The Paddock | Horse Racing Free Tips

Bandoroff: Visionary Anthony Manganaro Saw The Big Picture

Anthony Manganaro wasn't out to make friends. He was out to change an industry he loved. He was a street fighter, a former labor organizer, and he was willing to fight. When one idea hit a dead end he came up with another one and another one and, well, you get the idea. He never gave up in his mission to make the industry better.

I often say one of the wonderful things about my career is I've had the opportunity to be around and learn from some very smart and remarkable people. If I had to rank them Anthony might be #1 for me. He was one of those rare people who was a visionary and who flew at 30,000 feet, seeing the big picture. That's not something many of us can do. We know we should and we try but we just aren't capable of doing it. Anthony had that gift.

I first met him around 15 years ago. He introduced himself and brought me into his circle of confidants. He included me in his mission to make the sport better for everyone involved, especially the people who didn't have a voice.

I soon learned he had the ideas, the vision and the finances to change the industry. He spent millions of dollars of his own money with architects, lawyers, and consultants as he refined his ideas. He took me to meetings with former NBA commissioner David Stern, former Major League Baseball players attorney Don Fehr, and a sports business icon, Harvey Schiller. The thing each of them had in common was they recognized that Thoroughbred racing had all the ingredients to make it a major league sport again. They were truly excited about its potential and the possibilities. The ideas they had and the vision they could see for horse racing were inspiring.

There was just one problem. They didn't know our industry. They didn't know we were an industry, as Anthony always said, that refused to want to make the pie bigger. Instead, we'd rather fight over our slice of a shrinking pie.

Anthony, like another visionary, B. Wayne Hughes, worked tirelessly to make the industry he cared about better. They were both remarkable individuals who commanded enormous amounts of respect, regardless of what side of the debate you were on.

If you knew him you realize we just lost our biggest thinker. If you didn't know him then you have no idea what we lost. Trust me, we lost a lot. We lost someone we won't replace very easily. There are very few Anthony Manganaros out there, if any. And unfortunately we weren't always smart enough to listen to him. If we had, I can promise you we wouldn't be facing as many challenges as we do today.

But he can rest in peace knowing he sure tried. I'll miss him and whether you know it or not, so will you. Go in peace, friend.

Craig Bandoroff, with wife Holly, owns Denali Stud in Paris, Ky. The farm is now managed by their son, Conrad Bandoroff.

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Rudulph: ‘I Don’t Belong Here In Horse Racing’

Ken Rudulph, long-time analyst for TVG and later FanDuel TV, tweeted the following open letter to the horse racing industry Aug. 21 addressing fan questions about his departure from the network. On May 15, TVG/FanDuel released a statement indicating Rudulph had been taken off the air for making what it called “disappointing comments online about the integrity of horse racing, as well as the safety and welfare of its participants.”

The thread below, which is reprinted with permission, is viewable on his Twitter profile here.

Three months ago, my 17-year career in horse racing with TVG and FanDuelTV came to an end. Here's how that happened.

For starters, everything that went down is all on ME. I wasn't done wrong, I didn't get a raw deal. A bunch of Twitter chatter didn't do me in.

I came back four years ago and I really thought I could have an impact on the culture of horse racing. That's the only way I could come back, if I felt I could make a difference. For the first 12 years I felt like a “token” and many people treated me that way. So when I came back I was determined to break out of that. I made my feelings known in podcasts and on social media.

Social media is where we got into trouble.

There will always be folks who attack you and ridicule you. I got tired of it and I responded in a very negative way. For context, during my nearly eight years doing news in Sacramento not ONE person attacked me on social media over my skills, knowledge, or ability on air. In horse racing it happened every day, whether I picked winners or not. It created an environment that was hostile, which led to me becoming hostile at all times. That hostility became overwhelming and made me difficult to deal with.

Everyone at work was very accommodating, they seemed to understand my pain. My boss, Kevin Grigsby, is a good dude and he supported me and helped to create a spot for me on air.

I appreciate everything that he did and tried to do. Bottom line for me is, I don't belong here in horse racing. They don't need me here in horse racing. I had a great time, made excellent money and it helped to solidify my career. It was time to go, and the tweet on May 15th basically wraps up my feelings on horse racing. With all of the issues and the stigma of having worked here and having to defend or explain the sport, it became impossible for me to continue “selling” the game that I had zero confidence in and zero faith in its future.

I don't want any horses or jockeys to get hurt or have any fatalities. I also didn't want to have to tap dance on air when crazy stuff happens on track and we have no answers for it.

My colleagues were invested in the industry with all of their hearts. I respect that. I can't really be a part of that.

I really appreciate the scores of messages and well wishes from so many of you. We had fun. We made history. We made great friends. We learned how to play a great game. We learned about ourselves. I wish you all nothing but love, success and happiness.

I truly hope the industry can find the right combination of oversight, transparency and accountability to continue moving forward. I am tied to the Kentucky Derby for the rest of my life so I will always play that race.

Until then, y'all be easy and have fun. Good luck & enjoy!!! Much love.

–Ken Rudulph

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The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Does The King’s Plate Go Through Kalik?

An overflowing entry box for Canada's most important Thoroughbred race, the $1-million King's Plate, suggests that this year's field of Canadian-bred 3-year-olds is without a standout.

Seventeen horses are expected to be in the starting gate, with two others on the also-eligible list for Sunday's race, the highlight of a 13-race card that begins at 12:25 p.m. ET. The Plate, race 10, is scheduled for 5:39 p.m. ET.

The King's Plate, first run in 1860 and intermittently known as the Queen's Plate, is run on the all-weather Tapeta surface over the classic distance of 1 1/4 miles, with colts and gelding toting 126 pounds. Two fillies who ran one-two in the Woodbine Oaks, Elysian Field and Wickenheiser, are entered and will each carry 121.

Toronto-based racing writer and handicapper Jennifer Morrison joins Ray Paulick on the Friday Show to sort through this year's field for the Plate, and she says the race goes through Kalik, the 3-1 morning line favorite who will be making his first start in Canada and first on Tapeta. Morrison points out that the son of Collected trained by Chad Brown follows the same trail into the Plate that 2021 winner Safe Conduct took for Phil Serpe, racing in the G2 Pennine Ridge and G1 Belmont Derby on turf at Belmont Park before heading north of the border.

Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:

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Del Mar Summer: Where Celebrities Came To Play

In 1979, shortly after I moved to Southern California from Chicago, a friend from the Midwest came to visit and said she wanted to see Hollywood celebrities. “I hear you can buy maps showing where all the stars live,” she said.

It was true. You couldn't drive along Sunset Boulevard without seeing someone on the side of the road peddling “Maps to the Stars.”

I had a better idea for celebrity watching.

“Let's go to the racetrack,” I said. “That's where a lot of the stars like to hang out.”

Back then, it was not unusual to see Hollywood royalty at the races – Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Mel Brooks, and Jack Klugman were among those from the entertainment world who enjoyed going to Hollywood Park, Santa Anita, or Del Mar. Other track regulars from television included Don Adams (Get Smart), Dick Van Patten (Eight Is Enough), Vic Tayback (Alice), and Al Lewis (The Munsters).

My friend wasn't disappointed after seeing several of her favorite stars at the track.

Del Mar racetrack didn't just attract celebrities, it was created by them.

Bing Crosby, one of the biggest stars of the era, was at the gates to greet fans for the grand opening of Del Mar racetrack in 1937. Local businessman William Quigley came up with the idea for the track, built just a few furlongs east of the Pacific Ocean, and brought Crosby and actor Pat O'Brien onboard as founding partners. The first Del Mar Turf Club board of directors, led by Crosby and O'Brien, included actor Gary Cooper and two popular actor/comedians, Joe E. Brown and Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy fame).

Crosby didn't just help open Del Mar, he provided the track with its signature song, “Where the Turf Meets the Surf,” which greets racegoers each day during the post parade for the first race.

Within a few years of its opening, Del Mar became a playground for the stars, who traversed the 100 miles by plane, train, or car from Los Angeles to north San Diego County. Celebrities like W.C. Fields, Rita Hayworth, Red Skelton, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, and Jimmy Durante, among many others, contributed to making Del Mar a popular destination for the Hollywood set.

If you attend the races at Del Mar, take a few minutes to wander through the grandstand and look at the old black-and-white photos of some of the celebrities who helped make the seaside track famous.

Note: For more on celebrities at the races, Alan Shuback has written a book on the subject: “Hollywood at the Races: Film's Love Affair With the Turf.”

In the last six months, we lost two modern-day celebrities who loved both horse racing and Del Mar. In February, award-winning songwriter and musician Burt Bacharach died at the age of 94. For years, Bacharach had a beach house in Del Mar and rarely missed seeing one of his horses run at the track. This week, record-company mogul Jerry Moss, who co-founded A&M Records with musician Herb Alpert, died at the age of 88. Moss lived the dream as a horse owner, winning the Kentucky Oaks, Kentucky Derby, and Breeders' Cup Classic.

Bacharach and Moss were good friends in the music business who both got involved in racehorse ownership as a fun diversion from their “day jobs.” They both were men of integrity who did things the right way as horse owners and supported their Thoroughbreds when they left the track for second careers.

Both left an enormous impact on racing and on Del Mar.

Now, on to the races.

By the Numbers

The “chalk parade” continued in the fourth week of the Del Mar meet. There were 36 races run last week, with 16 winning favorites, 44.4 percent. The 23 dirt races run from Aug.10-13 saw 11 winning favorites, 47.8 percent, while the 13 turf races saw just five winning favorites, 38.5 percent.

Overall, favorites have won 52 of the 144 races run so far at Del Mar, 36.1 percent.

Average field size is 9.1 for the first four weeks of the meet, which is on par with last year's numbers. Week four field size was 8.4 horses per race.

Average winning payoff overall in week four was $10.93 ($9.50 on dirt and $13.45 on turf). It is $12.65 for the first four weeks of the meet.

The meet began with what appeared to be an anti-speed bias for the first couple of weeks, on both dirt and turf. Week three saw a major swing toward front-runners being favored, and the following week saw more balanced results.

Of the 23 races on dirt Aug. 9-13, seven were won by front-runners with six winners who pressed or were close to the early pace. Five came from mid-pack and five were closers.

Of the 13 turf races, three were won by front-runners, with seven coming from just off the pace and three were deep closers.

A tip for horseplayers: Look for horses coming back that may have shown speed before fading during the first couple weeks of the meet – on both dirt and turf.

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