Thursday, October 14, 2021

Assiniboia Downs The Insider E-Newsletter

Vol. 16 No. 34 (Issue #811)

By Ivan Bigg

 

Weekly Horseplayer Report and Fun Stuff

CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST VIEW OF THIS COLUMN
and, remember, if you don’t receive The Insider in the usual way,
you can always find it--and past columns--at ASDowns.com


NOTE NEW ASD HOURS
10 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily


YOUR MORNING CHUCKLE

You think YOU get excited watching a race? Watch this.

JAW DROPPER
Why is this so special?

 

Bullet briefs . . .

  • Have Winnipeggers bred a super horse?
  • Richest Turf race in the world goes tomorrow night
  • Breeders' Cup edge: What races are likely to be won by horse that just won?
  • Jockey suspended for not trying in a curiously-bet race at Gulfstream
  • Jockey Stanley Chadee, Jr., lights up tote board at Century Mile
 
Watch Jets, Bombers and races at the same time here while you dine on prime rib
DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS? FOOTBALL/HOCKEY/RACING/PRIME RIB AT SAME TIME: The Winnipeg Jets play the Preds, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers play the B.C. Lions and three race tracks all start at the same time. When? See the listing in The Insider’s event calendar here. Then watch them all in the Race Book on five separate TV screens while digging into the certified Angus prime rib dinner for $24.95! Does it get any better than this?

NEXT ONLINE PLAYER’S CHOICE TOURNEY GOES OCTOBER 30:
We’re two weeks from the next Player’s Choice handicapping tournament--on Saturday, Oct. 30--with $1,750 in prize money, bragging rights and points toward Handicapper of the Year at stake again. Bet $2 win/place/show on 10 horses at any North American track(s) until 10 p.m. See tourney rules here.
Click to enlarge.
DO THE DOWNS

Want highlights for the next 10 days? Click calendar.
What tracks are racing in October? Find out here.
What are today’s $$$ carryovers? See them here.
When do they play? Bombers, Jets.

NEW HPI REWARDS AND BONUS PROGRAM
:
Do you have your new HPIbet account card that replaces the previous HPI card and the ASD Player Rewards card? Assiniboia Downs has joined the HPI rewards and bonus program and the new program began Monday, Feb. 1. See details here. If you haven't received your new card in the mail call 204-885-3330 (ext. 225) to check on the status.

GREEDY CORNER: The 20-cent Jackpot pick-6 at Santa Anita has grown to $347K and the Jackpot Hi-5 at Fresno, California is at $217K. See list of carryovers here.
BREEDING

Have Winnipeg breeders bred a super horse?
Artie is blowing away his Woodbine rivals with breathtaking speed figures

Artie stumbled at the gate before crushing the field in his debut
Winnipeg breeders appear to have bred something very, very special: a gelding that is producing Kentucky Derby-level Equibase speed figures in only two starts.

Under the tutelage of former ASD trainer, Martin Drexler, 3-year-old Artie simply blew away his rivals in his 6 ½-furlong maiden victory on Woodbine turf in September (see photo at top of Insider) after spotting his rivals a couple lengths after a bobbling start. His E speed was 106. Watch that race here.

He followed that up with 108 while demolishing an allowance field in a 6-furlong test on the Tapeta surface. (Medina Spirit won the Kentucky Derby with a 110 E speed figure.) Watch that race here.

Artie is certainly the “buzz” horse around the Downs these days because he was bred and is owned by long-time horse owners Don and Gaye Bell, Dennis Mitchell and Ken Lee. And how are his Winnipeg connections sleeping at night? “He is all I think about 24/7,” Lee, a chartered account, told the CanadianThoroughbred magazine. “We are astounded, shocked. We have never had a horse like this.”

Former ASD trainer Martin Drexler trains Artie
Don is wearing a perpetual smile in the ASD Race Book these days but is wisely cautious about getting too carried away. “We’ve been doing this a long time and maybe our time has come,” he told The Insider, “but anything can happen in this game.”

The Artie mating took place when they sent their mare, Copenhagen Cowgirl, from Toronto down to Kentucky to be bred to 2005 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Artie Schiller (22-10-5-3). Lee’s late wife and director with CTHS Manitoba, Sandra Lepard, is credited for being a strong advocate of that coupling.

Their biggest win in the past came with the mare Blurricane who won the $125K Ballade Stakes at Woodbine in 2017 and earned more than $500K. And ASD fans may recognize the name Witch’s Coven who won the Winnipeg Sun Stakes in 2011 and 2012 after finishing third in the $250K Mazarine Stakes at Woodbine in 2009.

So when can we expect to see Artie back on the track? There’s been talk about an appearance on Halloween Sunday, Oct. 31 but that race for 3-year-olds, the Ontario Derby, is at a distance of 1 1/8-miles which seems long for a horse with only two sprints under his cinch strap. But we’ll see. Stay tuned.
BREEDERS' CUP COUNTDOWN: Three weeks from tomorrow

WHERE AND WHEN: At Del Mar race track on Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6. Del Mar is located in the town of Del Mar--pop. 4,300--40 kilometres north of San Diego. “Del Mar” is Spanish for “by the sea.”
WHAT:
14 Breeders’ Cup races with purses totalling $31 million
POST TIMES:
Five ‘Cup races on Friday starting at 4:50 p.m. CT. Nine ‘Cup races on Saturday starting at 2:05 p.m. CT. There will be preliminary races each day: Five on Friday starting at 1:55 p.m. and three on Saturday starting at 12:15 p.m.

KEEP-THE-GLASS DRINK SPECIAL
: Enjoy a cherry vodka lemonade in a souvenir Breeders’ Cup glass for $9.95 and keep the glass! Available both Breeders’ Cup days while supplies last.  

GROUP PLAY:
Join the excitement and potential big payoffs of Breeders’ Cup by sharing in group tickets that will be put together at 10:30 a.m. on the Clubhouse plaza on BC Saturday in three weeks. You may buy shares ($20 each) to be applied to BC play at any time from Larry or me in the Race Book. (Assiniboia Downs is not involved.)

*       *       *
BETTING EDGE

How much weight should you give horses that won last race?

A lot on Friday; less on Saturday

In handicapping Breeders’ Cup races, how much weight should you give to horses that won their last race? Lots of weight on Friday when the five 2-year-old races take place but less weight on Saturday when older horses are racing.

On Friday, the winner is likely to be a baby who comes out of a winning race. Here are the percentages:
  • 100% -- all three winners of the Juvenile Turf Sprint race won their previous races (this race was added to the BC lineup three years ago)
  • 77% of Juvenile Fillies Turf winners (10 of 13) won previous race
  • 65% of Juvenile winners (24 of 37) won previous race
  • 65% of Juvenile Fillies winners (24 of 37) won previous race

COMPARE THAT TO RACES FOR OLDER HORSES ON SATURDAY: Turf Sprint and Dirt Mile winners are unlikely to have won last race

  • Just 23% of Turf Sprint winners (3 of 13) had won their previous start
  • 29% of Dirt Mile winners (4 of 14) won previous race
  • 36% of Filly & Mare Turf winners (8 of 22) won previous race
  • 43% of Mile winners (16 of 37) won previous race
And what about other Breeders’ Cup races? There’s about a 50/50 chance the winner will have won his/her previous race.

*       *       *
ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S TRIVIA TEASERS: What percentage of the 36 Breeders’ Cup turf races that were run in six years at the Santa Anita and Del Mar (6 x 6) were won by European invaders? (a) 40% (b) 50% (c) 60% (d) 70% (e) 80%. The answer is (a) 40%. Surprised?

What turf race do you think was won by the most Europeans? (a) Juvenile Fillies Turf (b) Fillies & Mares Turf (c) Juvenile Turf (d) Turf Sprint (e) Turf (f) Mile. The answer is (c) Juvenile Turf. (Europeans won four of the six races; the other two came from Belmont).
RICHEST TURF RACE IN THE WORLD

The Everest sprint from Australia goes tomorrow
$15 million in purse money


As a highlight of spring racing in Australia, 12 of the fastest thoroughbreds Down Under will line up Saturday afternoon at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney (Friday night in North America) to vie for a purse of $15 million in the richest turf race in the world--The Everest.

The winner will take home $6.2 million and every horse in the race is guaranteed at least $450,000. Each of the starting positions, called “slots,” were sold for $600,000 each. The race is 1200 metres, about 6-furlongs. In the four years since the unique race was run, the time for the race has ranged from 1:07.32 to a languid 1:12.03.

Watch and wager on Assie’s big race tomorrow night in the ASD Race Book or in your HPIbet account. Early favourites are last year’s winner, Classique Legend, and Nature Strip. The Everest will be a warm-up for Australia’s nation-stopper, the Melbourne Cup, that will be run Tuesday, Nov. 2 (Monday night in North America), four days before the Breeders’ Cup.
 
WIN A TON IN '21: Winning Rainbow 6 ticket fits The Insider's template

A lucky player cashed the $461K Gulfstream Rainbow pick-6 last Saturday that fit the template suggested here a few weeks ago.

What did The Insider say? You wheel the favourites in two races, take “all” in three legs and take three horses in the remaining leg. Here are the prices of the six horses that comprised the Rainbow winning ticket: $53.80, $3.60 (fav), $15.40, $25.40, $8.80, $7.80 (fav).

The three “all” legs would be Leg One ($53.80) a $10,000 bottom level claimer on Tapeta with 12 horses, Leg Three ($15.40), an often-chaotic non-winners of two races condition with eight horses and Leg Four, also an often-chaotic 5 ½-furlong sprint with seven horses.

Taking three horses in Leg Five ($8.80 winner) would require a ticket costing $403 (12 x 1 x 8 x 7 x 3 x 1 divided by 5) which, of course, you can share with partners. If you’re able to key the winner in that race, the cost would be $134. It was a logical $20,000 claimer.
TOP 3 NFL PICKS by TravyFootball: Week 6

Lions over Bengals (Sunday noon): For some unexplainable reason, I have watched four out of five Detroit Lions games this season, and to be completely honest, they have all been entertaining. Even though they are 0-5 on the season, the competitive spirit of their new head coach, Dan Campbell seems to have inspired these Lions to play hard. If it weren’t for a couple miraculous last-minute field goals by the Ravens and Vikings, they easily could have two wins already. D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams are a nice 1-2 punch in their backfield and the cast of random receivers you’ve never heard of seems to do just enough to keep them in these games. I’m going out on a limb here, but the Bengals don’t deserve to win another game after their kicking debacle Sunday.

Broncos over Raiders
(Sunday afternoon):  I could spend hours talking about what happened with the coaching controversy going on in Jacksonville and now Las Vegas. I don't know how the Raiders can focus on football after their coach resigned. Special teams coach Rich Bisaccia was named the interim for the rest of the season; all I can say to him is, good luck fixing that mess. The Broncos have dropped two in a row after starting out 3-0 and Teddy Bridgewater seems to have come back down to earth after a hot start. To be fair he did suffer a concussion so there may be some lingering effects. 

Chargers over Ravens
(Sunday night): Other than the Buffalo Bills, the most exciting team to watch (in my opinion) are the Los Angeles Chargers. Even though they seem to have few fans cheering for them (their home games are full of the opposing teams’ fans) it doesn’t seem to phase them one bit. Justin Herbert has to be an early MVP candidate (13TDs, 3INTs) and will have a nice matchup here against a Ravens team that gave up over 400 yards passing to Carson Wentz last week. Expect a lot of points in this one as the Ravens are also capable of lighting up the scoreboard. 

LAST WEEK’S PICKS:
3-0.
THE WEEK THAT WAS

BETTING PUZZLER AT GULFSTREAM LEADS TO JOCKEY BAN: The betting puzzler at Gulfstream two Sundays ago--in which a $12,000 maiden claimer attracted 23 per cent more wagering than any other race that day--has resulted in jockey Carlos Lugo being banned from riding for 30 days for “failing to persevere” on his horse, Princess Tereka, who finished fourth in the race. Her Equibase speed for the race declined to 35 after she set an E speed of 65 in her previous race.

The horse is trained by Juan Reviriego who also trains the winning horse, Rubysa, who went off at odds of 5-2 despite a morning line of 15-1. Of 177 races run prior to that race, only five had a bigger exactor pool and just four had a larger triactor pool. Reviriego was making a training comeback since last training in 2009. Watch that race here. Lugo is riding #5.

STANLEY CHADEE, JR., LIGHTS UP CENTURY MILE TOTE BOARD:
Jockey Stanley Chadee, Jr., lit up the Century Mile tote board in the last race Sunday with a $54.50 winner when his Strong and Free edged out race favourite Fast Eh ridden by Antonio Whitehall in a $6,000 maiden claimer for 3-year-olds. The $2 ASD-jockey exactor paid $186.

BETTING GROUP REPORT: SIGH! FAVS WIN RACES WITH LOADS OF HORSES:
C’mon. Saturday’s “I won bigger” betting group won $470 in the 20-cent pick-5 at Woodbine but, of course, the favourite won a leg in which the group took “all” because it was an often-chaotic non-winners of two races condition and the favourite won another almost-all tricky 7-furlong race. Sheesh. One chaotic horse would have elevated the payoff to several thousand and two chaotic horses could have meant about $10,000. The group’s Santa Anita ticket missed which resulted, overall, in the group getting back about two-thirds of its investment. What will this Saturday’s early pick-5s at Woodbine and Santa bring? See you at 10:30 a.m. on the Clubhouse plaza. (ASD is not involved.)
 
DATES TO CIRCLE
  • Tomorrow night: The world’s richest turf race, The Everest at $15 million, goes tomorrow night (Saturday afternoon in Australia) from Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia
  • This Saturday: $500K Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup for 3-year-old fillies (turf) at Keeneland
  • This Sunday: Storied $600K E.P. Taylor Stakes (turf) for fillies and mares at Woodbine. Winner gets free entry into a Breeders’ Cup race.
  • Saturday, Oct. 23: It’s Maryland Millions Day at Laurel featuring 12 stakes races
  • Friday, Oct. 29: Breeders’ Crown harness racing at Meadowlands with $6 million in purse money
  • Saturday, Oct. 30: ASD Player’s Choice online handicapping tournament. Day 2 of Breeders’ Crown harness racing at Meadowlands.
  • Monday, Nov. 2: Melbourne Cup from Flemington Racecourse in Australia (actually Tuesday afternoon in Australia)
  • Friday, Nov. 5: Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. Five BC races starting at 4:50 p.m. CT
  • Saturday, Nov. 6: Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. Nine BC races starting at 2:05 p.m. CT
 

 


 

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