San Isidro | Horse Racing Free Tips

World Pool First: Latin America Included and Wagering Across Three Continents

Sunday's G1 Longines Grand Premio Latinamericano at San Isidro will be an inaugural World Pool event and this will be the first time global betting will be engaged across three continents on a single weekend, the Hong Kong Jockey Club announced Thursday.

The HKJC confirmed that while the local tote in Argentina will not commingle internationally, other partners' pools from the likes of Australia, France, North America and Hong Kong will be joined up by World Pool.

The Latin American Group 1 contest will close a major weekend of World Pool action, with five races on Turnbull Stakes Day from Flemington in Australia followed by four races from Newmarket on Sun Chariot Day.

“One of the core motives for World Pool is to connect totes from across the globe for the most important races, so we're delighted to have extended our reach to take in Latin America's biggest Group 1 contest,” said Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. “The combination of Turnbull Stakes Day, Sun Chariot Stakes Day and then the Gran Premio Latinoamericano on Sunday makes this weekend's World Pool action a real Group 1 feast for punters around the globe.”

Click here for more information.

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Breeders’ Cup Spot Up for Grabs in Carlos Pellegrini

The first automatic fees-paid berth to the 2022 Breeders' Cup will be handed out this Saturday in Argentina when the G1 Gran Premio Internacional Carlos Pellegrini, also known as the 'South American Arc', is run at the historic Hipodromo de San Isidro. The winner will punch their ticket to the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, to be held in 2022 at Keeneland.

Contested over 2,400 meters, about 1 1/2 miles, on the massive San Isidro turf course with about a three-furlong stretch run, the Pellegrini was won last year in a thrilling three-way duel by rail-running Cool Day (Arg) (John F Kennedy {Ire}) (video), who is back to defend his title. Bred by the historic Haras Abolengo farm, the 4-year-old chestnut went to the bench for over 10 months after his 2020 Pellegrini score, ruling out a Breeders' Cup try, but returned with a dominant 3 1/2-length victory in the G1 Gran Premio Copa de Oro here Oct. 30.

The most important race in South America, the Pellegrini is named after Carlos Enrique Jose Pellegrini, the first president of the Argentinian Jockey Club and one of its founding members when it was created in 1882. The race was first run in 1887, as the International Grand Prix, over 3,000 meters (about 1 7/8 miles) with Stiletto streaking to victory in 3:27 2/5. It quickly lived up to its 'international' billing, with French raider Athos II taking the trophy in 1890 and 1892. Overall, horses bred in countries other than Argentina have won the Pellegrini 17 times, with Brazilian Nao da Mais (T H Approval) being the most recent successful invader in 2019. The race regularly attracts horses from Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.

The grand finale of the racing season in Argentina, the Pellegrini holds a US$200,000 purse and unofficially bestows the title of the best horse in South America. It's the headliner of 'International Day' at San Isidro, which also features the 2,000-meter G1 Gran Premio Copa de Plata, similar to the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff or GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, the 1,600-meter G1 Gran Premio Joaquin S. de Anchorena, similar to the GI Breeders' Cup Mile and the 1,000-meter G1 Gran Premio Alzaga Unzue, similar to the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. The Anchorena has been won by names well familiar to U.S. racing fans, including the legendary Candy Ride (Arg) (Ride the Rails) and Lord At War (Arg) (General {Fr}) as well as 2014 GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. hero Winning Prize (Arg) (Pure Prize).

The Pellegrini is also a major social event on the Argentine calendar, with tens of thousands of people, including many Argentine celebrities, flocking to San Isidro for the race every year. The attendance record was set in 1986 when over 100,000 people showed up to see undefeated Fain (Arg) (Dancing Moss {GB}) take the trophy, and approximately 60,000 people are expected to attend this year.

Uruguayan jockey Irineo Leguisamo, considered the most decorated South American jockey of the 20th century, holds the record for most victories in the Pellegrini with 10 from 1924 through 1962; no other rider has won more than four. Juan Lapistoy and Alfredo Gaitan Dassie share the record for most Pellegrini conquests by a trainer with six apiece. Gaitan Dassie, who trains Cool Day, has a chance to take over the record by himself Saturday. Fourteen fillies and mares have defeated the boys in the Pellegrini, and there were dead heats for the win in 1915 and 1923.

Other contenders in this year's running include venerable 7-year-old Village King (Arg) (Campanologist), who ran in the U.S. in 2018 and 2019, picking up a score in the 2018 Red Smith S. and running third in the GII Pan American S. the following spring. This year, he is undefeated in three starts over the San Isidro lawn, picking up a pair of Group 1 triumphs in the 2,000-meter Gran Premio Martinez de Hoz and 2,400-meter Gran Premio 25 de Mayo (video). Mirinaque (Arg) (Hurricane Cat) also boasts U.S. graded stakes success. Though winless since taking the G1 Argentine Derby in 2019, he ran second in last year's GII Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance S. at Keeneland on the Breeders' Cup undercard and was a narrow runner-up to Village King in the Gran Premio 25 de Mayo. Overall, 19 horses are entered in the field.

The Carlos Pellegrini goes as the 13th race on a 17-race card Saturday at San Isidro with a scheduled post time of 7:35 local time (5:35 p.m. ET).

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Letter to the Editor: Jose Nelson

ARGENTINA, ALMOST 5 MONTHS WITHOUT RACING AND THAT IS NOT THE ONLY PROBLEM TO SOLVE

Being almost five months without racing is a fact sufficiently relevant to explain the financial crisis faced by the Argentine racing community. However, that alone does not fully explain the risks that all stakeholders are facing in the months ahead. As we explained in the past in this newsletter, the purse structure of Argentine racing is substantially made by the contributions coming from proceeds from slots. At Palermo Racetrack, located in the city of Buenos Aires, the slots are part of the operation of the racetrack. At San Isidro and La Plata, however, the slots are located in “bingo halls” located around the province of Buenos Aires and the two racetracks get a slice of them. All slots, no matter where they are, have been closed since mid-March and that may not change dramatically until there is a way to allow their safe operation, partially or totally, in line with health protocols, which may take time to be tested, approved and at full operation.

Therefore, even when the time comes for the racetracks to re-open without people attending, the purse structure will be materially lower than it was before the pandemic, unless the government provides some financing to cover the gap, a possibility with not much chance due to the severe financial restrictions created by the long lockdown of economic activities. To make things even worse, when the time comes for the racetracks to open, gambling will occur through phone betting only, since online gambling is still prohibited and the regulations to permit them and its implementation may be additional months ahead.

The funding of the purse structure from the proceeds of slot machines for approximately 15 years has made racing almost completely dependent on decisions made by outsiders to racing, both in the private and public sector, and there is a sense of urgency to find within racing permanent sources of income.

Argentine racing produces approximately 7,000 foals per year and it has had daily racing programs with full cards for a long time. San Isidro and Palermo racetracks host jointly not less than 3,500 horses in training all year round and La Plata adds not less than 1,000. Owners and trainers are making enormous efforts to keep horses around until the reopening occurs, but a large number of them are moving horses back to farms and other facilities away from the racetracks to cope with the mounting expenses that are not being matched by any income. Prices at the auctions are showing that the expectations of sellers and buyers is that 2020 and probably 2021 will be years that will result in heavy losses that not all will be able to swallow.

There has been no event in the past that has put Argentine racing in a similar situation. And unless positive news come soon there will be chances that the industry as a whole will have to make major and painful adjustments to survive and eventually be restarted under sound new rules. We all hope for the best, but challenges lie ahead. If we can swim these stormy waters Argentine racing may get back to its best traditions and make a future on its own.

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