WASHINGTON - Few aspects of racetrack life are so odious as the Internal Revenue Service rules that require reporting certain gambling winnings. Some horseplayers find it so burdensome and annoying to fill out Form W-2G that they will take money out of their own pockets to avoid any dealings with the IRS.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The American Graded Stakes System was created to assure European bloodstock investors that their Yankee brothers were not pulling a fast one. There was a time, believe it or not, when American sales catalogs had no way of indicating the difference between a Derby in Pennsylvania, Pomona, or Kentucky. The type was all the same shade of black.
TUCSON, Ariz. - A thousand or more embattled troops of North American racing, from four-star generals to sergeants, will storm the foothills of the Catalina mountains here next week, heading for the fancy digs of Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, its mountainside golf course, and the sermons on the mount.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Apparently, there is another Irish trainer besides the one named O'Brien. Has been for quite some time.
At the age of 54, Dermot Kenneth Weld, himself the son of a trainer, is marking his 30th year as a "permit holder," as they would say back in County Kildare. The celebration has been global in nature, with major 2002 victories in Australia, France, Ireland, and now the good ol' U.S.A., after Sunday's victory in the $500,000 Matriarch Stakes by the 3-year-old Irish-bred filly Dress to Thrill.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Century City can be forgiven if he is still slightly disoriented. Consider the culture shock.
A laid-back son of Danzig, built like an SUV, Century City suspected nothing last July when he boarded a van at his comfortable Ballydoyle stables, deep in the heart of Ireland, and set out along the road to Cashel.
The current review of wagering procedures prompted by the Fix Six scandal will include an overhaul of the pick six scanning system that created a window for criminality. That change will also provide an opportunity to fix an illogical facet of pick six wagering that has annoyed and handicapped horseplayers since the bet was introduced to American racing in 1980: The lack of posted will-pays heading into the last leg.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - There will be an infrequent air of excitement at Aqueduct Saturday, and not only because of the remarkably competitive field organized this late in the season for the $350,000 Cigar Mile.
Every racing fan in the country has heard about Empire Maker, who, after a single start, is widely regarded as the foremost prospect for the spring classics.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Racing lost a piece of its living history Tuesday upon the death of Verne Winchell. Death was attributed to heart failure, suffered in his home in Las Vegas while doing what he did every day - exercising on his treadmill.
Winchell spent better than half of his 87 years running a Thoroughbred operation that could serve as a model for the game. His success spanned parts of the past six decades, beginning in the late 1950's, when he was still making his own doughnuts in his first shop in Alhambra, Calif.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Counter to the general trend throughout the country, business at the tracks operated by the New York Racing Association - Aqueduct, Belmont Park, and Saratoga - has been reasonably good. As he begins his third year as chairman of NYRA's board of trustees, Barry Schwartz points to the decision last year to reduce the takeout on wagering as a key element of this performance.
NYRA reduced the takeout on straight bets from 15 to 14 percent, went from 20 to 17.5 percent on multiple wagers, and from 25 to 20 percent on pick six days without a carryover.
