Lasix ban puts horses and bettors in no-man’s land
I read with interest “First time no Lasix” in the DRF Weekend section of Oct. 20. I hope everyone who plays the races during the Breeders’ Cup will skip betting the 2-year-old races. It is simply not fair to the true handicapper.
And more importantly, these 2-year-old horses will be pushed for great performances, in spite of the longstanding reliance most of them have on Lasix. Will that take a toll on their health?
ELMONT, N.Y. – Oy, Sandy.
The threat of Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the Northeast by the end of the weekend, has given New York-based trainers agita as they prepare to work and ship their horses to Southern California for next week’s Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita.
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear appointed Kentucky Senate President David Williams, a longtime political rival, to a judgeship in southern Kentucky on Friday – a move that could change the political climate for expanding gambling in the state.
Williams, head of the Republican-controlled Senate, regularly clashed with Beshear, a Democrat, and the Democrat-controlled Kentucky House of Representatives over many issues, with expanding gambling being the most prominent.
According to a press release issued by the state, Beshear selected him from a pool of three candidates.
It was several weeks ago that trainer Kiaran McLaughlin decided to ship his Breeders’ Cup horses from New York to Santa Anita the weekend before the event, and with a storm bearing down on the East Coast, he said Friday that he was glad he had planned to get out of Dodge.
“We’re lucky our flight is tomorrow,” McLaughlin said Friday, a few hours after he put his Breeders’ Cup runners, including Classic contender Alpha, through their final drills at the Greentree Training Center in Saratoga. “I’m glad it’s not Tuesday, with this storm coming.”
Patrick McGoey doesn’t consider himself a big bettor, but emboldened by playing with house money, he made an exception at last year’s Breeders’ Cup.
In last year’s Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge at Churchill Downs, McGoey bet $7,000 to win on Drosselmeyer in the final race of the tournament, the BC Classic. When the 14-1 shot circled the field to win the race at $31.60, McGoey not only cashed his ticket for $110,600 but also won the $160,000 first-place prize in the field of 115 high-end tournament players.
John Shirreffs will be largely ignored in the buildup to the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita next Friday and Saturday. He’s cool with that.
Nothing could replace the hoopla of the last Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita in 2009, when Shirreffs won the Ladies’ Classic with Life Is Sweet and the Classic with the wildly popular Zenyatta.
This time, his runners are longshots – Nereid and Star Billing, who both run in Friday’s $2 million Filly and Mare Turf, and Mr. Commons in Saturday’s $2 million Mile.
Though his connections tabbed the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint as his first preference, Emcee will run in the $1 million Dirt Mile on Saturday, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Friday.
[BREEDERS' CUP 2012: Race-by-race coverage, video, early odds]
After discussing the options with Simon Crisford, racing manager for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing, McLaughlin said there were several factors that played in the decision to choose the Dirt Mile.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Animal Kingdom, the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner who is being trained up to a start in a tough Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 3 off an eight-month layoff, worked five furlongs over the Keeneland turf on Friday morning in his final timed preparation for the race.
[BREEDERS' CUP 2012: Race-by-race coverage, video, early odds]
ARCADIA, Calif. – Class Included carved a comfortable niche in the Pacific Northwest, where she might have continued her quiet reign while avoiding the bright lights of the Breeders’ Cup.
Or, the 4-year-old filly could dive into the deep end.
Apparently, it is time for a swim.
[BREEDERS' CUP 2012: Race-by-race coverage, video, early odds]
LEXINGTON, Ky. – This weekend’s inaugural Fair Hill Thoroughbred Show will spotlight ex-racehorses in new careers, but the day could be nostalgic for horseplayers and racing fans, too. Among the show’s 110 entries are such horses as millionaire Dry Martini, a four-time graded winner for Barclay Tagg who is now a showjumper; 2010 Fort Marcy winner Baletti; and longtime claimer Torbay, a full brother to Tinners Way and one of the last living sons of Secretariat.
