Racing Media

[Calzone Lord]

Getting off the Ness subject...

here is a cut from an old DRF column that shows the amusing gossip and entertaining stories they would routinely write.

This is from a piece about horses who were expensive purchases and flopped. $20,000 in the 1890's is close to about $500,000 today adjusted for inflation. James R. Keene was one of the most powerful men on Wall Street, he owned several Hall of Fame horses, owned the winner of six different Belmont Stakes, and died worth a staggering $15 million in 1913.

Here is an amusing story about how an illiterate, black, 2nd string trainer of his got him to pay $20,000 for a horse he owned after he scared him into thinking he would beat "The Black Whirlwind" Domino. Domino was a Hall of Famer who racked up $193,550 in earnings in the 1890's.

[Scav]

1) I think its a slippery slope when you believe Penn National numbers, its like believing Lone Star #s

2) like Cm said, the people that we need to care dont, and horseman are trying, look at that match race last night at Penn, think that was coincidence

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Scav

1) I think its a slippery slope when you believe Penn National numbers, its like believing Lone Star #s

Not at all.

Penn National is one of the more straight-forward tracks for speed figure making.

They are very cut and dry all the time at Penn National.

Golden Gate is a track that is brutal for figure making -- the track repeatedly changes speed throughout the day. It's a first class pain in the ass and you're on your toes and guessing because of the small fields, the way the main track changes speed all the time, and the way they card a mix of turf and syn, not to mention sometimes they'll run two different baby races with all FTS.

Now, from GG, they go to PLN. A dirt surface where the vast majority of horses are exiting rubber form.

[10 pnt move up]

Speaking of super trainers..........is it me or have they disappeared a bit in socal? Mullins, Ted West, Dough Oneill.....who all were some of the more suspicious guys have been pedestrian for a while now.

Maybe its the elimination of the claiming races there at all but the lowest levels?

Maybe there are some new guys I am unaware of.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by 10 pnt move up

Speaking of super trainers..........is it me or have they disappeared a bit in socal? Mullins, Ted West, Dough Oneill.....who all were some of the more suspicious guys have been pedestrian for a while now.

Maybe its the elimination of the claiming races there at all but the lowest levels?

Maybe there are some new guys I am unaware of.

I don't think Ted West and O'Neill ever arroused any strong suspicion from serious people. Especially Ted West.

Mullins is still getting it done. He's winning at 24% this year and his new horses are overachieving all of the time. Even with his bodybuilding distractions, he's doing the work of a God with what he has.

Mullins and Mike Mitchell have been the leading alchmeists of the So. Cal circuit for a great long while now.

[10 pnt move up]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

I don't think Ted West and O'Neill ever arroused any strong suspicion from serious people. Especially Ted West.

Mullins is still getting it done. He's winning at 24% this year and his new horses are overachieving all of the time. Even with his bodybuilding distractions, he's doing the work of a God with what he has.

Mullins and Mike Mitchell have been the leading alchmeists of the So. Cal circuit for a great long while now.

West won at like 30% a few years back, I got a few good West stories.

I forgot about Mitchell, but it feels as if his horse move ups are not nearly as pronounced.

I was with Mitchell and a friend of mine who claimed a horse for 20k or so and moved him to 50k (back when those #'s meant something at Del Mar) and there was little doubt he was going to win (it ended up being very close), and we all scored out at 9/1.

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

to me the problem in as far as ness and dutrow and involved. the sport has no reciprocal Jurisdiction in these matters.get caught..no biggie ill appeal..and still run, still win. owners dont care hes winning. why should the reporters ie drf ect keep raising the question and over and over again nothing is done.until we have a commissioner in racing that has absolute power in regards to drug positives that carrys over in all tracks in the us we will never have a level playing field.yes we can achieve this.a standardized testing procedure would have to be set up.imo starting a racehorse should be privilege not a right. especialy when people are gambling on them..

my 2c

[Scav]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

Not at all.

Penn National is one of the more straight-forward tracks for speed figure making.

They are very cut and dry all the time at Penn National.

Golden Gate is a track that is brutal for figure making -- the track repeatedly changes speed throughout the day. It's a first class pain in the ass and you're on your toes and guessing because of the small fields, the way the main track changes speed all the time, and the way they card a mix of turf and syn, not to mention sometimes they'll run two different baby races with all FTS.

Now, from GG, they go to PLN. A dirt surface where the vast majority of horses are exiting rubber form.

I stand corrected.

[Merlinsky]

Here's a DRF article with a more in depth discussion of how the sale went down. Hyder Abad purchase. Hyderabad/Hyder Abad (depending on how they felt like spelling it that day) went for $400 as a yearling. That's around $10,000 in today's money. $30,000 would be roughly $775,000 today. Nice pinhook. From the article it sure sounds like the colt put on a show in a workout that made Keene scared enough to take it seriously.

Hyderabad/Hyder Abad apparently fell in the mud in the Futurity and nearly caused Domino to fall as well. Cooper seemed to think his colt would've won had he not fallen and the jockey spoke highly of the colt's effort before the incident. Something tells me it's not just blowing smoke up someone's arse. Overconfidence? Not sure, but I think Cooper believed it. Hyder Abad must not've broken down though because DRF's got at least one son I could find. Who knows who else because he clearly wasn't successful at stud. I can't figure out the breeding of the mare. The colt's name is Sheik, born 1896 out of Musical Gem by Dan Godfrey. Can't seem to find her dam's name.

[golfer]

I wrote this years ago HERE; as long as people continue to bet and the tracks continue to get their cut off the top, they have no incentive to care who wins or loses (sad but true). The only thing that will bring anything but lip service, is if people STOP betting.