Month: January 2023

View From The Eighth Pole: Leveling The Playing Field For Gamblers

A recent letter from a horseplayer suggested it would be “useful – and good journalism” to report how much of a track's betting volume comes from computer assisted wagering accounts typically affiliated with licensed offshore advance deposit wagering companies that offer rebates to their customers.

I agree that it would be useful – if that information was made available, which it isn't. It also might be discouraging to a non-rebated horseplayer knowing that he or she is not betting on a level playing field under the original concept of pari-mutuel wagering. They are still gambling against other players, but some of those players are getting a steep price discount that amounts to a lower takeout.

Computer assisted wagering players are not necessarily betting to win, and contrary to what many believe, they are not winning in the traditional sense of the word. They are wagering at an extremely high volume in hopes of 90 percent or more of the amount bet being returned to them on winning combinations. The rebates they receive can then push them into profitability.

Let's say Player X makes $100,000 worth of bets in various pools identified by the computer algorithms. When the results are tallied in this hypothetical situation, let's say Player X had winning combinations that paid $94,000.

You and I might conclude that player lost $6,000. In fact, when a rebate on the $100,000 in wagers is factored in – for the purposes of this case let's say it was 10 percent, or $10,000 – Player X went from a $6,000 loser to a $4,000 winner.

That is substantial. Suppose the blended takeout on all wagers is 20 percent, the amount you and I have to try and overcome. With a 10 percent rebate, Player X is betting against what is effectively a 10 percent takeout.

The Jockey Club in 2018 estimated computer assisted players accounted for upwards of 19 percent of total North American pari-mutuel handle. That's roughly $2.1 billion of the $11.3 million wagered in 2018, and there's no reason to believe these players are betting less today than they were then.

Tracks and state racing commissions are not disclosing how much of the betting volume is coming from players who are getting discounted pricing. They really don't want the everyday players to know. It's difficult enough to win on a level playing field when 20 percent on average is carved out of each bet. Beating the game when one-fifth or more of the betting volume is from players with such a significant price advantage makes it that much tougher.

Gimmicks like the Pick 6 with a large carryover or Jackpot bets were once marketed as opportunities for players to make a life-changing score. Increasingly, however, those multi-race bets are being won by computer assisted wagering accounts that, because of the rebates they receive, can afford to spread their selections deeper than typical players.

They've also created havoc when their batched last-second bets cause major swings in the odds of horses in the win pool. Contrary to what many think, these last-second odds changes don't always result in the horse with the largest drop in odds winning the race. But it can be infuriating to players and breeds suspicion among them.

Track operators may not like letting the computer assisted wagering players into their pools, but almost all of them do, several have told me, because they can't afford not to.

The New York Racing Association and, more recently, The Stronach Group have  reportedly taken steps to limit computer assisted wagering players from making last-second win bets, either by cutting them off before betting closes or by raising the cost of those bets. From what I've been told, those players have moved their action to other pools, where late odds and payoff swings are not as public.

Since NYRA and Stronach are part owners of Elite Turf Club, the largest of the offshore rebaters catering to computer assisted bettors, these two entities are in position to tilt the playing field back in the direction of the average horseplayer. I wish they would do that, while those players are still in the game.

That's my view from the eighth pole.

The post View From The Eighth Pole: Leveling The Playing Field For Gamblers appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Tampa Bay Downs Will Show Film ‘Mill Reef: A Legacy Of Heart’ On Feb. 18

In partnership with the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Tampa Bay Downs will present a screening of the documentary film Mill Reef: A Legacy of Heart on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the racetrack in Tampa, Fla. 

The event is free to attend and open to the public, but advance registration will be required. Beverages and light fare will be available. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tampa-bay-downs-to-present-mill-reef-documentary-film-tickets-516858215837 for the event. 

Mill Reef: A Legacy of Heart chronicles the legendary racehorse Mill Reef, who was named English and European Horse of the Year in 1971 when he won the Epsom Derby Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Eclipse Stakes, and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, among others. Mill Reef was bred in Virginia by Hall of Fame Pillar of the Turf Paul Mellon and campaigned by Mellon's Rokeby Stables in Europe from 1970 through 1972. Overall, Mill Reef won 12 of 14 starts. He was trained by Ian Balding. 

“Tampa Bay Downs is honored to showcase this film featuring Mill Reef, a spectacular horse bred in the United States and a formidable classic winner in Europe, and to pay tribute to his breeder and owner, Paul Mellon, who was preeminent in thoroughbred racing in America and Europe,” said Stella Thayer, president of Tampa Bay Downs. “His generous support elevated the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in its formative years and continues to this day.”

In 2020, the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, which is located in Upperville, Va., and was founded by Mellon's late wife, Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, set out to create a film to chronicle the remarkable achievements of Mill Reef and tell the bigger story of Mellon's passion and dedication to thoroughbred racing and breeding. The 33-minute documentary, directed by Virginia native Cassidy Glascock, has previously been screened in Middleburg, Va., and at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where Mellon was inducted as one of the institution's inaugural Pillars of the Turf in 2013. 

“This film was a true labor of love and teamwork, combining years of footage and photographs with the help of Brough Scott, Emma Balding, Oak Spring Garden Foundation staff, and collaboration with many museums and galleries,” said filmmaker Cassidy Glascock. “While I never met Mill Reef or Mr. Mellon, I hope that we have captured their essence and retold this story in a way that would make them proud.”

Cate Masterson, director of the National Museum of Racing added: “Paul Mellon left behind a legacy that has been instrumental to the success of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and to thoroughbred racing. He was inducted as part of the first group of Pillars of the Turf into the Hall of Fame in 2013. Stella Thayer served as the Museum's president from 2005 through 2014 and continues to be influential in the success of the Museum. We are pleased to see their love for the thoroughbred and dedication to the industry being shared with the community at Tampa Bay Downs. This film will warm the hearts of any trainer, owner, breeder, or racing enthusiast.”

For more information about the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, including upcoming events, please visit www.racingmuseum.org or call (518) 584-0400. 

The post Tampa Bay Downs Will Show Film ‘Mill Reef: A Legacy Of Heart’ On Feb. 18 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Surick Gets 62 Months in Doping Sentence

NEW YORK–Standardbred trainer Nick Surick, who has admitted to doping his own horses as well as assisting Jorge Navarro in that trainer's own doping scheme, was sentenced to 62 months in federal prison Thursday by U. S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil in United States District Court, Southern District of New York in lower Manhattan.

Among the many defendants in the doping case that have come before Vyskocil, it was one of the longest sentences handed out and two months longer than the 60 months she gave Navarro. Navarro has been called Surick's “doping mentor.” The longest sentence she has handed down was the 11 years she gave veterinarian and drug supplier Dr. Seth Fishman.

“I consider your conduct to be very serious,” Vyskocil told Surick at the sentencing. “By giving horses performance-enhancing drugs, you endangered the horses, and the other horses they raced against, as well as the jockeys and drivers. You're supposed to be caring for horses that you trained, yet you risked their lives and impugned the integrity of the sport in which you made your livelihood.”

Surick had pled guilty to two counts of drug adulteration and misbranding and one count of obstruction

The sentence came despite Surick's efforts to cooperate with the government. In hopes of a lighter sentence, the trainer had given the government information on others who were indicted as well as individuals who had not been indicted. But the government felt it could not use the information because Surick had incorrectly maintained that co-defendant Dr. Rebecca Linke had injected a horse he trained named Northern Virgin with EPO. Linke was able to prove that she did not inject the horse.

Surick's credibility came into question because of the false accusations against Linke and prosecutors decided they could not use his testimony against others. Surick said he did not lie about Linke and rather had problems remembering all the details of the incident. The government accepted that Surick may have been telling the truth about Linke and simply mixed up some details.

The government was willing to accept a lighter sentence because the trainer had attempted to assist prosecutors in his case. In a pre-sentencing submission, the government said Surick's sentence should be less than the 72 months recommended by the U.S. Probation Parole Office, but did not specify what length of suspension it felt was appropriate.

While showing a willingness to sign off on a sentence of less than 72 months, Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Mortazavi asked the court not to go too easy on the defendant.

“We do believe that a significant term of imprisonment is warranted here,” she said. “That he attempted to assist us must be weighed against the seriousness of his crimes and that he stood at the top of a conspiracy.”

Citing Surick's efforts to cooperate, his attorney, Timothy Donohue, asked for no prison time and for his client to receive only 12 months of home confinement.

Vyskocil wasn't having any of it.

“Home confinement is not realistic and I hope you did not give Mr. Surick false and unrealistic hopes considering how serious this offense is,” the judge said, chastising Donohue.

Vyskocil said she took Surick's attempts to cooperate into account, but it wasn't enough for her to show him much leniency.

“I have considered your efforts to cooperate and whether or not they warrant a variance in your sentence,” Vyskockil said. “But you provided information that turned out to be misleading. Having weighed your cooperation, the sentence will be well below the sentencing guidelines, but I cannot and will not impose a non-custodial sentence.”

Surick addressed the court and apologized for his actions and said he was working on “turning the page.”

“I am truly sorry for the crimes that I have committed,” he said. “I can't blame anybody but myself. I hurt the sport I love. I owe an apology to the public. They were misled and betting on a product that was not true. I can honestly say that this arrest changed my life. I only knew one thing in life–training horses. I backed myself into a corner and got caught up in the crazy competition to be the best.”

The incidents involving Northern Virgin came up frequently during the sentencing hearing. After the horse was doped, Surick became aware that investigators from the New Jersey Racing Commission were attempting to test the horse. Knowing that if they did test the horse he would be subject to severe penalties, Surick went to great lengths to hide the Standardbred and shipped him out of state. The way he handled Northern Virgin is what led to the obstruction charge.

“Only Mr. Surick was charged with obstruction,” Vyskocil said. “Mr. Navarro was not. It was Mr. Surick's horse and his terrible decision to do what he did with the horse. He moved the horse to other states and went to lengths to hide him.”

The post Surick Gets 62 Months in Doping Sentence appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘Fancy Face’: Impressive Maiden Winner Ziaerati Could Take Fan Club On Oaks Journey

Ziaerati, trained and co-owned by Robert Falcone, Jr. with John Grossi's Racing Corp., registered an 83 Beyer Speed Figure for her gate-to-wire 8 1/4-length debut score in a seven-furlong maiden special weight on Sunday at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The sophomore daughter of Into Mischief, bred in Kentucky by Whitehorse Stable, battled for the lead with My Betsy through a half-mile in 48.80 before kicking clear in upper stretch and drawing off under a hand ride from Dylan Davis. She covered the distance in 1:26.72 over the fast main track.

“You never know it until you bring them over and they show it in the afternoon, but she gave us a very early indication when we started working her that she was a runner,” Falcone, Jr. said. “She did everything perfectly. I've been waiting for her to run for a very long time and I'd been talking her up to John Grossi. She's been very professional the whole time.

“She couldn't blow out a candle in the winner's circle,” Falcone, Jr. added. “I think she wants to go long, so we skipped the three-quarters race and waited for seven-eighths and that's usually tough to get first time out.”

Falcone, Jr. said Ziaerati had worked well into her debut, including against older company.

“Dylan worked her for me a couple times and it doesn't matter how fast she goes or how far you make her gallop out, she always comes back to the barn not blowing,” Falcone, Jr. said. “As a trainer, that can make you wonder. It's a sign of her being really fit but at the same time, is she not doing enough to go seven-eighths first time? You don't want them to get tired in the afternoon for the first time.”

Ziaerati exited the maiden score in good order and will now look to stretch out another furlong in the $200,000 Busher Invitational on March 4 at the Big A, which offers 50-20-15-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top-five finishers.

“We'll take a shot there. I like that it's a flat mile and I like the spacing of it,” Falcone, Jr. said.

Ziaerati, out of the stakes-placed Munnings mare Zia, was purchased for $145,000 at the OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The bay filly was given the nickname of “Fancy Face” as a foal at Mill Ridge Farm due to her distinctively large white blaze which garnered Ziaerati plenty of admirers on social media during the farm's virtual tours in 2020.

“Yeah, me too,” said Falcone, Jr. of being part of the filly's burgeoning fan club. “She definitely has some unique features.”

Falcone, Jr. and John Grossi's Racing Corp. also campaign another promising sophomore filly in Lady Shylock, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Collected, who graduated on debut here on November 27 in a maiden claiming tilt.

The $50,000 OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase won by 5 1/4-lengths in gate-to-wire fashion under Romero Ramsay Maragh, sprinting six furlongs in 1:14.38 over a sloppy and sealed main track. The in-hand score garnered a 66 Beyer.

Lady Shylock has breezed back three times over the Belmont dirt training track, including a half-mile in 52 flat on January 14. She is under consideration for the $100,000 Ruthless, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies on February 4.

Falcone, Jr. will hope for a similarly successful debut when he sends out New York-bred Daddyslilbosslady for his father's Beast Mode Racing [Robert Falcone, Sr.] in Race 1 on Sunday at Gulfstream Park, a five-furlong turf sprint for sophomore fillies.

The dark bay daughter of Mendelssohn is out of the multiple stakes-placed Street Boss mare Rumble Doll, who provided Falcone, Jr. with three of his four wins in his first year of training in 2014.

Falcone, Jr. and his father haltered the New York-bred Rumble Doll for $25,000 in March 2014 at the Big A and she won first out for her new connections just one month later at double the claiming price in a six-furlong sprint on the Aqueduct main track. She won twice more that year for the Falcones, closing from deep to capture a 5 1/2-furlong claiming turf sprint at Saratoga in August 2014 along with a seven-furlong state-bred allowance in similar fashion that September at Belmont.

“We claimed her off Eddie Kenneally for $25,000 my first year of training and put her on the grass,” Falcone, Jr. “She'd come from a different area code every time. She ended up winning six times for us.”

Rumble Doll, bred in New York by Lawrence Goichman, stayed with the Falcones until October 2018 when she was claimed for $62,500 out of an off-the-board effort on the Belmont turf and retired just two starts later.

“That filly was very good to me and my dad,” said Falcone, Jr. “She gave her attitude to the foal. This one may even be more spicy than Rumble Doll was. She doesn't look like her, but attitude wise, I see a lot of Rumble Doll in Daddyslilbosslady.”

Rumble Doll was purchased for $145,000 in foal to Mendelssohn at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Daddyslilbosslady subsequently was an RNA at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale, but sold for $37,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale to Beast Mode Racing.

Daddyslilbosslady, the first foal out of Rumble Doll, trained in New York at Belmont and Saratoga last summer. She remained at Belmont until mid-December before shipping to Florida where she has breezed three times over the Palm Meadows Training Center turf, including a half-mile in 51.60 on January 13.

Falcone, Jr. said he expects the debutante won't be as far back in the early going as her dam.

“She's training good,” Falcone, Jr. said. “ She's more forward from the gate in the morning. I'd expect her to be more forwardly placed, especially going five-eighths.”

Daddyslilbosslady, bred by Spruce Lane, Hidden Brook, Bartolotta, Becker, Conley and Copper Beech et al., will exit post 5 under Paco Lopez.

Spirit And Glory, winner of the Virginia Oaks in September at Colonial Downs, is under consideration for a trio of graded stakes in Florida. She was last seen finishing fourth under jockey Isaac Castillo in an off-the-turf renewal of the Tropical Park Oaks on December 26 at Gulfstream.

Falcone, Jr. said he was expecting a better result over the Gulfstream Tapeta as Spirit And Glory had launched her career in Ireland over the Dundalk synthetic in the care of her former trainer Michael Mulvany.

“The jock said she didn't handle the synthetic too well, but she came out of the race good,” Falcone, Jr. said. “She's won on it overseas so we thought she might be able to handle it over here, but I'm sure their tracks are different than the ones here.”

Trained and co-owned by Falcone, Jr. with Michael Nentwig, Michael Dubb, Beast Mode Racing and John Rochfort, the 4-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Cotai Glory made a memorable North American debut under Davis with a last-to-first optional-claiming score traveling 1 1/16-miles in June at Belmont.

Spirit And Glory finished seventh in the one-mile Grade 2 Lake George in July at the Spa and a closing fifth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Sands Point in October at Belmont at the Big A ahead of a fourth in the Winter Memories here in November.

But her best effort last season came with a 12th-to-first charge in the nine-furlong Virginia Oaks under Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Falcone, Jr. said he will look to reunite the pair next out in a Florida turf tilt.

Spirit And Glory is invited to the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3, $500,000 Pegasus Filly and Mare Turf Invitational on January 28 at Gulfstream, but the filly is also under consideration for the 12-furlong Grade 3, $150,000 La Prevoyante on the Pegasus undercard as well as the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3, $175,000 Endeavour on February 4 at Tampa Bay Downs.

Falcone, Jr. said Spirit And Glory seems to have overcome an issue with being rank in the early stages of her races and that stretching out to 1 1/2-miles could benefit.

“Dylan rode her perfect first time out and Irad rode her perfect after that. You just have to put your hands down and let her be where she wants to be,” Falcone, Jr. said. “If you put her to the rail, she gets aggressive behind horses early and you want to take a hold of her and her head goes up in the air.

“If we go in the mile and a half race, we might end up with Irad and he knows her well,” continued Falcone, Jr. “He left her alone in the Virginia Oaks and let her go around on a loose rein and when he asked her, she responded. If he does that, the mile and a half will suit her well. She can gallop all day.”

Bred by Dr. Noel Cogan and Patrick Williams, Spirit And Glory, out of the Invincible Spirit mare Supreme Spirit, boasts a ledger of 10-3-1-1 for purse earnings of $206,720.

The post ‘Fancy Face’: Impressive Maiden Winner Ziaerati Could Take Fan Club On Oaks Journey appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights