ARCADIA, Calif. - The options are endless. The imagination soars. The name of the game is Premier Thoroughbred Ventures, and, gang, the sky is the absolute limit.
Spawned by Nick Nicholson of Keeneland and Barry Weisbord of Thoroughbred Daily News, the plan revolves around the current crop of 2-year-olds owned by Bob and Beverly Lewis. Right now there are 27 juicy prospects, but there could be a few more by the time their investment value is set in stone next month.
ARCADIA, Calif. - When you can find a horse by following the trail of blood he has left in the sand, you know something bad has happened.
The trickle of red leading down the backstretch path led past the Ted West stable on the left, then veered right past Dean Greenman's shed row to Barn 26, where trainer Simon Bray was standing beside the 3-year-old colt Laditude.
There was a poignant moment after a panel discussion on the very hot topic of rebates at the recent Horseplayers Expo in Las Vegas. An audience member, having heard how rebates can turn slight losers into slight winners or at least cut their losses in half, walked up to one of the panelists and asked him how he could go about getting in on this good thing. The customer was asked how much he usually bet.
"Ten to twenty bucks a race," he answered proudly, then eagerly added, "but I've gone for as much as fifty if I really, really like something."
ARCADIA, Calif. - Late Friday morning, as the muck trucks began to rumble through the Santa Anita backstretch, trainer Rafael Becerra was keeping a sharp eye on St Averil.
The colt needed only a minute more on the ring, but then a truck caught St Averil's eye, and his Saint Ballado blood began to rise.
"Get a lip chain," said Becerra, taking St Averil while his hotwalker complied. "That's better."
ARCADIA, Calif. - He's tougher to pin down than water. His feet have that permanent itch. Just when you think he has settled in for the long haul, content with his current situation - poof! - the door is open and there's dust down the road.
Gary Stevens is on the move again.
Thanks to his work in "Seabiscuit," as the colorful George Woolf, Stevens has become America's most recognizable jockey. It won't be long, though, before Gary's American fans will have to be content with their "Seabiscuit" DVD (more than 5.5 million units sold) for a taste of their favorite rider.
TUCSON, Ariz. - Deadly poison or a magic elixir of life and rejuvenation?
Those were the dramatically different views on rebates from four of the best minds in racing last week in the liveliest session of a very lively joint annual meeting of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations and Harness Tracks of America in Ft. Myers, Fla.
David Willmot, president, chairman, and CEO of Woodbine Entertainment and racing's most eloquent public speaker, argued vigorously that "parasitic" rebaters were lethal.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - When Tapit captured the Laurel Futurity in November, many observers thought they were seeing the winner of the 2004 Kentucky Derby. Not only did Tapit deliver an explosive performance in the second start of his career, he had the other requisite credentials for success: a superb pedigree and a great trainer.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Allen Tepper's cellphone was flashing Mike Machowsky's number. It had to be bad news. Thoroughbred trainers don't call their clients from out of the blue, at three in the afternoon, just three days before the horse of their dreams is about to run in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap.
"Mike never calls," Tepper said. "Well, hardly ever. It couldn't be good, not that close to the race. When I answered, I was ready for anything."
So what was the message?