When Tom Durkin walks down Broadway in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., it is almost as if he is stepping back in time. Fans often stop him to remind him of one of his legendary race calls and to express their appreciation for his extraordinary career. Those conversations mean the world to Durkin. “You’re walking down the street and somebody stops you and has something really nice to say to you about you,” said Durkin. “I don’t know that a lot of people go through this world experiencing something like that. It’s one of the great blessings of my life.”
Tag: Horse racing news
$29,652 Total Investment Yields $173,912 Payoff In Del Mar Pick Six
A single Pick Six ticket holder playing an $8 base price ticket took down Del Mar's Sunday pool to the tune of $173,912. The $8 base means there was a single ticket hitting the $2 bet four times.
The bettor played a total of $29,652 on the wager and cashed when Canadian Ginger captured the 11th and final race of the day to pay $8.20 to win.
The winning horses in the sequence were Race 6 — #9 Songofthedesert ($5.60); Race 7 — #10 Sweet River Baines ($114.40); Race 8 — #7 United ($4.80); Race 9 – # 10 Friar's Road ($4.00); Race 10 — #2 Galilean ($4.40), and #11 Canadian Ginger in the nitecap.
In the case of a solo ticket, the bettor wins both the main Pick Six pool and the Jackpot pool.
The post $29,652 Total Investment Yields $173,912 Payoff In Del Mar Pick Six appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
‘A Dream Come True’ As Keith James Asmussen Rides First Winner
You couldn't have witnessed a prouder moment than that of Hall of Fame trainer, Steve Asmussen and his wife Julie watching their first born son, Keith James Asmussen, ride his first winner in the nightcap at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, on Sunday.
Sunday was Stars of Texas Day featuring two $75,000 stakes races celebrating Texas-bred horses, but the most exciting race of the day was the finale when Keith won by just a head at the wire aboard Inis Gulaire. The entire place erupted in screams and cheers, more than witnessed here in recent memory.
Keith rode his first race at Lone Star on June 15, and had ridden a total of sixteen races finishing 2nd four times and third twice. It wasn't until race number 17 that he finally caught the elusive victory.
A beaming Keith was almost speechless after the win but managed to get out an excited, “It's a dream come true.” He then added, “You know Lone Star has been open for 24 years and I'm 22. My earliest memories are of coming here, so to get a win here is just surreal.”
Inis Gulaire, a 3-year-old son of Bernardini is trained by his father, Steve who said, “You know the amazing horses we've had and how blessed we've been, this is the greatest win we've ever had.”
After the celebration's finally wrapped up in the winner's circle fellow jockeys scooped Keith up in their arms and marched him to the paddock for a dip in the fountain, a tradition here for a rider's first win at Lone Star.
The post ‘A Dream Come True’ As Keith James Asmussen Rides First Winner appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Mr Ritz Repeats As Betting Favorite In Seagram Cup At Woodbine
Defending champion Mr Ritz was the star of the show once again in the $125,000 Seagram Cup (Grade 3) on Sunday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.
Hall of Fame trainer Josie Carroll conditions the winner, who turned in a gate-to-wire effort with Patrick Husbands aboard. Husbands, who also partnered with Carroll to win the 2011 edition of the Seagram Cup with James Street, earned his fifth victory in the 1 1/16-mile stakes event for older horses.
Explode applied early pressure to the front-runner through splits of :24.28 and :47.95, with recent Eclipse Stakes winner Skywire looming at the rail and Cooler Mike three-wide before offering up a challenge past three-quarters in 1:11:87. However, 6-5 favorite Mr Ritz turned back all challengers down the stretch to prevail by two lengths in 1:43.28.
Second prize went to Skywire, who finished a half-length in front of Cooler Mike. Avie's Flatter, also trained by Carroll, closed four-wide on the turn to claim fourth-place. Jungle Fighter, Tiz a Slam, Perfect Tapatino and Explode completed the field.
“When he made the lead, I was a little worried with that horse [Explode] pressuring him, but he was so relaxed,” said Carroll in a post-race interview. “You could tell he was very relaxed and then we he got a :24 [quarter], I said, 'You know what, they're not going to catch him today.'”
Mr Ritz returned $4.60 to win.
Earle Mack owns and bred the British-bred son of Oasis Dream who opened his 5-year-old campaign finishing third behind stablemate Avie's Flatter and Skywire in the Eclipse on July 4.
“I was a little bit disappointed [in his season's debut], but he definitely got a little tired. He needed that race, he had all winter off and it showed a little bit,” said Carroll. “We thought he was very, very tight – he had been excelling in his works – but there's nothing like a race to really tighten him up, especially at this level of competition.”
Mr Ritz now sports a career record reading 6-3-2 from 13 starts with earnings approaching the half-million-dollar mark.
“He's won stakes on both surfaces. I think he's just a good older horse that's coming into himself,” said Carroll.
The conditioner also watched Woodbine Oaks eligible filly Avie's Samurai ($8.60) win a 6 1/2 furlong allowance race later on the card. Ivan Dalos' homebred stakes-placed filly got up late to prevail by a neck over the favored Sav in 1:16.39 in rein to Luis Contreras.
Live Thoroughbred racing continues, without spectators, on Thursday, with the 30th day of the meet featuring eight races, beginning at 3:20 p.m. Racing Night Live returns at 6 p.m. on TSN with the two-hour broadcast covering action from Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park.
PHOTOS: Mr. Ritz and jockey Patrick Husbands winning the $125,000 Seagram Cup (Grade 3) on Sunday, July 26 at Woodbine Racetrack. (Michael Burns Photo)
The post Mr Ritz Repeats As Betting Favorite In Seagram Cup At Woodbine appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
