It didn't take long for value-conscious horseplayers to see the benefits of the NYRA Bets Pick 5 rolled out July 4 for players at the advance-deposit wagering site, as well as on-track and in-state players. The winning 50-cent payout was $8,181.75. A look at the comparable win-bet parlay return for the five races involved--$1,620--reveals the potential value in this exclusive, low-takeout wager. The...
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Earning back-to-back Horse of the Year titles in 2007-08, Curlin won 11 of 16 starts to become the first North American-based horse to surpass $10 million in earnings. Juddmonte Farm's Arrogate has blown by that total in two starts this season: victories in the $12 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park and the $10 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline...
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While the Triple Crown races are approaching beginning with the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) in Louisville, Ky., the National Thoroughbred Racing Association continues a busy stretch in Washington putting the industry's message forward on immigration and tax issues. The political mood on immigration issues may be too steep a challenge for horse racing and other industries that want...
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Horsemen talk about the ups and downs of racing; those hills and valleys can occur in the same season, same day, or even the same race. The latter occurred in the 1945 Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park when trainer Tom Smith—of Seabiscuit fame—sent out Maine Chance Farm's eventual champion 2-year-old male Star Pilot and eventual champion 2-year-old filly Beaugay. Star Pilot would register a one-length...
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Should the connections of Tapwrit decide to enter the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) winner in this year's Belmont Stakes (G1), it would provide his sire, Tapit , a shot at history. Tapit, of course, has piled up accolades while leading the North American sire list each of the past three seasons. A Belmont Stakes victory by Tapwrit, or any other starter by the sire in the 1 1/2-mile classic, would...
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A look at recent Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) dirt prep races in the United States could determine if any potential bias toward a particular running style on the main track existed on particular race days. One less thing for handicappers to worry about? Note that all tracks for race days involved were listed as fast. Sunland Derby (G3), March 26 at Sunland Park Of the six races contested...
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Considering Todd Pletcher will have one of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) favorites in Florida Derby (G1) winner Always Dreaming and several other promising starters in this year's Louisville classic, it's even money the most-repeated Derby-week stat will be the multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer's 1-for-45 mark in the Louisville classic. Pletcher currently has five horses ranked...
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In a move designed to build the confidence of new horseplayers while emphasizing that racing offers a different form of gambling from random gaming like the lottery, Oaklawn Park is paying more money for winning on-track show wagers this year....
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While trainer Saeed bin Suroor did not commit to pointing the UAE Derby Sponsored by the Saeed and Mohammed Al Naboodah Group (G2) winner Thunder Snow to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), Godolphin's Dubai-based trainer said the Louisville classic will get a long look when he meets with Sheikh Mohammed. Should Thunder Snow start in the Kentucky Derby, he would be the 10th Godolphin...
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Of the dozen horses entered in the $500,000 JACK Cincinnati Casino Spiral Stakes (G3) March 25 on the Polytrack at Turfway Park, nine had never won a race on dirt....
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Trainer Jamie Ness began serving a 100-day suspension Feb. 19 as part of a consent order to address a dozen clenbuterol positives in horses racing from December 2012 to March 2014 at Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park. Three days after the start of that suspension, Ness's wife, Mandy, sent out Uncle Woodrow to victory in a Tampa Bay claiming race that carried a $12,700 purse. Uncle Woodrow had made...
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Risen Star Stakes (G2) winner Girvin has put together past performances that hint at the combination of careful planning and needed adjustments required in Thoroughbred training. The large son of Tale of Ekati was given time to develop by trainer Joe Sharp before he was sent out for his career debut in December. After going back and forth on starting Brad Grady's runner at one or two turns, Sharp settled...
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In fiscal year 2016, money wagered on California race cards was similar to the wagering total in FY2011, but compared with FY2011 California racetracks collected nearly $8 million less from the nearly identical betting total. The California Horse Racing Board's annual report released earlier this month documents the challenge racing faces as the percentage of pari-mutuel money generated for tracks...
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Sometimes it's worthwhile to just look at all the places the pari-mutuel dollar goes in racing. With that in mind, I've returned to the well-done California Horse Racing Board annual report for fiscal year 2015-16, which breaks down where every pari-mutuel wagering dollar goes in the state. Of the $2.9 billion wagered on California racing in the fiscal year, $2.3 billion, or 79%, was returned to winning...
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One year after Japanese-trained Lani started in all three Triple Crown races and earned a classic placing with a third in the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1), the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and Belmont Stakes have rolled out welcome mats for Japan-based 3-year-olds. Churchill Downs, along with the Japan Racing Association, established a Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby...
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The solid overnight ratings for the first edition of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) could be something to build on for future editions of the event as organizers hope one day television rights provide revenues for the stakeholders. BloodHorse's Lenny Shulman reported Jan. 29 that the 4:30 to 6 p.m. NBC broadcast of the Jan. 28 Pegasus from Gulfstream Park earned a 1.23 overnight rating...
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As if the attraction of seeing the two best dirt horses in the world—arguably the two best horses in the world—currently in training wasn't enough, the first edition of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) also features depth comparable to last year's Dubai World Cup (G1). The second part of that sentence may come as a surprise to those who have knocked the field behind California Chrome and Arrogate...
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While wagering on U.S. races in 2016 was flat—up less than 1% compared with 2015— bettors continue to support a reduced Thoroughbred racing product. That is to say average handle per U.S. race in 2016 improved 2.3% to $280,408, which is the first time since 2007 that wagering per race has surpassed $280,000. The $280,408 in average wagering per race is up 18.2% from the decade-low $237,135 wagered...
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When it comes to keeping track of horses' health information, about one in five breeding farms and boarding/training facilities are using a computerized method to track information. The above detail is just one of the nuggets available in a new report from the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) that examines, for all breeds: horse health; veterinary treatments; and management practices...
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While it’s a small sample size, horses reported to receive steroid administrations in 2016 in California who have come back to race fared very well in their first starts after those treatments, winning at about three times the normal rate. Looking at the reported anabolic steroid administrations in 2016 in California, 16 times horses have raced after receiving one of those treatments (through Dec....
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Appropriately enough, the Dec. 29 release from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association started with the greeting, "Happy New Year!" ...
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Not that the horse had a choice, but Masochistic now holds the dubious distinction of being the center of not one, but two racing scandals. BloodHorse headlines this week documented the recommendation by the California Horse Racing Board Dec. 19 that Santa Anita Park stewards disqualify Masochistic from his runner-up finish in the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) Nov. 5, following a positive...
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While participation numbers in the H-2B Seasonal Worker Visa program, which the industry relies on for backstretch workers, face an uncertain future with a new president and Congress preparing to take office in January, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association is working with like-minded industries to get the message out about the need for such workers. In a spending bill, Congress did not renew...
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In late November, in a move done in large part to protect horseplayers at advance-deposit wagering companies, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved a rule that would require ADWs that operate in the state acquire a bond of up to $500,000 as a condition of licensing. The new requirement should provide added protection for Kentucky ADW customers—as well as the state—should an ADW declare bankruptcy...
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Looking at proposed changes being considered for the multiple medication violation penalty system (MMV), it's not readily clear how these changes—when you just look at factors like reduced points for some infractions—would play out in the real world. But a hypothetical BloodHorse examination that applied the changes being considered to the previous record of trainer and well-documented multiple offender...
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