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TVG’s Weekend Coverage Features Cigar Mile, Opening Of Los Al, Gulfstream

The Cigar Mile (G1) headlines horse racing coverage from coast to coast this weekend on TVG featuring racing from Aqueduct, Fair Grounds and Tampa Bay Downs alongside opening weekend cards from Los Alamitos and Gulfstream Park.

The prestigious Cigar Mile (G1) is the tenth and final race of the day on a star-studded card from Aqueduct which includes three additional graded stakes races – the $150,000 Remsen Stakes (G2), the $100,000 Go for Wand Handicap (G3) and the $150,000 Demoiselle Stakes (G2). The Cigar Mile has attracted a contentious field of nine including multiple graded stakes winner Firenze Fire, last seen finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) for trainer Kelly Breen.

Los Alamitos will kick off their afternoon Thoroughbred meet on Friday and TVG's Christina Blacker and Britney Eurton will be live trackside throughout the weekend with analysis and selections. Saturday's featured race is the $300,000 Starlet Stakes (G1) for juvenile fillies. Princess Noor tops the field of five for trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Victor Espinoza. The two-time graded stakes winning daughter of Not This Time will be trying to improve off of a fifth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). The Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos will run through Sunday, Dec. 20.

Gulfstream Park began their Championship Meet on Wednesday and this weekend will host the popular Claiming Crown which will feature an eleven-race card, nine of which are stakes races, and purses over $800,000. The stakes races include the $150,000 Claiming Crown Jewel which will be run at 1 1/8 miles and has drawn an accomplished field of eight including Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) runner-up Jesus' Team for trainer Jose Francisco D'Angelo. Luis Saez will be aboard the 3-year-old son of Tapiture who rose up from the claiming ranks this spring to finish third in the Preakness Stakes (G1).

The stakes action will continue at Fair Grounds on Saturday with the $75,000 Pan Zareta Stakes, the featured race on the nine-race program. A turf sprint for fillies and mares, the race has drawn a full field of fourteen contenders including Into Mystic, the 5-2 morning line favorite for trainer Brendan Walsh. A 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief, she is trying to rebound off of a twelfth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) and will have Ricardo Santana, Jr. in the irons.

In addition to racing from Aqueduct, Los Alamitos, Gulfstream Park and Fair Grounds, TVG will also be featuring Tampa Bay Downs, Laurel Park and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

The post TVG’s Weekend Coverage Features Cigar Mile, Opening Of Los Al, Gulfstream appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Economic Indicators: Average Daily Handle Continues To Show Increases

Equibase, LLC released its monthly report on Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing this Friday, Dec. 4.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Equibase is currently providing monthly reporting of its Economic Indicators Advisories. The Advisory is typically disseminated on a quarterly basis to provide key metrics used to measure racing's performance throughout the year.

The Breeders' Cup was held during the first weekend of November at Keeneland, but handle was down eight percent from the record set in 2019. The total handle for the month of November was down 6.33 percent in 2020 versus the same month in 2019.

Overall, wagering in 2020 is down 1.48 percent through November, and average daily wagering continues to show a positive trend as well, up 33.78 percent through the first 11 months of 2020 compared to the first 11 months of 2019.

Average field size is up to 7.91 starters per race in 2020, compared to 7.49 in 2019, while the total number of races run is down 24.52 percent through November.

November 2020 vs. November 2019
Indicator	November 2020	November 2019	% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*	$895,325,220	$955,843,009	-6.33%
U.S. Purses	$92,058,080	$115,756,315	-20.47%
U.S. Race Days	224	324	-30.86%
U.S. Races	1,945	2,730	-28.75%
U.S. Starts	16,236	21,839	-25.66%
Average Field Size	8.35	8.00	+4.35%
Average Wagering Per Race Day	$3,996,988	$2,950,133	+35.49%
Average Purses Per Race Day	$410,974	$357,273	+15.03%

YTD 2020 vs. YTD 2019
Indicator	YTD 2020	YTD 2019	% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*	$10,173,203,539	$10,326,096,192	-1.48%
U.S. Purses	$812,146,506	$1,101,605,086	-26.28%
U.S. Race Days	3,073	4,173	-26.36%
U.S. Races	25,692	34,038	-24.52%
U.S. Starts	203,122	254,992	-20.34%
Average Field Size	7.91	7.49	+5.54%
Average Wagering Per Race Day	$3,310,512	$2,474,502	+33.78%
Average Purses Per Race Day	$264,285	$263,984	+0.11%

* Includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.

The post Economic Indicators: Average Daily Handle Continues To Show Increases appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Hot King Prawn, Waikuku Take Sha Tin Trials Ahead of HKIR

Hot King Prawn (Aus) (Denman {Aus}), recent winner of the G2 Jockey Club Sprint, and his John Size stablemate Waikuku (Ire) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) signaled their readiness for the Dec. 13 Longines Hong Kong International Races with victorious barrier trials at Sha Tin Dec. 4.

Waikuku, runner-up to the re-opposing Admire Mars (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Ire}) in last year’s G1 Hong Kong Mile and a latest third in the G1 FWD Champions Mile in April, came with a wide run from far back on the turn and kept on well to take the day’s opening trial over 1200 metres (video), while the naturally speedier Hot King Prawn sat handier to the pace, took over a furlong and a half from home and was under little urging to score in the morning’s third heat, with fellow Hong Kong Sprint aspirant Wishful Thinker (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) third (video). Waikuku and Hot King Prawn were put through their paces by Joao Moreira, who has the call on both horses on international day.

Size famously sent out Glorious Days (Aus) (Hussonet) to win the 2013 Mile off a lengthy layoff and believes Waikuku can be in the finish yet again.

“He’s making some progress so go to the races and just hope he gets a sweet run,” the conditioner said. “He might grab some prizemoney. He’s first-up for a long time and he’s had some interruptions, but if you could get some prizemoney, I’m sure we’d be happy with that and we could proceed to the Stewards’ Cup.”

Waikuku defeated Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road to Rock {Aus}) in the 2020 Stewards’ Cup for a maiden Group 1 win.

Hot King Prawn, second to the now-retired ex-stablemate Beat The Clock (Aus) (Hinchinbrook {Aus}) in the Sprint, looks to be holding his form as he seeks a first top-level tally.

“He seems OK. He’s sort of improving all the time. He’s needed the racing to bring him on,” Size said. “He’s a fairly gross horse and you can’t push him, you’ve just got to wait for him and I think he looks OK to me.”

The post Hot King Prawn, Waikuku Take Sha Tin Trials Ahead of HKIR appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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How Much Do Trainers Really Make?

Depending on where you sit, racing trainers either appear to be poor as church mice or living in luxury. The Racing Post's Stuart Riley embarked on a project earlier this year to learn more about what British trainers can actually expect to take home each month. As it turns out, there is no one solid answer that applies to all trainers and a lot of it comes down to their training fees.

There are four main categories of costs that trainers incur. The first, and most costly, is staff, which Riley estimates accounts for more than 40% of running costs for most trainers in the UK. The other three categories include variables such as feed, hay, bedding and medication; fixed overheads such as rent or mortgage repayments; and incidentals.

“I provide free accommodation and pay my lads £500 ($676.65) a week,” A Newmarket trainer said to Riley. “They start at 6am and finish at 11.20am. They come back for an hour and three-quarters in the afternoon and are done in the yard by 6pm. I've got 30 horses and six full-time staff, the rest are part-timers. It's £20 ($27.07) a lot for a good part-time rider, so if they do three lots that's £60 ($81.20).”

that trainer's estimated monthly costs for his 30-horse yard are £35,000 ($47,365.47), which doesn't account for travel or extra staffing costs to races.

The four main ways a trainer makes money are prize money shares, training fees, buying and selling horses, and transportation.

Many people think that most of a trainer's earnings comes from the prize money since race purses are known for getting into the millions, but that's not the reality for most trainers. Most trainers in the UK get a little less than 10% of winning prize money and only a little under 6% of placing prize money in a country where most races have purses closer to five figures. This amount alone would not be enough to keep an operation afloat.

There are trainers who can make a decent amount of their income from buying and selling horses as well as having a small transportation business on the side, but Riley found the biggest part of a trainer's bottom line is their training fees. These can range anywhere from £30 ($40.60) a day per horse up to £90 ($121.80), but the most trainers do not advertise what they charge. For a 30-horse yard, A trainer charging £40 ($54.13) a day, would make a £8,000 ($10,826.39) monthly profit, but on ly on the cost of basic daily operations – racing costs and incidentals eat into that quickly.