Thursday, October 27, 2016

Assiniboia Downs The Insider E-Newsletter

Vol. 11 No. 38 (Issue #558)

By Ivan Bigg

Weekly Horseplayer Report and Fun Stuff

(If this column looks askew in your email, click here for an online version.)

WHY DID THE CROWD GO SILENT IN THIS RACE? Call it the quietest win in Breeders’ Cup history. Watch this 30-second video and listen for the disappearance of crowd sounds as the horses near the wire. What made them stop cheering?


BREEDERS' CUP


Wouldn't it be nice . . .

. . . if Santa Anita has to send ASD a big fat cheque to cover your wins?

Be a better bettor in your Breeders’ Cup plays and that’s what Santa Anita will have to do. Being a better bettor will also make you a better citizen because you’re helping the economy. Here are five ways to make it happen:

  • Get a head start on your handicapping by getting today’s advance Breeders’ Cup Daily Racing Form. It contains the lifetime past performances of horses pre-entered in the 13 Breeders’ Cup races.
  • Sign up for the Breeders’ Cup workshop next Wednesday at the Downs at 7 p.m. You will receive FREE programs for both Breeders’ Cup days. And you will receive $10 in wagering vouchers. Suggestion: Arrive an hour early to get your programs to look through them before the workshop begins.
  • Follow clocker Mike Welsch’s reports at DRF.com and in the Daily Racing Form. Really, really valuable. Did I mention “really valuable?”
  • Read and re-read last week’s Insider about the money-making rules for turf route races and the downhill Turf Sprint (skeptical readers should note below that a rule horse won at 89/1 on that course last Friday).
  • Attend my workshop on Breeders’ Cup Saturday, Nov. 5 at 10 a.m. to share in group tickets in pick-4s, pick-5, pick-6, etc.

Bullet briefs . . .

  • Sign up for Saturday's horseplayer tourney by 9 p.m. Friday
  • "Rule" horse wins turf sprint at Santa Anita at 89/1; player collects $33,000
  • You now have direct access to Hong Kong pools worth $20 million per race
  • Betting the "triple trio" at Hong Kong could make you a multi-millionaire
  • Do your horses typically finish first and third? Then bet Hong Kong's "omni"
  • The Breeders' Cup of harness racing goes tomorrow and Saturday
  • It's Melbourne Cup Day on Halloween Monday!

MR. PARLAY IS AT IT AGAIN! HITS UP ASD FOR $100: Al “Mr. Parlay” Ilott, who won the place parlay trip to Mexico during live racing and hit the highest 5-Alive show parlay last month, continues to wave a red flag in the face of other would-be parlay players. On Friday, he increased his $6 show parlay at Mohawk to $143.50 in five races – which meant the Downs matched $100 of it. (See how he did it here.) But, lo and behold, he showed a hint of vulnerability Saturday when his parlay at Charles Town only grew to $9.45. Aha! A hint of vulnerability! So, are you ready to knock Mr. Parlay off his pedestal tomorrow and Saturday? Or are you just going to roll over and let it happen. Tsk. Tsk.

 
QX104 � Today's Country

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DO THE DOWNS

Want highlights for the next 10 days? Click calendar.
What tracks are running in October? Find out here.
What are today’s $$$ carryovers? See them here.
Want to follow sports in the Race Book? World Series-Bombers-NFL-Jets

EVERY FRIDAY, SATURDAY & SUNDAY: Free VLT tournaments starting 8 p.m. Get into the draw for 10 chances to win $20 in free VLT spins. Top winner from each night participates in a month-end finale for more spins and $250 in prize money.

EVERY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT: 5-Alive "Double Your Winnings" contest from 7 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. and $10 buy-in poker. Registration 8 p.m. Game starts at 8:30 p.m.

*      *       *

THIRD-LAST PLAYERS’ CHOICE TOURNEY GOES SATURDAY: Sign up by 9 p.m. tomorrow for the third-last Player’s Choice horseplayer tournament of the year that begins at noon Saturday: $850 in prize money plus credits toward Handicapper of the Year who wins a trip to the Horse Player World Series in Las Vegas in March. Bet $2 win/place on 10 horses at your choice of thoroughbred tracks. Will you land another 89/1 “rule” horse?

BREEDERS CROWN TOMORROW AND SATURDAY: The Breeders’ Cup of harness racing, the Breeders Crown, goes tomorrow and Saturday night at Meadowlands: 12 championship races, $5.6 million in purse money. Friday features open finals; Saturday highlights 2- and 3-year-old finals. First post Friday 6:30 p.m., Saturday 6:15 p.m.

Rule horse at Santa wins at 89/1

ASD player collects $33,000 and shares some of it with Race Book players

YOU READ THIS IN LAST THURSDAY’S INSIDER QUIZ: To pick winners for the 6 1/2 f downhill turf race at Santa Anita look for horses showing early speed in route turf races.

LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED THE NEXT DAY:
That kind of horse won and paid $180.80.

Player shares winnings with others

Yes, ironically, the day after last week’s Insider printed a quiz about “rules” for the downhill sprint race at Santa Anita, a horse that fit one of two rules for that course won at odds of 89/1 and a player collected $33,000 in the pick-4.

You may recall The Insider said horses cutting back to that downhill sprint race after showing early speed in a turf route race is a “rule” play. Well, race 5 at Santa Anita Friday had a horse that had shown blazing speed in a 1 1/8-mile turf race (127 pace number).

His win at 89/1 produced a $33,000 pick-4 for a local horse owner – who then generously spread some of it around to players in the Race Book! The player had taken “all” in that first leg of his pick-4.

What about you? Did you bet that horse after having read the rule in last week’s Insider? If you did, big congrats. You got a generous reward for paying attention. Don’t forget, this very sprint race will be one of the Breeders’ Cup races a week from this Saturday. Will a similar bombs away “rule” horse win? Hopefully, I’ll be writing about YOUR big win.

New! Commingled pools with Hong Kong

You can now bet into pools of $20 million per race on your HPI account

Sha Tin

No wagering pools in the world are bigger than those at Sha Tin and Happy Valley race tracks in Hong Kong.

And now, thanks to the efforts of Woodbine Entertainment, you can now bet races through your HPI account that goes right into those giant, $20 million per race, pools. Which means you have a chance of scoring very big money in exotic bets—especially in the double and triple trio (essentially predicting triactor boxes in two or three races) where jackpots can grow to tens of millions of dollars.

“This is an exciting day for horse racing fans in Canada as Hong Kong racing is very popular in this country,”
Sean Pinsonneault , the executive vice-president of strategy and wagering at Woodbine Entertainment, states in a news release.

Happy Valley

We are delighted to partner with an esteemed, forward thinking organization like the Hong Kong Jockey Club in their world-wide commingled wagering pools initiative. Clearly, world-wide commingled pools are the way of the future and Woodbine is pleased to be at the forefront of this advance, providing our customers access to some of the largest wagering pools in the world.”

When do Hong Kong races go to post ( Winnipeg time)?

  • Sha Tin: Midnight Saturday
  • Happy Valley: 6 a.m. Wednesday morning

What wagers are new to North American bettors?

  • Omni: Requires you to select two of the top three finishers in any order. Gives a player more wiggle room than a quinella. You win, for example, if your horses finish first and second, first and third, or second and third.
  • Trio: It’s essentially a triactor box but you can do it for a total of $2
  • “Place” replaces “show:” If you bet a horse to place, you cash if your horse finishes first,second OR THIRD.
  • A “place” pick-6: You pick horses that will finish first OR second in the last six races.
  • Double and triple trio: You predict top three finishers in two designated races (double trio) or top three finishers in three designated races (triple trio). Jackpots— WHICH COULD REACH TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS--grow when there are no winners.

Betting at Hong Kong tracks is so big because horse racing is the only legalized form of gambling. Anyone who bets in an overseas account or through a bookmaker risks nine months in jail and a $5,000 (Cdn) fine.

Where are programs available?
There are two program formats in HPIbet. Players apparently find the comprehensive one from Hong Kong to be particularly useful. Also, Saturday’s DRF carried past performances for Sha Tin’s midnight card—but not Wednesday’s card at Happy Valley.

No tricks, just treats

Halloween Monday is Melbourne Cup night. First post 5:30 p.m.

If you’re looking to collect treats on Halloween Monday night, the place that could offer up bags of goodies—in the form of cash—is Flemington race track in Australia where the annual Melbourne Cup will be held.

Big fields, 10 competitive races and likely sizeable superfecta payouts for 20-cent tickets will be the name of the game. First post for the simulcast broadcasts at the Downs is 5:30 p.m.

There are 32 horses nominated to the Melbourne Cup which must be whittled down to 24. Many are European and Asian invaders. The purse is more than $6 million.

Other tracks racing Monday night include Mountaineer and Mohawk harness.

HANDICAPPING FOR THE BREEDERS' CUP

Be brutally honest . . .

. . . and rate the chances of your horses from "1" to "10"

Breeders’ Cup puts more pressure than usual on us. Pools are gigantic and the challenge to share in them is huge. What’s more, The Insider is urging you to be a better bettor so Santa Anita has to send a big fat cheque to Assiniboia Downs to cover your winnings and, hence, making you a better citizen.

Against this backdrop, can I suggest a more substantive way to get a handle on horses you think can win a race? Rate your opinions from “1” (very weak) to “10” (very strong).

Be brutally honest. By doing so, you’ll have a better idea on how much to bet or not bet. It’s more effective than just saying you “like” a horse. Let’s face it, if your opinion is a “5” or lower, you’re just guessing at a winner. And that tells you the weakness of a certain leg in a sequence ticket (pick-3s, pick-4s, etc.) That could indicate you need “all” in that leg.

As you’ve read in previous Insiders, I have “rule” horses which are automatic plays—and that’s what I urge all horseplayers to have. But there are still many “opinion” races and they’re the killers. If my opinions are “6” or lower, I consider disappearing into the washroom so I don’t have to watch the race.

Remember, the crucial thing is be brutally honest in your rating number. I predict it will be a bit of an eye-opener for you, too, because, generally, we fudge our feelings and overrate our horses’ chances. Don’t fudge.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Wendell Mustard in 1986
(1938-2016)

WENDELL MUSTARD, JR., PASSES, LEAVING JUST ONE BROTHER: A graveside service was held at Gladstone Cemetery yesterday for Wendell Mustard Jr., a former trainer at the Downs, who died Friday at 78, leaving just one brother, Doug, to continue a family racing tradition that started with their father, Wendell, the day Assiniboia Downs opened in 1958. Wendell Jr.’s other two brothers, Hugh and Donald, had died three years ago. Wendell Jr. had a small stable. His best year was 1998 when he won six races from 17 starts. Now we wish Doug well in perpetuating the family legacy.

"HIDDEN" ROUTE-TO-SPRINT RULE COSTS "I WON BIG:" Interestingly, in a week in which a route-to-sprint horse won a player $33,000 in a Santa Anita pick-4, a similar “hidden” horse won race 4 at Woodbine Saturday, costing the “I won big” group $2,960 in the pick-5. But, at least, the group had “all” in that leg in the pick-4 to rescue more than half of their share money.

The winner, Wingaway, who went off at 22/1 in the 7f race taken off the turf, had shown some early pace in a 1 1/8 mile turf race (98 pace number). The missed element, though, was that she had gotten off slowly that race. Her pace number might have been considerably bigger without that tardy start. Oh well, we’re back to get it ALL correct this Saturday at the usual 10:30 a.m. on the Clubhouse Plaza. Races 2 to 7 at Woodbine. See you there.

HPIBET Marshall Posner

Tips ’n’ Tricks

with Marshall Posner

Q. How do I access a complete list of all simulcast tracks available through HPIbet?
A.
HPIbet offers simulcast wagering on over 150 different racetracks from around the world and there are always new tracks being added to the mix including, most recently, Hong Kong racing. You can access a complete listing of every track for every calendar date for the next two months by going to the SCHEDULES menu in the footer at the bottom of every page (view image here). Simply select from the following options: 2-Week Schedule, Current Month’s Schedule and Next Month’s Schedule.

Got a question for Marshall? Email theinsider@ASDowns.com

HISTORY ON THE HOOF: The best of Bob

This week Bob shares the story of the back-to-back winner of the Free Press Stakes in 2004/05 and recounts the final "meeting of the hearts" between owner and horse. Read it here.

Remember, the Breeders’ Cup workshop happens Wednesday 7 p.m.
Get to the track at 6 p.m. to pick up free BC programs to look through.

Watch a very cute Halloween animation here.

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Ph (204) 885.3330 • Fax (204) 831.5348

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