On Dec. 31, Verrazano was an unstarted maiden. A little more than six weeks later, following two impressive victories at Gulfstream Park, he was the shortest-priced individual entry in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
His popularity, though, extends well beyond the bounds of Derby bettors.
A Kentucky legislative committee passed a bill on Tuesday that would place a 0.5 percent tax on bets placed by Kentucky residents through account-wagering operations.
The House Appropriations and Revenue Committee passed the bill unanimously. A nearly identical bill has passed out of the full House on two occasions in the past three years, but it had not been taken up by the Senate in either year.
Most of the major prep races for the Kentucky Derby will be broadcast live this year on the NBC Sports Network, according to a Tuesday announcement from the Jockey Club, which is co-funding the broadcasts, and NBC.
Live coverage of races will include the March 30 Florida Derby and Louisiana Derby, the April 6 Santa Anita Derby and Wood Memorial, and the April 13 Blue Grass Stakes and Arkansas Derby. With the exception of the Blue Grass, which will appear on NBC during a 90-minute broadcast, all the races will be shown on the NBC Sports Network.
Shelby Whitfield, the former sports director of ABC Radio who produced horse racing broadcasts, died Feb. 5 at a rehabilitation center in Jackson, N.J. Whitfield was 77.
A longtime radio announcer and radio-show host, Whitfield made his mark in the racing world in the 1980s by producing ABC Radio’s Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup broadcasts. During his time at ABC Radio, Whitfield worked with stations to more widely disseminate the company’s racing broadcasts, according to racing officials.
Another Eclipse champion with deep Kentucky roots, Groupie Doll, was booked on a van Monday to go from Gulfstream Park in south Florida to Frankfort, Ky., to get time off at the Indian Ridge Farm of trainer Buff Bradley.
Bradley, who bred and co-owns Groupie Doll with his father, Fred, said the travel schedule for the 5-year-old mare had been delayed by the forecast of bad weather along the 1,050-mile trip. Groupie Doll is being shipped out because Bradley was dissatisfied with the listless manner in which she was acting and training.
Horsemen see secrecy as trumping transparency
I am responding to a letter in the Feb. 3 Daily Racing Form from David Switzer, the executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association. He asserted that I was somehow "misleading" in my describing as "secret science" the Association of Racing Commissioners International's and the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium's use of non-public, non-published, non-peer-reviewed data to justify proposed medication rules.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As usual, the mutuel field is a solid early favorite in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, although Todd Pletcher nearly has ‘em surrounded.
As of 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday, the field – the 24th or “all others” option – was the 7-5 favorite after a healthy $131,303 was bet into the win pool. Pletcher is the trainer of the next four separately listed runners, all of whom were single-digit odds: Revolutionary (7-1), Shanghai Bobby (7-1), Verrazano (7-1), and Violence (8-1). Next in line were Goldencents (8-1) and Itsmyluckyday (22-1).
The eighth season of Countdown to the Crown returns as one of the most comprehensive handicapper’s scouting reports of the 3-year-old scene. Posted each Friday at DRF.com from Jan. 4 through the Belmont Stakes, Countdown keeps you apprised of the rising stars of the 3-year-old class from the maiden ranks through the Grade 1 stakes. You can access daily updates, opinions and interactive features at Countdowntothecrown.com as well.
Straight from the gate
