Conclave wins his 25th race! Skyler Whiteshield up.
Get Serious Las Vegas Horse Player Challenge tonight
by George
The muddy Friday night card at the Downs was supposed to produce some longshots but instead the biggest winner of the night only paid $11.50. That’s okay, maybe we’ll get some on Saturday’s drying out track, just in time to take advantage of the extra $1,074.65 that’s being added into the Pick-4 pool tonight!
Mud often changes a race, as does a drying out track. You just never know which horses are going to handle the wet or heavy going. Some horses slip and slide all over the place while others just can’t handle a drying out surface. Surprisingly, while we did see a few horses floundering on Friday night, most of the horses ran true to form.
The winners of races one through eight paid $3.60, $11.50, $7.50, $6.30, $7.60, $8.40, $5.10 and $6.70. The largest Superfecta of the night came in the fourth race ($1,089.40) and the 15% Pick-4 paid $610.50, not bad considering the short prices.
Trainer Ardell Sayler won a pair of races to increase his lead in the trainer standings 10-6 over four trainers currently tied for second including Irene Britton, Jerry Gourneau, Tom Gardipy Jr. and Rob Atras. The latter also won a pair of races on Friday to improve his record to a stellar 6-1-1 from 10 starts. Singles on the evening went to trainers Darrell Lawson, Kriss Weiss, Curtis Maxwell and Guy Kling.
Maxwell and his small stable hadn’t won a race for ages it seems, so his victory in the fifth race with Storminborealis ($7.60) was especially pleasing for that barn. Kling’s win in the seventh race came with a special kind of horse ridden by Skyler Whiteshield. Conclave ($5.10) was winning for the 25th time in 57 lifetime starts. He also has seven seconds and nine thirds. Rare and amazing stats for a 9-year-old gelding!
Jockey Paul Nolan scored twice on Friday to maintain a 15-13 lead in the rider standings over Chris Husbands, who also won a race on the card. Jennifer Reid sits alone in third with 12 wins, followed by Adolfo Morales with 11 wins. Morales won a pair of races on Friday and Trevor Simpson won the sixth race to move into fifth in the standings with nine wins. The additional single on Friday night went to apprentice Janine Smith.
The Pick-4 carryover on Saturday night will have the aforementioned $1,074.65 added into the pool before the betting starts and there is also a Super High 5 carryover of $995.04 in the last race.
Virgin103 and QX104 will be in the Trackview Gallery tonight looking for winners, as will the competitors in the month-end Get Serious Las Vegas Horse Player Challenge on the main floor.
Tournament registration begins at 4 p.m. and advance wagering starts at 4:30 p.m. Players have until 7:30 p.m. to register. The entry fee is $50 and players must be 18 years or older to participate. The person with the biggest bankroll at the end of the contest is the winner.
There will also be $50 in wagering vouchers awarded to the person who selects the highest priced horse in the contest (divided if there is a tie) and $100 in wagering vouchers awarded to the contest participant who qualified the most times (divided if there is a tie) during the month.
Ponying up the entry fee of $50 (or less) and outplaying the other entrants will put you and your guest on a plane to Las Vegas in March to compete in the Horse Player World Series where you could win $350,000. Have you signed up yet? If not, go to Guest Services, see a mutuel supervisor or phone (204) 885-3330 ext. 225.
Boarding!