jim mcingvale | Horse Racing Free Tips

Backside Learning Center Has Vested Interest in Derby

Edited Press Release

The Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs stands to gain anywhere between $200,000 and $400,000 based on the results of Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby beneath the Twin Spires.

In January, Brook Smith–a longtime supporter of the BLC–placed a $10,000 Kentucky Derby Future Wager on Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb), pledging any winnings to the center. A Derby victory would be worth $114,000.

Smith's wager was a friendly challenge to Texas-based businessman and famed sports bettor “Mattress Mack” Jim McIngvale's Future Wager bet for the same amount on Smile Happy, a son of McIngvale's 2015 champion sprinter and current Claiborne Farm stallion Runhappy. The BLC used Smith's largesse as an opportunity to reach out to McIngvale, the Houston furniture magnate as famous for his philanthropy as he is his huge Gallery Furniture promotions tied to the outcome of famous sporting events.

“We wanted to engage him in our important mission of providing support and resources to the entire community of track workers and their families,” said Sherry Stanley, executive director of the BLC. “McIngvale's been a significant supporter of equine workers all over the country in the past. He was immediately interested in connecting with the BLC. We are thrilled to have Jim as a new high-profile advocate for our work.”

“Mattress Mack” appeared as a special guest at the BLC'S “Thoroughbred Owners' Derby Handicapping Social”, held Apr. 14 at the downtown Louisville Thoroughbred Society. McIngvale announced at the event that if the Kentucky Derby favorite or Smile Happy were to win America's greatest horse race, he would donate $200,000 to the Backside Learning Center to sponsor summer camp experiences for children of backside workers.

“The backside has helped so many people that put their heart and soul into the horse-racing business,” McIngvale said. “If we can bring in money, resources and networks, we can help the backbone of the horse-racing industry–which are these hardworking people who are taking care of the animals 24/7.”

In another twist, Smith upped his ante by announcing that if any horse other than the favorite or Smile Happy win, he will make his own donation of $200,000.

At the same fundraiser, Mike Mackin, a part-owner of Smile Happy, said the ownership group would pitch in another $200,000 if their colt prevails Saturday.

“Mack said he'd give the Backside Learning Center $200,000 if Smile Happy won and I said we'd match it,” Mackin said. “I'm just starting to learn about the Backside Learning Center. But from what I've learned, they are doing great work in helping the people who care for our horses.”

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Another Derby Bet for McIngvale

After placing a losing win bet of more than $2 million on Essential Quality (Tapit) in last year's GI Kentucky Derby, Jim “Mattress Mack” is coming back for more. McIngvale said that he is planning to bet between $3 million and $4 million this year on the race favorite. McIngvale has often linked huge bets on sporting events such as the World Series, the NCAA tournament, the Super Bowl and the Derby to promotions at his Gallery Furniture stores in Houston. If the favorite wins the Derby, McIngvale will issue a refund to anyone spending $3,000 or more in his stores. He plays the odds so that if he wins the bet he makes enough from the wager to cover the cost of giving away so much free furniture. And if the wager loses, the profits from his furniture sales should cover the cost of the losing bet.

After a string of losers, McIngale won $8.8 million earlier this month betting on Kansas to win the NCAA basketball championship.

With his previous bets, customers only qualified if they bought mattresses. This year, McIngvale has added other types of furniture to the promotion, the reason why he will exceed the amount he bet last year.

“I am going to have some fun and gamble a bit,” he said. “This should be a fun Kentucky Derby.”

McIngvale said the entire bet will be made on-track at Churchill Downs. That guarantees that the highest percentage possible will go back to purses.

“I'll be at Churchill all day,” he said. “It's very important to bet on track so the most money goes back to the Kentucky horsemen. I am a Kentucky horseman, so I don't making racing bets offshore or in Nevada. I always bet on track so the track can make the most money and can give back the most money to horsemen in purses.”

In the weeks leading up to the 2021 Derby, McIngvale knew who he was going to bet on. Essential Quality was an obvious favorite and went off at odds of 2.90-1. He finished fourth. It's a different Derby this year with no clear-cut favorite. The longest price for a favorite in Derby history was 6.30-1, the price on Lookin at Lucky (Smart Strike) in the 2010 Derby. This year's favorite could drift into the 5-1, 6-1 area.

“To have that high of a price on the favorite is great for someone like me,” McIngvale said. “I'm used to hedging off these sports bets where my odds might be $1.50 against $1. If the favorite is 4-1 or 5-1 that's a tremendous buffer when it comes to having to pay back the customers if the horse wins. Last year, I bet almost $25% of the total win amount on the favorite. This is a wide open year. It's a good opportunity for the promotion, to get the favorite at a good price and get a good return if the favorite wins. It's good odds for the customers.”

Understanding that his win bet alone could greatly deflate the price on the favorite, McIngvale said he will spread some of the money out in the exacta pool, using all other 19 starters on top of the favorite.

But who will be the lowest priced horse in the Derby field? With no clear answer to that question, it's possible that the role of who will be the favorite may not be decided until a few minutes to post. What then?

“Who will be the favorite? That's the $64,000 question,” McIngvale said. “I'll take a look at the Oaks-Derby daily double and use that as a guide. A lot of the sharper money is in that pool. Throughout the day, I'll be feeding money in on the horse I believe will be the favorite. I just have to make sure I am on the favorite when the bell goes off and they leave the starting gate.”

McIngvale will have mixed feelings if the favorite wins the Derby because that will mean that Smile Happy (Runhappy) did not win. McIngvale has promoted Runhappy non-stop since he entered stud and knows that if he adds a Derby winner to his credentials it would boost his value as a sire. When asked who he will be rooting for if Smile Happy, who figures to be seventh or eighth choice in the betting, and the Derby favorite hook up in the stretch, McIngvale said “a dead-heat.”

“I could just put all the money on Smile Happy and that might make him the favorite,” McIngvale said. “I have a fiduciary responsibility to the customers to bet on the favorite. It wouldn't be the best deal for them if I bet on Smile Happy.”

As a side bet, McIngvale said he will be betting between $50,000 and $200,000 to win on Smile Happy.

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PDJF TVG Telethon Shatters Donation Record

The fourth annual Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund TVG Telethon, held Apr. 10 and presented by Lane's End Farm, raised a record-breaking $383,945. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the pandemic, but it returned in 2021 to raise $339,672 in donations.

Support came in from across the country including major contributions from Lane's End Farm; Lee, Aimee and Jeffrey Einsidler; Jim McIngvale; and John Hendrickson on behalf of the Marylou Whitney Foundation. TVG's parent company FanDuel matched all donations up to $100,000.

This year was also the first time the event was simulcast on both TVG and America's Day at the Races, in collaboration with NYRA and FOX Sports.

“On behalf of our recipients and the PDJF Board, we are blessed and so very grateful for the support we received from our industry partners who provided the platform for the Telethon that allowed us to reach so many during the 6-hour broadcast,” said Nancy LaSala, PDJF President. “The needs and journeys of our recipients vary and are ever changing. The message of PDJF recipient Roger Blanco at the end of the broadcast to all who supported the PDJF on this day and in the past is a message that resonates for all PDJF recipients.”

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The Week in Review: Though Defeated a Huge Race for Smile Happy

The chart of the GII Risen Star S. run Saturday at the Fair Grounds will show you that the race was won by Epicenter (Not This Time) and that runner-up Smile Happy (Runhappy) was never a serious threat to win. It's just that there is a lot more to this story.

Expectations were high for Smile Happy coming into the Risen Star. He was 2-for-2 last year and his win in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. came at the expense of Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) and White Abarrio (Race Day). Classic Causeway won the GIII Sam F. Davis S. in his next start and White Abarrio captured the GIII Holy Bull S. in his 3-year-old debut. Colleague T.D. Thornton had Smile Happy on top in his TDN Derby Top 12 and Mattress Mack was out there doing his thing, helping to promote the horse who may be Runhappy's best offspring.

Smile Happy was made the 2-1 favorite, but with the way the race unfolded, he never had a serious chance.

Epicenter, a quality horse, was sent to the front by Joel Rosario and, going into the first turn, it looked like he might face some pressure. But Pioneer of Medina (Pioneerof the Nile) and Boddock (Street Boss) backed off. That left Epicenter alone on the lead. When he got through an opening half-mile in :47.94, it was clear that he was going to be hard to beat.

Meanwhile, Smile Happy was eighth in the 10-horse field down the backstretch. He probably could have won from there if the rest of his trip broke his way, but that didn't happen. Entering the far turn, jockey Corey Lanerie found himself bottled up between horses. Throughout the turn, he couldn't find a running lane and once he did he was still eighth. It looked the best he could do was fourth or fifth. But Smile Happy managed to close a good amount of ground inside the final 100 yards or so and was beaten just 2 3/4 lengths.

Finishing third, Zandon (Upstart) also put in a strong effort. He hopped at the start and was last early behind the slow pace. Despite all that, he lost by just 3 1/4 lengths.

After the race, trainer Ken McPeek said he had yet to decide what would be next for Smile Happy. The GII Louisiana Derby on Mar. 26 would be the logical spot. He'll surely get one more race before the Kentucky Derby to show why so many people were so high on him. Next time, he won't get beat.

Speaking of the Runhappys

Smile Happy, Runhappy's best colt, may have been beaten in the Risen Star, but it was far from a lost day Saturday for Jim McIngvale's favorite sire. At Oaklawn, the 3-year-old filly Happy Soul (Runhappy) came off a layoff of more than eight months to beat a good field in the Dixie Belle S. A decisive winner, she turned in an impressive effort.

When last seen, Happy Soul scored an 11 1/2-length win in the Astoria S. at Belmont. Considering that Happy Soul has never gone beyond six furlongs, a start in the GI Kentucky Oaks might be a stretch, but trainer Wesley Ward said the race is under consideration. Ward said she will make her next start in either the GI Ashland S. at 1 1/16 miles or the Apr. 10 GIII Beaumont S. at seven furlongs. Both races are at Keeneland. A start in the Ashland would mean that Ward is serious about the Oaks.

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Starters Continue to Come Up Short

When Pappcap (Gun Runner) finished eighth in the Risen Star, it marked the latest loss by a horse who had run in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Pappacap was second in last year's Juvenile.

There were 11 starters in the Juvenile and not one has won since that race. They are a combined 0-for-9. Five Juvenile starters have not run since the Breeders' Cup, a list that includes winner Corniche (Quality Road). He has not had a workout this year and there have been no updates on his schedule. It is unlikely that trainer Bob Baffert will have him ready for the Derby.

Perseverance Pays Off For Cordmaker Connections

He may not be a superstar, but there are few horse in the sport that are more admirable than the 7-year-old Cordmaker (Curlin).

He was bought for $150,000 at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Midatlantic Fall yearling sale by owner Ellen Charles and sent to trainer Rodney Jenkins. It was apparent early on what they had. Cordmaker, who was gelded before his career debut, was one of those tough old pros who just went out there and tried every single time.

He came into Saturday's GIII General George S. at Laurel with 13 career wins overall and nine stakes victories. But he had never won a graded stakes.

As last, he got it done, winning the General George by three-quarters of a length. It was his fourth straight win, all of them coming in stakes. At seven, he's never been better and with $989,640 in career earnings he could go over the $1-million mark in earnings in his next start.

The Marcus Vitali Meth Case

Marcus Vitali should have been thrown out of this sport a long time ago. His record is as bad as it gets. And shame on tracks like Turf Paradise and Presque Isle Downs that have opened their doors to him.

But that doesn't mean Vitali is guilty of the latest charge, a one-year suspension and a $10,000 fine handed down by the Pennsylvania Racing Commission after a horse he ran last summer at Presque Isle Downs tested positive for methamphetamine. Going to bat for Vitali, Todd Mostoller, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, which represents horsemen at Penn National and Presque Isle Downs, said that the methamphetamine positive was a result of environmental contamination and that Vital should not have been suspended

He very well could have a point. Common sense says that giving a horse meth would not result in an improved performance and use of the drug by humans is rampant.

But the bigger issue is whether or not Vitali is being treated differently because he is, well, Marcus Vitali. Mostoller said there have been “three or four” other methamphetamine positives in recent months at Penn National and in all those cases it was ruled that the positive test was the result of environmental contamination and the trainers were not suspended.

In 2017, a Peter Miller-trained horse tested positive for methamphetamine after running in the Pennsylvania Governor's Cup at Penn National. The Pennsylvania Racing Commission ruled that there were “mitigating circumstances” and fined Miller $1,500 but did not suspend him.

Vitali does have rights and should be treated like any other trainer. He's going to fight this and he may just win.

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