January, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Pick 6 Carryover Of $16,850 Into Friday’s Card At Aqueduct

Friday's eight-race program at Aqueduct Racetrack will feature a Pick 6 carryover of $16,850 after the multi-race wager went unsolved on Thursday's eight-race card.

The $1 Pick 6 returned $374 to bettors who selected 5-of-6 horses correctly.

The sequence kicked off in Race 3 with the Peter Walder-trained Casalsa [No. 3, $7.10] taking an $8,000 claiming event under Eric Cancel. Howzyourcashflow [No. 1, $6.30] followed with a dominant 9 1/2-length score to graduate on debut in Race 4 under Manny Franco for trainer Rudy Rodriguez.

The sequence's largest price came in Race 5 when the David Donk trainee Shasi [No. 5, $43.60] broke her maiden for a $40,000 tag with Jorge Vargas, Jr. in the irons.

Apprentice rider Jose Gomez engineered a winning ride in Race 6 aboard favored Quickflash [No. 8, $6.10*] for trainer Natalia Lynch, one race before Eric Cancel scored his second win on the card when elevated to victory aboard the Linda Rice-trained Mommasgottarun [No. 8, $13.40] in Race 7.

With the carryover already confirmed, Donk and Vargas, Jr. teamed up again to take the final leg with Left Leaning Lucy [No. 4, $10.40] in Race 8, a $14,000 claiming sprint.

Friday's Pick 6 sequence will begin in Race 3 [1:47 p.m. Eastern]. First post is 12:50 p.m.

America's Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct winter meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the best way to bet every race of the Aqueduct Racetrack winter meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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To Gamble or not to Gamble; That is the Question

We will never understand, and it’s just that simple. We will never understand what it’s like to be so competitive and have the adrenaline rush of 50,000 fans screaming your name while you are knocking in the winning run or scoring the winning basket. This is a rush sitting at home and watching television just can’t replace. So, what do athletes do? They gamble. They get involved with sports betting.

The debate is out whether it is ok for athletes to gamble after the recent comments made by John Daly and Charles Barkley. Daly recently came out and said he has lost between an estimated $50 million and $60 million in the last twelve years due to out-of-control gambling. Barkley followed up by saying Wednesday on ESPN that he has lost “probably $10 million” gambling, adding, “It is a problem for me.”

“Do I have a gambling problem? Yeah, I do have a gambling problem, but I don’t consider it a problem because I can afford to gamble. It’s just a stupid habit that I’ve got to get under control because it’s just not a good thing to be broke after all of these years,” Barkley said.

Embedded in this touchy subject are two issues of great importance. When athletes gamble, how much is too much and what is ok for them to gamble on?

I believe there is a fine line between recreational gambling and just utter craziness. In this situation, Daly is crazy, and Barkley is not. I truly believe it’s ok for a former athlete to call up their local sportsbook and place a small-to-medium wager on a ball club if that athlete feels like this bet will satisfy their need for an adrenaline fix. We, as fans, don’t know what it’s like to be in competition everyday on the greatest stage and then have it snapped away just like that. That transition can be brutal and can lead to depression–the reason most of our childhood heroes fall so far from grace. This is also why athletes stay in the game way too long after they should have retired years before they actually do. For Barkley, it is what it is–a habit that needs to be under control. Does he have to stop? Absolutely not.

On the flip side, we have John Daly. It’s one thing for an athlete to gamble a few million if they can afford it. Hey, it’s their money, and they can spend it how they please. We are not their parents or superiors, and let’s stop pretending we are. It’s another thing, however, to end up flat broke and put your family at risk. That is what a loss of $50 million will do. We all know gambling isn’t the only addiction Daly has gone through; he recently beat an addiction to alcohol. This connection leads us to believe Daly really has a problem, and Barkley does not.

Now, to the most important issue at hand. What sports are appropriate or inappropriate for athletes to gamble on? I have one steadfast rule on this. In no way shape or form should athletes now or ever gamble on their sport. Barkley has responded by saying he never bet on basketball, and I believe he is true to his word. However, if he ever did decide to take sports betting to that next level and gamble on the Kings vs. the Spurs on Friday night, for example, (Spurs -2), it would ruin his credibility as a player and, more importantly, as an analyst, and Barkley is a damn good analyst at that. This is what got Pete Rose banned from the game of baseball for life. We all know what an uphill battle that has been for Rose trying to regain his eligibility to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Gambling on one’s own sport is a big no-no and will permanently ruin a career and reputation.

All in all, I don’t think it is a big deal when athletes gamble on sports or in casinos. I think we, the media, like to make a big case out of everything and blow everything out of proportion. I would much rather see Mr. Barkley put down a couple of thousand in a poker game than see an ESPN article covering his addiction to cocaine. I believe these athletes need a bridge between professional sports and retirement, and let’s give them this. Isn’t it every person’s right to sit back after a hard day at the office, grab a cold beer and watch the ball game that you just happen to have a little wager on? If you don’t think so, I’ll bet you a dollar it is.

Fifth Season: Ginobili Ships In For Second Start Off Year Layoff, Faces Nine Rivals Including Millionaire Rated R Superstar

Program favorite Ginobili and 2022 winner Rated R Superstar are among 10 older horses entered in the $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes at 1 mile Saturday at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.

The Fifth Season goes as the ninth of 10 races, with probable post time 4:22 p.m. (Central). First post is 12:30 p.m.

The projected Fifth Season field from the rail out:

Soy Tapatio, Cristian Torres to ride, 122 pounds, 9-2 on the morning line;
Runnin' Ray, Martin Garcia, 122, 8-1;
Heart Rhythm, Rafael Bejarano, 122, 12-1;
Hello Hot Rod, Nik Juarez, 115, 12-1;
Dreamer's Disease, Casey Fusilier, 122, 20-1;
Rated R Superstar, Isaac Castillo, 122, 4-1;
Seize the Night, Mickaelle Michel, 122, 20-1;
Ginobili, Ricardo Santana Jr., 115, 7-5;
King Fury, David Cabrera, 115, 10-1; and
Silver Prospector, Francisco Arrieta, 122, 20-1.

The Southern California-based Ginobili raced twice at the 2020 Oaklawn meeting and recorded his biggest career victory to date in the $200,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) at 7 furlongs in August 2021 at Del Mar. Ginobili was then trained by Richard Baltas, but is now under the care of trainer Peter Miller. In his first start for Miller, Ginobili finished second, beaten a head by stablemate Get Her Number, in a Nov. 20 allowance sprint at Del Mar. It marked Ginobili's first race in almost a year following a physical setback, Miller said.

Before shipping to Oaklawn, Ginobili tuned up for the Fifth Season with a swift six-furlong work (1:11) Jan. 7 at San Luis Rey Training Center in Southern California.

“He ran great off the layoff and he's trained super since,” Miller said. “His work on Saturday was about as good as a horse has worked for me – 1:11 and galloped out (7 furlongs) in 1:23 and change.”

After winning the Pat O'Brien, Ginobili concluded his 2021 campaign with a runner-up finish in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Del Mar and a sixth-place finish in the $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap (G1) at Aqueduct. Ginobili moves back to two turns after a narrow loss to Get Her Number, a Grade 1 winner and second in the 2022 Cigar Mile.

“We had an allowance race that we were looking at out here, but it didn't go,” said Miller, who has around eight horses at Oaklawn. “We pivoted to this a couple of weeks ago.”

Millionaire Rated R Superstar will be making his 10-year-old debut for four-time Oaklawn leading owner Danny Caldwell. A late-running son of Kodiak Kowboy, Rated R Superstar bankrolled $600,266 last year after winning 4 of 9 starts. Rated R Superstar opened 2022 with a victory in the Fifth Season and won Oaklawn's $500,000 Essex Handicap (G3) at 1 1/16 miles in March. He exits a victory in the $100,000 Jeffrey A. Hawk Memorial Stakes at 1 mile and 70 yards Dec. 17 at Remington Park.

Oaklawn leading trainer Robertino Diodoro bids for his fourth stakes victory of the meeting with Soy Tapatio, who has flourished since being privately purchased last summer. Soy Tapatio has three stakes victories for his new connections, including the $100,000 Zia Park Championship Nov. 22 at Zia Park in his last start. Soy Tapatio set Zia Park's 1 1/8-mile track record (1:47.18) in the one-length victory.

“He's done well for us,” Diodoro said. “He's a nice little horse.”

Millionaire Silver Prospector won the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles in 2020 at Oaklawn for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. Asmussen is seeking his record-extending 98th career Oaklawn stakes victory.

Heart Rhythm, who is trained by John Ortiz, will be racing around two turns for the first time since April 2021. After being claimed for $100,000 Sept. 15 at Churchill Downs, Heart Rhythm won an Oct. 19 allowance race at Keeneland and finished second and third in two sprint stakes at Fair Grounds. Heart Rhythm, racing without blinkers, exits a third in the $100,000 Richard B. Scherer Memorial Stakes at 6 furlongs Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds.

“Heart Rhythm's doing fantastic,” Ortiz said. “This horse is always asking for more distance. From the very beginning, we thought that this horse needed a little bit of distance. The gallop out, that last race, it was incredible. If you actually watched the gallop out, he opened up on that field. Just gives me more encouragement to stretch him out.”

Runnin' Ray finished third in the $400,000 Oaklawn Mile (G3) for older horses last April at Oaklawn for trainer Joe Sharp. King Fury cuts back to a mile after finishing fifth in the $200,000 Tinsel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles Dec. 17 at Oaklawn for trainer Kenny McPeek.

Silver Prospector and King Fury add blinkers for the Fifth Season.

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NTRA President, CEO Rooney Joins Writers’ Room Podcast

Tom Rooney, a former Congressman, a lawyer and an Army veteran, was hired to take over as the top man at the NTRA because the NTRA Board knew he could make a difference in Washington. Some two years later and with the swinging pendulum that is the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), Rooney has his hands full. This week, Rooney sat down with the team on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss what he and his staff are doing to advocate for the sport. Rooney was the Green Group Guest of the Week.

The NTRA is pro-HISA, which means that Rooney was working behind the scenes to lobby lawmakers to back legislation in which language that covered HISA was changed so that it would satisfy issues brought up by a federal appeals court that declared that HISA was unconstitutional. Had the language not been changed, HISA very well could have been dead. Rooney said his efforts included discussions with both Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer. Ultimately, the NTRA and pro-HISA forces got their wish.

“[Schumer and McConnell] both recognized that it was important for our industry to have uniform standards and to have racetrack safety and accountability and integrity for us to move forward,” Rooney said. “We made it incumbent upon those two men especially that we needed this language fixed and we were able to get it done despite a pretty good opposition with regard to people that opposed HISA. So we had to work very hard to make sure that we pressed the issue again with those two men and the rest of the members that were going to vote that had problems with it. I was making phone calls days before to members of the Senate that I'm friends with explaining this to them. A lot of people just didn't know what it meant. They thought it meant more of a government overreach rather than something that would help our industry. And I think that once they understood that, they moved on to the next thing.”

Despite his success, Rooney said he was worried that his efforts would fall short.

“I was not optimistic at all,” he said. “I think I told the people on the phone call that we met with on a daily basis or a weekly basis that we probably had a 5% chance of success.”

The key now, is whether or not the new language will mean that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will be satisfied when it comes to the constitutionality issues and allow HISA to proceed.

“I'm confident and that's because I think that we addressed exactly what the court's problems were,” Rooney said. “There is going to be litigation and there's going to be shots taken in other parts of the bill that don't have to do with the ruling. I don't think that those are fatal. And even if they were ruled against, I think that they could be separated without having to try again with a legislative fix, which would be even more difficult with this Congress.”

Looking to the future, Rooney said horse racing needs to join forces with sports betting websites so that their customers can bet on racing and be exposed to the sport. Currently, most on-line wagering on racing is restricted to the traditional ADW outlets like TwinSpires, TVG and XpressBet and sports bettors do not have access to racing.

“The one thing that I'm focused on which will help reach the next generation is what I can do at the federal level to try to get what's called a single wallet on the sports betting apps,” he said. “One of my biggest focuses for the sake of the gambler is to try to figure out a way to integrate horse racing, which, as you all know, was the only legal sport in our country to gamble on for the longest time. And now we're competing in certain states with all sports. FanDuel is one of my board members, and we were able to work with them to get horse racing on a FanDuel shared application. So you don't have to go off one app to get on another one…I remember my son asking me, 'Dad, who's going to win the Kentucky Derby? And then he's like, 'Why can't find it on my app?'”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, Zoe Cadman, Randy Moss and Bill Finley discussed the GIII Sham S. and the incredible amount of depth the Bob Baffert has in the 3-year-old male division. Baffert finished one-two-three in the Sham and has three of the top seven horses in T.D. Thornton's Derby Top 12. There was also talk of the 2022 year-end statistics released by Equibase in which purses were up by 10.92 percent even though handle fell, by 0.87 percent. The group noted that, unfortunately, the growth of purses is attributable not to growth of the sport but solely to outside revenue from casino games. The podcastended on an upbeat note with a discussion of the remarkable recovery of jockey Joree Scriver after it was feared she was paralyzed in a spill at Sunland Park.

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