Top Canadian jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva has released his first book. Riding for Freedom is a raw personal memoir on his struggles to overcome an abusive father and debilitating addictions to survive the high stakes world of horse racing.
Month: February 2021
Craps Terms – Part Two
Today, we continue our Craps Terms series with more terms. We stopped off at “for the boys” last session. Today, we pick it up with an animal-the Buffalo. Let’s get started.
Buffalo: Okay, it’s not an animal. When you make a buffalo wager, you’re betting on each of the Hardways and Any Seven. If you want to mix it up, you can make a Buffalo-Yo wager, which is all of the Hardways and a Yo (eleven) bet.
Buy: When you place a number, you can buy it. When you buy the number, you’re paying a 5% commission for true odds. You’ll rarely see the 5,6,8 or 9 bought. It’s almost always the 4 and 10. Why? Well, when you buy the 4 and 10 you get 2 for 1 odds rather than 9 for 5. Imagine you bought the 4 for $25. Each time the 4 hits, you would be paid $50. Your commission would be $1. The commission is off the bet not the win. Also, the commission is rounded down, as most Craps tables don’t have 25-cent cheques.
C and E: This is an extremely common wager on the come out roll. When you make a C and E wager, you’re betting on Any Craps and Eleven (Yo). It’s a one-roll wager. You can make this bet any time, but most people do it on the come out roll to protect their Pass Line bets.
Charting: If you go to the casinos in Downtown Las Vegas, you’re likely to see a charter. Charting is when you record the action of a table. Usually this is done on a notepad. Why chart a table? Many people who do it believe there are patterns in the dice-not true. Others do it on a person by person basis, because they believe people have certain patterns. If you play online, you can do this easily and without standing out like you would at a real table.
Change Only: IMPORTANT! If you do nothing else, remember this command. When you are at a real Craps table and you throw money down, it plays where it stays unless you say “Change Only.” Many unsuspecting people have thrown their money down expecting change only to see it gobbled up after it lost. Now, if you want the money to be a bet, just don’t say another word or say “Money Plays.” That’s the command for letting the money sit and play. The dealer shouldn’t touch the money.
Cheques: This is the official term for what many call chips. Let’s say you have a $100 cheque and you want a stack of $5 cheques, you would put down your cheque in the Come area and say “Cheque Change.” That’s the dealer’s cue that you don’t want it to play and that you want smaller cheques/chips.
That ends today’s Craps terms session. Next time we’ll pick it up with terms like cocked dice, cold table, coloring up, come out roll and many more.
Spooky Channel Gets Perfectly Timed Ride To Win John B. Connally Turf Cup
Trainer Mike Maker had his streak of six consecutive victories in the John B. Connally Turf Cup at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, Texas, snapped last year when Brad Cox-trained Dot Matrix defeated Bemma's Boy and Marzo from Maker's deep stable of turf runners.
Maker came loaded again this year, with three starters in Sunday's $200,000, Grade 3 Turf Cup, just as he did in 2020. Once again, however, he had to settle for the minor awards as 3-2 favorite Spooky Channel, from the Brian Lynch stable, collared Maker's pace-setting Conviction Trade inside the furlong pole, then held off a furious late rally by Maker-trained Ajourneytofreedom to win by a neck.
Spooky Channel, a 6-year-old English Channel gelding owned by Terry Hamilton, was clocked in 2:30.94 on a firm grass course for the 1 1/2 miles of the Turf Cup. He paid $5 for the win, his ninth in 18 career starts. Ajourneytofreedom finished a length ahead of Conviction Trade, giving Maker a 2-3 finish for the second year in a row. Tenfold was fourth for trainer Steve Asmussen, with Ken McPeek-trained Signalman fifth in the field of a dozen older runners.
The John B. Connally Turf Cup was one of six stakes – two of them graded – offering over $1 million in purses on Sunday's Houston Racing Festival as Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, Texas,
It was a big day for the track, with a record $5.3 million wagered on the 10-race card.
“We are thrilled with the success of this year's Houston Racing Festival and getting a record handle of $5.3 million,” said Frank Hopf, senior director of racing. “It was a team effort from everyone at Sam Houston and our thanks go out to all the horsemen and owners for supporting our meet. This would not be possible without our horseplayers, both here in Texas and nationally. It was a great day.”
Leparoux allowed Spooky Channel to settle into fifth position after breaking from the 10-post in the three-turn Turf Cup. Rafael Hernandez put Conviction Trade in front from the start, going an opening quarter mile in :24.57, a half mile in :48.97 and six furlongs in 1:14.00. Leparoux began asking Spooky Channel to pick it up with a half mile to run, the mile clocked in 1:40.52, and by the time they reached the quarter pole, after 1 1/4 miles in 2:05.67, he was on the front-runner's right flank.
Conviction Trade fought back and maintained a half-length lead with a furlong to run, but Spooky Channel finally put him away just as Ajourneytofreedom and Jesus Castanon emerged on the scene with a powerful stretch rally that came up just short at the wire.
“I have ridden him before and felt he would like this turf course,” said Leparoux. “Brian and I talked and we knew he would have enough to come off the pace and make his run. He left it up to me and the horse did exactly what he hoped for.”
Spooky Channel began his racing career for Hamilton in Arizona in the care of trainer Clay Brinson, winning six of his first eight starts at Turf Paradise, including the 1 7/8-mile Hasta La Vista Handicap.
After shipping east and being transferred to Lynch's barn (following one off-the-board finish at Canterbury Park), Spooky Channel has won three of nine, including the G3 W.L. McKnight Stakes at Gulfstream Park in January 2020. Following a sixth-place finish in the G1 Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park last July 4, was given some time off, then returned to be fourth in the G2 Ft. Lauderdale at Gulfstrealm Park on Dec. 12. He trained up to the Turf Cup at Palm Meadows Training Center in South Florida.
“It was exciting to be part of the big stakes day at Sam Houston Race Park,” said Lynch from his base in South Florida. “Spooky Channel is a true marathoner and ran a great race. Julien is a multiple Eclipse winning rider and I am one of his biggest fans. I am grateful to my owner Terry Hamilton, who is also a great friend.”
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Front-Running Letruska Too Much For Houston Ladies Classic Foes
St. George Stable's front-running Letruska lived up to her odds-on favoritism in Sunday's $300,000, Grade 3 Houston Ladies Classic Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, Texas, fighting off a pesky Motion Emotion, then drawing away to win the ninth running of the filly and mare fixture by 2 1/2 lengths under jockey Jesus Castanon.
MIke Maker-trained Ujjayi finished second, with 2020 Houston Ladies Classic winner Lady Apple four lengths farther back in third and Tom Amoss-trained Figure It Out fourth. Motion Emotion, who like Lady Apple is trained by Steve Asmussen, finished fifth after making a bold mid-race move to pressure the eventual winner. Ken McPeek-trained Jeweled Princess finished sixth and Scott Geiner-trained Shes Our Fastest rounded out the field of seven.
Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, who brought the 5-year-old Kentucky-bred mare to the United States from Mexico City near the end of the 2019 racing season after winning all six of her races there, Letruska covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:45.02 after setting fractions of :23.66, :48.56, 1:12.99 and 1:38.42. She paid $2.80 as the 2-5 favorite and was winning for the 12th time in 16 career starts. Six of those wins have come in the U.S., including two other graded stakes: the G3 Shuvee at Saratoga last August and the G3 Rampart at Gulfstream Park in her last start on Dec. 12.
The Houston Ladies Classic was one of six stakes – two of them graded – with over $1 million in purses offered on Sunday's Houston Racing Festival program that saw wagering total $5,342,599.
The post Front-Running Letruska Too Much For Houston Ladies Classic Foes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
