America’s Best Racing and handicapper (and avid gambler) Monique Vág team up to provide horseplayers with their best bets of the weekend. Vág will identify her top picks as well as at least one longshot play of the weekend, a nice opportunity to swing for the fences on a win bet or to take a shot with a show bet. She also will occasionally look for strong exacta plays for the weekend or try to spot a nice opportunity for other wagers. This Weekend’s Bets
Formerly Based In Mexico, Clasico Del Caribe Winner Letruska Returns To Florida For Added Elegance
St. George Stable LLC's Letruska is set to make her return to Gulfstream Park's main track for the first time since outrunning older males during a 4 ¼-length romp at the demanding 1 ¼-mile distance last December.
The 4-year-old daughter of Super Saver, who remained undefeated in seven career starts in the Copa Invitacional del Caribe on the Dec. 8 Clasico Internacional del Caribe program, is scheduled to clash with seven other fillies and mares in Saturday's $60,000 Added Elegance at Gulfstream.
First race post for Saturday's 12-race program is noon. Six of the dozen races are scheduled for the turf, with four scheduled as part of the Rainbow 6 along with the Added Elegance.
Trainer Fausto Gutierrez had nominated Letruska to the June 11 Coaltown, an overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up that attracted Grade 1 runners Math Wizard and Diamond Oops, but opted to wait for Saturday's mile overnight stakes for fillies and mares.
“She has worked very good. She's been very relaxed,” said Gutierrez, whose stable is now based at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream Park's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County. “I tried to run her two times, once against the boys, but in the end, I decided to wait because this race was very near. I think this is the perfect race for her.”
Although Letruska had already proven herself against males in the Copa Invitacional del Caribe, she was in receipt of a five-pound weight allowance as a 3-year-old and an eight-pound allowance as a filly.
“The last time [she ran against males] she got 13 pounds, it was a good handicap,” said Gutierrez, whose stable was primarily based in Mexico until this year.
Letruska sustained her first career loss in her turf debut in the Dec. 28 Tropical Park Oaks, in which she set a very keen early pace before tiring to 13th. The Kentucky-bred filly rebounded while returning to dirt and coming off a 3 ½-month layoff to capture an April 16 allowance at Oaklawn Park.
“She was incredible off the layoff. She ran a very high [speed] figure. She ran against very nice competition, fillies who have run in stakes,” Gutierrez said.
Letruska set a solid early pace and drew away to a 2 ¼-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile allowance in which the runner-up was Todd Pletcher-trained Nonna Madeline, a multiple graded stakes-placed filly who is also entered in Saturday's Added Elegance.
Letruska came back to sustain her first career loss on dirt April 30 at Oaklawn, tiring to third after setting a pressured pace in a mile allowance won by multiple graded-stakes winner Blamed.
“The second time she ran at Oaklawn, it was just 14 days after the first,” Gutierrez said. “It was like a stakes. Out of seven who ran six won stakes.”
Emisael Jaramillo, who was aboard for the Copa Invitacional del Caribe victory, will be back aboard Letruska, who will carry 126 pounds, four more than Nonna Madeline, Saturday.
Teresa Viola Racing Stables and St. Elias Stable's Nonna Madeline is set to make her first start since finishing second behind Letruska April 16. The 4-year-old daughter of Candy Ride had previously finished third in the Inside Information (G2) and fourth in the Hurricane Bertie (G3) after winning an allowance off a 14-month layoff during Gulfstream's Championship Meet.
Edgard Zayas is slated to ride Nonna Madeline for the first time Saturday.
Ken Copenhaver's Queen Nekia will seek to rebound from a 10th-place finish in the April 18 Apple Blossom (G1) at Oaklawn Park Saturday. The 5-year-old daughter of Harlington had previously finished third at Gulfstream in the Royal Delta (G2), beaten three-quarters of a length by victorious Cookie Dough.
Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. gave the call aboard Queen Nekia to Samy Camacho.
Irving Cowan's Remarkable Soul, Steven Dwoskin's Helping Lisa D., Starship Stables and Steven Dwoskin's Starship Bonita, Magic Stables LLC and Cairoli Racing Stable's Bella Ciao, and My Purple Haze Stables LLC's Heiressall round out the field.
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American Pharoah Halter Headlines Iowa Aftercare Auction
Ashford Stud has donated a halter won by its resident Triple Crown winner American Pharoah for an upcoming online auction to benefit Hope After Racing Thoroughbreds (HART), an Iowa-based aftercare organization.
The silent-auction fundraiser will be held exclusively online beginning at noon Friday, June 26 and will conclude Friday, July 3, at 8:30 p.m. Central time. The auction features other memorabilia, services, photos, paintings, tack and more. All the proceeds go to HART’s care, rehabilitation, retraining and rehoming of retired racehorses from Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino. Those wishing to donate outside of the auction may do so directly through HART’s website at iahart.org.
“We’re so grateful to Ashford Stud for donating this halter worn by one of the all-time greats,” said HART president Jon Moss. “This is a chance for a racing, horse or sports enthusiast to own this priceless memorabilia while helping horses that don’t have a set future when they are through racing. HART finds safe, loving homes for our retired racehorses, preparing them for second careers in the show ring, eventing, trail riding or simply as pleasure or companion horses.”
To view items, create an online account or for more information, go to www.32auctions.com/hart2020.
The post American Pharoah Halter Headlines Iowa Aftercare Auction appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
How to Recognize a gambling Problem
With more and more people gambling these days, there are more reported cases of gambling Addiction then ever before.
Gambling problems can manifest themselves in many different ways. Some problem gamblers will have all of these signs of their gambling problem and some others may only have one. Gambling addiction affects players of all different forms of gambling like Blackjack, Poker and even Bingo
The most important thing to remember is just because their life is not horrible because of their gambling does not mean there is not a problem, many people can have serious gambling addictions and still hold down a job and make it seem as if everything is fine. This just means that this person has not hit a bottom yet, but eventually it will catch up with them.
Most addicts will stop socializing with anyone not into their addiction, so if suddenly someone you know cuts out all their friends from their life and starts to isolate themselves this can be a sign.
A simple thing to look for is if they are overly interested in the sports scores, and if after reading them to they become ecstatic or depressed. No one likes it when their favorite team loses, but a gambler will have major mood swings depending on if they are winning or losing.
A big sign of gambling addiction is someone who is constantly having money problems and asking to borrow money but never pays it back, but sometimes out of nowhere this person will seem to have large sums of cash.
Lying and stealing is another good clue to a gambling addiction, they will make up all sorts of excuses for their odd behavior, and you may notice small, but expensive items missing from your home.
If when visiting this person if you notice that some of their things are missing, or if they tell you they have had to sell some things, then there is a good chance that what they sold either went to pay of gambling debt or to make new bets.
There are many other signs but these are the most common symptoms of gambling addiction according to addiction professionals. If you see 2 or more of these symptoms in someone you know you should immediately try to get this person to accept their problem and seek professional help.
Without help gambling addiction leads to the same place as drug addiction or alcoholism, eventually they will be overcome by their addiction. At this point they will be fully cut off from friends and family.
Most gamblers with bad addictions usually wind up jobless and in many cases homeless if their addiction is allowed to go unchecked for too long, and studies have shows that people with gambling addictions are more prone to illness because thy allow their health to lapse.
For more information on gambling addiction talk to your family doctor or look on the internet for the gamblers anonymous web site, or from one of the many internet web sites dedicated to helping gambling addicts to locate professional help in their area.
