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Sprint: Weaver Not Worried About Four-Month Layoff For Vekoma

Vekoma comes to this year's Breeders' Cup with stronger qualifications than many, as the winner of two Breeders' Cup Challenge races (the G1 Carter H., which got him a berth in the Sprint, and the G1 Metropolitan H., which got him a berth in the Dirt Mile). But he's also coming from a four-month layoff.

Trainer George Weaver said he's not concerned about the time away.

“It's not a year layoff, it's not a six-month layoff, it's four months,” said Weaver Monday morning. “Once we got him back in a breeze pattern, he jumped back into fitness very easily.”

About a month after the Met Mile, Weaver said the colt came up with a hoof abscess, and it took longer to resolve than he might have hoped. (Learn more about hoof abscesses in this 2015 Paulick Report feature.)

“Obviously we like to see our horses run,” he said. “I wanted him to run at the Forego at Saratoga. We were hoping to make the Vosbugh. Not so much as needing the races, we just wanted to see a star run.

“I'm never disappointed in the horse. It's horse racing. It is what it is. I didn't have any control over it. I know how good he is. I enjoy having him in the barn, and if they don't make the race, they don't make the race … if you let yourself get too worked up about it if you don't make the race, you'll drive yourself out of your mind.”

The 4-year-old, who is owned by R.A. Hill Stable and Gatsas Stables, also took the Sir Shackleton Stakes in March, which was his 2020 debut. Other than his twelfth-place finish in the 2019 Kentucky Derby, he hasn't finished off the board, with wins in the G2 Blue Grass and G3 Nashua before that.

This also won't be his first long layoff, as he was on the shelf nearly a year between the Derby and the Sir Shackleton.

“He's been training very well,” said Weaver. “He's a feel-good horse and he's been doing well. All you've got to do is suit him up, put his helmet on and let him go play, he's going to show up.”

There was a lot of buzz about Vekoma earlier this year after his wins in two Breeders' Cup Challenge races, but that faded during his time away. Weaver said he knows his horse has something left to prove.

“That's the way this game is,” he said. “Anything you do, they forget about it. It only lasts a week or two and they move on to the next race that's been run.”

Although Vekoma has guaranteed spots in both the Sprint and the Dirt Mile, his pre-entry status indicates his connections' first preference is the Sprint. Weaver said he's expecting to see the same Vekoma he's used to showing up Saturday, layoff or no layoff.

This Breeders' Cup news is made possible in part by the National Turfwriters and Broadcasters (NTWAB), which has organized a group of pool reporters to assist off-site media in their coverage of the races.

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TCA to Host Online Auction of Halters Worn by Breeders’ Cup Winners, Contenders

Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) will host an online auction of halters worn by Breeders’ Cup winners and contenders. The All-Star Halter Auction is set to open Friday, Nov. 6 at 9 a.m. and will conclude Monday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. EST. The auction is sponsored by LNJ Foxwoods and all proceeds will benefit TCA.

“In a normal year, we would be just days away from our annual Bash at the Breeders’ Cup fundraising event,” said Erin Crady, executive director of TCA. “However, like so many nonprofits, we’ve pivoted to an online fundraiser this year. The funds raised by the auction will help us to continue to make impactful grants to approved organizations working to transition Thoroughbreds into second careers, provide health and human services for backstretch and farm workers, and provide equine-assisted therapy services to men, women, and children.”

More than 50 halters worn by Breeders’ Cup contenders and winners will be available for bidding. Halters worn by Classic winners Accelerate, American Pharoah, Awesome Again, Blame, Curlin, Ghostzapper, Gun Runner, Mucho Macho Man, Tiznow, Vino Rosso, and Zenyatta will be offered. A halter worn by 2020 Kentucky Derby winner and Classic contender Authentic as well as a halter and two shoes worn by Preakness-winning filly and Distaff contender Swiss Skydiver will be available. All halters may be previewed here.

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Belmont Fall Meet Sees 33.6 Percent Increase In Average Daily Handle

The New York Racing Association Inc., (NYRA) today announced that the Belmont Park fall meet generated $9,923,813 in average daily handle from all sources, a 33.6 percent increase over the 2019 fall meet.

Despite running 10 fewer days than in 2019, all sources handle of $267,942,961 was down just 2.5 percent compared with 2019.

The Belmont Park fall meet has traditionally opened on the Friday following Labor Day. Due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, NYRA adjusted the fall schedule by adding a one-week break following the conclusion of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course. As a result, the 2020 fall meet was contested over 27 days compared to 37 days in 2019, a 27 percent decrease in race dates.

A total of 267 races were run during the fall meet with 148 on the main track and 118 over the grass. Average field size over those 267 races was 7.88, an 8.7 percent increase over 2019. 24 races were taken off the turf due to weather.

The Oct. 10 Jockey Club Gold Cup Day card, which featured 5 graded stakes in total, generated all sources handle of $19,534,830, which is the highest single day handle number for a Belmont fall race date since September 2014.

The 2019 fall meet at Belmont Park generated all sources handle of $274,929,718 and average daily handle of $7,430,533. 324 races were run in total with 14 races taken off the turf due to weather. Average field size was 7.25.

Chad Brown posted 22 wins to earn the status as top trainer for the Belmont Park fall meet for the ninth consecutive year, while Jose Ortiz registered 40 victories to lead all riders.

Klaravich Stables campaigned 13 winners, six more than the second-closest competitor in Repole Stables, to pace all owners.

The fall meet was conducted without spectators and with only a limited number of essential personnel, horsemen and owners on-site due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack will begin on Friday, November 6 and continue through Sunday, December 6. Highlighted by the 32nd renewal of the of the Grade 1, $250,000 Cigar Mile on Saturday, December 5, the 18-day fall meet at Aqueduct features 29 stakes, including 11 graded events, worth $3.41 in purses.

Opening weekend of the Big A fall meet, which coincides with the Breeders' Cup set for November 6-7 at Keeneland Race Course, begins with the $100,000 Tempted for juvenile fillies and $100,000 Atlantic Beach for juvenile turf sprinters on November 6.

Following opening weekend, live racing will be conducted Thursday through Sunday with the exception of Thanksgiving Week, when live racing will not be offered on Thanksgiving Day, November 26.

New York state currently requires all racetracks to operate without spectators in attendance to combat the spread of COVID-19. As was the case during the Belmont Park fall meet, a limited number of New York State Gaming Commission-licensed owners will be permitted at Aqueduct on the day their horse is entered to race.

America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the Aqueduct fall meet with coverage to air on FOX Sports and MSG Networks.

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Bill to Authorize Fixed-Odds Wagering Introduced in New Jersey

New Jersey moved one step closer to becoming the first state in the country to allow fixed-odds wagering on horse races when a bill that would authorize that form of betting was introduced in the New Jersey Legislature Thursday.

The bill was introduced by New Jersey State Senator Vin Gopal and an identical bill has been sponsored by Assembly Gaming Committee Chairman Ralph Caputo and Deputy Republican Leader Assemblyman Ronald Dancer. With the bill enjoying bipartisan support, expectations are that it will pass and will be signed into law by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy some time before the beginning of the 2021 meet at Monmouth.

In February, it was announced that Darby Development LLC., the operator of Monmouth Park, had entered into a 10-year agreement with the Australian firm BetMakers in which BetMakers would manage and distribute fixed-odds betting on Monmouth’s races. Monmouth had hoped to offer fixed-odds betting during the 2020 meet, but the review process conducted by the Attorney General’s office dragged on longer than expected. Should the legislation pass it is expected that fixed-odds wagering can begin without any further delays and without the requirement that it be approved by the Attorney General’s office.

“The Company is pleased that the legislation has been introduced and supported by both sides of the aisle, and that it provides a clear framework for Fixed Odds horse racing in New Jersey,” BetMakers CEO Todd Buckingham said in Monday’s press release. “The introduction of the Bill is an important step for providing a regulatory pathway for the introduction of Fixed Odds Betting in the U.S. and places New Jersey as the front-running State in the U.S. to pursue this opportunity.”

BetMakers Head of International Operations Dallas Baker said the takeout on fixed odds betting has yet to be determined but “will be pretty similar to what you see with the tote or maybe a little bit more competitive.”

At this stage in the process, fixed odds wagering will be available for New Jersey residents only and only on New Jersey tracks. However, Dennis Drazin, the chairman and CEO of Darby Development, said that BookMakers will look to expand and sign up tracks outside of New Jersey. In order to do so, they will have to comply with the Interstate Horseracing Act, which requires consent from the racetrack operators and a local horsemen’s group. He added that there is a possibility that fixed odds betting could begin before the Monmouth meet and at one of the two harness tracks in the state, the Meadowlands and Freehold.

BetMakers will attempt to expand the form of wagering outside of the tracks themselves and ADW companies and bring the many firms that accept sports betting on board, as well.

Fixed odds wagering has proved to be extremely popular in Australia. Baker said that it was introduced in Australia about ten years ago and is the primary reason handle in that country has doubled since that time.

“If you study the model of Australia, it has really grown the business there,” Drazin said.. “And our business over here has stagnated a little bit. This is a new opportunity to grow the market.”

One of the advantages of fixed odds wagering is that it prevents what is a growing problem in American racing, large odds drops in the pari-mutuel pools on horses after the race has begun.

“As a racetrack operator who talks to people, talks to our customers, one of the biggest complaints I get is when someone says they bet a horse at 8-5 and by the time they broke out of the gate and went a little bit the horse was 3-5,” Drazin said. “They think something has to be wrong with this picture. This way the bettor will have clarity on what the odds are and they’re not going to change. It will result in better satisfaction for the person making the wager.”

This will not be New Jersey’s first foray into fixed odds wagering. New Jersey had been the only state to allow wagering on the betting exchange Betfair. The exchange allows customers to set prices on horses and bets are matched when two bettors agreed on the odds. After a run of four-plus years, Betfair pulled the plug on the New Jersey exchange at the end of September, saying that handle was so low that they couldn’t justify continuing on. One of the problems with Betfair is that it never reached agreements with most of the major tracks that would have allowed New Jersey customers to wager on them Drazin said he hopes that BetMakers does not run into the same problem.

“This is going to be good for our business if everybody gets on board,” he said. “If only a few tracks offer it and it’s not the major tracks it will suffer the same growth problems exchange wagering had.”

BetMakers is also behind the $1 million BetMakers Bonanza, a $1 million bonus that combines the GI Haskell S., the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. Having already won the Derby and the Haskell, Authentic (Into Mischief) will earn the bonus if he wins the Classic.

“One of the things we want to do is give back to the industry,” Baker said. “This is a good opportunity and we jumped on the chance to sponsor it. It’s exciting to see that Authentic is alive for the bonus going into the Breeders’ Cup.”

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