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From the TIF: The Future of Derby Futures & Modernizing Betting

The speed of legal sports betting's expansion across America in the last four years has surprised even the most bullish advocates. On any given day in a majority of states, Americans can bet on just about any outcome in the world of sports.

The next point in a game of tennis. The total runs in the next inning of a baseball game. The number of corner kicks for a team in a soccer match.

But if you legally wanted to bet on the Kentucky Derby other than the day before or day of the race, you have but a few weekends to place pari-mutuel bets, in limited pools, and through underdeveloped advanced deposit wagering.

Churchill Downs offered five opportunities to bet Derby futures for its 2022 edition, to be run this coming Saturday. Win and exacta pools were available, as well as a bet on the winner's sire and the sires of the exacta finishers. Total handle across all of the Derby-only pools was $1.88 million. An Oaks/Derby double future was offered and handled less than $85,000.

Roll back the clock to 2002 and Derby future betting was just three pools over three weekends with win betting only. Total handle that year was a combined $1.5 million which when adjusted for inflation, equates to about $2.36 million today. Despite additional pools and dates, interest measured by inflation-adjusted handle is down about 20%.

Sports betting is not legal in Kentucky at present, but that would not preclude Churchill Downs from striking future deals with operators in states that permit fixed-odds betting on racing.

The opportunity for the Kentucky Derby and its qualifying series to dominate the landscape in coming years is strong. While pari-mutuel futures on the big race have stagnated, a far more diverse market of fixed-odds opportunities should be within reach.

Click here to read the rest of this piece from the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation.

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Letter to the Editor: Positive Changes Coming Out of Pennsylvania, by Bryan Langlois, DVM

Over the past few months there have been stories about various State Racing Commissions doing or not doing things for the good of the sport. The Triple Crown season always brings more of a spotlight on the sport and, most times, how there is no progress being made. Quietly, however, one State Racing Commission has been making positive strides in improving the safety, welfare, and integrity of the sport and industry. That state is Pennsylvania.

There perhaps has not been a more public vocal critic of the Racing Commission than myself over the last few years (a look back at my public comments at meetings will show this). However, I must say that the changes being announced, implemented, and backed up with action are extremely pleasing to see. The issues that have plagued the industry (and Pennsylvania has often been called the prime example of these issues by many) are not something that are going to be solved overnight. It is going to take time and effort to do this. What the Pennsylvania Racing Commission has finally done is taken a good, hard look in the mirror and identified specific areas that need to be addressed and changed. That started with the Committee on Equine Welfare and Safety that the Commission created. The Committee came out with 11 “action items” that were going to be implemented in various stages of time (anyone familiar with the process to get regulations passed in Pennsylvania knows of the length of time it takes) with the goal of improving the safety of the horses, the safety of the participants, and the integrity of the sport in the public's eye.

It is one thing to just come out and say you are going to do something. It is quite another to do it, and, so far, the Commission has backed up its words with action. At each monthly meeting Thoroughbred Bureau Director Tom Chuckas gives a detailed a report on where each of the action items sits in the implementation process as well as a review of any enforcement actions taken. It is evident from what is reported at the meetings, such as barn and vehicle searches turning up syringes and medications that should not be there, “jog up” inspections of horses in various barns (leading to a few being flagged for closer inspection and one being placed on the vet's list), and an increasing number of Out of Competition Tests being done each month, that the Commission and its investigative team are taking this task very seriously and letting the public know it.

I know there are those out there that will still say the tracks in Pennsylvania are a cesspool and the Commission has no idea who the real cheaters are and such. Well, for those that claim to have all this inside info on the cheaters and what they are doing, a special “integrity hotline” has been created that allows you to leave this information anonymously. The number for this hotline is (717) 787-1942. You must leave a detailed message, and someone will only contact you back if you specifically request it. Otherwise, the calls will be investigated based on the message left. So far, 20 calls have been placed to the hotline with eight being completely resolved and 12 still being investigated. Yes, we would all like to know all the details of these investigations and who was investigated (myself included), but we also must realize that information does have to remain private for these things to work properly. So as the old saying goes, “If you see something, say something.”

A person who makes poor lifestyle choices for decades of their life is not going to turn everything around and have the effects of those choices disappear after a month at the gym. The same is true of this sport. It has taken decades for this industry to get to where it is, and it is going to take more time than any of us would like to right the ship properly. Some agencies and tracks continue to turn a blind eye to things and hope it will all be OK or offer lip service about change with no evidence to back it up. Pennsylvania is finally taking the right steps to bring integrity and safety back to the sport, and Director Chuckas and the Commission are to be commended for their efforts so far. I look forward to the continuation of these positive developments.

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Final Witnesses on Stand in Giannelli Trial

by Bill Finley and Robert Gearty

Federal prosecutors called their final witnesses May 3 at the New York horse doping trial of Lisa Giannelli.

The end of the government's case sets the stage for what could be the trial's climax: Giannelli's testimony in her own defense. The trial resumes May 4.

The government's witnesses Tuesday included Adrienne Hall, a harness trainer who also testified against veterinarian Seth Fishman, whom prosecutors believe Giannelli conspired with, and a retired special investigator with the Pennsylvania Racing Commission.

Hall testified that after first reaching out to Giannelli she sent Fishman a text saying that she wanted to know if he could help her come up with “pre-race options” for a horse she had just acquired.

On cross-examination, Hall was quizzed about her deal with prosecutors in which she agreed to testify in exchange for a non-prosecution agreement.

“I was committed to help regardless of signing an agreement or not,” Hall told Giannelli's attorney Louis Fasulo.

She said she was testifying “because I believe this will help the sport, it will help the horses and we really need that today.”

“You care about the integrity of racing?” Fasulo asked.

“Very,” Hall replied.

“You were part of the problem and now you're the remedy?” Fasulo said.

Hall insisted she wanted the sport to change.

“I bought two bottles of VO2 Max from Lisa Ranger,” Hall told the jury of eight men and four women.

Hall testified the sale took place in 2019 and that she knew Giannelli at the time by her married name.

Prosecutors have described VO2 Max as an adulterated and misbranded PED designed to help a horse respire.

They showed the jury a June 2019 invoice for two bottles of VO2 Max and the $158 price. The return address on the invoice was Giannelli's home.

At another point, Fasulo seized on Hall's answer to a question in which she denied using PEDs out of greed.

In fact, she lost money, she testified.

“You did it to lose money?” Fasulo said.

“I did it to keep my horses,” she said.

The investigator who testified was Rita Noblett, who retired in 2021.

She said contraband medications were seized from trainer Silvio Martin during a search of his pick-up truck that took place in February 2020 at Parx Racing.

“He was coming through the gate and I asked him to pull over,” she testified.

She said the substances were Banamine, Butaject, and Dexium. Also seized were syringes and needles.

The medications were contraband because the bottles had no prescription labels.

Prosecutors said the bottles were found in a box with a shipping label addressed to Fishman at Giannelli's address in Delaware.

Noblett testified it took her days to reach Martin to interview him.

“I tried to get a hold of him numerous times,” she told the jury. “He never responded.

She said when she finally spoke to Martin, he said Fishman was his veterinarian at his private farm.

Noblett testified she thought it was odd that Fishman, who was from Florida, was the vet for Martin's farm in Pennsylvania.

“It didn't make sense to me,” she testified.

On cross-examination, the witness testified that Martin's private farm would not have fallen under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Racing Commission.

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The Ageless One, Mike Smith Looking to Make Derby History

It was back in 1984 when a 19-year-old kid named Mike Smith rode in his first GI Kentucky Derby aboard sixth-place finisher Pine Circle. He was the youngest jockey in the race. The oldest was a legend, the then 52-year-old Bill Shoemaker.

Aboard Silent King, Shoemaker was riding in the Derby for the 23rd time. As for Smith, he was just happy to be there, not knowing when he would get another chance. He never thought that one day he would become the Shoemaker of his generation.

That's what Smith is. He is still very much in demand, particularly in the big races, and has become an iconic and respected figure who, into his mid-fifities, seems to be impervious to the ravages of time. Smith's accomplishments are very Shoemaker-esque, but on Saturday he will be out to do what Shoemaker could not, win the Kentucky Derby at the age of 56.

Shoemaker became the oldest rider in Derby history to win the race when he guided Ferdinand to victory in 1986 as a 54-year-old. A year later, he finished sixth aboard Gulch. In 1988, in his last-ever Derby mount, the 56-year-old Shoemaker was 12th aboard Lively One. He retired in 1990.

Thirty-four years have come and gone since Shoemaker set the record, a record that might be about to fall. Smith will ride Taiba (Gun Runner), the winner of the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby and a 12-1 shot in the morning line for the Derby.

“To even be mentioned in the same breath as Shoemaker is amazing,” Smith said. “All riders idolize him and if they don't they don't know anything about racing. If we could pull this off it would be something really special.”

The 1984 running was the only time Smith and Shoemaker competed against one another in the Derby. Smith didn't get another Derby mount until 1990. But he remembers other times he squared off against Shoemaker in races and the talks they had after Shoemaker had become a trainer.

“I rode with Shoe a few times,” Smith said. “Then I got to know him afterwards, when he was training and before he passed away. It was probably two weeks before he passed [Shoemaker died in 2003] that I had a long conversation with him. We were sitting in the jocks' room and we were talking about Azeri. He said that she was really bred for the grass. He said, 'Imagine if they ever tried her on the grass?' That was the last conversation I ever had with him. I was blessed to get to know him a little bit. He was an amazing human being. I never could have imagined that I might someday break his record in the Derby. I was just happy to know the man.”

Smith last won the Derby in 2018 with Justify (Scat Daddy). He was 52 then, an age where most jockeys have either retired or are mulling the end to their career. But not Smith. He mainly limits his mounts to the major races and is a fanatic when it comes to working out and taking care of his body. The results speak for themselves–he is still one of the top jockeys in the sport.

“I feel great and I'm doing great,” Smith said. “I keep working at it. Every race I ride I still feel like I am learning. I still want to win every race. The fire hasn't dwindled any. I keep myself in great shape. If you take care of your body and you work at it, you can still be successful at my age. You see that in all sports. Look at what Tom Brady is doing. He keeps himself in great shape and he's playing like it's his third or fourth year in the NFL.”

Late last year, Smith appeared to have his Derby horse. He won the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile aboard Corniche (Quality Road), who was later named 2-year-old male champion. But Corniche was slow to come around this year and his connections decided not to rush him in an attempt to make the Derby. Not only had Smith not secured a Derby mount, through the end of March, a losing mount in the GII San Felipe S. was his lone assignment on the year in a race in which Derby points were allotted. He hasn't missed a Derby since 2014.

Smith had worked Taiba when he was a 2-year-old, but when the colt made his career debut Mar. 5, John Velazquez was aboard. When it came to the Santa Anita Derby, Velazquez had to choose between Taiba and the more accomplished Messier (Empire Maker). He chose Messier, who wound up finishing second behind Taiba in the Santa Anita Derby.

“Yes, without a doubt, I was worried,” Smith said. “I didn't have anything up until the Santa Anita Derby when I was fortunate enough to pick up Taiba. But I felt that something big was going to come up. Not only do I get a mount in the Derby, but I got one with a colt who has so much talent.”

Taiba has a long way to go before he can be called the next Justify, a Triple Crown winner, but there are a lot of similarities between the two. Justify was trained by Bob Baffert and was lightly raced before running in the Derby, his fourth lifetime start. Taiba started out in the Baffert stable before being moved to trainer Tim Yakteen after Baffert started serving his 90-day suspension for the drug positive he received in last year's Derby with Medina Spirit (Protonico). The Derby will be just Taiba's third lifetime start. Both enter the Kentucky Derby off wins in the Santa Anita Derby.

“People always ask me, can you compare him to Justify?” Smith said. “He's one you can compare to Justify. Both are extremely talented and very intelligent. Though he's not as big as Justify, both are big chestnuts. They both have very high cruising speed. They remind me a lot of each other.”

Even Smith can't go on forever. When asked if he saw himself riding at age 60, he said that he did not. But he has no immediate plans to retire.

“I'm just waiting for it to tell me,” he said. “Should I stop now? Why would I? I feel like I'm still there, still helping. I don't feel like I am getting in the way, especially in these kind of races and with the younger horses. I still feel that I have a lot to offer. I'm going to do it until the day I wake up and God has told me it's time to call it a career. It's hard to say when that will happen. I know I feel good and am keeping myself in great shape. As long as I keep getting these opportunities I am going to do what I love. I'm having a lot of fun doing what I'm doing. I don't have the pressure of trying to be leading rider. Give me one or two really good horses and I am happy.”

Shoemaker won four Derbies. Taiba would be Smith's third. A win by Taiba could quite possibly be Smith's last in the Derby, meaning he would not equal Shoemaker's number. Then again, it's Mike Smith. What isn't possible?

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