Opening weekend for Monmouth Park's experimental 2010 meeting was a huge success. Attendance was up, and handle more than doubled.
Let us repeat the formula for horsemen or racing executives who were not paying attention: less race dates, higher purses, bigger and better fields, lower minimum wager increments, and lower takeout = the future of horse racing.
I did my part my part to support the concept by heading up to Keeneland to play Monmouth Saturday and Sunday. Other than Haskell day and the 2007 Breeders' Cup, I never previously have gone out of my way to bet on the New Jersey track.
I love the new 50-cent pick 5 wager Monmouth is offering (only 15% takeout). The bet produced a carryover of $123,029 into Sunday's card. My $54 stab hit three of five...
Horses Of Note
Repole Stables' Winaholic broke his maiden going a mile and 70 yards in the seventh race at Monmouth on Saturday in his second career start. The speed figure may not be too fast, but Winaholic was checked on the first turn and backstretch, and he was in traffic for much of the race. He launched a four-wide move turning for home and won by 2 1/4 lengths despite a few green moments. He is a candidate to improve with added distance and seasoning.
Speaking of seasoning, I thought Cash Is King Stable's Afleet Again was best in the Spend a Buck Stakes despite finishing third by 3/4 of a length on Sunday at Monmouth. The gray Afleet Alex colt was fractious in the gate, four wide on the first turn, and five wide on the second turn. He ducked out as the field turned for home and lost several lengths to the leaders, and he and jockey Abel Mariano still nearly won the race.
Afleet Again was not even the most impressive performer of the weekend from second-crop sire Afleet Alex. That honor goes to Gainesway Farm and Martin L. Cherry's Afleet Express, who won a NW1 allowance at Belmont on Saturday by 7 lengths. Afleet Express' time for seven furlongs was 1:21.72, and he was assigned a eye-catching Beyer Speed figure of 107. Let's see how he reacts to that huge effort in his next start.
On Friday I sent in my vote for the 2010 Racing Hall of Fame inductees, and one of my two YES votes went to 1989 champion sprinter Safely Kept (my other YES vote went to Horse of the Year and three-time champion older mare Azeri).
On Sunday at Belmont, Safely Kept's three-year-old colt Safety Check (by Empire Maker) looked grand while winning a maiden race by seven lengths. Owned by Richard Santulli, Safety Check set fleet fractions of :22.73, :45.61, and 1:09.90. His final time for seven furlongs was 1:22.99, about four lengths quicker than 13-length maiden winner Flawless ran a couple races earlier.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Agree that the Monmouth experiment has been great and I probably played more races on Monmouth over this past weekend than I did all last year. Looking forward to another great weekend playing the Jersey shore.
I am also agreement that Winaholic was very impressive while breaking his maiden. This colt showed tons of heart and class to overcome some traffic problems, although I'm with you that he was a little green in the stretch. However, if this colt can put it all together, he looks like he can become one of the best route horses in the country.
Also, loved Safely Kept and she definately deserves to be in the Hall. It was great to see her foal Saftey Check romp in impressive fashion and he looks to be a star in the making.
I think you have tabbed onto a couple of rising stars with Winaholic and Saftey Check and they are two horses that we should definately pay attention to in the future.
All the best and good luck at the races!
Thanks for the comments Bill. Good call on Winaholic.
This is the kind of trip horse I love. They usually offer value even on the class rise because the betting public focuses so much on speed figures and margin of victory.
Monmouth certainly offered some more great racing over this past Memorial Day weekend, but in speaking of future horses to tab, we need to pay attention to a horse named Twirling Candy that ran at Hollywood Park on Sunday. This colt is certainly no secret... He is undefeated after breaking his maiden in his first try as the second choice in the wagering and on this past Sunday, he won his second start in impressive fashion in a first level allowance race where he was the chalk. The rise into stakes company should be an easy transition for this colt. Your thoughts...
Received two txt messages about Twirling Candy. Haven't watched the race yet. The Hollywood meet is off my radar...The horse that impressed me this weekend other than Quality Road was Check the Label, winner of the Sands Point Stakes. She was blocked for most of the race. Split horses with about one furlong to go and still won easily. I will check out Twirling Candy soon.
Post a Comment