Myth Busting and Stupidity Personified

Have to wonder what those people who are vehemently against horses racing from the second tier are saying this morning now that Camille (Artiscape) and Pet Rock (Roll With Joe) both one from the dreaded ten hole at Tioga Downs in major stakes events.  They likely will say it is a fluke; I'll say see what happens when you try to win from the second tier instead of automatically conceding the victory before the start?


The New York Post was certainly within their right to get rid of in-house racing coverage, but they did it the day before the Belmont Stakes?  What a bunch of pin-heads; common sense would indicate if you were going to do it; you would at least wait until the day after the big race.  Yes, the shedding of their racing staff has a lot to do with being able to window shop the Post better for potential buyers, but anytime a major player in the sport decides to drop coverage, it is another slap across the face.  The industry needs to come up with a way to provide racing coverage online for the wagering public.  Not articles written for those in the industry which pass as news stories, we need stories written from the bettor's perspective.  Available for free as well; not behind some paywall.


Florida's Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering has decided not to appeal the Administrative Law Judge's ruling which determined licensing barrel racing was illegal.  However, the saga of their stupid decision continues a little longer as the 'horsemen's association' which sanctioned the meet has filed an appeal.


I read that trainers and owners in California are fighting, regarding where their horses will be stabling now that Hollywood Park has announced this upcoming fall meet will be the finale before the wrecking ball comes in.  Hearing things like this is comforting, if only to prove thoroughbred horsemen are just as likely to avoid dealing with things until the relative last minute as standardbred horsemen.  After all, it is no secret that Hollywood Park was going to be closing, only an economic crisis allowed it to last this long.  Where was the planning the last few years for this eventuality?  I guess they were too busy raising takeout rates to pay attention to this eventuality.  Given their choices, I wonder if the famous freeways out in the Golden State will have 'horse only' lanes?


Since there is harness racing in Massachusetts (Plainridge Racecourse for those who are unaware), we need to discuss the total contempt the State of Taxachusetts has for gamblers.  Granted, the state minimum payoff of $2.20 has been reduced to $2.10, no doubt helping  the tracks when those dreaded bridge jumpers show up. has little impact on the average gambler but the state has decided to impose a 5% tax to be taken right away on any wager which pays $600 or more.  Not the federal rules of having to report on a W2-G when you win $600 or more with odds of 300-1 or greater, just when you win $600 or more regardless of the base wager amount.  So for the few hundred which may show up to Suffolk Downs or Plainridge to wager, make sure your exotic wagers are made on separate $2 tickets and make sure your win tickets are in tickets no greater than $10 denominations.  For those who wager using an ADW, things may be more dicey if the regulation requires you to voluntarily tell the cashier if you have any other tickets which would make you hit the $600 threshold; as you can't lie to a computer. 

If there is a silver lining to this stupidity, this impacts all gamblers, be they horse, lottery, or raffle players.  Even casino players in those to be built casinos will be subject to this takeout charge.  Can some of those companies who applied for one of the gaming licenses get a refund on the licensing fee?


And lastly, for those of you who enjoyed the deer trying their hand at racing at the Meadows, they apparently have switched over to thoroughbreds.  Here is a video of a deer undergoing an official workout at Keenland Racecourse.  One rumor has it the move to thoroughbred racing happened for failing to meet the qualifying standards at Bluegrass Downs over at Paducah.




Why we are at it, thanks to Standardbredgal who tweeted this video of a coyote running with the horses at Mohawk this past weekend.  Just look to the outside as they navigate the first turn.

Art Major and the Cup

VFTRG contributor Joe F. says don't count out the off-spring of Art Major from this year's North American Cup in this piece  Joe also talks about the Artiscape and Roll with Joe paces from yesterday. 

Art Major and SBSW were not contemporaries, but they do have a history together: SBSW is still smarting from that loss to Art Major’s son, Art Official, in the Pace. And while Captaintreacherous and his sire, SBSW, stand as the most obvious and seemingly compelling story line for the 2013 Cup, remember that while there are three sons of SBSW in the final, there are also three sons of Art Major. And one of them, Fool Me Once, put up the fastest winning time on Saturday night.

While SBSW dominated the sales in the fall, Art Major was, once again in tough times, amazingly consistent. At Harrisburg 44 Art Majors sold for an average of $34,000, while in 2011 48 brought an average of $38,000. Yes, his fee dropped 20%, but he’s still the most expensive pacing stallion in New York.

When Captive Audience closed on The Captain, sending a wave of angina through the collective heart of Team Treacherous, as well as those who knocked him down to 1/5, it brought to mind the sour stomach Dragons Lair gave Team Guida when he upset Nihilator in the 1984 BC. How appropriate, seeing as the fourth dam of Captive Audience, Shadylu Hanover, was a half-sister to Dragon’s Lair. Both were out of the super-mom, Sandys Sable.

Captive Audience was a $95,000 Harrisburg buy, but that didn’t win him much respect during his freshman campaign. He wasn’t favored in any of his ten starts and routinely went off at odds of 22/1, 37/1, 13/1, 8/1 and 44/1. He paid $90 when he upset the likes of Rockin Amadeus, Fool Me Once and Odds On Equuleus in the Champlain. Captive Audience finished third behind Captaintreacherous in the Nasagaweya at 37/1 and was also third behind that one in their Metro elimination, where he went off at 13/1.

Another son of Art Major, Fool Me Once, was very strong as he won the second elimination in :48.1, last quarter in :26.4. Last year Sweet Lou won his elimination in :47.4 but he came home almost a second slower than Fool Me Once did. Lou hit the three-quarter mark in a speedy 1:20.1, while Fool got there in 1:21.2, and the other two splits got there in 1:22 and 1:22.3.

Fool Me Once is a full-brother to George Teague’s, Feel Like A Fool. The fast but fractious gelding finished strong as a freshman with wins in the Bluegrass, ISS and Matron, and was expected to be a top five sophomore, but he never met expectations. Fool Me Once’s second dam, Spurred On, is half to the 2003 two-year-old C&G Pacer of the Year, I Am A Fool.

Odds On Equuleus, another Art Major, also made the final off a closing second place finish to Vegas Vacation. Last season Equuleus won the Nasagaweya, a division of the  ISS and, although the curious crew in the judges stand stole it from him, a split of the Bluegrass.

His dam, Latte Lady, is a full sister to the almost millionaire, Driven To Win. The dams of Equuleus and Fool Me Once are both by Jenna’s Beach Boy. The latter’s daddy, Beach Towel, is the sire of SBSW’s dam, Wheres The Beach. See how it all comes together. Sure it does.

It is noteworthy that both Art Major and SBSW are battling to upend the tsunami that is Meadow Skipper. SBSW is revitalizing the Volomite branch running through Sampson Hanover, and The Captain could be his first crop extender—Team Treacherous certainly hopes so. Fourteen-year-old Art Major is carrying the burden of extending Artsplace, and Adios, too, for that matter, but there is no obvious extender on the horizon. The first crop of Art Official was received at the sales with the sort of enthusiasm generally reserved for broken dust collectors at a yard sale. Hypnotic Blue Chip?? Ah, no. Santana Blue Chip??? Please. Could it be Fool Me Once or Equuleus? Artsplace will be gone seven years in the fall. He was only 18 when he passed. The clock is ticking.

And how about the Art Major filly, Belle Boyd, finishing second behind the two-year-old champion, I Luv The Nitelife, in the Fan Hanover elimination. Belle, a $90,000 Lexington purchase, is out of the Western Hanover mare, Yankee Luck, a full sister to 2004 Tattersalls Pace winner, Yankee Lariat. She came into Saturday’s race a perfect seven for seven in 2012, having swept both the Blossom and Princess series.

I hope Art Major gets some recognition in the buildup to the Cup for his fine showing on Saturday night at Mohawk.

What was more far-fetched, Jamieson thinking he was going to blow by Anndrovette and TT on the back in the Artiscape, or Brennan thinking he was going to do the same to Sweet Lou and YG with Cheddar in the RWJ? Last year it was Gingras and Foiled putting the heat on JC and Bettor Sweet in this race, but he waited until the last turn to do that. Lou had been used hard out of the gate, but not that hard.

Anndrovette had also been used plenty getting to the top at the start in the Artiscape, but so had Big McDeal in that nasty :25.1 opening quarter. You can see why JJ didn’t want to sit in behind Anndrovette with Feeling You moving up, but Tetrick’s mare wasn’t spent to the degree that she was going to let Big McDeal take the inside from her. I suppose Brennan and JJ both felt that simply marking time first up was a recipe for slow but sure death against that crowd.

The Bettor’s Delight is now the Roll With Joe? It makes sense from the perspective that BD is now in PA and has been replaced at Blue Chip by his little brother, but tell me, has there ever been a duller three-year-old division winner than RWJ? He was the equine equivalent of Ambien. Why don’t they call it the Art Major? At least he earned a million dollars at four. What does RWJ have to do with FFA pacers?

New Jersey Internet Gaming Proposed Regulations

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) has published the proposed regulations for Internet Gaming in the State of New Jersey.  There is now a period of public comment which is allowed before the rules will be modified and/or approved. 

I have not looked at the entire set of proposals, as quite honestly, a lot of it is technical gobblygook but once you get to page 44, you get into the meat of the regulations; how it impacts the playing of the casino games as well as the rules required to comply to the state constitutional restriction on gaming being restricted to Atlantic City.

In my review of the DGE regulations, I have come across one rule which flies directly against the state prohibition on gaming outside of Atlantic City, even if you assume a person can be sitting in their bedroom in Bedminster can be 'playing' in Atlantic City. 

13.69O-1.2.n states:

A casino operator’s primary equipment used to conduct Internet or mobile gaming shall be located, with the prior approval of the Division, in a restricted area on the premises of the casino hotel within the territorial limits of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Subject to Division approval, a casino operator may use backup equipment located outside the territorial limits of Atlantic City to conduct Internet gaming for a time period not to exceed 60 days unless otherwise authorized by the Division.
Clearly, if a casino is forced to use backup equipment outside the territorial limits of Atlantic City, it is in violation of the New Jersey constitution.  The backup equipment should be required to be located in Atlantic City as well to conform to the constitutional prohibitions regarding casino gambling outside of Atlantic City.  I understand this proposal is for unusual circumstances and has a maximum period of 60 days, unless an extension is authorized by the DGE.  But the constitutional restriction is clear; it doesn't say casino gambling is permitted solely in Atlantic City unless there is an emergency at which time for sixty days casino gaming is permitted in New Brunswick.

Another problematic, though admittedly less offensive, proposal is section  13:69O-1.3 which involves patron accounts.  While some sources are reporting you need to go to a casino to establish account, I fail to see any such wording.  Yes, there is talk about verifying documents, but how documents are verified is subject to interpretation here.  Can someone just review a copy of a driver's license without seeing the person?  More directly, the regulations allow for accounts to be funded with credit cards.  While not wagering per se when you add money to your account is a fine line being crossed when you add funds to your wagering account over the computer using your credit card?  After all, you are not in Atlantic City when you initiate the funding request.  More problematic would be if you are allowed to be more 'chips' during a game in progress.  What if the dealer is showing a six in blackjack and you have two aces?   If you are allowed to buy more chips specifically so you can split your aces, is that not part of the gaming function?

Of course, one must be realistic.  No one has launched a bid against online gaming yet, and it is doubtful someone will so with the state determined to get Internet gaming up as soon as possible, other than minor tweaking, these rules will be approved and implemented.










































13:69O-1.3




13:69O-1.3

Sunday Briefs

The Empire Breeders Classic finals will be contested tonight at Vernon Downs.  Rather than going into a big explanation, here are my picks: Empire Breeders Classic (fillies, 6th): Perfect Alliance, Lola De vie, Wygant Lady, Royal Malinda.  Empire Breeders Classic (colts, 9th): Modest Prince, Jurgen Hanover, Blackwolf Run, Twisted Pretzel.

If you love sires stakes races, Tioga and Vernon Downs are the places for you.  Eight of thirteen races at Tioga are sires stakes affairs while at Vernon Downs, nine of twelve are state sired affairs.  If you include the two breeders stakes, eleven of the twelve races at Vernon have a New York flavor.

Don't forget, today is the Artiscape and Roll With Joe stakes at Tioga.


Hoosier Park is doing well with their all-standardbred racing schedule as they will be increasing purses by 10% starting the week of June 18.


The babies are here!  This week's condition sheet shows 2yo races are being carded on the wagering program at the Meadowlands Friday night.  Not only does this help alleviate any potential shortage of horses, but for those owners who spent their money at the sales last year, it is the time their instinct is validated or shown to be a bust.  Of course, the downside are those two year old trotting races, but I just stand clear away from those; they are too risky for my taste early in the season. 

Speaking of the Meadowlands.  What happens when the cream of the Meadowlands driving colony head north for the North American Cup eliminations, being replaced with Freehold drivers and trainers driving their own stock who are racing mostly green horses, bottom class, and horses that have been racing at Freehold to race in series designed for them at the track?  A recipe for disaster, huh?  Well not at the Meadowlands where handle on Saturday night increased 53% over last year's racing program. 

Some will say it was the Belmont Stakes crowd sticking around but I tend to doubt it; they had their fill or busted their bankrolls.  What we have here is proof you don't need the best drivers and horses to stimulate wagering; you need competitive racing, whether a field of $10,000 claimers or stakes horses and competitive pricing.  The only problem is while on-track handle has improved, without alternative revenue sources, it is important they work on bringing gamblers back to the track so more on-track wagers are made; something hard to do these days with home wagering.  Unfortunately, this effort really can't take foot until November when the new facility is up and running, attracting people who haven't been to the track in years.


Before and After: Did you know that many of the horses that get rescued come to legitimate horse rescues in deplorable condition?  Let me make it clear horses of all breeds and disciplines (from racing, show, riding, and even pleasure) show up in poor condition.  Those who want to make this a racing only issue are sadly misinformed.  Anyway, take a look at these pictures to see what a good rescue can do for these horses once they get the time to give them some TLC.  It's amazing.  The rescues do their part, all they need are members of the general public to do theirs either by donating and/or opening their homes to some of these majestic animals.

News and Picks

Today is Belmont Stakes Day (as if you didn't know this).  I have to wonder why the North American Cup is competing against the Belmont Stakes.  Yes, they are two different breeds of racing, but when you have everyone focused on the Belmont, you are already starting with a depleted (i.e., tapped out) fan base.


 After all the speculation that Pennsylvania was going to be the State to allow Walter Case, Jr. back in the racing bike, it now appears they ill be unwilling to be the first state to license Case.    I find it ironic the state which gave a disgraced driver a second chance will be the one to keep Case out of the sulky.  As I said before, put Case on a tight leash if you must, but give him a chance to prove himself rehabilitated.


A full field of ten are set to meet the start tomorrow in The Artiscape at Tioga Downs.  what could be a good wagering event has become a ho-hum event because there are only six wagering interests, thanks to a five horse entry.  One day New York regulators will wake up and allow these horses to race as separate entries.

Here are my selections for tomorrow's Artiscape and Roll With Joe stakes at Tioga Downs.  Horses are listed in post position order.

5th Tioga Downs; Pace - $158,000; The Artiscape - Open Mares  
   2  Feeling You (Buter, 5-2) - Has been good all along.  Last week shows she belongs with these; consider.
   3  Big McDeal (Jamieson, 12-1) - Yet to show form from last year.  When  she does it will be at a price.
   1  Bettor B Lucky (Brennan, 8-5) - Threat with a trip.
1A  Ginger And Fred (Miller, 8-5) -  Appears to me to be a little over her head here.
   4  Androvette (Tetrick, 3-1) - Classy mare can never be discounted.  Might get a decent price here.
   5  Drop The Ball (Callahan, 5-1) - Has yet to strut her stuff this year.
1B  Rocklamation (Gingras, 8-5) -  Has vanquished some good ones.  Must not ignore.
   6  Royal Cee Cee N (Pierce, 10-1) - Shows signs of brilliance at time; will this be one of them?
1C  Economy Terror (Morrill, 8-5) - Draws poorly.  Wait for better post.
1D  Camille (Kakaley, 8-5) -  Tough spot to compete against this caliber.  Pass.
Selections: 4-2-1

9th Tioga Downs; Pace - $184,000; Roll With Joe - Open Horses
   2  A Rocknroll Dance (Campbell, 12-1) - Hmm, gets the rail at 12-1?  A shocker in development?
   3  Golden Receiver (Tetrick, 3-1) - May land a share but I don't see him winning.
   4  Betterthancheddar (Brennan, 5-1) - A sharp return.  Bounce or victory?  Your guess.
   5  Rockincam (Sears, 12-1) - Have my doubts.  Pass.
   1  Sweet Lou (Gingras, 5-2) - Roughed it up and just missed in last.  Any better trip wins.
1A  Foiled Again (Kakaley, 5-2) - Is not the same horse .  Will win his share but doubt this is one of them.
   6  Aracache Hanover (Mcnair, 15-1) - Puzzled with last drive.  Don't see a better drive.
   7  Warrawee Needy (Jamieson, 6-1) - Don't see him coming through.
   8  Sapphire city (Pierce, 15-1) - Will be hard pressed to get involved.
   9  Pet Rock (Miller, 6-1) - Eligible to improve off last but post hurts.
Selections: 2-1-3


Just a note:  Tomorrow night at Vernon Downs, the Empire Breeders Classic for fillies and colts will be contested.  If you like state breds, these may be races worth looking at.