Grand National: Aintree celebrates tireless work of NHS heroes
NHS staff enjoy a day at the races after The Jockey Club donated 10,000 tickets as a thank you.
Month: April 2022
Franco, Velazquez Fined for Misjudging Oaklawn Finish
The riders of both the winner and the fourth-place horse in a $108,0000 allowance race on last Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby undercard both were fined for apparently forgetting that mile races at Oaklawn Park end at the sixteenth pole and not the traditional finish wire.
Geovanni Franco and John Velazquez each were assessed $200 fines from the Oaklawn stewards on Thursday for “misjudging the wire and striking his horse after the finish of the fourth race at Oaklawn Park on April 2, 2022.”
Franco was on the lead for most of the race aboard Background (Khozan) while Velazquez rallied from the back aboard Title Ready (More Than Ready). Background opened up late under urging to win by 1 1/4 lengths, while Title Ready was involved in a blanket finish whose 2-3-4 horses were separated by margins of a nose and two necks.
Although Oaklawn's pan shot of the replay doesn't show the immediate aftermath of the finish, the head-on shot reveals Franco whipping right-handed several times and riding hard almost to the traditional finish line while Velazquez delivers a single right-handed crack while also hustling his mount. Other riders shown in the frame are already easing up their horses.
Franco has ridden regularly at Oaklawn this meet while Velazquez has shipped in for stakes engagements. It was not immediately clear if either rider would be appealing.
Although this sort of misjudgment penalty has sporadically been imposed at Oaklawn over the years, it's always a bit more noticeable when it occurs on a big race day with a leading national jockey involved.
On the undercard of the 2021 Arkansas Derby, jockey Joel Rosario was fined $200 for misjudging the short-stretch finish aboard the 9-5 favorite Rushie (Liam's Map), who lost the $400,000 Oaklawn Mile S. by a nose.
The post Franco, Velazquez Fined for Misjudging Oaklawn Finish appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
University Of Kentucky Student Researching Connections Between Wagering Options
A University of Kentucky student is conducting research to better understand the relationships between historical horse race wagering, live race wagering and purses at Kentucky racetracks.
Barrett Kerr is a junior at UK majoring in agricultural economics and is conducting research on the historical and live horse racing markets in Kentucky.
Historical horse wagering, also known as instant wagering, has grown in popularity in the past couple of years as more Kentucky racetracks have made that option available to consumers. However, the percentage of money going to purses differs across racetracks. Still, if the popularity of historical horse wagering continues to grow, it could impact purse sizes.
Being new to Kentucky and having never participated in horse wagering before, Kerr was intrigued to learn about the economics behind the industry. Kerr is analyzing data from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's monthly pari-mutuel wagering reports. He is breaking down how much money was wagered at eight racetracks in Kentucky from 2011-2021 and tracking purses over this same time period.
Kerr hopes his research helps industry stakeholders, Kentucky policymakers and decision-makers better understand the connections between historical horse wagering, live wagering and purses, which in turn can inform future policy decisions. Kerr will be using his research to write his master's thesis, undergraduate capstone and honors thesis while at UK.
Kerr has been conducting this research under the advisement of UK Professor Jill Stowe.
“I first met Barrett when he enrolled as a student in my AEC 503 class. As a University Scholars Program student, he took the course for graduate credit,” said Stowe, an agricultural economics professor in the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. “I was impressed with his ability to perform at a high level; and in conversations after class, I came to learn that he is quite intellectually curious.”
Currently, Kerr is studying abroad at Maynooth University in Co. Kildare, Ireland, but he continues to do his research and has gained an insight into horse race wagering's global impact.
“Ireland has a huge horse racing culture, and with that comes wagering on the races,” said Kerr. “So, I guess it has just given me perspective into how large the industry truly is and how many people are a part of it, both nationally and internationally.”
[Story Continues Below]
Kerr is a member of the National Hispanic Scholar Recognition Program, which recognizes Hispanic and Latino high school juniors each year for their PSAT scores. This recognition opened many doors for Kerr's secondary educational options, which included UK. Kerr visited the campus after receiving a scholarship offer from UK.
“I just fell in love with the campus and the people when I came and visited, so it was a no-brainer to me.”
Having a love for working with numbers and an agricultural background through 4-H and FFA, Kerr decided to pursue a degree in agricultural economics. In fall 2021, he became a part of the University Scholars Program at the University of Kentucky. This allows him to obtain his master's degree in agricultural economics while also finishing his undergraduate studies in the same field. Kerr has an interest in attending law school after he graduates and hopes to focus on equine law.
As a student in the Lewis Honors College, Kerr has gotten the opportunity to take alternative courses focused more on social justice. These have helped him grow as a student beyond just economics.
“Those classes really challenged us to face things head-on instead of just kind of burying our heads in the sand,” said Kerr.
Due to this opportunity and his academic achievements, Kerr plans to graduate with honors in May 2023.
Through his classes at UK, Kerr feels he is prepared for law school as well as his future career, noting that he is now well versed in research and argument development thanks to his professors and mentors.
“So, not only do I think I am in the best place to do my research given the topic, but I also have the most knowledgeable and understanding mentors, advisors and professors, which is something I don't think I could find anywhere else,” said Kerr.
The post University Of Kentucky Student Researching Connections Between Wagering Options appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Trio Of Pick 5’s Offered On Saturday’s Wood Memorial Card At Aqueduct
Saturday's stakes-laden Wood Memorial Day card offers a number of intriguing options for bettors, including a middle Pick 5 featuring a mandatory payout.
The 11-race card begins at 12:50 p.m. Eastern with an overflow field of fillies and mares 4-years-old and up sprinting six furlongs over the outer turf to kick off the first of three Pick 5 offerings. The opening Pick 5 sequence, which offers a carryover provision, concludes in Race 5 with the Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff Handicap led by returning Grade 1-winner Search Results.
The middle Pick 5, which offers a mandatory payout, begins in Race 4 [2:29 p.m.] with a field of nine fillies and mares 3-years-old and up battling 1 1/16-miles in an outer turf allowance. The middle Pick 5 sequence is bolstered by the Grade 3 Distaff Handicap, the $100,000 Danger's Hour at one mile over the inner turf in Race 7, and ends in Race 8 with the featured Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino which is headlined by undefeated graded stakes winners Early Voting and Morello.
The Late Pick 5 sequence, which has a carryover provision, kicks off in Race 7 [4:11 p.m.] with the Danger's Hour. In addition to the Wood Memorial, the sequence includes the Grade 1 Carter Handicap presented by NYRA Bets in Race 9 at seven furlongs for older sprinters, featuring multiple graded stakes winner Speaker's Corner.
A competitive sequence concludes with the Grade 2, $250,000 Gazelle, a 100-40-20-10 Kentucky Oaks qualifier in Race 10, in which Venti Valentine and Classy Edition will look to make the grade; and the Grade 3, $200,000 Bay Shore at seven furlongs on the main track for sophomores in Race 11 which features a field of 10 topped by Wit and Dean's List for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.
The $1 Pick 6 will begin in Race 6. There will be a pair of Pick 4s offered starting in Race 2 [1:25 p.m.] and Race 8 [4:45 p.m.].
For more information, please visit http://www.nyrabets.com.
The post Trio Of Pick 5’s Offered On Saturday’s Wood Memorial Card At Aqueduct appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
