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NYRA Announces Partnership Naming Game Of Silks Official Blockchain Game, Metaverse Partner

NYRA Bets Holding, LLC, a subsidiary of NYRA Bets, LLC (NYRA Bets), the official online wagering platform of the New York Racing Association, Inc., (NYRA), and Game of Silks (Silks), the online game connected to the real world of Thoroughbred horse racing, have announced a new partnership resulting in NYRA Bets Holding, LLC acquiring a minority equity ownership position in Silks. In addition to this strategic investment, the partnership establishes Silks as the Official Blockchain Game and Metaverse Partner of NYRA.

Game of Silks launched in April 2022 with a mission to democratize thoroughbred racehorse ownership by delivering a groundbreaking experience to a new generation of tech-driven sports and gaming enthusiasts via the blockchain. The landmark agreement between NYRA and Silks will enable the global horse racing industry to capitalize on the rapid growth of Web3 gaming through the Game of Silks, a top 10 sports-themed NFT platform on the Ethereum blockchain which boasts a community of more than 25,000 members.

The Game of Silks metaverse is powered by a play-to-earn gaming economy that parallels the IRL U.S. thoroughbred racing economy. To enter the game, players are required to purchase a non-fungible token (NFT) in the form of a unique racing silk, which represents their identity throughout the metaverse and appears virtually on their horses, stables and other digital in-game assets they own. Each year, Game of Silks tokenizes the annual breeding crop of around 20,000 thoroughbreds and transforms these horses into digital in-game assets which are then sold to Silks players. Silks horse owners receive valuable rewards pegged to real-world prize purses when their corresponding horse wins a race. They also receive valuable rewards when the real-world counterparts of their horses breed.

“This is a monumental deal matching NYRA with the fastest-growing metaverse sports game in the space,” said Dan Nissanoff, Founder & CEO of Game of Silks. “We clearly see the vast potential that Web3 gaming and the metaverse have to offer horse racing, and this partnership will allow the sport to build an unprecedented interactive virtual experience that can attract millions of new fans.”

Game of Silks allows participants to acquire, collect, trade and interact with digital assets which represent actual thoroughbreds that can have productive racing and breeding careers spanning their 20 year lives. This creates unprecedented long-term utility for these in-game NFT-based assets. Beyond the racetrack, the Game of Silks ecosystem provides an opportunity for players to purchase a variety of NFTs including parcels of land for the development of racing and breeding farms, stables and other racing-related digital assets to support the Silks ecosystem.

“Game of Silks presents its players with a fascinating and entertaining challenge by gamifying racehorse ownership in a completely new way,” said Dave O'Rourke, NYRA President & CEO. “Silks captures the evolution of fan engagement and appeals to both the seasoned horseplayer and complete newcomer, which is exactly why NYRA seized the opportunity to enter this partnership. NYRA is committed to educating our fans about the Silks platform to grow the game and ultimately increase horse racing's fan base.”

NYRA will utilize America's Day at the Races and Saratoga Live, the acclaimed national television shows produced by NYRA and broadcast on the networks of FOX Sports, to provide Silks owners with the latest news, data and information on the Silks metaverse.

Moving forward, Silks aims to build interactive digital replicas of the sport's most historic and important racetracks. In addition, NYRA's position as the operator of Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack will now accelerate the creation of digital versions of New York's premium racing venues in the Silks metaverse.

For more information on Silks, visit https://www.silks.io/

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Mike Gillum Has 1-2-4 Finish In NHC Qualifier At Horseshoe Indianapolis

It was quite a day and quite a finish for Mike Gillum of Indianapolis in the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Qualifier Saturday, Dec. 3, at Horseshoe Indianapolis. In an unprecedented finish, all three of Gillum's entries finished first, second and fourth with Gillum earning $7,000 worth of prize money and a seat at the NHC Final March 10-12, 2023, at Horseshoe in Las Vegas.

Gillum started off the day hitting a 6-1 winner at Gulfstream that placed him near the top of the leaderboard early and grew that tally slowly throughout the six-hour contest. Heading into the final contest race at Del Mar, Gillum was leading the field of 118 entries and decided to let his first place spot sit to see how it played out for the overall standings.

Several entrants still had live wagers heading into the final race, including Gillum's other two entries. Everyone tried hard to overtake Gillum, but it ended up being Gillum who overtook them all.

“Heading into the last contest race, I decided to let the entry that was in first place sit,” explained Gillum, who operates a Produce Company in Central Indiana. “I went all in on my other two entries to try and overtake my top entry. And they did. Those two were the ones that finished first and second in the final standings. The original entry I had in first ended up in fourth place.”

Gillum keyed in on a few horses at Del Mar with a $10 Superfecta and $10 Trifecta. Both tickets ended up returning $8,000-plus which catapulted him to the top with tallies of $8,804 and $8,315. Jay Lietzau of Shakopee, Minn., finished third with a tally of $4,928.50 and took home $2,000 in prize money. Because only one seat could be granted to the top three individuals, fifth-place finisher David Sellner of Hoffman Estates, Ill., advances to the NHC Final. Sellner had a tally of $3,444.10, just $12 behind Gillum's fourth place finishing entry which had $3,456.55.

“This is only the third time I've placed in a live tournament,” said Gillum. “I generally play in tournaments online. I qualified for the NHC here in 2019 (Gillum finished fourth to advance). That's my only time playing in the NHC final. I missed last year's local contest due to a prior commitment.”

Gillum, Lietzau, and Sellner will represent Team Horseshoe Indianapolis in the $3.5 million NHC Finals. In addition to trophies and prize money for the top two, all three will get contest and hotel fees paid by Horseshoe Indianapolis along with a $500 travel voucher for airfare.

“It was just one of those days where everything clicked,” added Gillum. “All three tickets connected. I'm excited to be heading to Vegas for the finals.”

The 21^st season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing resumes Tuesday, April 18, and concludes Friday, Nov. 17. Racing will be held during the week beginning at 2:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday with Thursday post times set at 2:10 p.m. Saturday racing will be offered on 16 dates in 2023 with six of those dates reserved for all-Quarter Horse action.

For more information on live racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis.

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Weekend Lineup Presented By Del Mar: Grade 1 Trio From Coast To Coast

A trio of Grade 1 races highlight this weekend's action across the United States, two at Del Mar and one at Aqueduct.

The G1 Cigar Mile is Saturday's feature at Aqueduct, and brings together grizzled veteran Mind Control against rising sophomores Zandon and White Abarrio. On the same card are also a pair of prep races for the 2023 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, the Remsen and Demoiselle.

Saturday at Del Mar offers a trio of stakes contests; the feature is the matchup between a group of 11 turf sophomores in the G1 Hollywood Derby, five of whom shipped in from the East Coast.

The beachside track's Sunday highlight is the G1 Matriarch, also drawing five of its 10 starters from the East. Also on Sunday, Del Mar will offer a mandatory payout on the Pick 6.

Juveniles will take center stage with a pair of stakes at both Laurel Park and Tampa Bay Downs, while Woodbine's weekend offers two stakes Saturday and one Sunday.

Here's a quick look at some of this weekend's stakes:

Saturday

2:16 p.m. – Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes at Aqueduct

Julia Shining, a full sister to Champion 3-Year-Old Filly and Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Malathaat, will make the step up to stakes company for her first try against winners in Saturday's Demoiselle. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, who will look to win this event for the third consecutive year, Julia Shining was an impressive debut winner on Oct. 16 at Keeneland in a seven-furlong maiden special weight.

Julia Shining will look to follow in the footsteps of her accomplished sister Malathaat, who won the 2020 Demoiselle. Julia Shining and Malathaat would be the first siblings to capture the prestigious Demoiselle since full sisters Coquette [1914] and Celandria [1915] took back-to-back editions.

Pletcher will also saddle Repole Stable's stakes-winning New York-bred Gambling Girl, who won the Joseph A. Gimma against fellow state-breds on Sept. 23 at Belmont at the Big A. The daughter of Dialed In was last seen finishing a troubled fourth in the one-mile state-bred Maid of the Mist as the post-time favorite where she was bumped hard at the break and struggled to improve position when five-wide in the turn.

Demoiselle Entries

2:44 p.m. – Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct

Undefeated Tuskegee Airmen will make his graded stakes debut for trainer John Servis in Saturday's Remsen, a nine-furlong main track test for juveniles. Tuskegee Airmen, a bay son of Street Sense, enters from an impressive 3 1/4-length score in the one-mile Rocky Run on Oct. 15 at Delaware Park where he showed a strong turn of foot under Paco Lopez to secure his first stakes win. The victory came three weeks after a dominant debut score sprinting seven furlongs in stalking fashion at Parx. He closed from eighth of 14 under Luis Saez to post the 5 1/2-length victory over next-out winner Didinger.

The Remsen offers 10-4-3-2-1 qualifying points for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby to the top-five finishers.

Chester and Mary Broman's New York homebred Arctic Arrogance, a grey son of Frosted, enters from a dominant victory over returning rival Quick to Accuse in the state-bred Sleepy Hollow on Oct. 30 at Belmont at the Big A for trainer Linda Rice.

Rupp Racing's New York-bred Quick to Accuse will also make his first start outside state-bred company after finishing second to Arctic Arrogance in the Sleepy Hollow for conditioner Horacio De Paz. There, he rallied from fifth of 10 to make up considerable ground under regular pilot Manny Franco, but could not catch the runaway winner.

Graded stakes-placed Prove Right enters as the most seasoned horse in the field for trainer James Chapman, who co-owns the Justify colt with Stuart Tsujimoto. Prove Right was last seen finishing a close third 2 1/4 lengths behind the victorious Champions Dream in the Grade 3 Nashua on Nov. 6 at the Big A. He set the pace in the one-mile test but was collared by the winner and runner-up Full Moon Madness in the stretch, finishing eight lengths ahead of fourth-place American Speed.

Remsen Entries

3:43 p.m. – Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct

Dual Grade 1-winner Mind Control will attempt to go out on top when he takes on a field consisting of three other Grade 1 winners in Saturday's Cigar Mile Handicap. Mind Control, conditioned by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, has garnered seven graded stakes victories, reaching that pinnacle every year since 2018 while boasting a record of 28-11-3-6 and field best earnings of $1,773,334. He has never been out of the money in seven starts at the Big A.

A dozen 3-year-olds have bested elders in the Cigar Mile throughout its 34-year-history. This year will see a pair of Grade 1-winning Triple Crown alumni seek to add to those numbers with Jeff Drown's Zandon and C Two Racing Stable and Antonio Pagnano's White Abarrio.

Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner and dual Cigar Mile winner Chad Brown, Zandon has never finished out of the money in eight lifetime starts and enters Saturday's test off a late-closing runner-up effort in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 24 at Parx Racing.

The Cigar Mile will be White Abarrio's first start going a one-turn mile since last October, when he defeated winners in an optional claimer at Gulfstream Park.

Cigar Mile Entries

7:30 p.m. – Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar

There are 11 well-respected 3-year-olds entered in the Hollywood Derby, but there are no standouts in the lineup. Five eastern-based horses, including three out of the barn of conditioner H. Graham Motion, will try their luck in the turf test and it appears likely that one of them may go postward the favorite.

A pair of Hall of Fame conditioners – Claude “Shug” McGaughey III and Todd Pletcher – have runners entered that may draw the most mutuel action in Stuart Janney III's Celestial City (McGaughey) and Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable and Gainesway Stable's Wit (Pletcher). Both well-bred colts are stakes winners in the east and, naturally, have drawn top local riders — Ramon Vazquez on Celestial City and Flavien Prat on Wit.

Hollywood Derby Entries

Sunday

6:30 p.m. – Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes at Del Mar

Trainer Chad Brown will start a pair in this one-mile turf contest for fillies and mares, including last year's winner Regal Glory. Though she finished 10th last out in the Breeders' Cup, the 6-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom would be unlikely to ship cross-country unless she was ready to perform. Brown's other entrant is sophomore filly Dolce Zel, winner of the G3 Florida Oaks and G3 Lake George.

Also shipping in from the East Coast are the Christophe Clement-trained Pizza Bianca, Bill Mott trainee Wakanaka, and Graham Motion trainee Bipartisanship.

Matriarch Entries

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Sports Betting Regulatory Association Meeting To Cover Illegal Gambling, Integrity Investigations, Coordinated Policymaking

With the American Gaming Association estimating that over half a trillion dollars in illegal gambling is hurting consumers, communities and State/Tribal income, the Sports Betting Regulatory Association (SBRA) will hold its second meeting in Las Vegas at Resort World next Thursday, Dec. 8. 2022 at 1:30pm.

Over twenty sports betting regulatory agencies are planning to participate, as is the National Indian Gaming Commission, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The group will receive a briefing from AGA's Senior Director of Government Relations on the just issued report showing that US States are losing out on over $13 billion in state tax revenues and the legal industry is losing over $40 billion in business revenue. One of the key issues to be discussed by the regulators is how best to coordinate with law enforcement on this and whether current statutes provide adequate authority to help combat blatant illegal activity and protect consumers from being victimized.

Matt Holt, President of US Integrity will also provide a briefing on integrity programs and status of current investigations.

Also on the docket is a briefing concerning the regulatory suspension of betting on UFC contests in Ontario by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). and the recent breach of customer accounts at Draft Kings.

Since the summer meeting, the SBRA Chair, Charles Moore of Wyoming has met with the Chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission, Edward S. Simermeyer, who will participate in the meeting and offer his thoughts on how State and Tribal regulators can complement each other's efforts working together within the context of the SBRA.

Over forty key sports betting regulatory personnel will participate, either in person or remotely, at the Dec. 8, 2022 meeting. The meeting is open to the public.

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