January 20, 2005
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News and notes from around the Thoroughbred racing world, compiled by
Thoroughbred Racing Communications, Inc. (TRC) (212) 371-5911.
DRF/NTRA NATIONAL HANDICAPPING CHAMPIONSHIP SET FOR TOMORROW Defending champion Kent Meyer of Sioux City, Iowa heads a field of 214 horseplayers who will gather at Bally's Las Vegas tomorrow and Saturday to vie for horse racing's official title of "Handicapper of the Year" and a first-place prize of $200,000 in the $400,000 Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship. This year's DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC) will be the richest in the event's six-year history, offering total prize money of $400,000--$160,000 more than last year. The winner's share of $200,000 is double that of a year ago. ESPN will be taping the competition in preparation for a one-hour National Handicapping Championship special to air on February 20. Regular Championship updates will be posted on the Internet throughout the two-day contest at both www.ntra.com and www.drf.com. Two other former champions will also be back in the hopes of becoming the first to win the National Handicapping Championship twice. New Orleans grandmother Judy Wagner, the 2001 winner, will be back representing Team River Downs. 2003 victor Steve Wolfson, Jr.—-a Holly Hill, Fla., schoolteacher—-will make up one-third of Team Aqueduct. In just its sixth year, the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship is the most important tournament of the year for horseplayers and is the culmination of a year-long series of NTRA-sanctioned local tournaments conducted by racetracks, casino racebooks, off-track betting facilities and horse racing and handicapping Web sites, each of which sends its top three qualifiers to the national finals. This year's finalists advanced from one of 92 local tournaments held at 57 different sites across North America from February through December 2004. Nearly 100,000 people participated in these local tournaments, which yielded the final field of 214. The 214 qualifiers for this year's NHC reside in 35 states and three Canadian provinces, and come from every imaginable walk of life—-from CEO of a NASDAQ-listed company to milkman. The tournament format for the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship is meant to be the best possible test of overall handicapping ability. Players attempt to earn the highest possible bankroll based on 15 mythical $2 win-and-place wagers on each day of the two-day tournament. JERRY O'CONNELL HOST ECLIPSE AWARDS Actor Jerry O'Connell who stars on the NBC hit series "Crossing Jordan," will host the 34th annual Eclipse Awards, Monday, Jan. 24 from the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles, which will air live on TVG from 6:00-10:30 p.m. PT. "We are excited to have Jerry host the Eclipse Awards," said NTRA Commissioner D.G. Van Clief, Jr. "His presence will lend extra star quality to what is already shaping up as a star filled evening." "I'm so excited about hosting the event," said O'Connell. "It's the Oscars for horseracing…except horses are a lot faster and less temperamental than people in show business." The Eclipse Awards are bestowed upon Thoroughbreds and individuals whose outstanding achievements have earned them the title of Champion in their respective categories. The Eclipse Awards are voted on and presented by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), National Turf Writers Association (NTWA) and Daily Racing Form (DRF). Eclipse Awards are presented in 16 categories including Horse of the Year; 2-year-old colt; 2-year-old filly; 3-year-old colt; 3-year-old filly; older male; older female; male turf; female turf; sprinter; steeplechase, owner, breeder, jockey, apprentice jockey and trainer. AMERICAN DREAM DERBY TO ELIMINATE ANOTHER ON MONDAY After dodging three elimination "Guts Matches" so far, the nine remaining contenders of GSN's American Dream Derby (Mondays, GSN, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET) will compete in an all new "Owners" challenge next week in which they will "Select the Stud." Five horses, including one past Breeders' Cup winner, will be paraded in the Paddock area for the contestants to study. They then must bet on which horse they think is the best. The player who has the most money at the end of the challenge becomes the new "Owner" and picks three others to stay with him in the mansion, while the others become stable hands and sleep in the barn. In next week's stable hand challenge, the five stable hands will meet with a jockey and get tips on the importance of maneuvering on the racetrack. After their lesson, it is time for the stable hands to give it a try, only they must make their way around a slippery track in go-karts, and their vision will be hindered by prism goggles to give them the same peripheral vision as a horse. Lastly, it is time for the dreaded "Guts Match," where two players pick horses that will go head to head in a two-furlong race to determine who will be sent packing and who will continue on the road to win $250,000 and a stable full of horses. For more information about American Dream Derby or interview opportunities, contact Shannon Peterson of GSN at 310-255-6937. HORSE OWNER DOUBLES PRIZE MONEY FOR TSUNAMI RELIEF FUND Thoroughbred horse owner Mark Takenaka was the winning bidder for a "VIP Day at the Races," package for two at Santa Anita Park, Calif., which was auctioned off on eBay for AmeriCare Foundation's Tsunami Relief Fund. The winning bid went for $4,550; however, Takenaka doubled the prize money to $10,000. When Takenaka stopped over at Santa Anita Park to present his check to Amy Zimmerman, director of broadcasting she was stunned to see the amount and immediately tracked down Chris McCarron, MEC vice president for industry relations who both were overwhelmed by Takenaka's generosity. Thirty-five bids were made through eBay, and Takenaka said he was prepared to go much higher than $4,550, hence the check for $10,000. "Number one, I wanted to give to the Tsunami Relief Fund because you want to help out," Takenaka said. "Number two, Santa Anita is in my roots. I galloped horses 20 years ago for Hector Palma and Jack Van Berg. I love the sport." An aspiring jockey, Takenaka shelved that career after a training accident. He now works for WMC Direct, a wholesale mortgage company in Woodland Hills where he resides with his wife and three children. "When I heard about the auction I just knew I had to get involved," Takenaka said. "When I went there Monday, I said, "Amy, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to double up." She was shocked but elated. "I hope this starts a trend," he added. "I'd like to see jockeys, trainers, and owners, just everybody in the sport, make a donation." McCarron seconded that motion regarding more industry involvement in the Tsunami relief effort. Jockey Mike Smith asked McCarron if Santa Anita Park would match donations to AmeriCare, made by the jockeys, which Santa Anita will be more than happy to do. In addition to Santa Anita Park, racetrack Golden Gate Fields, will also match donations made by the jockey colony from there as well.
January 22 Wire to Wire, 5:30-6:00 a.m., ESPN
Jan. 20, 1972: Secretariat was shipped from Virginia to Florida to be trained by Lucien Laurin. Jan. 20, 1979: Odds-on favorite Affirmed, with Steve Cauthen aboard, finished second in the San Fernando Stakes at Santa Anita, beaten 2 ¾ lengths by Radar Ahead. It was their fourth consecutive defeat. Cauthen subsequently lost the mount on Affirmed to jockey Laffit Pincay Jr., who rode the horse for the remainder of its four-year-old season, winning seven victories in as many starts. Affirmed was later voted Horse of the Year for 1979. Cauthen had ridden Affirmed to a Triple Crown sweep the previous year and the pair recorded 11 wins in their 16 races together. Jan. 23, 1994: Pat Day, 40, became the tenth rider in North American racing history to ride 6,000 winners, when he rode Miss Popsnorkle to victory in the first race at Oaklawn Park. Jan. 24, 1974: Jockey Chris McCarron rode his first race, in which he finished last aboard Most Active, at Bowie Racecourse. Jan. 25, 2000: According to The Jockey Club Fact Book for 2000, gross purses and total handle rose again in 1999 with North American purses topping $1 billion for the first time in history. Jan. 26, 1950: Citation's 16-race win streak came to an end in the La Sorpresa Handicap at Santa Anita. Despite giving 16 pounds to the winner, Miche, Citation, carrying 130 pounds, lost only by a neck. Jan. 27, 1973: Penny Chenery accepted the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year on behalf of Secretariat, who was also voted champion two-year-old of 1972. Jan. 27, 2003: Azeri became the first female since Lady's Secret in 1986 to receive the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. Jan. 28, 1979: Bob Baffert won his first race as a Thoroughbred trainer, saddling Flipper Star to win the second race at Rillito Park in Tucson, Ariz. The winner's share of the $600 purse was $330. Jan. 28, 1999: The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association announced the creation of the "Claiming Crown," a six-race event to be held at Canterbury Park. Jan. 29, 1960: Future Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Carry Back finished tenth in his first start ever, a three-furlong race for two-year-old maiden runners at Hialeah. Sired by Saggy, the only horse to defeat Citation during his three-year-old season, out of an undistinguished mare named Joppy, Carry Back became a popular runner and was dubbed "the people's horse." Jan. 29, 1969: Patti Barton, a 24-year-old exercise rider, applied for a jockey's license in Las Cruces, N.M. The stewards declined to act on the application, which if approved would have made Barton the first female licensed jockey in Thoroughbred racing. Jan. 29, 1973: Forego, eventual three-time Horse of the Year, 1974-76, broke his maiden by eight lengths in his second career start, at Hialeah Park. Jan. 29, 2003: Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. gained his 9,500th career win aboard Saxony in the fifth race at Santa Anita. Jan. 30, 1981: Jockey Julie Krone rode in her first race ever, finishing second by three lengths in a six-furlong sprint for $3,500 maiden claimers at Tampa Bay Downs. Her mount, a 22-1 shot trained by Jerry L. Pace, was named Tiny Star. Jan. 30, 1992: For the second time in one month, jockey Mike Smith won six races in one day at Aqueduct Racetrack. His first six-winner day at Aqueduct occurred Jan. 13. Jan. 30, 2001: Tiznow was named 2001 Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards in New Orleans. Jan. 31, 1958: Jockey Bill Shoemaker notched his 3,000th career win, aboard Eternal Pere, in the eighth race at Santa Anita Park. Feb. 1, 1941: Golden Gate Fields opened for its inaugural race meet. After a five-day "season," the track was forced to close because severe rainstorms washed out the racing surface. The advent of World War II prevented the facility from reopening until Sept. 9, 1947. Feb. 1, 1999: Owner-breeder and philanthropist Paul Mellon of Rokeby Stable died at his residence in Upperville, Va. He was 91. Feb. 2, 2001: The Jockey Club announced that gross purses in the United States during 2000 topped $1 billion for the first time, an increase of 7.0 percent compared to 1999 figures.
San Marcos Stakes, 4&up, $150,000, Grade II, 1 1-4M (T), Santa Anita Park
Palos Verdes Handicap, 4&up, $150,000, Grade II, 6F, Santa Anita Park
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