Archive for the ‘Horse Racing’ Category

There’s no secret that the aftermath of I Want Revenge’s last second Derby scratch has been anything but smooth for David Lanzman and IEAH Stables. What’s shocking is the abject level of hatred being tossed around and the clear and total dysfunction of this partnership.

We could recap it further but the quote above pretty much sums up the whole story.

Read it at the Daily Racing Form

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings

By Ray Paulick
Take Control, an A.P. Indy colt who is the first foal produced from 2002 Horse of the Year Azeri, posted an impressive last to first victory while making his career debut for trainer Bob Baffert and owner Kaleem Shah in Wednesday’s third race at Santa Anita Wednesday.

The colt, purchased by Shah for a sale-topping $1.9 million at the 2009 Keeneland April auction of 2-year-olds in training, was the center of some controversy seven months earlier when he was listed as a $7.7 million buy-back at the Keeneland September yearling sale. He was bred by the Allen Paulson Living Trust, controlled by Michael Paulson, son of the late Allen Paulson, who bred and raced a number of champions, including two-time Horse of the Year Cigar. Pinhooker Eddie Woods sold the colt at the Keeneland 2-year-old sale.

Wearing blinkers and a shadow roll, Take Control broke well from the rail under Martin Garcia in the one-mile maiden contest on the Pro-Ride main track, fell back to last shortly after the start and remained there through fractions of :24.14 for the opening quarter, :49.61 for the half and 1:12.98 for six furlongs. He switched off the rail at the head of the stretch, moved up to fifth near the furlong grounds while racing greenly, then put in a burst of speed in the final eighth of a mile to win going away by a length and a half. The final time for the mile was1:37.64. Pacesetter Ivory Fudge finished second, with Line of David third. Take Control paid $7.60 to win as the third choice in the betting in the seven-horse field. Click here for a chart of the race.

Shah, a new client of Baffert’s, founded CALNET, a Virginia-based telecommunications comany that also does intelligence analysis. (Click here for a company profile of Shah.)

"I didn¹t think he could win first time out," said Baffert, "but he really impressed me. He was green, but he settled well and he overcame a lot of trouble. That was a good one to get; now we¹ve got our 2-year-old start out of the way. He¹ll run all day, and we¹ll let him tell us what¹s next.

"We¹re not going to ship out of town until March because the weather¹s terrible all around the country. I think we¹re seeing two stars develop here I thought Martin rode him great. He rode him like he had ice water in his veins."

Baffert, who trains the probable 2-year-old male champion Lookin at Lucky, was logging his seventh victory of the Santa Anita meeting that opened on Saturday. He also won Wednesday’s second race with Tiny Woods, a 2-year-old Roman Ruler colt racing or Legends Racing.

"He ran like he¹s supposed to,² Baffert said in the winner¹s circle. "He¹s probably a sprinter, and he¹s been training real good. We¹ve always been high on him, and I think we¹ll just stay here with him and hopefully he keeps running good."

Much has been written and said about the incident at the starting gate before the Breeders’ Cup Classic involving Quality Road, who was eventually scratched from the race after he refused to load. Alex Brown, an exercise rider for trainer Steve Asmussen, publisher of the Alex Brown Racing website, and a leader of the anti-slaughter movement, offers his opinion on the subject. – Ray Paulick

By Alex Brown
For animal rights activists this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic was not about the grace and brilliance of Zenyatta. It was about the “animal abuse” targeted at Quality Road by the gate crew, and the platform that abuse provides to support an anti-racing agenda.

I have read Internet articles, and have been forwarded e-mails targeted to news reporters, that include rhetoric that is deliberately inflammatory and without substance. Some of this discussion is posted here.

The rhetoric includes the idea that the gate crew is vindictive. What?  That the gate crew favored hometown Zenyatta at a cost to others.  Does this really deserve a response? I have read speculation that Quality Road was struck with a buggy whip after he was blindfolded. I would think that those who appear so excited about this opportunity to highlight our sport in such poor graces would at least confirm whether or not Quality Road was indeed struck with a buggy whip after being blindfolded. And finally I read in an e-mail about the number of horses that have died at the hands of gate crews. Really, how many?

The reality is that much of this rumor and speculation comes from people who know little about our horses and horse racing.  And their target audiences, who are similarly less knowledgable about our sport, are easily convinced.  If two people say it on the Internet, it must be true.

I have worked with many gate crews in North America, from Houston in Texas to Toronto in Ontario. Working for trainer Steve Asmussen, we bring each horse to the gate for schooling each week.  I see the gate crew work a lot.  The gate crew’s job is tough and not without risks. I have not always agreed with the decisions they have made with horses I am riding that are reluctant to load.  But their decisions are always made with their best intentions. Those working on gate crews do, for the most part, have a “machismo” type of attitude.  But they are putting themselves in risky situations on a frequent basis.

So I am a little aggrieved that the only thing animal rights people want us to remember about Zenyatta’s terrific performance is the near tragic circumstances that conspired before the race.  And these same animal rights people are on my team.  We are all arguing for the end of horse slaughter.  We believe it is inhumane and unnecessary. But if you are a horseman who should you believe? The pro-slaughter argument that horse slaughter is humane and is necessary or the anti-slaughter argument that it is inhumane and unnecessary. This latter argument is delivered by the same people who are willing to use speculation and inflamed rhetoric to damage our sport.

And for anyone interested in the reality of the Quality Road situation, here it is. Ugly, yes.  But let’s stop the speculation and inflamed rhetoric and if there is something to learn from this situation then let’s learn.  And let’s hope we see Quality Road back at the races to show us how brilliant he too can be.

Finally, thanks are due to the guy on the gate crew who managed to catch hold of Quality Road as he came out of the gate, blindfolded.  Without his quick thinking I shudder to think what might have happened.

Rachel Alexandra absolutely destroyed her  male opposition in Sunday’s $1,250,000 Haskell Invitational Handicap at Monmouth Park, coming from just off the pace of Munnings, taking command on the turn for home, and romping home to a six-length victory for Calvin Borel, who is now a perfect-eight for eight on the Medaglia d’Oro filly now carrying the colors of Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables and trained by Steve Asmussen.

Rachel Alexandra paid $3 to win as the 1-2 favorite.

As expected, Munnings, coming off that impressive win sprinting in the Tom Fool, went right to the front under John Velazquez and set fractions of :22 4/5 for the opening quarter mile, :46 2/5 for the half-mile and 1:09 4/5 for six furlongs. Borel had Rachel Alexandra just off his right hip, and Summer Bird was close behind in third, along the rail. Papa Clem raced close up in fourth.

On the turn, however, Borel let Rachel Alexandra extend her stride and she was quickly in front. When the field hit the top of the stretch, it was really only a matter of how big her margin of victory would be. She galloped to the wire in yet another incredible performance that may be the equal of her 20 1/4 Kentucky Oaks victory (her last start for trainer Hal Wiggins and breeder Dolphus Morrison, after which she was purchased by Jackson and Harold McCormick) or her 19 1/4-length victory last time out in the Mother Goose. This was her second victory over colts and geldings, following her one-length Preakness win over Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird.

Jess Jackson said he didn’t know where Rachel Alexandra would go next either, saying, “We’ll see how she comes out. Her next race will be decided by us when she tells us.” Jackson did say the Breeders’ Cup at Oak Tree on a synthetic track is not an option, though he does want to face the unbeaten, reigning filly and mare champ Zenyatta. “We’re not going to the Breeders’ Cup,” Jackson insisted. “I’ve said that from the beginning and I mean it. I’d like it on a neutral course and I don’t like synthetic tracks.”

While there is plenty of racing remaining in 2009, Rachel Alexandra has clearly becoming the pro-tem leader in the race for Horse of the  Year. She has won all seven of her starts this year–four of them Grade 1 and two Grade 2–and is now 10 for 13 lifetime.

The Haskell topped a big weekend for Asmussen and Jackson. On Saturday, Asmussen saddled Soul Warrior to an upset victory over Mine That Bird in the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park and took the Jim Dandy at Saratoga with Jackson and Gulf Coast Farm’s Kensai. Kensai looks to be the favorite for the Travers Stakes at Saratoga later this month–unless Jackson and Asmussen opt to run Rachel Alexandra. That seems unlikely, however, since the filly may be better at 1 1/8 miles and the Travers is run over 1 1/4 miles, longer than she’s ever been.

Rachel Alexandra, produced from the Roar filly Lotta Kim, became the second filly to win the Haskell, joining 1995 winner Serena’s Song.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick
Saturday was a huge afternoon for trainer Steve Asmussen as he won both major races for 3-year-olds, taking the $500,000 Jim Dandy by 2 1/4 lengths  with Stonestreet Stables and Gulf Coast Farms’ Kensei only a few minutes after Zayat Stables’ Soul Warrior got up in the final strides to win the $750,000 West Virginia Derby by a neck, upsetting Mine That Bird and Big Drama.

Soul Warrior, a 3-year-old colt by Lion Heart, caught a game Big Drama in the shadow of the wire, outfinishing Mine That Bird, who trailed the field early and commenced his move under Mike Smith with about a half mile to go. Big Drama, as expected, set all the early fractions, going :23.73, :46.56, 1:10.45 and 1:37.13. He held a clear (up to lengths) and uncontested lead throughout, but the speedy son of Montbrook tired late and was unable to hold off the late run of Soul Warrior. Final time was 1:51.46.

In something of a surprise, Big Drama was made the 4-5 favorite over Mine That Bird, who was the even-money second choice. Soul Warrior was a 23-1 outsider who paid $48 to win. The Grade 2 West Virginia Derby was his first stakes win and third win overall from seven starts. He previously finished second in the Iowa Derby for Asmussen.

Dale Beckner rode Soul Warrior, picking up the mount from Miguel Mena on race day. West Virginia Derby chart.

Kensei was the co-second choice in the Jim Dandy behind Charitable Man. The son of Mr. Greeley was coming off a 3 1/4-length win in the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont July 4. In the Jim Dandy, Edgar Prado allowed Kensei to sit just off the pace set by Warrior’s Reward, contested the lead after a half-mile and drew off down the lane. Warrior’s Reward held second, followed by Charitable Man, the 6-5 favorite. Final time for the 1 1/8 miles on a fast track was 1:47.90 after fractions of :23.43, :47.50, 1:11.55 and 1:35.42.

Kensei was winning for the fourth time in seven starts. Jim Dandy chart.

Rachel Alexandra could complete a weekend trifecta for Asmussen with a win in Sunday’s $1,250,000 Haskell Invitational Handicap at Monmouth Park. The big weekend is coming just two weeks after he was handed a six-month suspension from the Texas Racing Commission for a positive test for a metabolite of lidocaine in a horse that won at Lone Star Park one year ago. The suspension was appealed and Asmussen was granted a stay.

JIM DANDY QUOTES, COURTESY OF NEW YORK RACING ASSOCIATION MEDIA OFFICE:

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By Bradford Cummings
As the state of Kentucky continues to spit in the eye of the Thoroughbred industry, it is essential the power brokers and decision makers capitalize on the few openings available to improve our product and bring racing to the casual fan. And quite frankly, until this summer there seemed to be little outside of the usual steps taken to grow our sport. That is why Churchill Downs’ extremely successful Downs After Dark has been such a bright spot for the historic racing landmark.
 
Many racing fans chortle at calling nighttime racing at Churchill out of the box thinking. Night racing has been part of the sport of kings for years. But for those of you high-fallutin naysayers, the magic of those three nights this summer came out of an understanding that racing to the average fan is about more than what’s on the track. What few in this business grasp onto is this sport’s greatest advantage is also its greatest disadvantage, the long delays between races. What you do with that gap clearly defines the experience for the casual fan and proved to be the difference between a one-night flash in the pan and a successful budding enterprise.
 
The thought process behind Downs After Dark actually began in 2001 when permanent lighting was part of Churchill’s expansion plan. But after 9/11 and the popular concern that the economy would tank, the lights were cut from the funding package. But as they say, the dream never died and remained in the plans to explore down the road.
 
Fast forward to last year when the folks at CDI decided to revisit the idea of a nighttime extravaganza. Looking at their properties across the country, it seemed only logical to test market the concept with temporary lighting at their flagship track. But even in test mode, they had the foresight to know night racing alone would not expand their fan base over several nights.
 
“We asked ourselves, what can we do to trigger those fans that may have attended Derby and Oaks to come back,” said Darren Rogers, senior director of communications and media services.
 
With this mantra, Churchill set up an evening for people with a wide variety of interests. For those with more expensive tastes, options included everything from high-end dinners cooked by celebrity chefs to dinner and dancing packages complete with multi-course meals. And for those who were not so picky, happy hour pricing and live music all night long gave the track a nightlife feel and an air of excitement that in some ways was better than those historic first Saturdays in May.
 
And yet, after the first event, those in charge of the evening’s festivities found themselves conflicted on the night’s story. As Rogers told the Paulick Report, “We knew this could be something special. And we knew at the end of the night, we messed it up.” While attendance expectations ranged from 12,000 – 30,000, Rogers insisted they should have been better prepared and continued to take full responsibility for the shortcomings and long beverage lines.
 
But it’s not if a mistake is made that shows true colors, it’s how well you respond and clean up the mess. With those parameters in mind, Churchill taught us all a virtual master class in altering public opinion and turning lemons into lemonade.
 
They took out full page ads in both major Louisville newspapers apologizing for the mistakes and promising to make things better. They tripled their food and beverage staff, lowered ticket prices, offered dollar drinks and even had executives work behind the bars shelling out drinks and hot dogs to patrons.
 
And yet still, the question remained, “How much will the food and beverage blunders of the first week affect the second night?” The answer: not by much at all. The second night, exactly a week after the first, brought in only 388 fewer fans, proving they had effectively neutralized the bad word of mouth from the first night. Even better, the same magic was there from the week prior.
 
“Our original plan was to scale back the ancillaries the second night,” said Rogers. But they solidified after that night, Downs After Dark was as much about the nightlife as it was about the racing. “If you weren’t here, it is very difficult to explain to people,” said Rogers. And as most know, their reward for sticking with the concept was a record 33,481 fans on the final evening, the most for any Churchill Downs date not called Derby or Oaks.
 
While they are still going through the handle numbers for the three nights, the early returns prove the theory that night racing was about more than the horses on the track. While the first two nights were significantly above the average race day, attendance was nearly four times more than usual. And if you were judging Downs After Dark on handle alone, the third day of record attendance was a disaster, barely performing above the average for a day of 7,500. There are factors that help explain these numbers with Belmont’s twilight racing being the only action for bettors to play the first and second night and there being nothing accompanying the final night. But still it is abundantly clear that night racing at the Downs is not a night geared for the hardcore horseplayer.
 
When looking to the future, Rogers told the Paulick Report there was no option not on the table at this point. It is too soon to give hard numbers on the business figures, but they are clearly gearing up for another round of this extremely successful experiment by asking how to take the next step.
 
Will they install permanent lights? It’s certainly a possibility, although the cost is prohibitive and may delay a final decision. If you want to be of influence on this decision, Churchill is running a poll on their website and one lucky voter will receive a box seat for six at next year’s Derby. Of course, all decisions of this magnitude will have to be brought to the board of directors, but it would be difficult to believe there wouldn’t be support for more of the same success. When asked if a night Derby was on its way, Rogers said, “There are currently no serious discussions on the Derby being at night.” On the other hand, Rogers reiterated “There is no option that is not on the table at this point.”
 
Could Downs After Dark be the precursor to a primetime Derby that would benefit the sport with primetime ratings? Only time will tell. But one thing is for sure. Churchill Downs has stumbled upon a winner with this new format. It may not be a hit with the institutional gamblers, but if we are to grow this sport it is important we give the average fan what they want: to be entertained. We have a feeling Churchill will gladly plead guilty to that charge.

By Ray Paulick
Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Moss’ Zenyatta kept her perfect record intact in Saturday’s Grade 2 Milady Handicap at Hollywood Park, rallying from last in the field of six fillies and mares to win by 1 3/4 lengths over her John Shirreffs-trained stablemate Life Is Sweet, with Allicansayis Wow third.

Jockey Mike Smith never went to the whip on the 5-year-old daughter of Street Cry, the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic winner and Eclipse Award champion who was making her 2009 debut. The Kentucky-bred mare was taken far off the early pace set by Gambler’s Justice, attempted to move through along the rail past Life Is Sweet down the backstretch, but jockey Garrett Gomez closed the gap, forcing Smith to check slightly and take Zenyatta back and around Life Is Sweet.

Smith asked Zenyatta to pick it up around the three-eighths pole, and the long-striding mare burst toward the front in a flash as she has done in so many of her previous victories. Once the win was secured in the final furlong, Smith eased up on Zenyatta and she cruised to the wire. Life Is Sweet got through on the rail all the way, edging a hard-trying Allicansayis Wow for the place.

This was the 10th consecutive win by Zenyatta and a repeat victory in the Milady. She covered the 1 1/16 miles on the Cushion Track in 1:42.30. Early fractions were :23.79, :47.14, 1:11.32 and 1:35.96. She paid $2.40 to win as the heavy favorite. Click here for the Milady chart and here for video of the race.

"We were just playing some serious jockey games out there," Smith told TVG’s Christina Olivares after the win. "It was great. It was all clean and fair and not to hurt the horses any. (Gomez)  was just trying to keep me out. … I coulda shot myself in the foot there, but she’s so handy that whenever he did come over I just eased back on the pedal, she backed up for me and I got to her outside and it was pretty much over then."

"I really wasn’t happy with the way she was traveling down the backstretch," Gomez said of Life Is Sweet, a full sister by Storm Cat to champion filly Sweet Catomine, owned and bred by Mr. and Mrs. Marty Wygod. "Usually she is taking me somewhere and she wasn’t taking me today. … My filly ran a respectable race, but she didn’t run the races she was running (at Santa Anita, where she won three consecutive graded stakes)."

Gomez said after he forced Smith to go around him Zenyatta passed him "in three jumps. It was unbelievable. For a big mare to have that kind of acceleration power, it was quite impressive. She’s a huge amazon that covers so much ground."

"There was a little games playing," Jerry Moss told TVG, though he said he wasn’t aware of it during the live running of the race. "Whatever happened, happened and the race is done and we’re happy with the outcome."

Zenyatta began her career with a maiden victory at Hollywood Park Nov. 22, 2007, going 6 1/2 furlongs. She followed that with an allowance win the next month, and has run in Grade 1 or 2 races ever since. Her 2008 ledger includes victories in (chronologically) the El Encino, Apple Blossom Handicap, Milady Handicap, Vanity Handicap, Clement L. Hirsch Handicap, Lady’s Secret, and Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic. She was entered to race at Churchill Downs in the Louisville Distaff May 1 but was scratched when the track came up sloppy.

She carried high weight of 126 pounds in the Milady, conceding from four to 14 pounds to her overmatched rivals.

Zenyatta, a $60,000 yearling purchase, has won over $2.2 million. She was bred in the name of Eric Kronfeld’s Maverick Productions Ltd.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick
Rachel Alexandra won Saturday’s $1.1-million Preakness Stakes and proved to be the super filly owner Jess Jackson thought she was when he paid a reported $7 million to buy her after her 20 1/4-length Kentucky Oaks victory May 1. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro raced toward the lead from the start from her outside 13 post under Calvin Borel, took command on the turn for home, and held off Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird to win by a length. Musket Man was another half-length back in third and Flying Private fourth in the Triple Crown’s MIddle Jewel. 

Big Drama, Papa Clem,  Terrain, Luv Gov, General Quarters, Friesan Fire, Pioneerof the Nile, Tone It Down and Take the Points completed the order of finish. 

Rachel Alexandra was the 9-5 betting favorite and paid $5.60 to win.. Click here to view the Preakness chart.

"She’s the greatest horse I’ve ever been on in my life," Borel told NBC’s Donna Brothers after the race, adding that he didn’t think Rachel Alexandra handled the Pimico surface that well. She completed the 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.05 on a fast track that was not affected by a rainshower that arrived just prior to the 6:15 p.m. post time.

Becoming the fourth filly to win the Preakness and the first since Nellie Morse in 1924, Rachel Alexandra was just the 11th filly to contest the Preakness since Nellie Morse’s victory. The last filly to run, Excellent Meeting, was pulled up in the 1999 renewal. Borel became the first rider to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness on different horses.

Borel had the option to ride either Rachel Alexandra or Mine That Bird and opted to go with the filly, forcing trainer Chip Woolley to seek another jockey. He wound up with Hall of Famer Mike Smith, who took the Derby winner well off the pace, rallied between horses on the turn for home, checked at the top of the stretch, passed Musket Man inside the final sixteenth of a mile but was never a threat to Rachel Alexandra.

Big Drama, as expected, was sent to the front by John Velazguez after rearing in the gate and delaying the start momentarily. But Rachel Alexandra broke well and raced head to head with Big Drama, volleying with that one through fractions of :23.13, :46.71, and 1:11.01 for the opening six furlongs. Rachel Alexandra put away Big Drama before reaching the mile in 1:35.82, opened a four-length advantage at the eighth pole, then dug in and held off Mine That Bird. "She was really struggling with the track," said Borel, who called the Pimlico surface a little deep . "Every time I asked for more, she couldn’t really get into her rhythm."

Steve Asmussen took over training duties of Rachel Alexandra from Hal Wiggins the week after her Kentucky Oaks victory. Asmussen commented after the race that his major contribution was "just staying out of the way."

Rachel Alexandra was previously owned by Mike Lauffer and breeder Dolph Morrison, the latter of whom said he was opposed to running fillies against colts in the Triple Crown classics because he believes those races are meant to showcase future stallions. Morrison and Lauffer didn’t nominate Rachel Alexandra to the Triple Crown, forcing Jackson to put up a $100,000 supplementary fee if she was going to enter. Her status as a supplementary nomination nearly kept her out of the starting gate when Mark Allen, the co-owner of Mine That Bird, and Ahmed Zayat, owner of Kentucky Derby runner-up Pioneerof the Nile, discussed entering additional horses to fill the field to the maximum 14 starters. Under Pimlico’s conditions for the race, original Triple Crown nominees have priority over supplemented horses. Allen and Zayat backed away from their plan on the same day it surfaced, one week before the Preakness.

Jess Jackson, who bought Rachel Alexandra in partnership with Harold McCormick, said the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes would be "strongly considered," but said he’ll wait to have Asmussen and assistant Scott Blasi assess how she’s come out of the race. "Would we love to run in New York?" Jackson asked. "Yes. Can she win. We think so."

The Preakness was Rachel Alexandra’s sixth consecutive stakes victory, dating back to late November. It was her eighth win in 11 starts.

Jackson said he felt vindicated over the decision made to run Rachel Alexandra against colts in the Preakness. In many ways, he said, that made this victory more satisfying than Curlin’s Preakness win two years ago. Curlin was defeated by the filly Rags to Riches in the Belmont. Jackson said he sees no reason fillies can’t beat colts, but agreed with Morrison’s decision to keep Rachel Alexandra out of the Kentucky Derby because, with its 20 starters, it becomes a "cavalry charge" that may not be in the best interests of a filly.

Asmussen said the race didn’t unfold as he expected, with the filly breaking to the outside at the start and then contesting the pace. "There were a lot of questions to be answered today," he said. 

Rachel Alexandra answered those questions resoundingly, and so did Mine That Bird, who proved that his victory in the Kentucky Derby was no fluke. "I’m thrilled to death with the race my little horse ran," said Woolley. "Everything was according to Hoyle, until the turn when he was fanned a little wide. I thought we had a chance at the eighth pole. But you have to give that filly credit. She’s a great one. The Belmont is next for us."

Borel said if given the choice in the Belmont between the Derby winner and Preakness winner, he’d stick with Rachel Alexandra. He added, however, that if the filly does not run he would love to get back on Mine That Bird.

"He’s a tough little dude," Smith said of Mine That Bird. "He worked his way through there and kept on trying. If we could have gone another sixteenth of a mile, I think he would have tackled her….Honestly, he’s one of the best I’ve been on. He’s very balanced."

Derek Ryan, the trainer of Musket Man, who continued his streak of 1-2-3 finishes in all eight of his starts, called Rachel Alexandra "a filly for ages. My horse ran well, but we got beat by a great one."

The Maryland Jockey Club reported attendance of 77,850, down considerably from last year’s 121,876 and the lowest attendance since 1983. For the first time, fans in the infield were barred from bringing their own beer, a decision that led to the smaller and less rowdy crowd. Handle from on- and off-track sources topped $86.7 million on the 13-race program, a big jump from the $73.5 million bet on the 2008 Preakness program.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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