PETA or Not We Need Fixing

Entertaining is probably not how the “powers that be” in racing would describe the ongoing discussions over PETA’s alleged “undercover investigation” of trainer Steve Asmussen’s operation and allegations of animal abuse and misdocumented workers.  However, I have found it to be just that.  There are so many sides to this issue I can’t keep the arguments straight.  So I made myself a list in order to keep things straight in my own mind.

• If someone took 9 hours of video of me over the last 8 months and wanted to dice me to pieces in a 9 minute, heavily edited synopsis, they certainly could.  And I’m pretty sure that I could do it to anyone reading this;
• How in the world did a groom get access to fancy dinners and so much “inner circle” stuff?  Just wondering…
• Scott Blasi has a foul mouth;
• How in the world did the Zayat’s NOT know about Nehro’s feet?  Seriously.  Do they NOT review the bills and see that the horse was costing them more than double on shoes than anyone else in the barn?  This didn’t raise questions?  Just who handles the day to day business operations over there and what is it are they doing?  While appearing “admirable” it appears a bit disingenuous given how outspoken and active they are;
• Where is the Department of Labor?  Hard to believe we haven’t gotten a whiff of an investigation on the whole fake names and SS numbers debacle.  There’s a shoe to drop there and don’t kid yourself, it’s a big one;
• There is a camp that wants Asmussen to move his top trainees, Tapiture, a top Derby contender and Untapable, a top Oaks contender, to other trainers so that he won’t be a disruptive influence in the biggest 3-year old races of the year;
• There is a camp that feels that the best thing that can happen is that Asmussen not only stays in, but wins the races since all the “unwanted” attention will force the industry to clean itself up;
• Horses shouldn’t have pulses in their feet and if they did it would be a sign of trouble – something PETA conveniently leaves out and actually lets the inference be that it’s quite the opposite.  Crap like that weakens your case;
• Injections occur and they are not always bad.  Much as an elite human athlete may get cortisone shots to help treat a joint condition, many an equine athlete receives an injection to treat passing maladies as well.  Because it comes in a needle does not make it bad. We never know what is being injected and why – and that’s how PETA likes the public to view it.
• Just because the messengers CLEARLY have an agenda and are, in my opinion, over the top loons, doesn’t mean that there aren’t things wrong in our industry that need to get cleaned up.  Pronto. 

WHATEVER side (and there are several) you come down on, the sport desperately needs two things: universal medication rules and a national governing body.  I really feel for trainers that come up to Minnesota from states that may not have as strict medication guidelines because it really changes the playing field for them.  And I’m not talking about what’s illegal, but those medications that are legal.  There is a lot more to prepare to move from one jurisdiction to another than just lining up trucks.  Changing a horse’s entire regime may be necessary.  Again, I’m not judging good or bad, but it is different.  Uniform rules would take out this one huge headache for trainers and make the transition from state to state easier.  Now, they’ll need to come together on race day Lasix…

While states may give way on universal medication rules and standards, I find it hard to believe that any of them are going to want to give any ground on the regulation.  States have been regulating racing since the beginning and there is a lot of revenue that is associated with it.  Perhaps state racing commissions become unnecessary with a National Horse Racing Commission or the local entities exist more to police nationwide regulations and racing infractions?  It’s a bit more complex than calling for a commissioner, but I think it’s doable if someone/some group would sit down and do it – at least develop the framework to get it started.  But then who will be the first to offer to subjugate them to it?  Which state would lead the way?  Which governing body would be the first to back it?

There needs to be collaboration, cooperation and, to paraphrase everyone’s favorite Vulcan, a way to make sure that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.  Our sport needs it.

The Year Ahead Holds a Lot of Promise

“May your horses run swiftly & return safely; all your wagers be winners; and this great game of ours prosper like never before!”

-          Old Greek Proverb

Well, it is actually a new proverb written by an old Greek just last night (I prefer middle aged, but my children would argue that point) on Twitter, but it still applies.  2013 has a lot of potential to be an outstanding year.

In Minnesota, things have never been better.  That may not be entirely true as I understand the ‘80s, when Canterbury Downs opened, were pretty spectacular, but in my tenure here – 8 years this summer – the outlook for the future has never been brighter.

Canterbury Park’s 2013 stakes schedule was released a few weeks ago and features five stakes worth more than $100,000.  In my time here only the Lady Canterbury was $100,000 or better and that was reduced the last few years as well.  This year the Lady Canterbury will return to $100,000 and the second running of the Mystic Lake Derby will increase to $200,000.  The Northbound Pride Oaks will also return to $100,000. There are also a couple of newly created six figure stakes on the calendar as well: $125,000 Mystic Lake Mile and $100,000 Shakopee Juvenile Stakes.

While 2012 had a lot to get excited about it also brought with it sadness as we lost Dark Star early in the year.  The Chaucer Cup was one of Dark’s favorite races and its coming back to Canterbury next year in the form of the $50,000 Dark Star Cup.  I hope he still gets a big kick out of the race!

The 20th running of Minnesota Festival of Champions is going to offer up $370,000 in purses – $40,000 more than was offered in 2012.  A really cool addition, in my opinion, is that four of the stakes this year will be named for the most prestigious past winners.   The Distaff Sprint will be named for Bella Notte, the Sprint for Crocrock, the Distaff Classic for Glitter Star and the Classic for, naturally, Wally’s Choice.

The two major Minnesota-bred 3-year old stakes, the Minnesota Derby and Oaks, will be run for $75,000 – the most since the late 1980s.  All of this made possible through the cooperative marketing agreement between the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and Canterbury Park.

And stakes aren’t the only races that have gained in purse and prestige, the purse allotment for the season will be double of what it was for the 2011 season.  More opportunities for everyone to try and turn a profit while enjoying the most fun you can have at a racetrack.

2013 shows a lot of promise – I’m looking forward to doing my small part in making it work!

It Was an Honor Just to Be Nominated

Ever wanted to be on television? Well this little group from the upper Midwest came mighty close. The Jockey Club is pairing with The Wolper Group at Warner Brothers for a docu-reality series called “The Syndicates”. Its charge is to follow several small racing partnerships through the ups and downs of horse ownership from the perspective of the “little guy”.

I first got the call from a casting director in early August. At first I thought it was a bit of a joke from someone, but the call did come from “North Los Angeles County”according to my phone so maybe it was true? Sure enough, it was indeed legit and I went about asking members of our groups if they would be interested. Keep in mind we own one horse outright (Tabby Lane) and one in conjunction with others (E Sveikata). And this is far from what I do for a living, I have a “real” job for crying out loud. I was told not to worry about that – because that’s EXACTLY what they were looking for.

After going through our nine members in Tabby Lane there were five interested parties. All of us were interviewed by phone by the casting director. How did we get into racing? Why did we pick the groups that we did? What do we put in? What do we get out of it? After all the questions we were told that it would be a week or so because deadlines were tight and they wanted to get moving.

After a couple of weeks of not hearing anything, I wrote it off. Soon thereafter we were told it was time to move to the group interview stage. We had cleared the first hurdle. In the group interview we needed to be filmed and then that would be wrapped up in the bundle sent over to the producer where the final decisions would be made.

Several folks were interested from the E Sveikata group, including her breeder and majority owner, Gabe Puniska, but we were told for this next step – the group interview – we needed to be all together and the other folks were in Florida and St. Louis, respectively. So those of us in the Twin Cities area made plans to get together. Unfortunately one of us was going to be out of town so we were down to four, but that was okay with the casting director so it was okay with us.

Jeff Maday was kind enough to give us use of the Canterbury press box on a Sunday evening and the three partners and I set up a video camera and my iPad (for the Skype connection) and we settled in for our group interview. The questions were relatively generic and I think the purpose was to see how we interacted, to see if there was some conflict, to see if there was any personality to the group. It seemed to go well (I believe she called us“unique”) and we were told that the bundle was going to the producers later that week and they would be in charge of the process from there.

Again we waited and again I was on the verge of writing the deal off (I realized that deadlines in Hollywood are more like guidelines than rules) when we were notified via e-mail by the producer that it was time for individual interviews again, this time with her. So she rounded up the four of us and we all had our turn. It was more of the same, but a little more in depth. The producer was delightful and I had a great conversation with her that lasted nearly an hour. Truth be told, I thought I did pretty well - and I know the others in our group would be better. I hung up convinced that we had a shot at one of the three spots of the five groups that were left in the game - not through anything she said, but just my own feeling. The others in the group felt the same, though we were concerned a bit that the racing season was over up our way and we were unsure of Tabby’s future. Since filming wasn’t going to commence in earnest until next summer, the time didn’t seem to matter much. The way it was left was by the end of last week, beginning of this week, we would hear one way or another.

Yesterday was that day. We didn’t make the final cut. I hate to lose and we lost. The producer attributed it to the possibility of Tabby retiring and them not having any real story lines if that occurred while the other group that we were neck and neck with owned and bred their own horses and had a track that was running year round so they could film whenever. Ultimately there would be the potential for more story lines with the other group. It didn't help that of the four of us interviewed, only 2 of us were in both Tabby and E Sveikata.

I failed. It was my job to package up what we are doing up here and make it compelling and sell it to them - in that I failed. Sure, Tabby may be retired and she may become a broodmare, but the 40% we own in E Sveikata is full of potential, Gabe Puniska is quite a character and we do a LOT of discussing about her future – it is not like we are shut out of that process. We certainly could have had her moved to race up at Canterbury if need be (especially with the increase in purses) so that could have worked. We’re also putting together a new group for the winter to have a horse for next summer so we would have had the development of that group, the process of claiming a horse and then getting it running for us as a storyline. Obviously I didn’t make that case well enough.

It’s too bad, too. It would have been and great for those of us involved, but Canterbury would have been showcased and there is NO better small venue in America for racing. As I have mentioned ad nauseum, we attract good crowds that get excited about racing and with the new purse structure in place it was going to be an electric summer – still will be we just won’t be able to show the world!

It was absolutely an honor just to be considered and, especially, to make it as far as we did. But I hate to lose and certainly feel badly that we weren’t good enough to be three of five – and that we weren’t good enough because of me. All we can do now is gear up and keep on working hard to do what’s right by our animals, try and win some races, make some money and try and make sure that we all have a good time in the game we love so much.

Best of luck to "The Syndicates" and those that were chosen - see you at the track!

"Luck" Sneak Peek Disappoints

Though I haven't checked yet, I'm assuming that many racing bloggers and turf writers will be taking stock of the sneak peek of the new HBO drama, "Luck", which is set around a racetrack in southern California.  I’ll weigh in with some of my impressions as a race fan, horse owner and big fan of HBO’s roster of dramas.

I watched the show with the folks in the “Twitterverse” which was absolutely fascinating.  It was very interesting - and a lot of fun - to get instant feedback from many in the racing community.  Hazarding a guess, I would say that the commentary seemed to be running about 2-1 against with a few folks “riveted” and thought it was “great” but most “disappointed” and thought it was downright “bad.”

I’m willing to see where it goes and, for the most part, I won’t put a bullet in a show after one episode but I have to say that after the pilot I find myself in the disappointed camp.

Some of my issues:

-          There wasn’t a single character that I feel drawn to…or even like, yet.  The Irish exercise rider seems like she might have some potential but no one else so far.  Nick Nolte and Gary Stevens’ characters have some potential but the rest of the cast…  I’m afraid that general consensus from the non-racing public will be “I KNEW that the racetrack was full of degenerates!  And horses just die all time.” Never mind Dustin Hoffman's organized crime boss ("and the tracks are run by the mob!"). Sure I’ve run into some real characters on the backside, but mostly warm, caring folks who are insanely passionate about what they do and the animals they work with.

-          To add a (b) to the above, there was a lot of racing insider lingo as well as classic (trite?) portrayal of racetrack denizens.  My wife is on the periphery of the track because of me, so she understands more than the "layman" and she was turned off by the characters and the unexplained slang.  And she is a BIG fan of most HBO dramas so she is in the target demographic wheelhouse and she wasn’t remotely drawn in.

-          The racing was disjointed to me. The cutting of the race showed the stretch then the backstretch and then the stretch again. I understand that it’s hard to photograph a real race, but after the start there was too much space in between the horses – most likely to allow for movement and positioning.  It appeared contrived. 

-          The breakdown.  Did we really need to have a breakdown right off the bat?  We have enough of that in real life, did we really need it in the very first episode?

-          It may be early for this and may be addressed, but it’s been made clear that this is a track in California.  As our Cal friends know, a casino at a track – or even in place of a track that is not Native American – can’t happen given the parameters of the agreement signed by Gov. Swartzenegger with the California Tribes.  As part of a way to try and ease the budget crisis, the Tribes agreed to pay a portion of their casino proceeds to the state in exchange for exclusivity which amounts to billions of dollars.  That money goes away if a non-Native casino is approved/built so the premise is a little shaky.

I didn’t hate the entire show.  There were some portions of it that I did like.

-          When the trainer tells Dennis Farina’s character (an Italian playing a Greek – close, but there are enough Greek/American actors that could have stepped in here…just sayin’) that the horse “will tell us” when he’s ready to run was fabulous and spot on.  A good trainer can read the signs of his/her racehorse and know when the horse is letting them know it is time.

-          Filming at Santa Anita is fabulous.  It’s a gorgeous racetrack and the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains is breathtaking.  The “color” shots of morning workouts are visually very appealing.

-          There is the possibility that some of the story lines will grow on me.  I know that the substance abuse tortured jockey story line may be a bit cliché, but I’m looking forward to that backstory and hoping that it’s a bit of an uplift. I thought Stevens did a great job in relating the pain the entire track community feels when a horse goes down. Nick Nolte’s character’s recognition that he may just have landed the once in a lifetime horse gave me something to look forward to, though the shadiness hinted at (“how they killed” his daddy) in the pilot has the potential to be off-putting.

-          While I ripped some of the racing photography above, there was some of it that was great.  Morning works were excellent and the race shot of the apprentice shooting the gap on the rail near the finish line was thrilling.  THAT was very nicely done.

All in all, I’ll give it a shot after the first of the year but I’m predisposed to loving “Luck” and I’m not sure I even like it yet. 

Just "Banning" Can't Be the End of the Line for Advocates

Last week President Obama signed a bill (passed by a bipartisan coalition that passed the bill in the first place – please don’t let your own political biases let you lose sight of the fact that this had to pass both houses of Congress before it even reached the President’s desk) that authorized the hiring of slaughterhouse inspectors effectively reopening the horse processing business in the United States after years of a defacto ban on slaughter (no inspectors = no slaughterhouses).  The outcry for animal rights advocates and horse people has been deafening.  I’ve been reading on Facebook, Twitter, newspapers and magazines what a tragedy this development is.  I don’t necessarily disagree, but there is one thing that I haven’t read beyond the outrage; the solution.

This is meant to be serious.  I’m looking for real answers here, not “It’s so awful”; “They are beautiful”; “You can’t kill Black Beauty”, etc. 

My question is:

Given the thousands of unwanted horses in this country right now, if the horses cannot be sent to slaughter – for human or animal consumption overseas – what happens to them?

I’m serious.  I’ve been to the feed lots and seen these poor animals in the midst of starvation.  Contrary to popular belief, 99.5% of them were NOT registered Thoroughbreds.  Organizations that exist to help these animals are starved for cash and assistance.  These animals are expensive to care for, even under the best of conditions.  All the hollering that I have seen online and I understand it - the thought of Tabby Lane, Fizzy Pop or any other horses being sent to slaughter is almost unbearable to think about – none of it addresses the problem of what is to be done with all these horses.

If there is not enough money, not enough volunteers and a bad economy – what happens to the thousands of horses every year that are abandoned?  By some estimates over 100,000 horses are being sent to Canada and Mexico.  How do they all get saved?

Population control?  Absolutely.  Just because a horse has a uterus doesn’t mean it needs to be a mom.

More support for after racing programs?  This is ongoing and growing.  Racing is starting – starting – to do a better job taking care of its own.  Ex-racers only account for a very small part of this 100,000.  We’re just an attractive target because of the publicity and money involved, but more attention, giving and financial programs are being put into place to support and retrain ex-racers.

But what about the rest of the population?  It’s easy to cry “STOP” but much more difficult to derive a solution.

I’m not advocating slaughter, mind you, but want to hear solutions over the clamor.  All that has happened since slaughter was defacto banned in the US were more horses were exported to Canada and Mexico and left to starve to death in fields. 

I’d like to hear some solutions along with the hand-wringing.  “Winning” by re-banning slaughter isn’t enough.  Sure, “advocates” could pat themselves on the back and talk of a job well done, but the problem of over-population didn’t disappear – only the end result. Moving the problem doesn’t solve the problem.

If you actually get lawmakers to change their collective mind on this issue, what happens to all the horses that you “saved”?  They’re still going to slaughter, only somewhere else.  Your job isn’t done; it’ll only be just beginning.

You didn’t solve the problem in the last five years, so what will you do if you get a second chance?

Lower Base Wager = High Handle

In today’s Daily Racing Form, Steve Anderson brings to light that the .50 cent Pick 5 wager has supplanted the Pick 6 as the wager of choice at Hollywood Park – at least when patrons are chasing the carryover.  Aside from the goofy ‘single winner’ requirement of the Rainbow Six at Gulfstream Park this winter, that bet, with a .10 minimum was also very popular with bettors.
While this may be a surprise to some, I think to folks that have been involved in the gaming business over the last ten years, this is no surprise at all.  In my thirteen plus years on the supplier side of the casino industry I’ve seen this trend developing over time.

Twenty years ago the undisputed king of the slot machines was the quarter slot machine.  You could bet up to five coins, but usually two or three, spin the reels and test your luck.  In the 1990’s the multi-line nickel machines started to become more popular.  You were able to play nickels before, but usually it was just the same quarter machine “denomed down” to a nickel.  Casinos provided some of these games as a courtesy to their players, but at .25 a spin, there was not a lot of profit in them, but you needed to have something for the wives of the high rolling craps players to play (that was the theory anyway).
Aristocrat Technologies, an Australia based slot machine manufacturer, is generally credited with being the first company to take advantage of new electronics technology and started launching the higher line count nickel games using video reels instead of the traditional mechanical reels.  Now there were nickel games that had nine lines and you could bet up to 10 coins per line.  The maximum wager on a nickel game went from .25 to $4.50 and the average wager started moving north of the .50 and .75 maximum wager allowed by the classic .25 slot machine.

As time moved forward, other manufacturers followed this trend and over the past 5 – 8 years, the emergence of penny slot machines coincided with the advent of ticket-in, ticket-out technology to enable players to cash out thousands of coins worth of winnings onto a single ticket and move to another machine.  This made penny games more playable and more profitable for the players and casinos, respectively.  These penny games now have up to 100 lines and the ability to wager as many as 10 credits per line.  Your “penny” game became a $10 game when played at maximum credits.  Where these penny games, when first introduced, were only a small percentage of a casino floor, they now command over 50% of the floor space in most properties with some as many as 60%.  And the average wager of these slot players, once at approximately .37 cents twenty five years ago, now hovers at closer to .78 cents.  Lower base wager amount = higher handle.

Oh, and their takeout only averages about 9% - maybe that lesson is the next one that racing will learn…eventually.

Don't All Us Bloggers Have This in Us?

I do quite a bit of traveling with my current job and a lot of that is windshield time throughout the upper Midwest. During those long hours I imagine what life is going to be like when we get our first great horse. That tends to extrapolate out to long involved stories about the development of the horse, big stakes races and the twists and turns of life. Naturally, as one whose racing itch is partially scratched by writing about it, I feel that there is a book in there somewhere. I have bits and pieces of it all over the place, written and in my mind, and I'm not even sure yet where it is going or what my ending will be. I don't think that this is an uncommon occurance, but then I have nothing to compare it to either. One thing that I do know is that it's easier to write about my own experiences so I will be playing off those somewhat, but I know from my own mind's meanderings that there will be more fiction than fact in the story. How much is yet to be determined.

Below is the introduction piece. I can't say how much I'll post here or how frequently, but for better or worse, below is the framework that may lead to a book someday. The book that I think most bloggers feel is inside of them somewhere. This one is inside of me.

INTRODUCTION

I have heard people say that the backside of a racetrack smells like the livestock barn at the State Fair. I say that it does not - at least on the backsides that I've been around - because the stalls are kept pristine, the common areas raked and manicured and, in summer, the smell of blossoming flowers are everywhere. Of course I could just be immune to it because on the backside in the early morning is my favorite place to be. I don’t have to have a horse working that day. The hub of activity of an active racetrack in the dawn’s first light is like magic.

If you look one way, you see horses cooling down on circular walkers after coming back from the track from a sharpening three furlong breeze or a stamina building two mile long jog. A bit further beyond is the hub of activity inside a barn where riders mount and dismount, changing their tack from horse to horse to get them exercised according to the trainer’s specifications. Grooms muck the stalls while their chargers are absent making sure that when the star's work is done that there is fresh bedding to welcome the tired horse home. As the training morning draws to a close, tack is polished and hung up, ready for the same routine tomorrow.

A short walk away is the main track and perhaps also a training track at some of the larger venues. Here is where the horses really put in the time and the work to get ready for the afternoon (or evening). On the outside, horses jog to get muscles loose in the chill of the early morning air. Toward the rail, exercise riders chirp and horses break off for their scheduled and timed morning work, showing their owners and trainers what they have in terms of speed, temperament and stability.

A lot is gleaned from these early morning works. A rough rule of thumb is that a horse in shape and within himself can work up to 5 furlongs (a furlong being 1/8 of a mile) in twelve seconds a furlong. Once you move over 5 furlongs you can add a few fifths of a second, but you get the idea. Two horses can go four furlongs in an identical :48.3 seconds. One comes back a bit winded, the other all full of himself – like he barely scratched the surface of his talent. The time says nothing. HOW the horse did it tells everything.

Master interpreters of this information are the trainers. Men and women who have dedicated their lives to the horse, racing and the very difficult lifestyle that goes with it. If you’re a southern California based trainer you can rotate from Hollywood to Santa Anita and summer at Del Mar. If you’re based in New York you can toil at Aqueduct through the winter, bracket the summer at Belmont and escape the city at Saratoga in the heat of August. Even smaller circuits like Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Chicago offer the opportunity for trainers to go home at night. But across America there are scores of other trainers who live out of RVs two thirds of the year and travel routes like Shakopee, Minnesota to Oklahoma City to Oldsmar, Florida and back again or East Boston to Philadelphia to Miami and then back up the Coast. Along the way birthdays are missed, anniversaries are celebrated on the road and there is rarely such a thing as a day off.

Sometimes it’s hard for the casual fan to remember, but the horses are alive. They’re not machines. They have good days and bad days and routine aches and pains the same way that human athletes do. However, a horse can’t talk and tell us what’s wrong. They require care and feeding every day of the year. There are meals to be had, stalls to be mucked, vet care to be given and exercise to be done whether it’s Christmas, Thanksgiving or last Thursday. The trainer and his staff of assistants and grooms are there each and every day to make it happen. You don’t do something like this for the money. You do it because it’s your calling and your passion. You don’t last otherwise.

Later in the day, these finely tuned athletes are turned over to, in my mind, the strongest, bravest and toughest professional athletes in the world: the jockey. Jocks can lead a similar nomadic existence as the trainers do. They are self employed just like the trainers and are just as dedicated to their craft. Notable exception: no one tells a trainer how much he can weigh. The average weight of a jockey is roughly 110 pounds. The amount a horse may be assigned to carry can vary up to 130 pounds for the greatest of handicap horses. The norm, though, is usually less than 120 pounds and some jocks have a hard time staying at a weight that keeps them competitive. Legendary are the stories of jockeys spending hours in steam rooms, hot boxes, manure piles and other contraptions just to sweat off enough pounds to meet their race weight. Bulimia has also been known to make the rounds at jockey colonies around the country. The hell that these men and women put their bodies through to make weight has, hopefully, been aided in recent years by better nutrition and training methods, but it is still a tough way to make a living. Piloting high strung, half ton athletes moving at 40 mph in close quarters requires instinctive reflexes and a feel for the process. There is no time for thinking, only reacting. No other professional athlete can put together all the elements necessary to be a successful jockey and they deserve all the praise and respect in the world – certainly more than these independent contractors get. In what other sport does an ambulance follow you around as you work?

Who’s left? Owners. They come in all shapes and sizes. They can be gracious and accommodating. They can be tyrannical and abusive. Some own huge stables full of horses over several tracks around the country. Some own one horse and live out their racing dreams in a bull ring somewhere. We’re a strange breed of our own, the horse owner. People have said we have more money than brains and in many cases that’s true. We love the game, the sport and the industry – yes, that is racing all rolled into one depending upon how you are looking at it – the equine and the competition. Many love the money and glory and others are content to watch their horse race a few times over the summer and then let them play on the farm until next season rolls around.

What will follow is a fictionalized autobiography. It is not how I wish my life went, because I love where I grew up, how I grew up and the family I was lucky enough to grow up around and the one that I founded myself. The events that shaped my actual life brought me to the place that I am now and I like the place that I am at now. What it could best be described as is a fictionalized account of a life in racing. A bit of what will follow is true. Most is simply made up. It comes from my imagination. In my long car trips across the Midwest I have had dreams in my head of where my horses should go, what races we would win and the speeches I would give if given half a chance. I finally decided that I can have that half a chance – I only had to make it up.

Thanks for reading.

Time for Thanks

As Thanksgiving approaches we all take a bit of time to recount what we are thankful for. I am, of course, thankful for my family - my smart, lovely, talented and patient wife and my three wonderful boys. While the kids can be a handful at times, I can't imagine life without them.

I'm thankful for my first family. Growing up with my parents and sister should be what everyone's childhood is like. Sadly I know that is not the case, but I am thankful each and every day for the childhood they gave me and the experience of growing up with a very close, very extended big, fat, Greek family.

You see how this goes. I could go on and on, as we all can. Tomorrow evening on Blog Talk Radio I'm going to extend this to my racing life - both personally and nationally - and talk about what I am thankful for in racing. I hope that you all join me. You can call in or just leave a message in the chatroom that I'll open up when the show starts. You can even drop me a line at ted@grevelisracing.com, leave a comment here or touch base via Facebook and I'll make sure that I get to as many of your comments as I can.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone!

Vetting

Who just loves buying a car? No one? What a shock! Well, the car-buying process is a hand me down from the horse days. You'd negotiate prices on horses just like you do cars today. Some folks were honest traders and others were snail oil salesmen. You couldn't really tell the good from the bad. Cars never became strictly commodotized like just about everything you buy in a store. You go into Target and pick out a of pants. The guy next to you buys the same pants. Guess what you both pay? What's on the price tag, of course. Another shocker. Such is not the case with cars. You and the couple four tables over may both be buying a Honda Accord but there is a damn good chance that you two aren't paying the same price. By the time all the double talk, delivery fees, dealer prep and other crapola are negotiated out of the deal, you finally get your brand new car. Instead of going home and showing off though, you have to go home and take a shower!

Now the horse business is not that bad. Check that. MY EXPERIENCE in the horse business has not been like that. I should avoid the sweeping generalization because I'm bound to get comments and e-mails from any person that ever got ripped off buying a horse. I have individuals I trust and have earned that trust over time. David Miller, Bernell Rhone, Russ Rhone, Royal Roland and others have been tremendously honest and helpful when it comes to evaluating horse flesh. To them I am grateful.

Right now I am in the process of shopping for our next horse. With the economy the way it is, there is one thing you're never short of: horses to buy. There may be a shortage of buyers (and partners, so drop me a line if your interested - we have a bit more room!), but everyone coast to coast seems to have a horse for sale and getting an accurate read on one for a private sale is brutal.

Here are a couple of horse buying stories for you among the many I have collected over the past few months. No names or locations, but the meat of the stories are what they are. Neither of these stories take place in Minnesota, thank goodness, that's not to say they could not have, but they didn't so "yay" for us.

Both horses were two year olds: one filly and one colt. The filly had some issues, but was one for one racing. A friend turned me on to her and told me what he had paid for a share of her. I went ahead and contacted the owner and inquired. I mentioned my friend (his partner!) had sent me, but not how much he had paid. It was my way of vetting the seller. How much could I trust the guy? His price to me was 66% higher than what he sold to my friend just a week before!! I worked on bargaining him down a bit, but he wasn't going to budge. I sorely wanted to tell him what I knew, even though I DID tell him that my friend had sent me, I hadn't cleared it with him to spill the beans on the price. He called me later about another colt he wanted to sell. I didn't return the call.

The second story is more of a cautionary tale rather than any chicanery on anyones part. This horse is a two year old that showed some real speed in workouts this past summer. After some extensive digging, the horse had developed some nagging injuries and, while the recent layoff probably did it a world of good, there may be some lasting damage - maybe not, but it was enough of a warning to make me pass. You can't expect perfection, but why knowingly start yourself behind the eight ball right away? Even at a low price, it makes no sense making a tough business any tougher!

So we keep looking and keep vetting. It takes an awful lot of time and research to try and get this right - and then there are still no guarantees. We'll get our horse(s) eventually. I'd rather wait a bit longer than leaping before we've had enough time to really look!

How Did YOU Get Hooked?

Tonight is the premier episode of "On the Air With Owning Resources", my attempt via Blog Talk Radio to take this blog more interactive. In tonight's half hour space I plan on sharing how I got hooked on racing and getting into ownership. My question out to you all out there that (hopefully) will be listening:

How did you get hooked on racing?

My feverent hope is that they'll be some interactivity and we can create a community of sorts where we can tackle topics as they arise that face owners and fans alike.

I hope to hear you tonight, 10 PM Central Time just click the hyperlink in this post or the button above to the left.

Claiming Crown Picks - Results

One thing that always bugs me a bit is when - and you see this a lot on message boards - someone gives you their can't miss selections and never posts their results. So here is the rundown of Saturdays Claiming Crown picks and how my top three ended up finishing.


Iron Horse:
1. Calm and Collected - 2
2. Bright Hall - 1
3. Roboponi - 4

Express
1. Chasing the Prize - 1
2. Ready's Rocket - 7
3. Norjac - 2

Rapid Transit

1. Grand Traverse - 2
2. Max Ahead - 4
3. All Joking Aside - 5

Glass Slipper

1. Met A Miner - 6
2. Miranda Diane - 9
3. Thunder and Belle - 2

Tiara

1. Mizzcan'tbewrong - 1
2. Love to Tell - 2
3. R Vicarious Girl - 4

Emerald

1. Drivingmaxandmitzi - 4
2. T Harry - 9
3. Gran Estreno -1

Jewel

1. Furthest Land - 4
2. Antrim County - 1
3. Repenting - 5

The Lady Canterbury Stakes

1. Euphony - 2
2. Happiness Is -1
3. Lady Carlock - 3

Of my top 3 choices I had 6 winners, 5 places and 1 show for 12 spots out of a possible 24. Fifty percent. Not great. But I did have two exacta boxes and a tri box which wasn't too bad in only 8 races. Betting win and place on the top choice (and changing my wager after their respective post parades to Antrim County and Happiness Is) , plus and exacta and dollar tri boxes, a very mild profit was eeked out. Thank you, Canterbury, for the free admission - it made all the difference Saturday!

Can You Have Too Much Racing in One Day?

Nope. I tried yesterday. I really did. I set out for Canterbury Park yesterday morning at 10:00 AM in order to check on Fizzy and talk to Bernell about our next move. I arrived at lunch time and it was hysterical. I didn't notice anything different entering the barn, but one row over was a different story. Row 1 was already eating. Fizzy row wasn't. The site down the row of 20 horses with their heads out of their stalls eagerly anticipating lunch was a hoot. All the heads were bobbing outside the stalls and were cocked to the north end of the barn watching the grooms making their way down the shed row with the feed. As they moved along heads would disappear as horses dug into lunch.

Fizzy looked good. He's been holding weight well and really looks strong. Bernell said he came back well, but that he just wasn't himself for a few days afterward. He was eating well, no fever, nothing in particular, just not himself so the decision was made to wait an additional week before looking for a start. Now he's in fine fettle again and we'll look forward to seeing him again soon.

From there it was over to the front side to finish up handicapping the day's card. When I got to the gate I realized that I didn't have my racing ID so I had to reach into my betting money for the $5 admission. Not a big deal, but I was afraid that it might be a bad omen to start the day!

It was about 2 hours to first post, so I grabbed a water and sat down. I had already nailed down most of the card the day before, but I gave it a once over and then took a peak at the past performances for Running Aces Harness Park that evening. I had to clear my head because handicapping styles are very different and bouncing between cards has always meant bad news for me.

It was an absolutely glorious swan song for spring here: eighty-five degrees and very sunny. I spent the card going back and forth from my seat just past the finish line, the paddock and the windows. I hit a nice exacta with a short priced winner ( a Rhone trainee as it turns out - no inside info, he just really figured) in the second race of the card, but it was steadily downhill from there. Plenty of close followed by the inevitable no cigar. I lost fifty cents on the penultimate thoroughbred race and ended up plus $5.50 on a second place finish in the 7th. I ended the Thoroughbred card up $5. But wait...I knew that $5 admission was going to come back to haunt me!

Seven Thoroughbred races down and eight Standardbred races to go so I hopped into the car and headed up I-35W toward Columbus. For those of you not familiar with Twin Cities geography, Shakopee is about 15 minutes south of the cities while Columbus is about 15 minutes north of the cities. All totaled it should take about a half hour to move between tracks. I completely forgot about construction though and it was about an hour door to door. I still was there about an hour and ten minutes before post time.

It had been about a year since I had been up to Running Aces and there have been some changes. The biggest change is that the card room is opened up. There are 50 tables and about 30 were open and all were busy - a good sign for the long term viability of the track. Another change was the amount of seating that was added. The Park was built with no grandstand (in my opinion a bet on using the racing to get slot machines, but again that's my opinion), only an apron with some benches and picnic tables. Seats have been added throughout the apron and inside the betting area which are much appreciated.

There was also a new track announcer. Peter Galassi has taken the place of Briton Craig Braddick. Braddick was fun and engaging, but Galassi brings a smoothness and professionalism of delivery that seems to make sense in Aces second season. It's as if Braddick was the party starter and Galassi was brought in now to keep the show on an even keel as it grows up. Galassi is in his 8th year as the voice of Hawthorne Park and even brought an educational piece to his duties last night as there were a couple of two year old qualifiers prior to the main card. He took us through the process of qualifiers and the unique situation of the two year olds receiving extra schooling behind the gate. He was hit and miss with his picks, but then aren't we all - and we don't have to sit on TV and announce them to the world. I like them both, but I prefer Galassi.

The biggest change was the crowd (pictured above). Unlike the DRF charts, there is no data available on the crowd size and I am not close to being an expert in crowd estimation but I would say that the crowd had tripled from my visit last season - also on a Saturday night. The betting still wasn't what I would call robust as the odds would fluctuate considerably with each flash of the tote board owing to the small pool sizes, but I would think that handle has increased nicely year over year as well.

The first couple of races went off OK with no real winning going on and then it was as if God reached down and touched me with the gift of second sight. These days don't come along very often, but when they do you gotta jump. Two races in a row I hit the winner on a straight win bet; the perfecta straight and the tri with my first two keyed in order with a couple of others in the show position. It was as if I knew what was going to happen. The tally for the night was two tris, three perfectas, two daily doubles and five wins. It was a good night.

I pulled into my garage at 10:30, almost exactly twelve hours after I left. I was tired, but happy and contented with the outcome of the day. That said, I would have been content anyway because after two racetracks, 15 races, 100 miles and tired legs, I was a little bummed that there couldn't be one more racetrack on the day's card.

A Bad Back Gets You Thinking

I've been hampered by a bad back most of this past week.  Nothing serious, just every once in a while the muscles in my lower back spasm and I walk around looking twice my age.  It's kept me a bit from blogging, some work and, sadly, from the racetrack.  It's been an absolutely gorgeous weekend here in central Minnesota.  Virtually cloudless, mid-70's, light breeze.  No place I would rather be than Canterbury - especially on the backside giving Fizzy some peppermints and letting him know I appreciated the effort in the mud last weekend.  However none of that was meant to be this weekend and now that I can at least sit up a bit to write, there are a couple of musings in my head about local and national racing that I can get out of there now.

What in the world is it with the arcane regulation that if you live in Minnesota you can't bet on Canterbury or Running Aces on an ADW outlet?  I live about 45-minutes from Canterbury and get there once or twice a week to visit Fiz in the morning and maybe the races one afternoon.  I certainly can't get there for every evening, but I'd probably wager on a race or two if I had the capability.  Isn't a small piece of some handle better than zero piece of no handle?  I wouldn't come to the track any less, I just might wager a bit more.

How in the world do we keep the casual fan's interest over the summer?  I expounded on this a bit earlier in the week in a prescripted haze, but I think that this is a real issue.  Some of the best racing in the world takes place in July and August.  Saratoga and Del Mar are legendary.  Monmouth is a great setting for racing and they race all summer long.  What can we do to get the fans that tuned in to the Triple Crown races to tune in to the summer graded stakes?  In July and August only the Virginia Derby is scheduled to be shown on non-racing (HRTV or TVG) television.  Really?  No Travers, no Whitney, no Del Mar Oaks, no Molly Pitcher.  This are great races that may end up with some solid story lines featuring the horses that campaigned over the last six weeks.  What a great opportunity for ESPN to showcase some of these horses before they televise the Breeder's Cup.  September and October are equally as devoid of racing on television.  The Pacific Classic, the Louisiana Super Derby, The Ruffian, the Woodbine Mile - all races that can have an impact on what will happen in November will pass the public by.  What about October 3rd at Belmont?  No less than than five Grade I stakes races will be run: The Jockey Club Gold Cup, The Beldame, Flower Bowl, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and the Vosburgh.  Only already committed fans will see who will punch the last tickets to Santa Anita on that day on TVG/HRTV.  I personally think that ESPN is doing itself a disservice by not showcasing the major races on the road to the Breeder's Cup.  Racing has already proven it can get decent ratings, now help it build a following - you can only earn more advertising revenue!

Many other TBA Blogs have trumpeted the solid TV numbers for the Triple Crown.  Let's take a look at what was on TV in the months preceding the Run for the Roses: the Lane's End, the Florida Derby, the Illinois, Santa Anita and Arkansas Derbies, the Toyota Blue Grass and the Lexington. Seven Derby preps on general television.  The number of graded stakes that will have a bearing on who goes to the Breeder's Cup between the Belmont Stakes and Breeder's Cup Day?  One.  The Virginia Derby on CBS.  Could there possibly be a correlation between airing the prep races and folks tuning in for the main events?  Try it for the Breeder's Cup, ESPN and see - do you really HAVE to show the 2007 World Series of Poker again?

Boy that felt good to let go...  

Opening Day 2009 - Canterbury Park

Last season's opener was Derby Day and it was bright and sunny and packed to the rafters. This year was a Friday night under the threat of rain... When I got to the track about 30 minutes before first post, the parking lot looked like a typical Saturday. Decent for a Friday night, but not great for a season opener. More of the same once I got inside - a nice crowd, but nothing special. There was a glimmer of hope from the south as there was a line of clearing that looked like it wanted to come our way. Maybe if we could get some of that it could help save the night a bit?

Entering the track I went right to the paddock, located just inside the main gate to the right, for the first race. There was certainly an air of exuberance. Friends were greeting friends they haven't seen since last season and after an extended off season, everyone was happy to be back racing.

The first race went off as scheduled and as the final horses moved into the starting gate, the crowd started applauding and went the latch sprung and track announcer Paul Allen began the call there was whooping and hollering from the growing crowd - we were back in action!

Dean Butler piloted the first winner of the meet, the Mac Robertson trained 3-5 favorite Mister Merz. Merz is stablemate of Rebel Stakes (G2) winner Win Willy and carries the colors of the Jer-Mar Stables. There was a sad note to the open festivities as Golden Prancer broke down in the turn for home. Jockey Adolpho Morales was unseated but thankfully unhurt as was the jockey of Erinn and Aaron, B.L. Hollingsworth. Golden Prancer was vanned off the track. The celebration of the first race of the season was a subdued one.

Fortunately the second race featured a great comeback by a big favorite in a stretch run that took up every stride to the wire. Five to one Crossing Guard tried to take the field wire to wire and built up a 10+ length lead entering the stretch. Even money favorite, Ma Barker made her move under Juan Rivera and started to chop into that big lead with every stride. As the wire got closer, so did Ma Barker. The crowd was really worked up by mid-stretch and as Crossing Guard's stride shortened, I'm sure the wire seemed like it would never come for Dylan Williams. When they finally crossed it looked like she had hung on...until the instant replay. Maybe Ma Barker DID get there? After what I'm sure was an agonizingly long wait for the photo (been there!), Ma Barker indeed got the win and the place went nuts saluting a very game filly winning her first race since her maiden at Turf Paradise. The first Daily Double of the season: $6!

The chalk parade continued in the third as Tahitian Queen romped keying a $15 pick 3! Wow... The upside for me in this race? Tahitian Queen was ridden by Jose Ferrer who is picking up the mount on Fizzy Pop in Sunday. More on that in the next post later today.

Finally, in the 4th, it was bombs away as Engaging Lover blew up the tote board at 25-1 for Harvey Berg and jockey Luis Medina. Bernell Rhone's comebacker Belicheck - off over a year until his start at Tampa a few weeks ago - combined for an exacta payout of over $300. Amazingly enough, a husband was telling his wife behind me - "I told you! I told you!" The feeling of KNOWING regarding a 25-1 shot. Rarely happens, but when it does...

Finally my stomach started to remind the rest of my body that it was dinner time. At Canterbury Park, choices abound. On the main level there are two main bars - one near the top of the stretch, the other just past the finish line. These bars bookend a snack bar, pizza and pasta and a Mexican stand as well as a small restaurant inside the card club. The fabled Canterbury Nut Lady also operates her stand as you head up to the Mezzanine.

As you head up the escalator, there is a Famous Dave's BBQ stand, another snack bar and a shout out to the "Great Minnesota Get Together" (below) - many of you would probably call it our State Fair - where you can get fries, foot longs and, of course, Pronto Pups (corn dogs to the rest of the world)!

Finally, upstairs in the Clubhouse (below) is another snack bar, the Clubhouse Buffet and the Park Restaurant. Choices for literally every taste and budget. I went for a slice of pizza which was better than any "venue" pizza you've ever had - and plenty of pizzeria's as well!

Dinner leads me in to the 'specials' that are run at Canterbury. Each racing day, from Thursday to Sunday has a theme attached to it. Friday nights are Minnesota's Finest Happy Hour with live music on the apron, 1/2 price pizza, drink specials and contests. Saturdays are Classic Saturdays with Classic Cars on display, a giveaway, other food and drink specials and a $10,000 Pick Six pool guarantee. Sundays are Pepsi Family Day which features pony rides, face painting, a petting zoo and a kids "Race the Track" after the final race. When Thursday racing returns in a few weeks it'll bring the return of buck night which is just as it implies: $1 admission, $1 hot dogs, $1 Pepsi, $1 nachos, beer specials and a "Who do you like today contest?" with the prize of a $20 win, place, show wager. Solid daily promotions, good, affordable food and exciting racing action - a definite winning recipe.

There is also something else about the crowd at the Shakopee oval - it's young. There were plenty of twentysomethings and thirtysomethings around as well as families. These days this is an anomaly when you head out to the racetrack. Maybe it's because we're a summer meet? Maybe because we run in the evenings during the week? I went ahead and asked a group of younger folks sitting behind me what their reasons were for picking the racetrack. The number one answer was fun! This was followed by the excitement of wagering and, interestingly enough, the puzzle of trying to figure out a race and the feeling you get when you nail one. They all agreed as well that it was an inexpensive night out. Five dollars in, inexpensive food (if you stick with the specials) and you control your wagering budget. They can all hang out together and make a lot of noise and pit their skills against each other. It was a mighty encouraging conversation. I don't know if we're unique in Minnesota, but it would be nice to see this trend spread throughout the country.

I was fortunate enough to run into old partner Brian (of Somerset Sam and Somerset Wish fame). It was great catching up with him and a special congratulations on his engagement to longtime girlfriend Andrea! It was also fortunate as my choice for the 6th race, Henry the K, ran off the board. We got so caught up in talking, I never placed the bet. So thank you, Brian!

In the finale of the evening, a Minnesota bred Maiden Special Weight contest, partner Janet Weber (breeder of Miss Belle Express) had a homebred running, Tahkodha Bill. Bill had a bought with seconditis last year and was trying to break that streak on his return. While it didn't happen (he was placed 3rd after being interfered with in the stretch), it was great to catch up with Janet and her entourage: Linda, John and Vickie. John and Vickie also are partners with Janet in the filly Standing Rock who races Sunday in the 3rd, just before Fizzy's race so we'll be there to root them on!

The final attendance figure was 7,482 which was significantly less than the 10,000 plus in attendance last year, but a chilly, overcast, very windy Friday night with the chance of rain and thundershowers I'm sure kept plenty of folks away. Also, last year was Derby Day, sunny and warm after a long cold winter and most of the Spring. It's very difficult to make any kind of fair comparison. It'll be interesting to see how today's attendance compares with a sunny forecast and a very interesting Preakness Stakes to wager on. I don't know if we'll see 10,000, but I think we'll see more than in the opener.

For more on Canterbury's opener, see Jim Wells official Canterbury blog.