Horseplayers | Horse Racing Free Tips

Chicagoan Kevin Costello Wins National Horseplayers Championship Tour Title

Joseph (Kevin) Costello, a 53-year-old executive from Chicago, Ill., rode the strength of four victories and 14 top 10 finishes in handicapping contests to run away with the 2021 National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Tour title. Costello, who has qualified to the NHC each year since 2016, earned $75,000 for winning the NHC Tour and is eligible for a $5 million bonus if he captures the 2022 NHC Jan. 28-30 at Bally's Las Vegas.

“I always wanted to have the knowledge that I'm consistently good and that's what the Tour does,” said Costello, who became enamored with Thoroughbred racing after watching Unbridled win the 1990 Kentucky Derby and learning that the horse was stabled for a portion of his career at Arlington Park near Chicago. Costello said he does all of his handicapping using a pen, a piece of paper and the Daily Racing Form Classic past performances. “I handicap races the way our grandparents did,” he said.

Costello won the Last Chance, First Chance NHC qualifier in Las Vegas on the eve of the 2021 NHC and won three other contests, including two at his hometown racetrack of Hawthorne Race Course, over the course of 2021. Costello concluded the 2021 Tour season with 22,540 points amassed from his top seven scores. James Henry finished in second place with 20,218 points and $30,000 in Tour earnings, followed by Jay Johns (20,139, $20,000), Rob Henie (19,935, $20,000) and Brian Chenvert (19,770, $20,000). The complete 2021 Tour results can be found at https://www.ntra.com/nhc/leaders/.

Previous winners of the NHC Tour include: Sally Goodall (2020), David Snyder (2019), David Gutfreund (2018), Mike Ferrozzo (2017), Cheryl McIntyre (2016), Jonathon Kinchen (2015), Eric Moomey (2014), Brent Sumja (2013), Mark Streiff (2012), Paul Shurman (2011), Tom Noone (2010), Bryan Wagner (2009) and Sam Brooks (2008).

More than 5,000 NHC Tour members participated in 2021 handicapping qualifiers leading to the 2022 NHC. The 2022 NHC Tour season begins January 27 with the Last Chance, First Chance Contest at Bally's. To sign up for the 2022 NHC Tour, go to www.ntra.com/membership beginning January 17. For more information on the NHC Tour benefits and to view the official rules go to www.nhctour.com.

The NHC Tour is a yearlong bonus series offering additional prize money and qualifying berths to the NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC). Membership in the NHC Tour is mandatory in order for top finishers of sanctioned NHC qualifying events to be eligible to compete in the NHC Finals in Las Vegas. Membership in the NHC Tour is open to adults 21 years of age or older and requires a one-time, annual membership fee of $50. The NHC Tour membership must be in place prior to the start of any given qualifying tournament in order for one to qualify for the NHC Finals at that qualifying tournament.

The post Chicagoan Kevin Costello Wins National Horseplayers Championship Tour Title appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Gulfstream’s Rainbow 6 Solved Thursday For $159,442 Payout

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 was solved by one lucky bettor for a $159,442.38 jackpot payout Thursday at Gulfstream Park.

Live Oak Plantation homebred Quality Review ($8.60) was one of four horses live to take down the jackpot heading into the 10th race finale, edging School Dance by a half-length to complete the winning 3-5-3-4-4-1 combination.

Other winners in the sequence were War of Ages ($13.60) in Race 5, Crumb Bun ($12.20) in Race 6, Make No Mistake ($11.20) in Race 7, Oriental Trigger ($53.80) in Race 8 and Mezcal ($3.40) in Race 9.

Thursday marked the third time in five racing days that the Rainbow 6 was hit. It was solved for a life-changing $1,200,305.88 on Jan. 7, one day before a mandatory payout returned $100,823.22.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

The Rainbow 6 begins anew Friday with a $50,000 gross jackpot pool guarantee starting in Race 5, a claiming event for 4-year-olds and up scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the turf that drew a field of 10 including morning line top choice Bright Devil, racing first off the claim for trainer Bobby Dibona.

The feature comes in Race 9, a 5 ½-furlong optional claiming allowance for Florida-bred fillies and mares 4 and up where Jacks or Better Farm's American of Course is the 9-5 program favorite. Trained by Kathleen O'Connell, the 5-year-old mare won three straight last spring and summer and returned from a seven-month layoff to run third Dec. 16 at Gulfstream.

Races 9 and 10, a 1 1/16-mile claiming event scheduled for the turf, are also respectively the second and final legs of the national weekly Stronach 5 wager that begins at Santa Anita and also includes Golden Gate Fields.

The post Gulfstream’s Rainbow 6 Solved Thursday For $159,442 Payout appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

California Cup Day Highlights TVG’s Weekend Coverage

The California breeding programs will take center stage this weekend on TVG with live coverage of California Cup Day from Santa Anita featuring five stakes races on the ten-race card including the $200,000 California Cup Derby. A homebred for Jim Rome's Jungle Racing, Straight Up G will take on five rivals as he tries to earn his second consecutive stakes race.

TVG's Todd Schrupp, Simon Bray, Christina Blacker, Joaquin Jaime, Britney Eurton and Kurt Hoover will be reporting live from Santa Anita throughout the day with exclusive interviews, analysis and features. In the California Cup Derby, Straight Up G will be ridden by Ricardo Gonzalez for trainer Richard Baltas. A son of Straight Fire, he will be making his three-year-old debut and closed out his juvenile campaign with a win in the King Glorious Stakes at Los Alamitos.

Also on the card is the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint which has drawn an overflow field of thirteen contenders. The field includes California Kook, a four-time winner and Grade 1-placed daughter of Boisterous, bred and owned in California by Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber. Trained by Rueben Alvarado, she was last seen winning an allowance race at Santa Anita and will have John Velazquez in the irons.

The coverage will continue with a special holiday card on Monday at Santa Anita featuring the $125,000 Astra Stakes (G3) going 1 ½ miles on the turf.

Gulfstream Park has a loaded eleven-race card featuring a pair of stakes races for Florida-bred horses – the $75,000 Sunshine Classic and $75,000 Sunshine Sprint. Larry Collmus and Andie Biancone will be reporting live from the track with interviews and expert analysis. Shamrocket headlines the Sunshine Classic as the 6-5 morning line favorite for Todd Pletcher. Owned by Donegal Racing, the five-year-old son of Tonalist will square off against six rivals under jockey Javier Castellano.

In addition to racing from Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park, TVG will be featuring racing from Oaklawn, Tampa Bay Downs, Fair Grounds, Aqueduct 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 California Cup Day Highlights TVG’s Weekend Coverage appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Santa Anita: Mandatory Payout In Saturday’s Rainbow 6 Features Cal Cup Races, Large Fields

With the possibility of a $4 million total pool, Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., will offer players a mandatory payout in Saturday's 20 cent Rainbow Pick 6 Jackpot, which will be comprised of races five through 10. With a Rainbow 6 carryover from Sunday into Friday of $391,923, the anticipated jackpot carryover into Saturday should be approximately $450,000, providing there is no single ticket winner on Friday.

Saturday is also California Cup Day at Santa Anita and a total of 56 horses have been entered to run in the Rainbow 6 sequence, races five through 10, making average field size 9.3 runners per race.

With a 10-race card on tap, there will be special early first post time of 12 noon and approximate post time for race five, is at 2:05 p.m. PT/5:05 p.m. ET.

Race five is a maiden $50,000 claimer for California-bred or sired 3-year-olds at six furlongs. With a purse of $39,000, the race attracted a field of eight.

Four out of the five Cal Cup Day races are included in Saturday's Rainbow 6, beginning with the $200,000 Unusual Heat Turf Classic presented by City Bank, which has been carded as race six. A field of eight older horses will go a mile and one eighth on turf.

Race seven, a $69,000 first condition allowance for older California-bred or sired horses at six furlongs, has also drawn a field of eight.

Race eight, the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf Sprint, for older fillies and mares at about 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf course, has attracted a full field of 12, with one horse on the also eligible list.

Race nine, the $150,000 Don Valpredo Cal Cup Sprint, will showcase a field of eight older horses at six furlongs.

Saturday's 10^th race, the $200,000 Leigh Ann Howard Cal Cup Oaks, has a field of 12 sophomore fillies at one mile on turf.

Admission gates will open early Saturday at 10 a.m. and Santa Anita's spacious Infield Area will be open via Gate 6 off of Colorado Place on the track's northern perimeter.

For additional information, including complete Cal Cup Day entries, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

The post Santa Anita: Mandatory Payout In Saturday’s Rainbow 6 Features Cal Cup Races, Large Fields appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post