THE WEEK THAT WAS: JULY 28-AUG. 2
Somewhere down the road we hope Ginger Punch and Zenyatta meet. It truly will be a championship bout.
On Saturday, one week after reigning female champion Ginger Punch fought through an opening to win the Go for Wand at Saratoga, Zenyatta floated like a butterfly and then stung like a bee to score a most impressive victory in the Clement L. Hirsch Handicap to remain unbeaten in seven career starts. Zenyatta’s win came around 9:20 p.m. Saturday night on the East Coast, when most folks had retired from the dinner table and many turf writers were ordering another round at the bar. Just as West Coast college teams are often overlooked by the Eastern media because of the late hour of their games, Zenyatta might not be getting all the respect she deserves because of when her races are run.
If you haven’t had a chance to see the replay of the Hirsch, you can do so here. It’s must-see TV.
If Ginger Punch and Zenyatta continue their path and go head-to-head in the renamed Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, they will command all the headlines on the new female Friday program Oct. 24.
(Note: Commenter Tiznowbaby correctly pointed out that Zenyatta defeated Ginger Punch earlier this year by eight lengths earlier this year in the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park.)
THE WEEK BEGAN WITH AN EXCLUSIVE FROM THE PAULICK REPORT showing that National Thoroughbred Racing Association CEO Alex Waldrop is taking federal intervention very seriously http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/exclusive-ntra-confidential/. Some may question the secrecy of the meeting that was called at Keeneland to discuss industry reforms and whether or not the same three or four decision-makers were calling the shots, but Waldrop should be encouraged and applauded for pushing an agenda of change. Three days after we published his memorandum and discussion document page 1, page 2, page 3 page 4 to the NTRA board, an NTRA committee met in Saratoga to further discuss the issue and hear some very frank and tough results of public opinion surveys about drugs and welfare issues facing the sport.
IT’S BEEN NO SECRET THAT RACING CHANNEL TVG would be put on the auction block by new owner Macrovision, which acquired TVG’s parent company, Gemstar/TV Guide earlier this year. But the Paulick Report broke the news that Swiss-based financial services company UBS is shopping the company around to potential buyers and that it’s likely a group or individual from within the racing community will end up buying TVG. We added that we hope logic prevails and that some industry group will have the vision to merge TVG and HRTV, and then consolidate the numerous wagering platforms to make it less confusing to horseplayers, many of whom have to keep more than one account to wager on their preferred tracks.
One rumored potential TVG buyer outside of the racing industry is cable TV pioneer Marc Nathanson, who in 1975 founded Falcon Cable, which became one of the largest cable operators in the country, and is currently on the board of directors of Charter Communications, which purchased Falcon. Nathanson is the father of TVG senior vice president David Nathanson, who runs the network. Marc Nathanson understands cable, has enormous clout to gain distribution, and has the resources to purchase TVG, which a stock analyst contacted by cable trade publication Multichannel News valued at $112 million. Industry insiders say it may be worth more.
We sounded off this week on the saga of Hialeah Park, beginning with a Dear John letter to current Hialeah Park owner John J. Brunetti and continuing with a profile of Halsey Minor, the Internet whiz who wants to revive the grande dame of South Florida racing. Based on the numerous comments to the profile, Minor has widespread support from people in the industry anxious to have someone bring a new business philosophy to the racetrack experience.
The week ahead: On Tuesday, Jess Jackson announces where Curlin will race next. Monday and Tuesday night’s boutique yearling sale at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga will either heighten or soothe the nerves of consignors looking ahead to the massive Keeneland September yearling sale. A spike in buybacks at FT Kentucky July and a dearth of new money players have many breeders on edge.
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
Tags: alex waldrop, Breeders' Cup, Curlin, david nathanson, fasig-tipton, fasig-tipton saratoga, ginger punch, Halsey Minor, Hialeah Park, jess jackson, john brunetti, ladies' classic, marc nathanson, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, NTRA, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, tvg, yearlings sales, zenyatta
August 3rd, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Ray:
I want you to know that after reading Indian Charlie at Saratoga for Friday, Aug 1, 2008, I will never, never, never support his advertizers again. And will never read his disgusting rag again. I have great respect for your writing, your insight and your determination. Please keep on with your publication.
Mike Burke
August 3rd, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Zenyatta and Ginger Punch have met this year; Zenyatta beat her by eight in the Apple Blossom.
August 4th, 2008 at 4:01 am
Next time Zenyatta and Ginger Punch meet it will be on level weights which should even out the eight length difference. What an exciting prospect - infinitely more exciting than the Classic at this stage. Big Brown: underwhelming.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I’m with Nelson Says,
If both Ginger and Zenyatta go, it will be the race of the weekend. Throw in Hysterical Lady and the three-year-olds and it’s Big Brown who?
August 5th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Just returned tonight from a week at Del Mar. The Zenyatta race was simply breath-taking.
It also meant a lot to us personally, being long-time jockey Mike Smith fans.
Five days earlier, we stopped after the races at a local restaurant, and there at the bar was Alex Solis, Mike Smith, and a mutual friend. I walked over and said hello, reminding Mike that we had met at the Turnberry Isle resort hotel during the 1999 Breeders Cup at Gulfstream. To my amazement, he remembered the event.
I then stated that my guess is that after winning the 2005 Derby on 50-1 Giacomo, 15,000 people afterwards all told him that they had bet on Giacomo. He laughed & agreed that the estimate was right (obviously, that many people would have knocked the actual odds down to 15-1).
“How would you like to meet someone who actually DID bet on Giacomo? It’s my wife.”
“Sure!” He excused himself from his friends, joined us at our dinner table -, and could not have been more pleasantly accommodating. Elena - surprised, to say the least - explained how she became a Holy Bull fan (the sire of Giacomo) in the early 90s - and how she ended up frozen stiff in disbelief at the end of the Derby (clutching her front/backwheel Giacomo/”All” exacta bets that cost $38 and which returned almost $10,000!).
At the end, he mentioned that the Zenyatta race was coming up, and that he was really looking forward to it.
Frankly, before this moment, the Zenyatta race really didn’t mean anything to either of us. Now, it loomed like the San Diego sun on a cloudless afternoon.
On race day, I overlooked the paddock with ten minutes to post, and looked down. There was Mike on Zenyatta, on his way out to the track. I looked at that scary “1/5″ on the tote board and started worrying that this would be another Fave Running Out Nightmare (we didn’t bet the race, other than a small amount across the board on Model, Mike Baze up).
Zenyatta got off dead last, and still trailed about half-way on the back stretch. Model looked superb, and at the top of the stretch, had the lead.
“No…Don’t let this happen to Mike.”
What I was worrying about must have had the racing gods howling, in stitches. Zenyatta at that point cranked it up, and with the exception of Model (2nd), just destroyed her competition.
A happy ending - and at a track where the most important people are the racing fans (the actual clients). The NYRA, Magna, & and Churchill executives really ought to report to their probation officers at this wonderful facility - in the hopes that they’ll finally see how and why a successful racing business is run.