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Fabulous Kim Kardashian to host Derby Spectacular
April 15, 2009 — maidenkingThe Kentucky Derby is much more than just a horse race.
During the week leading up to the greatest two minutes in sports, the city of Louisville throws the Kentucky Derby Festival, which includes a hot air balloon race, a steam boat challenge, a marathon, fireworks and lots and lots of parties.
Every year these events bring out sports and entertainment celebrites to rock the Derby. Yes, the pretty people will soon descend on Louisville to give us their opinions on nothing we truly care about. But they are sure to look good doing it.
And for at least one day of the year — Derby Day at Churchill Downs — it will be difficult finding all those guys named Vinnie who usually populate racetracks, walking around with their racing forms rolled up in their back pockets. And those pudgy, cigar chompers named Louie or Charlie will be replaced for the day by svelte Generation X’ers and Y’s wearing sports coats, designer sun glasses and plenty of hair gel.
And the women at the Derby — who in the past included Jessica Simpson, Heidi Montag, Holly Madison and Bo Derek — are sure to be dressed to the nines.
Anyway, these days celebs are being paid big bucks to host parties. Usually it’s popular party girls like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and the like. They collect tens of thousands of dollars to show up, blow kisses to their admirers then sway to the music from behind the velvet VIP ropes. Sometimes they stay for an hour, and maybe even two if they’re really having fun.
That’s because fabulous people always have better places to go, so they can’t stay anywhere too long.
This year, TV’s Kim Kardashian is hosting the Derby Spectacular on May 1 at Glassworks in Louisville. If you want to go, tickets are $150, but to increase you chances of actually seeing Kim — and to avoid the line out front — you might want to consider peeling off a couple of hundred more for the $350 VIP status.
However, as a VIP you are important, but not quite that important. Because at Glassworks they have Ultra VIP. As an Ultra VIP, you pay $750, but get access to the first three floors, the rooftop and the Loft Blue celebrity lounge.
Yep, hanging out with fabulous people is expensive. And if you plan to go to Glassworks, my advice is not to buy too many drinks.
Because it’s tough to bet on the Kentucky Derby when your pockets are empty.
Sunday, Santa Anita Race 6 — 3:05 pm post time
April 12, 2009 — maidenking
Maiden King conquers So. Cal. maiden races
Maiden Special Weight, 6-1/2 furlongs, 3 yo filles
Possible overlays Morning line
#1 Bread ‘n Water 15/1
#2 Belated Bid 8/1
#3 First Grade 4/1
#8 Ride Me Fast 5/1
The most talented horse in this race, I believe, is #8 Ride Me Fast, who is owned by Mike Pegram and trained by Bob Baffert. In her last race on March 4, Ride Me Fast was a length away from a pace setter who burned a quarter mile in 21.60 seconds and was two lengths behind a half in 44 seconds flat. And in her debut, she showed that she could finish by running a 77 Beyer Speed Figure while missing by a half a length.
Early speed isn’t that important at 6-1/2 furlongs, but I believe jockey Tyler Baze will get her to relax and she’ll finish with good energy.
Baffert also starts #2 Belated Bid who led in her debut without much encouragement from the jockey, but the pace was not quick. The only way I can see this horse winning is if it comes from behind and Baffert is slick enough to make that happen after baiting us with Ride Me Fast.
First-time starters #1 Bread ‘n Water and #3 First Grade look like good possibilities if their prices are right.
I will bet $400 to win on #8 Ride Me Fast at 2/1 and up, $1oo on #2 Belated Bid at 4/1 and higher, $150 on #1 Bread ‘n Water at 10/1 to 19/1 only and $250 on #3 First Grade at 7/2 and up.
Sunday, Santa Anita Race 2 — 1 pm post time
April 12, 2009 — maidenkingMaiden King conquers So. Cal. maiden races
Maiden claiming $32,000, 6-1/2 furlongs, 3 yo’s
Possible overlays Morning line
#4 Morton Owen 2/1
#5 My Man Sumo 5/1
#7 Only Be Cause 5/2
Trainer Mike Mitchell is usually dominant in a race like this, but the one equal he has in maiden races is Bob Baffert. Both trainers start contending horses in this race.
Mitchell’s runner #4 Morton Owen ran a 76 Beyer Speed Figure in a maiden claiming $85,000 sprint on Feb. 16. But then the trainer ran Morton Owen in two route races and it didn’t seem like he could handle the competition. He should run better with the class drop and cut back in distance.
On the far outside, #7 Only Be Cause missed by a nose in his last, which was at the same class and distance for Baffert. Only Be Cause has been running Beyer Speed Figures that are right in the range of the median winning number of 68 for the class. He’s been caught wide in his most recent races and with this post position he may get a wide trip once again.
Over the past couple of years, Rafael Becerra has won several maiden races with horses coming back off long recent layoffs. Today, he saddles #5 My Man Sumo who showed speed in his previous races and could do the job at a price.
I will bet $250 on #5 My Man Sumo between 2/1 and 9/1, but I’ll reduce the wager to $100 if he’s 10/1 or more.
Also, I want $300 to win on #4 Morton Owen at 8/5 to 3/1 only, but if outside that range then I’ll opt for $200 on #7 Only Be Cause instead, as long as he’s at least 2/1.
Quality Road’s Derby hopes ride on Ian. Watch him work
April 10, 2009 — maidenkingThe hoof specialist who patched up Quality Road’s quarter crack this week made a video explaining exactly what he did.
Ian McKinlay inserted a drain inside the Kentucky Derby hopeful’s patch to allow any blood or fluid to flush out. It is not a procedure McKinlay normally performs on a quarter crack, but he did it as a precautionary measure because the stakes are high.
If Quality Road misses any training, it may cost him the Kentucky Derby.
McKinlay, who also worked to solve Big Brown’s feet problems last year, filmed the procedure to educate other hoof specialists and promote his company Tenderhoof Solutions. The video, which is narrated by McKinlay, was released on Fran Jurga’s Hoof Blog Thursday and Quality Road is not the horse being worked on, but he had the same procedure.
Foot nearly healed, Quality Road likely to go in Ky Derby
April 8, 2009 — maidenking
Quality Road shown winning the Feb. 28 Fountain of Youth Stakes
By reading the comments from hoof repair specialist Ian McKinlay, the quickly-improving quarter crack injury plaguing Florida Derby winner Quality Road is unlikely to keep the colt out of training or to miss the Kentucky Derby.
Numerous reports on web sites and blogs this week broke the news that Quality Road developed a quarter crack, which was noticed after the March 28 Florida Derby. The crack was patched before trainer Jimmy Jerkens sent the horse north from Florida to his new training base at Belmont Park.
Many of the stories left open the question of the severity of the injury and cast doubt on whether Quality Road would run in the Kentucky Derby, since a bad quarter crack could cause the colt to miss vast amounts of training. But Fran Jurga’s Hoof Blog was one of the first to find out through McKinlay what everybody wanted to know: Would the quarter crack knock Quality Road out of the Kentucky Derby?
McKinlay, a New Jersey-based hoof specialist who Jerkens summoned to attend to Quality Road’s foot, told Jurga in a story published on Monday that the injury is relatively minor. When he arrived at Belmont, McKinlay pulled off the old patch, cleaned up the crack, then laced it with steel sutures.
“The whole thing should be over by this weekend and he’ll be on his way,” said McKinlay, who last year worked on Big Brown’s hoof problems in both front feet and the quarter crack Big Brown developed leading up to the Belmont Stakes.
McKinlay said Quality Road’s injury does not compare to what Big Brown went through. Although Big Brown had foot problems, he still competed in all three Triple Crown races.
“This is no Big Brown-type of situation,” McKinlay added.
Quality Road impressively won both the Fountain of Youth and the Florida Derby this spring to become one of the Kentucky Derby future book favorites. If he starts, Quality Road would enter the Derby gate with consecutive Beyer Speed Figures in excess of 110 in his previous two races.
And that’s significant because the last six runnings of the Derby were all won by colts who ran less than 110 on the Beyer scale.
On Wednesday, Quality Road galloped at Belmont Park and McKinlay applied a new patch with a drain for any blood to channel out. When horses have injuries, the area heats up indicating inflammation. But McKinlay said the crack was “ice cold” when Quality Road came back to the barn.
“That thing looked perfect. He went to the track, galloped, came back and looked great,” he told the Bloodhorse. “If the foot is cold tomorrow, it’s a done deal; it’s behind us.”
The drain that McKinlay added to his patching technique is not something he normally does with a quarter crack. But since it is imperative that Quality Road not miss any training, McKinlay modified his patching procedure.
“It’s probably overkill, but why take any chances?” McKinlay said.
Jerkens plans to give Quality Road his first workout since the Florida Derby on Friday or Saturday depending on the weather.
Information in this story from Fran Jurga’s Hoof Blog was used with permission.
Injury knocks The Pamplemousse out of the Ky Derby
April 6, 2009 — maidenkingThe Pamplemousse will not run in the Kentucky Derby on May 2 because of a tendon injury that was discovered on Saturday during a vet exam just hours before the Santa Anita Derby.
“He has a small lesion (on the tendon in his left front leg) and we’ll do the best thing by the horse,” part-owner Alex Solis II told Bloodhorse.com.
Solis II estimated that The Pamplemousse would be sidelined for more than six months and added that he is confident that the colt will race again.
The Pamplemousse won the San Rafael (gr. III) and Sham (gr. III) stakes this season at Santa Anita. He has won his last three starts while earning $209,280 in five starts. Trainer Julio Canani scratched him from the Santa Anita Derby after a pre-race veterinary exam found heat in his left front leg.
With Saturday’s scratch, betting was suspended on The Pamplemousse in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which is a pari-mutuel bet through Churchill Downs. Pools closed on Sunday with horseplayers making I Want Revenge the 9/2 favorite. Quality Road was the second choice at 6/1, then Friesan Fire, 8/1; Pioneerof the Nile, 9/1; and Dunkirk, 11/1.
Injuries are an unfortunate part of future book wagers because bettors lose without their horse ever getting to the gate.
Three important Kentucky Derby preps were run Saturday and below are videos of the Santa Anita Derby, the Wood Memorial and the Illinois Derby.
Results, Santa Anita Saturday Race 1 — lost $600
April 4, 2009 — maidenking
Lanie's Way, #13, eeks out victory over #11 Fine Time to Leave
Coming into this race Mike Mitchell, the trainer of #11 Fine Time to Leave, had won with 24 of his last 66 maiden claimers and anybody who was on them all made 24 percent on their money.
So, even though Fine Time to Leave had not run a Beyer Speed Figure in the 60’s, she figured to make an impact. Jockey Rafael Bejarano broke Mitchell’s filly in the middle of the pack then made a five-wide move on the turn. She rallied on the outside in the stretch, but couldn’t run down #13 Lanie’s Way, who held on by a head.
Lanie’s Way had almost the same exact trip as Fine Time to Leave. The only difference was that jockey Victor Espinoza moved earlier on the turn and was always a couple of lengths ahead of Fine Time to Leave until the very end.
I bet $400 on Fine Time to Leave at 2/1 and $200 on #3 Latego Light at 4/1.
To watch a replay of this race, go to www.calracing.com.
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The Pamplemousse out of SA Derby after vet exam
April 4, 2009 — maidenkingA veterinarian giving a pre-race examination to The Pamplemousse found an issue with the horse and told trainer Julio Canani who scratched the co-favorite from the Santa Anita Derby after consulting with his own vet.
The Pamplemousse was slated to clash with Pioneerof the Nile in a heavily-promoted meeting of two promising Kentucky Derby prospects.
Canani confirmed the scratch to the Los Angeles Times, but refused to give a reason. He did say that the horse is fine and he would discuss the situation over the next couple of days.
Canani vs. Baffert in the 2009 Santa Anita Derby
April 4, 2009 — maidenking
Pioneerof the Nile, trained by Bob Baffert, will try to catch Canani's speedster The Pamplemousse in the SA Derby. (Benoit photo)
Las Vegas bookies make Quality Road Ky Derby favorite
April 3, 2009 — maidenking
Quality Road, who is coming off back-to-back wins in the Fountain of Youth and the Florida Derby, is the Kentucky Derby future book favorite at two of Las Vegas most prominent race & sports books.
After opening Quality Road at 200-to-1 several months ago, Wynn Las Vegas slashed the price on the son of Elusive Quality to just 5-to-1 after the colt ran two monster Beyer Speed Figures. Down the street and around the corner at the Las Vegas Hilton, oddsmakers Jay Kornegay, Ed Salmons and Charlie Ludlow are offering up Quality Road at a paltry 4-to-1, according to the last published futures sheets updated at both places on March 30.
The numbers are low, but Quality Road deserves the respect. In the last 15 years, I can’t recall a colt posting back-to-back Beyer Speed Figures exceeding 110 in their two races leading into the Derby. By contrast, last years wonder-horse Big Brown earned just a 106 Beyer in his Florida Derby.
Originally, Quality Road was awarded a 103 Beyer when he defeated Dunkirk in the March 28 Florida Derby, but the Beyer team upgraded it to 111 after further review. In the Feb. 28 Fountain of Youth, Quality Road ran a 113 Beyer.
Quality Road’s Beyer figures are significant because the last six runnings of the Derby were all won by colts who ran less than 110 on the Beyer scale.
By sheer good fortune, I have a ticket on Quality Road, who I bet at 75-to-1 without even knowing who he was. On Dec. 20, I watched Pioneerof the Nile win the Grade I Cash Call Futurity at Hollywood Park. In the Daily Racing Form, Bob Baffert was quoted before the race as saying that POTN was his Derby horse.
The win virtually ensured that Pioneerof the Nile would have enough earnings to get into the Kentucky Derby gate, and I thought who’s better than Baffert at getting a horse ready to run his eyeballs out on the first Saturday in May.
Of course, I also considered the chance that Baffert’s horse might get injured, but at the time all the talk was about how safe synthetic surfaces were for horses. So after the Cash Call Futurity, I zoomed down to Las Vegas Hilton, but before I got to the window I saw Vic Vivio, who I worked with for years at the Imperial Palace.
Back in 2000, Vivio, who is now a supervisor at Palace Station, got huge odds on Fusaichi Pegasus in the future book and won more than $5,000 when Fu Peg strolled home in the Derby. At the Hilton on Dec. 20, Vivio told me that he had recently bet Quality Road — who I had never heard of at the time — based on the 101 Beyer Speed Figure he earned while breaking his maiden in a sprint on Nov. 29 at Aqueduct. And Quality Road’s odds at the time Vivio got down were 125-to-1.
I figured what the heck? This guy Vivio has been around the horse game for awhile, maybe he learned a thing or two about the ponies. So, along with Pioneerof the Nile at 40-to-1, I also bet Quality Road at 75-to-1.
And as long as Qualilty Road and Pioneerof the Nile get into the Derby gate, I see the futures as an opportunity to turn Kentucky Derby into a positive advantage race for me. So, I plan to wager on other contenders at decent pari-mutel odds because funny things can happen in a 20-horse field with a hundred thousand drunken screaming fans.
But Vivio, who I spoke to a couple of days ago, will absolutely not hedge.
In fact, Quality Road is the only Derby horse Vivio bet, and he likes him so much that he also loaded up on the colt in the pari-mutuel future book exactas.
“I’m just going to root for him to win,” Vivio said.
And, you know what, he just might.
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Maiden King 