finished. Potential operator for 2008 withdraws license application

Interesting article on black jockeys and the Breeder's Cup


NDP leader Howard Hampton claims Ontario is discriminating against native casinos by not allowing cards.

Standardbred in London Ontario euthanized after being mauled by cougar


Nice site that explains the thievery by the racing industry when it comes to track takeouts. www.trackthieves.com

Still no news on Fort Erie Race Track.

Fort Erie Solution Near; NFL Picks For Week 7

Province Has Offered Fort Erie A "Solution" To Keep Fort Erie Open Next Year

Race track discussions ongoing
Posted By RAY SPITERI and JENNIFER PELLEGRINI

The province has offered what MPP Kim Craitor is calling a solution to keep the struggling Fort Erie Race Track open next year.

“It’s just a matter of the details being worked out,” Craitor said late Friday afternoon.

He received a call from Premier Dalton McGuinty’s office yesterday morning, outlining steps the province is willing to take to maintain the viability of the track.

“The people wanted a message of confidence. They now have it. They now know (things are) going forward.”

Exactly how things are moving forward is not yet clear. Neither Craitor nor Mayor Doug Martin, who received a similar call, would elaborate on the plan brought forward.

But Martin said he felt more optimistic about the future of the 110-year-old border oval after speaking to officials.

“(The town) received a call today from the provincial government, which I would summarize as being a very positive phone call,” said Martin. “I felt we were losing and I feel much more positive today. They’re working very hard on trying to find a way of helping us here in Fort Erie.”

Track owner Nordic Gaming – which has a $300-million revitalization project on the table – has called on the province to provide a larger share of revenue from the slots side of the track facility for the next two seasons to bolster race purses and help offset operating costs while the plan is in development.
**************************************
There is no doubt that Fort Erie Race Track is going to stay open next year, the doubt was, and still is, how many days are they to run and this is based on how much purse account will be available. Fort Erie has until Halloween to submit their race dates for next year.
I still don't see the government giving funds to an actual private owner (Nordic), but I do see the government giving a bigger cut from the slot winnings to go directly to purse increases, and possibly (thought I disagree with this too) to do race track upgrades.
I still don't see this $300 million project as being feasible even if Nordic Gaming was sincere in putting that kind of money into it (I would be shocked if Nordic intended to put one dime of their money into the project).
I do believe strongly that the original reason for slots is getting lost, and the race track needs to remain economically viable for the horsemen, so a bigger cut is essential not just for the next two years but the next 50 years, no matter who owns Fort Erie in the near future or beyond.

More opinion found here
I wonder if the government is really buying into Nordic's so called plan.

WEG withdraws from the Empire Group


OHHA wants Aminorex trainers to be cleared


$2,000,000 Canadian International runs tomorrow at Woodbine. And the winner will be...........Stream of Gold, just holding on. I wonder if tomorrow's total purses being offered is a record for a Woodbine (not including when they hosted the Breeder's Cup, of course).

IRG May Have License Suspended In Oregon Youbet and IRG have separate licenses.


Richard Dos Ramos finally notches his 2000th victory


Railbird Blog illustrates the tight turns at Monmouth One of my readers asks whether WEG will pay the same prices that are paid out at Monmouth, because the takeouts are lower for a few wagers at Monmouth. It should be interesting.

NFL PICKS FOR WEEK 7

Slumping badly, I went 0-2-1 last week to bring me down to 500 after a great start.
I'm now 8-8-2 on the year.

My picks:

Buffalo getting 3 at home to Baltimore

Washington to blow out Arizona by more than 8 and a half.

The NY Jets to cover against Cincinnati getting 6 and a half.

Ex-Revenue Canada Employee Fakes Tax Returns To Feed Her Gambling Habit

Former Canada Revenue employee guilty of diverting more than $130,000 in fake tax returns in order to feed her gambling habit.


Woodbine Bias Report: Speed still sucks except for maybe 7 furlongs. Justin Stein is 0 for his last 24. Note: That was as of Saturday. Stein won a race on Sunday. The cold jockeys as of Sunday are:

Fraser Corey 13 0 1 2 20.72 3 13%
Moore Matt 13 0 2 2 19.48 0 11%
Dos Ramos Richard Anthony 12 0 0 1 15.76 1 11%

Opinion: The argument for lost revenues by countries who can't take US customers is viable in the Antiqua WTO case

Several ADW's don't have Breeder's Cup contracts yet. Premier Turf Club does have one.
And I thought WEG called PTC a rogue organization.

WEG to begin common pool wagering with New Jersey just in time for the Breeder's Cup

Youbet to brief investors later this week on IRG investigation by the Feds

Nova Scotia to inject $375,000 into harness racing

ORC: WEG can't drop Sunday race dates ORC is showing that they aren't WEG's puppets anymore.

ORC releases Alcohol and Drug Policy notice

No Mr. Kaplan, the fact that tracks don't have turnstiles isn't why horse racing is stagnant at best. It is track takeout that keeps people from getting interested anymore.

Jockey's Guild Files For Bankruptcy Protection

Slew O' Gold Euthanized at 27