Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Assiniboia Downs The Insider E-Newsletter

Vol. 13 No. 24 (Issue #642)

By Ivan Bigg

 

Weekly Horseplayer Report and Fun Stuff

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


RIDE OF THE YEAR?

It's all over for Aaron Kuru and his horse, Des De Jeu. Or is it?

Jockey falls off horse THEN GETS BACK ON . . .

. . . and what happens after that will floor you

When the horse, Des De Jeu, and jockey Aaron Kuru go down after the first jump at Awapuni racecourse in New Zealand, one would have thought that it was all over for the second choice in the betting in the 3,200 (about two-mile) steeplechase race.

Or was it? Watch the remarkable video here.


Bullet briefs . . .

  • $235,000 pick-6 carryover today at Belmont. First post: 12:30 p.m.
  • "The stars lined up" for the Assiniboia Racing Club. How?
  • "Name the Yearling" contest is over and breeders have chosen a name but . . .
  • ASD player turns $1.20 in superfecta bets into $4,637.
  • The double-carryover pick-4 pool last Wednesday set a record. How much?
 

Who will finish first and last in $500,000 Ohio Derby Saturday?

BIGGEST DAY IN OHIO RACING MEANS “FIRST AND WORST” FOR YOU: It’s one of the oldest race tracks on the continent which is running its biggest race, the 84th Ohio Derby with a giant purse of $500,000 this Saturday. Which means you can have a little fun in a Race Book contest to predict who will be first and worst in their big race. Previous experience has shown that pick-4s at such “B” tracks on their big days often produces bigger than expected payoffs. Something to think about.

 
QX104 � Today's Country

Official stations of horse racing.
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94.3 The Drive

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DO THE DOWNS

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

FREE VLT TOURNAMENTS AFTER LIVE RACING: Enter in the Club West Gaming lounge following live racing. 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: $10 buy-in poker in the trackview gallery on the third level. Registration from 7:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Game starts at 8:00 p.m. No late registration. The Royal Flush progressive jackpot for Friday, June 22 is $8,525.

ASSINIBOIA RACING CLUB

"The stars lined up"

Racing club celebrates two wins on the same night by their two horses

Ebadan charges from 6th to catch Budlitelarry
(Jason Halstead photo)
 
Yvonne Peters (centre) with service dog Mina and trainer Jared Brown (right)
What a memorable night Wednesday for the 54 members of the Assiniboia Racing Club who had invested $29,000 to buy and train horses.

The two horses they had bought at Turf Paradise both won which, needless to say, resulted in a scene of wild jubilation in the Winner’s Circle, the second one even wilder than the first. Especially excited was retired human rights lawyer Yvonne Peters, with a seeing-eye dog, Mina. Peters screamed as she heard announcer Kirt Contois calling the names of her horses as they crossed the finish line. “I love horses and wanted to do something different in retirement,” she told The Insider. She probably would now replace “different in retirement” with “thrilling in retirement.”

Trainer Jared Brown, who has seen many ups and owns in his two-decade training career, summed up the special evening in just four words: “The stars lined up.” Indeed they did but it had to be very satisfying that his astuteness at the claiming box led to Wednesday’s jubilation. The winners in the two 7f $10,000 claiming races were:
  • Race 4: A $6,250 U.S. claim at Turf Paradise, Ebadan made an exciting sixth to first move under Antonio Whitehall, overtaking front-running Budlitelarry ($5.60). Purse money: $7,020.
  • Race 6: A $3,500 U.S. claim at Turf Paradise, Californium charged to the lead under Domingo Chacaltana and made every step a winning one ($10.10). Purse money: $5,940.
The Assiniboia Racing Club has been operating for three years under HBPA director John Field. Members this season ponied up $500 a share which includes the purchase of horses and all associated costs.

EYE ON LIVE

A record pick-4 pool of more than $100,000

There were $330 in winning tickets. Each $1 ticket paid $288.70.

Last flash before race 4 was off
A double carryover in Assiniboia Downs’ pick-4 pool resulted last Wednesday in the biggest pool ever. After the 15 per cent takeout, $94,498 was shared by $330 in winning tickets. A $1 ticket paid $288.70.

If you followed my suggestions at the top of the last Insider, you would have lost on my $18 ticket (it missed the third leg) but would have cashed on my $108 ticket. You would have won $288.70.

A rule horse, Spiteofsuccess, the horse with the lowest added up numbers in the maiden claiming race (the last leg) won and paid $13.60. Tonight’s last race is a maiden claimer, too. Remember the rule is: In maiden claimers, add the finishing position of each horse in his last race with the horse’s position at the first call of his previous race. The horses with the lowest added up numbers are the main contenders.

It’s the Jackpot Hi 5 race with a carryover of $5,207. Tonight is rib-licious, of course, with half-rack and fries for $10 and a full rack at $16.

*       *       *

HOTTIES OF THE WEEK (Wed, Sat, Sun):  
Hottest jockeys:
Antonio Whitehall (5 wins)
Hottest trainers:
Tom Gardipy Jr. (4 wins)
Biggest longshot: Mad About Grace $16.30 (Saturday race 7)
Biggest 20-cent superfecta: $393 (Saturday race 6)
Stakes champion(s): No stakes races
Duel of the week: Stevie Mac and Tadaa, with Stevie Mac just prevailing (Sunday race 2)


A HUGE SHOUT-OUT to Assiniboia Racing Club members for having both of their horses win on the same night last Wednesday. When you realize how difficult it is to get from Point A to Point B in the racing world (i.e. claiming just the right horse at just the right price in high-priced U.S. dollars and shipping them up to Canada to race and win), you can appreciate the significance of having not one but two victories—and on the same night. It’s still early in the season and their horses—Edaban claimed for $6,250 U.S. and Californium claimed for $3,500 U.S. have collected purse money of almost $13,000. Big, big shout-outs to HBPA director John Field for taking this club under his wing for three years and to trainer Jared Brown for his profitable claiming instincts.

Les Buzzell
Collects on $80 bet on 30-1 horse
A BIG SHOUT-OUT to ASD regular Damian D’Souza who turned a $1.20 superfecta play in Gulfstream’s sixth race Saturday into $4,637. “I liked #9 (Steel Beach at 30-1) to win,” he said so he keyed it on top with three horses underneath including #4 Count Archibald (9-2), #8 Russian Wine (101-1) and #7 Assertion (5-1). But he wasn’t the only one to score big in the race. Les Buzzell, whom you might recall had an amazing Breeders’ Cup Day--betting $50 to $100 on longshots up to 28-1 and collecting on almost all of them--had bet $80 to win on the 30-1 winner as well. Handicapping books tell you to bet MORE, not less, on your longshot value plays, a rule Buzzell follows to a “T.”

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Rebecca Fentum-Jones
GROOM SEVERELY INJURED IN FALL: Leona Stahl, manager of the K5 Stable, has called for prayers for a groom, Rebecca Fentum-Jones, who has worked for trainer Heather Wallerstedt in the backstretch. Rebecca was thrown from a horse Sunday at a riding stable, suffering severe head injuries that required removal of part of her skull to relieve swelling, Stahl has told The Insider. “This girl needs all the support she can get from the horse world,” Stahl said. “She loved grooming horses at the track. As soon as school was done for the year, she was grooming horses.” Our very best wishes go out to her. Rebecca is at the Health Sciences Centre. Leona has setup a GoFundMe page for Rebecca here. "Your support would mean a lot to me," she says.

A “BIG” QUANDRY: WHEN TO PLAY A RECENTLY-GELDED HORSE?
When should you include a “gelded since his last start” horse in your plays? Not an easy answer since there’s no hard and fast rule and it was that kind of horse that cost Saturday’s “I won big” group the pick-4 at Woodbine—which left them with only a pick-5 win that gave them a return of $6.60 on their $20 shares. In general, a recently gelded horse wins one of nine starts according to a European study but that number goes up to about 17 per cent for races on a synthetic surface—which Woodbine’s is. Being gelded probably clinched the deal on a horse that, last year, couldn’t quite get it done in 6f turf races, which this one was. Join us for Woodbine races 2 to 7 again this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. on the Clubhouse plaza.

Mama Bear approves of name for her son. (No "neigh.")
WINNER! WINNER! WINNER! IN THE “NAME THE YEARLING” CONTEST! But, shucks, it’s up to Canstar community news to release the name of the yearling and the person who named him but that won’t happen until Canada Day, July 1, which is Canstar Night at the Races. That’s the night the Big Reveal will take place in the Winner’s Circle—followed at the end of the race card by a fireworks celebration. Some 615 names were submitted for consideration by the breeders. Final approval was obtained from the yearling’s mom, Bear’s Princess. “Mama Bear approves,” came the word from Ziprick Thoroughbreds in Russell, MB. with an accompanying photo taken by Sherisse Ziprick.

CONGRESS CONSIDERS BANNING MEDICATION 24 HOURS BEFORE A RACE:
A subcommittee of the U.S. Congress is examining whether to ban the use of any medication for a horse within 24 hours of a race. It’s part of the Horseracing Integrity Act introduced by a Kentucky Republican and a New York Democrat. The bill would establish an Anti-Doping and Medication Authority. The most obvious effect would be on Lasix, the anti-bleeding medication, that is generally administered on race day but a study has shown it is just as effective if it is given 24 hours before a race.
 
HPIBET

Tips ’n’ Tricks

with Marshall Posner



Q: When should I consider a "SHARP" horse in my handicapping selections?

A:
I define a horse as being “sharp” when it meets one of the following criteria:
  1. A horse that has won consecutive races in convincing fashion with high speed figures and a visually impressive performance. Sharp workout(s) add to the allure.
  2. A horse that has won a couple of races before a freshening break is returning to the track. He had a winning percentage trainer and lots of good workouts.
  3. A horse that has won several races, is trained by a successful trainer, is ridden by a top jockey and IS MOVING UP IN CLASS.
The first two types of “sharp” horses are usually easily identified and often overbet. However, the third type is often overlooked at generous or fair value odds and should always be considered, especially if . . .
  1. the horse is young and has continued to improve
  2. there are several horses that look like they have an equal chance in a wide-open race. I will potentially single this class-riser in my multi-race selections.

    Got a question for Marshall? Email theinsider@ASDowns.com
HISTORY ON THE HOOF with Bob: What links this racing Hall of Famer with Bombers?
What link is there between last week’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers game and a Winnipeg horse racing Hall of Famer who led the Manitoba Horse Racing Commission in the 60s, 70s and 80s? Hint: What was the longest CFL game in history?  Bob has the details here.
A week from this Saturday
DATES TO CIRCLE
  • Friday, June 22: Live racing 7:15. Chantilly Stakes
  • Saturday, June 23: $500,000 Ohio DerbyThistledown. $50 first/worst contest. Live racing 7:15. Golden Boy Stakes
  • Wednesday, June 27: Live racing 7:15
  • Friday, June 29: No live racing
  • Saturday, June 30: Queen’s Plate from Woodbine. Live racing 7:15. R. J. Speers Stakes
  • Sunday, July 1, Canada Day: Live racing 7:15. Canstar Night at the Races: Big Reveal in “Name the Yearling” contest, $27,500 Canstar Canada Day Stakes, giant fireworks display
HORSING AROUND
"The more the merrier"
Is a perfect motto for the Assiniboia Racing Club.
This is their win with Californium
(Jason Halstead photo)

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