The Biz | Horse Racing Free Tips

Flood Of Northern California Horses Swells Fields, Boosts Wagering During Los Alamitos Meet

Large fields, a record Pick 6 pool and payoff, and a fourth consecutive sweep of the Grade 1 Starlet and Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert were among the highlights of the 11-day Los Angeles County Fair Winter Thoroughbred meet, which concluded Sunday at Los Alamitos in Cypress, Calif.

Buoyed by an influx of more than 200 horses from Northern California – due to the current suspension of racing at Golden Gate Fields – the average field size for the season was nearly nine runners per race, compared to 6.97 for the 2019 Winter meet. There were 854 participants in 98 races during the season.

This led to a sizable boost in terms of business. The average daily handle on races run at Los Alamitos was up 36% over 2019 and average daily handle increased 20% on a comparable basis to last year's Winter season.

“This meet was an unprecedented one,'' said F. Jack Liebau, vice president of the Los Alamitos Racing Association. “In the midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases in California and elsewhere, racing was conducted safely thanks to the excellent compliance by all participants with the preventative measures in place.

“As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak at Golden Gate Fields, trainers and caregivers were not permitted to accompany their horses to Southern California. Los Alamitos management and the connections of those horses from Northern California are indebted to the local trainers who stepped up and assumed the training and care of those thoroughbreds.

“Without their help, the meet would not have been as successful and the owners of the shippers from Northern California wouldn't have had the opportunity to race.

“The Southern California Off-Site Stabling and Vanning Fund also helped mitigate this situation by covering the costs of transporting horses from Golden Gate to Southern California. The efforts of many contributed to how well things went during these three weeks.''

A five-day Pick 6 carryover led to a record total Pick 6 pool – and payoff – Dec. 18. Chasing a carryover that had swelled to $423,178, bettors wagered $1,809,485 for a total pool of $2,232,663. The previous record of $1,558,329 was set Dec. 17, 2016.

There were six perfect tickets two days ago and each was worth $228,816, bettering the previous best of $110,732 Dec. 12, 2014.

Baffert's latest successes in the Starlet and Los Alamitos Futurity were provided by, respectively, 17-1 shot Varda and 19-10 second choice Spielberg. The nose victory by Spielberg over 33-1 shot The Great One was Baffert's seventh in a row in the Futurity and his 13th overall. He won it six times at Hollywood Park between 1997-2013.

The meet's other graded stakes – the Grade 3, $100,000 Bayakoa – was captured by Proud Emma for trainer Peter Miller and owners Gem Inc. and Tom Kagele.

The two other stakes were for 2-year-olds bred or sired in California. Sensible Cat won the $100,000 Soviet Problem for Irvin Racing Stable and trainer Carla Gaines while 13-1 shot Play Chicken won the $100,000 King Glorious for owner-breeder J. Paul Reddam's Reddam Racing LLC and trainer Doug O'Neill.

Baffert, O'Neill and Jonathan Wong shared the training title with five victories.

Baffert had the most wins (nine) for the year at Los Alamitos, combining the Winter meet with the Summer Thoroughbred Festival (June 27-July 5). O'Neill was second with eight and Steve Miyadi third with seven.

A closing day triple enabled Abel Cedillo to win the jockey title. He finished with 13 victories, one more than Juan Hernandez and two more than apprentice Jessica Pyfer.

For the year at Los Alamitos, Hernandez finished with 16 wins, one more than Cedillo. Edwin Maldonado was third with 13.

Daytime thoroughbred racing will return to Los Alamitos in 2021. The first of three meets is scheduled to begin Thursday, June 24 and continue through Sunday, July 4, followed by the Los Angeles County Fair season (Sept. 10-26) and the Winter meet (Dec. 2-12).

The post Flood Of Northern California Horses Swells Fields, Boosts Wagering During Los Alamitos Meet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Ex-Louisiana HBPA President Jailed For Rigging Election Running Again For Board Position

Sean Alfortish, the former president of the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association who served 28 months in federal prison for defrauding the organization and rigging a 2008 Louisiana HBPA election, is one of 18 individuals running for five owner seats on the horsemen's board of directors.

Fifteen trainers are running for five trainer seats and there are three candidates for Louisiana HBPA president, including current president Bernard Chatters.

Nominations closed Dec. 3 and the Louisiana HBPA's election process runs through March 30, 2021.

List of nominees for Louisiana HBPA board and presidency.

Alfortish pleaded guilty in 2011 to one felony count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, identity fraud, and health care fraud and was sentenced the following year to 46 months imprisonment. Alfortish, an attorney, has reportedly been disbarred. Two other Louisiana HBPA employees also pleaded guilty in connection with the election scheme. A subsequent audit of the Louisiana HBPA found hundreds of thousands of dollars had been spent inappropriately for Caribbean vacations, expensive gifts, and personal items.

Following his release from prison, Alfortish sought to regain his owner's license in Louisiana but was originally thwarted. Only after getting licensed in Texas and suing the Louisiana State Racing Commission was he permitted to be relicensed in the state.

Alfortish's name recently surfaced in connection with an insurance fraud investigation involving staged automobile accidents and personal injury claims in Louisiana. The FBI has joined that investigation.

The post Ex-Louisiana HBPA President Jailed For Rigging Election Running Again For Board Position appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

New Racehorse Management Technology In Australia Changes How Champion Trainer Waller Runs His Stable

A new automated platform created in Australia has taken racehorse care and management to the next level, according to horsetalk. The product is currently only being used in Australia and champion trainer Chris Waller said it has changed how he runs his stable.

StableWizard is an app that was created by Segenhoe Stud chairman Kevin Maloney. The system is cloud-based and gives trainers and stable staff instant access to all details of the horses in their care. The app is accessible via smartphone or tablet and transfers general horse management information such as temperature, feed checks, and treatment plans onto a dashboard for trainers, stable staff, or service providers to view at any time or location.

in Waller's stable, each horse has its temperature taken daily using a Bluetooth thermometer, with the results sent to StableWizard in real-time. The trainer of well-known race mare Winx said the data provided by StableWizard has improved the efficiency of his business and the care provided to the horses.

“Some processes that took two hours now take two minutes,” Waller said.

The founders of StableWizard believe the product will modernize equine management and they are aiming for it to become the new industry standard. Maloney says that the addition of more components to the app is planned. No information has been provided about wether or not this technology will make an appearance in the U.S.

California Owners, Trainers To Pay Higher Fees In 2021 To Fund Workers Comp Program

The unfortunate reduction in live racing together with statewide increases in workers compensation costs have created a funding shortfall for the horse industry's workers compensation program covering jockeys and backstretch workers that is operated by Post Time Self Insurance.

As a result, Post Time has found it necessary to increase the amounts to be paid by both owners and trainers, which fund the majority of program costs via per-stall charges from trainers and race per-start fees from owners, by approximately 10 percent. The owners' per-start fee will be raised from $149 to $162 effective January 1, 2021. The per-start fee will continue to be automatically deducted from the owner's paymaster account every time they start a horse.

To offset increased workers' compensation per-start increases and provide additional financial support to California owners, TOC authorized an increase in the Guaranteed Participation Purses earlier this year from $351 to $500 per start in Southern California and from $300 to $450 in Northern California. Guaranteed participation purses are paid to owners of horses competing in all races in which their horses do not finish first through fifth. They are designed to help owners cover core costs involved in getting their horses to the races – such as the mandatory vet exam fee required by the CHRB.

Horses finishing sixth and beyond (and to fifth place finishers when their share of purse money is less than the corresponding Guaranteed Participation Purse) are paid $500 to start in Southern California and $450 to start Northern California.

The post California Owners, Trainers To Pay Higher Fees In 2021 To Fund Workers Comp Program appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post