September, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Vincent O’Brien Is First Trainer Inducted To Hall Of Fame

The late Vincent O'Brien, a master trainer on the Flat and over jumps, is the first of his profession to be inducted to the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame. His name was announced along with three equine stars of the 1970s, Mill Reef, Nijinsky and Brigadier Gerard (GB).

Marking the 10th anniversary of QIPCO's sponsorship of the British Champions Series, the Hall of Fame was launched in May with the inaugural inductees Lester Piggott and Frankel (GB).

During an illustrious career, O'Brien notched 141 Group 1 wins, with 67 of those coming in the UK, including six Derby winners. Prior to that his extraordinary success in the National Hunt field included training three consecutive winners of the Grand National. Moreover, he played a hugely significant role in the development of Coolmore Stud in partnership with his son-in-law John Magnier and Robert Sangster. O'Brien's particular liking of the stock of Northern Dancer led to some of Ballydoyle's and Coolmore's leading lights, including his fellow inductee and Triple Crown winner Nijinsky, and the Sangster-bred supersire Sadler's Wells.

“No racing decade ever had a start like the 1970s. Nijinsky, Mill Reef and Brigadier Gerard–three horses of the century only a year apart. No Derby winner more majestic than Nijinsky, no Arc winner more of a mould-breaker than Mill Reef, no miler more complete than Brigadier Gerard,” said Hall of Fame panellist and broadcaster Brough Scott.

“Irish genius Vincent O'Brien added to the magic of that era, setting a standard most could only dream of matching. He changed the racing and training landscape, and his legacy lives on at Ballydoyle and Coolmore–which remain two of the world's greatest racing operations to this day.

“They individually and collectively deserve these places within the Hall of Fame and the panel and I offer our heartfelt congratulations to their connections.”

Vincent O'Brien's son Charles said, “The QIPCO British Champion Series Hall of Fame is a wonderful initiative and, on behalf of the O'Brien family, we are absolutely delighted that Vincent O'Brien is the first trainer to be inducted. His achievements, both in the National Hunt and Flat spheres, are unparalleled and highly unlikely to ever be matched. Additionally, his creation of Ballydoyle as a training centre and his involvement in the early days of Coolmore Stud will ensure that his legacy will live on. We would like to thank QIPCO and the judging panel for helping to ensure that this is the case.”

Nijinsky, whose name is intertwined with both O'Brien and Lester Piggott, claimed the Triple Crown in 1970, a feat that has not been repeated in the intervening years. From a hugely successful stallion career, he remains the only sire to have had a winner of the Derby and the Kentucky Derby in the same year, in Shahrastani and Ferdinand.

Brigadier Gerard, bred in Britain by his owners John and Jean Hislop, was ridden by Joe Mercer to win 17 of his 18 races, including the 2000 Guineas, two Queen Elizabeth II S., and two Champion S.

Mill Reef, trained by Ian Balding, was runner-up to Brigadier Gerard in the 2000 Guineas of 1971 but was never beaten again in subsequent starts, including in the Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Fifty years on from Mill Reef's magnificent 3-year-old season, his trainer's son Andrew Balding is currently leading the trainers' championship in Britain.

Connections of the four inductees will receive a specially commissioned medal which will be displayed at Doncaster on Cazoo St Leger day (Saturday) as part of a QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame exhibition. The exhibition can be found within the racecourse's grandstand in the Grandstand Enclosure.

A number of additional inductions will be announced in the build-up to QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday, Oct. 16. These include one horse chosen by the public, who can vote here until Sept. 24.

The post Vincent O’Brien Is First Trainer Inducted To Hall Of Fame appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Learn To Play Poker

Texas Hold’em has quickly become a staple on TV, in casinos, and in living rooms around the country.

You must know how to play, and how to play well. Whether you want to beat your friends in a friendly home game, or make some money playing online or at a brick and mortar casino, or compete in a tournament, the following tips will show you how you can begin a journey which can be fun and rewarding.

You can begin by…

PLAYING FOR FREE

Admittedly, playing poker free without anything at stake is usually boring and unrewarding.

However, the majority of online poker sites still offer the option to play poker using free money. Anyone who opens an account receives a small sum of play money he or she can use at the play money tables. There they can play in the same manner that the real money tables use.

Now clearly the level of competition and the quality of the strategies are not those you will usually find at a real money table. That is not to say that the free tables are not without purpose. Since the site will keep records of the amount of free money you win, there will be a steady increase in the level of play as you start entering into tables where the stakes are higher. For instance, if you were to start out with 1,000 dollars and slowly work your way up to a sum of 20,000 dollars, allowing you to enter into tournaments where the buy-in is 3,000 and up, then you would be playing against higher caliber opponents. As a result online poker for free does have its own level of competition and depth.

When you have mastered the play money tables, you can then begin playing at the real money tables. Take the time to play for free and think of the decisive advantages it presents:

1. Gain a knowledge of the best starting hands in Texas Hold em.

2. You learned to harness the power of position at the poker table.

3. You have grown in your understanding of betting and the various betting strategies

4. Grasped the ability to speak poker slang without looking like an idiot at the tables.

5. You understand there is a proper code of conduct known as poker etiquette.

So what are you waiting on? Do a search on online poker reviews and find the poker-client that best suits your needs. While you begin learning to play poker for free, you should…

BUY THE BEST POKER BOOKS

A large number of poker players find their introduction to the game of Texas Holdem through some of the best poker books.

With Texas Hold’em experiencing such a rapid growth in the past several years, there are more poker books than ever before, however you want in your possession the best poker books. Read poker book reviews and find the top poker books especially for beginning poker players. However, take the time to search the Internet for information on how to play poker and the different Texas Hold em starting hands before starting out.

Good poker books can help you improve techniques to your game that you may have not known or have ignored. You also might find that during a bad poker run, re-reading your favorite poker book can help you return to the essentials and point out some probable weaknesses in your game.

Do yourself a favor and read nothing but the best poker books that will help you to learn how to play poker. Now there is one other tip you should utilize if you want to learn how to play…

FIND A POKER COACH

If you are serious about learning to play poker and wanting to win money, you should consider a poker coach. You are aware every professional athlete has a “go to person.”

Hank Haney tutors the prolific Tiger Woods to keep him in check and perfect his swing. Heck, even Michael Jordan himself had a mentor. Every paid athlete regardless of the sport has a tutor or a trainer to maintain his or her discipline… Always helping with strategy and perfecting the game.

Poker is a people game and coaching is a people thing. A poker coach can see what you are doing wrong and immediately correct you. That is hard and perhaps impossible to do on your own.

If you’re serious about playing poker then you should take playing poker serious enough to find a good poker coach. Having someone to critique your play may save your bankroll down the road.

Learning to play poker takes a minute to learn and a life-time to master. With the aforementioned tips it will make learning to play easier. Good luck at the tables.

Bumper First Irish Book For Wootton Bassett

Wootton Bassett (GB) has been given a rapturous reception in his first season in Ireland at Coolmore, where he covered 244 mares, including 61 daughters of the late Galileo (Ire).

The figures for the 2021 covering season have recently been made available on Weatherbys Bloodstock Reports online. They show that Galileo, who died on July 10, covered 45 mares this season, though with a number of those having also visited other stallions, his final crop is likely to be very small.

The same cannot be said for Wootton Bassett, who made the bloodstock world sit up and take notice when siring the European champion 3-year-old Almanzor (Fr) in his first crop which contained only 17 foals. During nine seasons in France at Haras d'Etreham, Wootton Bassett's profile continued to grow, with his leading performers including Breeders' Cup heroine Audarya (Fr), G1 Prix de l'Abbaye winner Wooded (Ire) and G1 Prix Saint-Alary victrix Incarville (Fr).

Audarya's dam Green Bananas (Fr) (Green Tune) paid Wootton Bassett a return visit this year, along with the dams of Group 1 winners Channel (Ire), Golden Horde (Ire), Harry Angel (Ire), Immortal Verse (Ire), Limato (GB), Line Of Duty (Ire), Mabs Cross (Ire), Mukhadram (GB), One Master (GB), Sioux Nation, Tepin, Zoustar (Aus) and this year's standout 3-year-old filly Snowfall (Jpn).

His book also featured an impressive list of Group/Grade 1 winners, headed by the Arc winner Found (Ire) and including Albigna (Ire), Alexandrova (Ire), Awesome Maria, Bracelet (Ire), Clemmie (Ire), Curvy (Ire), Deirdre (Jpn), Fancy Blue (Jpn), Miss Yoda (Ger), Nickname, Peeping Fawn (Ire), Proviso (GB), The Fugue (GB) and Was (Ire). Along with the 61 Galileo mares, another 13 in his book were maternal grand-daughters of the multiple champion sire.

Wootton Bassett's fee rose to €100,000 this year, up from €40,000 in his final season at Etreham which in itself was a significant rise from his opening fee of €6,000 in 2012. In 2014 and 2015 he covered for just €4,000.

Figures released by Weatherbys focusing on the Coolmore stallions show that of the five sons of Galileo currently standing in Fethard, Churchill (Ire), who has so far sired 15 first-crop winners and four black-type performers, was the busiest of the quintet. He covered 198 mares this year, including the Arc winner Danedream (Ger). Australia (GB) was sent 162 mares, including Sweepstake (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), the dam of two of his stars of this season, Broome (Ire) and Point Lonsdale (Ire).

Camelot (GB)'s book of 170 mares included the dam of Aclaim (Ire), which presents some interesting inbreeding to Floripedes (Fr) (Top Ville {Ire}), the dam of Montjeu (Ire). Sparrow (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}), the dam of Camelot's G1 Cox Plate winner Sir Dragonet (Ire), has made a return visit and another mare of note among Camelot's 2021 suitors is Maria Lee (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), the dam of Poetic Flare (Ire).

In his first season at stud, the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) covered 132 mares, while No Nay Never, whose best runners this year include the high-class Alcohol Free (Ire), was sent 183 mares and his Group 1-winning son Ten Sovereigns served 152 mares in his second season.

The post Bumper First Irish Book For Wootton Bassett appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Is There Such A Thing As Toxic Fencing For Horses?

Educated horse owners are aware of the toxicity of red maple leaves, but are fence posts and boards made from maple trees safe to use around horses? Dr. Anthony Knight tells EQUUS magazine that there is very little toxin in the trunk of maple trees, so lumber made from maples poses very little risk – even if the horse chews or cribs on the wood.

Wilted leaves of the red maple contain a tannin called gallic acid that damages horse's hemoglobin, the part of the red blood cells that carry oxygen. A horse that ingests three pounds or more of wilted or dried red maple leaves could have organ and tissue failure because of the lack of oxygen in his blood.

[Story Continues Below]

Gallic acid has also been found in silver maples and sugar maples. All three maple species are found in the United States and are commonly used in landscaping. There are myriad hybrids and cultivars from these trees, as well. The leaves from all of them should be kept away from horses, Knight says.

The majority of the toxin is found in the tree's leaves when they become wilted, but there is some toxin in both the bark and branches of the trees. Horses do not typically ingest enough of these to cause damage to their organs.