Tuesday Briefs

First of all, thanks to frequent contributor Joe F. for his great column yesterday while I was unavailable.  While I am honored and happy to post Joe's contributions, I still can't figure out why he doesn't have his own blog yet.

My Breeders Crown elimination selections didn't come through with only Heston Blue Chip saving me from an 0-fer slate.  I will keep my Breeders Crown Finals selections to myself this weekend as I hate to think people are using my selections and getting burnt the way I have been going.  I am trying to get Daryl, a person who has handicapped for this blog before, to offer his selections for the Breeders Crown finals. His selections would have to be a vast improvement over mine the way I have been doing.

Speaking of the Breeders Crown, PTP offered his thoughts on this past weekend's eliminations.  If you haven't seen his column, you should take a look now.

There is a lesson to be learned from the Presidential Debates which concluded last night.  Not trying to get political but despite Obama winning the second and third debates, he put himself in a big hole with the first debate.  While Obama may still win the election (speaking of praying for the wire), racing can learn a lesson from these debates.  Sometimes you don't get a second chance to impress your customer.  Make a big mess the first time and you may not get a second chance to win them back.

HANA Harness' The Pen vs. The Chip Handicapping Challenge is coming down to the wire with two legs remaining, Friday night at Vernon Downs for the two $200,000+ Kindergarten Classic finals and of course the Breeders Crown Finals on Saturday night at Woodbine Racetrack.  The competition seems to becoming down to a three handicapper race.  The funny thing is the top three handicappers are 'do it yourselfers' handicappers (Pens) and unless something dramatically occurs, the computer program handicappers are going to get shut out of the top three positions. 

We are about ten days away from the inaugural Watch and Wager meet at Cal-Expo which starts on November 2.  There is a press release which describes the journey California harness racing has taken to get to where it is now.  While the picture isn't pretty, I've always said the California harness horsemen are nothing if not resilient. 

Is it possible that Poker is part of the solution for Ontario racing?  One hundred and ten seats for electronic poker are being added to Woodbine.  Does it make sense to install electronic poker machines at Woodbine if the OLG contract is ending in March, 2013?  The locations which have electronic poker are all racetracks; in addition to Woodbine, Poker Tek machines are located at Mohawk Racetrack, Sudbury Downs, Georgian Downs, Rideau Carleton, and Western Fair District.

It seems like racetracks can't get enough of RUS.  The Meadows has scheduled a monté race for October 31.  All these tracks offering non-wagering RUS events suggests a real interest in the sport.  With a little more fine-tuning, I suspect we will see RUS events on the wagering card sooner than most people think.