Aaaaand....They're Off!

So now it appears there will be racing at Sam Houston Race Park this year. Albeit with a reduced schedule.

I still hold by the position that none of this is going to matter one iota unless they bring in a competent management team that understands how to structure wagers in the modern racing environment. Yes, SHRP has issues with location, being overbuilt and the general malaise felt toward the racing industry by just about everyone.

But that overshadows the fact that there ARE tracks in America that are making a good go of it, and they're doing it through creative marketing and wagering. New wagering options like multi-track Pick 4's, guaranteed exotics with carry-overs and promotions designed around certain bets are working, and they're working well.

Horse track owners need to get back to the basics of making a night at the races fun. And even MORE fun if you throw some money down on a race. I lost count of the people I saw at the track for a concert etc. that weren't laying down a single bet on a single race. That's a recipe for disaster.


More betting = bigger payouts = more betting = bigger purses for races = better quality of horses = bigger crowds etc....

The end of horse racing in Houston?

That could be the case according to this recount of a recent meeting at Sam Houston Race Park as told by Steven Long of Horseback Magazine. (h/t: Houston Press)

(Battle lines drawn on Texas Racing, Steven Long, HorsebackMagazine.com)

Andrea Yong of Houston’s Sam Houston Race Park expressed a stark reality. She runs a track whose parent company has lost tens of millions in recent years in its aluminum, real estate, and forestry business. And Maxxam Corporation has repeatedly stumbled in management at SHRP putting the track in a precarious position that Young admits.

“We don’t have the money to run 60 dates,” she said. “We have the money to run 22 dates.”

Rumors have been racing across the backside of Sam Houston Race Park for weeks that the track has been sold. Whether it’s true, or wishful thinking on the part of horsemen disgusted with track management, it is undeniable that the track is troubled. Track officials stoutly deny off the record that the rumors are true.

Young spoke of the proposal of an abbreviated race schedule for next year in which Quarter Horse racing will be mixed with American Paint Horse racing and Arabian racing.

Either way, the thoroughbred season has been given over to Lone Star Park which means there will be no Fall thoroughbred season at Sam Houston which means there will be no live Horse Racing at the Park until 2011. A glance at the Track's calendar shows no current live races on the schedule. No overnights, no stakes races, no nothing. Just simulcast betting and the ZiegenBock Music Festival. Joy.


One can only hope that the rumors of a possible track sale by the cash-strapped, and horse-racing inept, Maxxam results in new track management and a renewed commitment to the Texas Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse industry. It'd also be nice to bring in someone to administer the wagering who has an understanding of what it is the serious sports bettor is looking for. Sam Houston's betting structure is severely behind the times. With no guaranteed pick-four, no pick six whatsoever and very limited Trifecta options the betting strategy seems to be to lock in on the low-dollar quinella bettor. The top tracks in the country are experimenting with multiple track pick 6's etc. Sam Houston and Lone Star should have been doing that years ago.

Instead they just watch purses go down, betting handles go down, and interest drop as a result. Maxxam has tried to run SHRP on the cheap. We're now seeing the results of that management decision.

Haskell Day (UPDATED)

Outside of the first two legs of the Triple Crown and the Breeder's Cup, this is one of the biggest days in American horse racing. Far better than the Belmont Stakes and at a much more reasonable length (1 1/8 miles instead of 1 1/2 miles) at a much better facility in my mind this race should be the third leg of the Triple Crown. Of course, tradition states that it's a necessity to make 3yr olds run a distance that they probably shouldn't, a distance that wears them out and, in some cases, ruins their future careers, in order to find a true champion.
Tradition aside, the Haskell usually has a stronger field, an equal purse, and is ran under better conditions.

Early "smart" money is on Trappe Shot, who basically ran one really good race at Monmouth. The problem is Trappe Shot has never faced the quality of competition that he'll see here. (He didn't stand for the TC races and there's probably a reason for that)

Here's your field (including post-positions and morning-line odds):


1. Lookin' at Lucky (5-2)
2. Afleet Again (12-1)
3. Ice Box (9-2)
4. First Dude (6-1)
5. Our Dark Knight (15-1)
6. Super Saver (3-1)
7. Scratched (UptownCharlieBrown)
8. Trappe Shot (3-1)


Predictions: 1 - 3 - 2 - 8

My Bets: (For entertainment purposes only*)


$20 win: 1
$10 Ex box: 1-2-3
$2 Supr 1 - 3 - 2 - 8 (you know, for fun)


The wife: $2 show on 4.



UPDATE:

Finish: 1 - 8 - 4 w/Lookin' At Lucky running away with it to win by 5 lengths. Very chalky, not the best of betting races but a dominating performance by the Even Money favorite.



*Remember: Online gambling is ILLEGAL in Texas. However, you can go to a race track and bet this race on simulcasting. That's where I'll be this afternoon, placing these bets legally. As with any betting, there's risk, and I'll probably be wrong. In other words: Pick your own dang winners.)

A tarnished crown.

I predicted this would happen, yesterday after the Preakness....

(Derby and Preakness winners to skip Belmont, The Sports Network via The Miami Herald, 05/16/10)

Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and Preakness Stakes champ Lookin At Lucky will both skip the Belmont Stakes.
According to the Daily Racing Form, both respective trainers, Todd Pletcher and Bob Baffert, said Sunday morning that both would be kept out of thoroughbred racing's third jewel of the Triple Crown, set for June 5 at Belmont Park.


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/16/1632255/derby-and-preakness-winners-to.html#ixzz0o6smVp4x

Unless you have a horse who's won the first two jewels of the Triple Crown, why put a 3yr old in a situation where they're going to have to A) run at a distance (1 1/2 miles) that they'll probably never run again and B) be placed in a position where they have to run 3 races in five weeks?

Don't misunderstand this, I enjoy the Belmont Stakes and, while it's not my favorite horse race (that would be the Breeder's Cup Classic FWIW) it's still a meaningful race. The problem that The Belmont is facing is cost/benefit. There's the aforementioned distance, which can wear out a 3yr old colt being typically ran by older horses, coupled with a paltry (by modern horse racing standards) $1 MM purse. There are plenty of graded stakes races to ran some of which mach, or exceed, the $1MM mark. Given that, why would a trainer think about entering a worn out young horse into a race that's distanced for 4y/o and up?


It sounds as if First Dude and Dublin are going to run, and there will be the usual crop of 'new shooters' in the field which should make it interesting. If all else fails bet all of the Nick Zito or D. Wayne Lukas horses to win. based on recent history that's a winning strategy.

The 141st Belmont

The thing about the Belmont Stakes is that its difficult to win in its own way. First off, 1 1/2 miles is a long way for a horse to run, second there's that backstretch to deal with, much longer than others these horses will run on.

Typically the key to successful horse picking at the Belmont is to look for a horse coming out of the shadows, with long odds, that's won at Belmont before. Unfortunately, this year, there's not really anyone who fits that bill. A second suggestions is to select a horse trained by Barclay Tag, but he's missing from the line-up as well.

For the 141st edition of the Belmont this leaves you with a few options:

1. Take the chalk (Mine that Bird, who's looked like the best horse in the field this year) and exotic it up with another short odds horse (Chocolate Candy is one possibility) and hope to make some money there.

2. Dance with what brung ya. In the Derby I liked Dunkirk and thought he was the class of the field. He had a terrible trip. I still think he's the class of the field and should do better here.

3. Trust D. Wayne. - In the Kentucky Derby, in an interview on TVG D. Wayne Lukas suggested using his horses in an exotic, and then expecting them to make some noise in the Belmont. Papa Clem finished 4th there. In this race Luv Guv is the obvious choice and could be worth a look here.

4. Just watch and enjoy. - The thing I like most about horse racing is the sheer power and speed of the athletes involved. I probably will be watching this event from home this year and will forego my trip to Sam Houston Race Park to cat a bet.

It will still be fun, I'll be drinking Manhattan's at home during the race.


And...go Dunkirk.