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Dubai World Cup Results: Gloria de Campeao Wins Close Race by a Nose

It’s the richest race in the world and here are the results of the 2010 Dubai World Cup, which took place Mar. 27.

Gloria de Campeao was up by a nose to win the World Cup.

Nice payout of $52.40 for a $2 win ticket.

Before the race was official the jockey of Lizard’s Desire thought  he was the winner. It was that close a race.

He crossed the finish line raising his hands, but the photo finish said otherwise. He was second. Pretty embarrassing, I’d say. Dude… you gotta make sure you’ve won before you start celebrating.

Gloria de Campeao started the race as a 15-1 underdog.

Those odds shouldn’t have been so high. Gloria de Campeao had been racing in Dubai for months and in recent weeks had been performing well. Especially on the new Meydan racetrack.

Back to the U.S. for horse racing news this week, leading up the Derby.

Man…this is the best time of year, ain’t it?

The Future of Racing at Sun Downs, in Washington State, in Doubt

If you’re reading this and you live near Washington state, I have good news…and bad news.

First, yes, there will be horse racing at Sun Downs this spring season.

The state’s horse racing commission awarded the Kennewick track its usual 10 days of racing — Saturdays and Sundays, April 3 through May 2.

So that’s good news for horse racing fans.

Cliff Schellinger of the Tri-City Horse Racing Association always said there would be a meet this year and he was right. ”I was going to do it somehow even if I had to fund it myself,” Schellinger said.

He’s not nearly as enthusiastic about the following years.

“There are two things as to why I think that,” Schellinger said of his pessimism. “I think the county doesn’t want us out there, and the fair doesn’t either. And I think the (state) racing commission is running low on money.”

Understand, the state commission helps fund the smaller, or Class C tracks — such as Sun Downs, Dayton, Waitsburg and Walla Walla.

Follow the money, folks. The state commission gets a lot of its money from Emerald Downs in Auburn, and that track’s revenues were down 12 percent last year.

“(The state commission) made a lot of cuts to keep us going,” he said.

In short, there’s a lot less revenue coming in now.

Because of that (and training facilities require money as well)  a number of trainers — including Bill Hoburg and Malon Cowgill — moved their base of operations out of the Tri-Cities.

Despite all of this, fans should expect the same high-quality meet.

Racing secretary Shorty Martin’s job will be getting enough horses to fill the race cards up.

“We’ve got the same amount of advertising as we’ve had in the past,” said Schellinger, in a press conference.

“We’ve taken on three Challenge races, in which horses from Texas, Oklahoma and Idaho are coming up. We’ve got the Pot O’ Gold trials the first weekend.”

Good luck. I’d hate to see the end of racing at this fine site.

If you’ve never been there, please check it out.

Online Virtual Racers Also Gearing Up for a Triple Crown (Virtual, of Course)

Have you heard about virtual racing?

Me neither, until someone turned me on to a site digiturf.com

These guys (girls, robots) have come up with a really cool idea.

You can race the triple crown, starting April 17 at their web site.

Digiturf.com was one of the pioneers in the virtual horse racing phenomenon.

If you’ve never heard of virtual horse racing before then you are about to learn something new.

The site created simulated racehorses that can be trained to race for online championship titles.

Those  pixelated racehorses might look just like cartoons but they can give real racehorses a run for their money — and they can make more money than many people earn in a year.

Right, you make real money.

The Virtual Triple Crown kicks off  Digiturf.com’s 28th season in the business of racing virtual horses. It is made up of numerous qualifying races over sprint, classic and stayer distances into the championship finals — because as with true to real life racing, virtual horses also need to qualify for their place in the championships.

The 14 horses to earn the most points in those qualifiers will be entered into the Kentucky Derby Championship, Preakness Stakes Championship, and Belmont Stakes Championship.

Then the best horses in the world of virtual horse racing compete over their most competitive distances for prizes worth over $6,600 (US). Digiturf.com sponsors unlimited qualifiers with $100 (US) each, plus each corresponding championship is worth an additional $500 (US).

Just check it out. It’s kind of interesting.

I did.

Yeah, it’s online gambling. But it’s also a helluva lot of fun.

The people who run the site invite all of us to go virtual on April 17, 2010 — start training your horses, and compete for this year’s winning title.

Next week, it’s back to reporting on real racing. OK?

Will We Ever See it? Rachel Alexandra vs. Zenyatta? Not for Now (at least)

When economic times are difficult, certainly games of chance suffer —witness on the one hand the ascendance of stay-at-home online casino…and more specifically online blackjack and online poker, versus horse racing, which is going through tougher times.

I mean, to get the full power of horse racing, to really ENJOY the sport, you need to GO to a track in person.

Did you read the recent story in the New York Daily News about how thoroughbred racing is almost a thing of the past in New York state now?

This is difficult for me to comprehend because of my love for the sport and the fact that I grew up 10 minutes away from Belmont Racetrack, on Long Island, N.Y.

But every once in a while, along comes a horse…or in this case two horses, that can change everything.

Yeah, we’re talking about Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta. Everyone, even non fans want to see them race each other, right?

Not gonna happen this April, as planned.

Damn it.

The handlers of Rachel Alexandra, the filly who is the reigning Horse of the Year, wants no part of the undefeated mare Zenyatta.

At least for now.

Jess Jackson, Rachel Alexandra’s co-owner,  and Rachel Alexandra’s trainer, Steve Asmussen, are  concerned about her level of fitness.

“She either did too little or did too much,” Asmussen said recently.  “We are  behind schedule.”

When Zardana blew past Rachel Alexandra in the stretch of the New Orleans Ladies Stakes this past weekend, the trainer learned just how far behind they were.

Zardana, after all, is a good horse, but not a great horse.  But a 6-year-old mare whose best races were run in Brazil, lshould not be passing the Horse of the Year.

“Yesterday’s race while a disappointment, helped us define Rachel Alexandra’s racing condition,” Jackson said in a statement.

“While she is healthy, just as I had anticipated, she is not in top form.”

Some would argue they have made a wise decision not to race Zenyatta.

The public, the sport and fans across the country have too much invested in these two amazing and accomplished athletes.

I want to see the race, but I want both horses in 100 percent fit condition.

“We have a whole season before us to help define her greatness,” Jackson said. “She will tell us when her next race will be.”

If the Stakes is Rachel Alexandra’s last race, so be it. I can live with that.I’d be disappointed, but whatever is better for the horse. Right?

She is one of the greatest horses of our time, and we all consider ourselves very lucky  to have seen her in action.

So what do you think?

Santa Anita Handicap Taken by Misremembered

I loved this race. Did you see it?

If not, Misremembered took the Santa Anita Handicap, in Arcadia, Ca. (on Mar. 6)…winning $750,000… by holding off a game Neko Bay by about half a length.

Hall of Famer Bob Baffert is 4-year-old Misremembered’s trainer and breeder.

Misremembered, ridden by Martin Garcia, ran 1 ¼ miles in 2 minutes, 0.20 seconds and paid $10.80 to win in the Grade I race.

More racing news later this week.

Gearing Up for the Triple Crown! Lying in Wait for May 1, at Churchill Downs

It’s a long way from May 1, but from where I sit (and bet), the Kentucky Derby can’t come too soon.

And I’ll bet you feel the way I do.

So let’s talk Triple Crown.

Ain’t been done sine 1978, Affirmed.

Other winners include Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973) and Seattle Slew (1977).

This year the Triple Crown races will take place, as I said at the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on 1 May 2010, the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on 15 May 2010, and the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on 5 June 2010.

366 horses already have been nominated to race. Early nominations, in case you didn’t know are $600 per horse…later on, entries are $6,000.

All entries will be closing on 27 March 2010.

And what are some names to look for? Try  Lookin At Lucky, Vale of York, She Be Wild and Blink Luck, have made their way onto the nominations list, with eight nominations from Ireland, three from Britain and four from Canada.

Nominations for this year’s event have dropped off a little compared to the 401 early nominations of 2009, and eleven were added to the nominations list after the early phase of nominations.

Senior vice president for Churchill Downs racing, Donald Richardson, commented that even though the nomination field is smaller this year, it has not taken away the competitiveness of the event, as all the nominations are worthy contenders in their own right. Everyone will be holding their breath for the Kentucky Derby to see who will take the lead to be a contender for the Triple Crown title.

Can’t wait.

In the U.K., Free Race Admission in April Used to Attract New Fans

I love this story, which I heard about on the BBC. [OK, I'm a nerd. I monitor the BBC]

Eight British race courses will open their gates for free over six days between Monday 26 April and Saturday 1 May.

Ain’t that cool?

Taking part are some of Britain’s biggest racing venues such as Ascot, Goodwood, Kempton and Doncaster.

We’re talking both afternoon and evening meets, as well as a choice of racing over jumps or on the Flat.

The free-admission are:

• Monday, April 26 – Towcester and Wolverhampton

• Tuesday, April 27 – Sedgefield (evening)

• Wednesday, April 28 – Ascot and Kempton (evening)

• Thursday, April 29 – Huntingdon (evening)

• Friday, April 30 – Doncaster

• Saturday, May 1 – Goodwood

Towcester has long offered free admission and benefited from bigger crowds and increased revenue on betting and catering.

Some of the racecourses will limit the free admission to general enclosures.

The week is also to be used by Racing for Change to introduce a number of its trial initiatives announced at the beginning of the year, including a new display of photo-finish results on big screens and modernised raceday announcements.

R.I.P. Dick Francis, Jockey and Famous Mystery Writer, Dead at 89

A slight departure from the norm this week, if you’ll bear with me.

A legend (literary) passed away this week. Someone who was so closely aligned to the horse racing world that I thought it absolutely appropriate to talk about it in this forum.

Dick Francis was indeed  a champion steeplechase jockey for the British royal family and did achieve fame in that regard.

Far greater was his fame as a writer.

He died at 89, on Sunday in the Cayman Islands, where he lived.

He wrote more than 40 novels, mostly bestsellers, mostly set in the heady world of high class horse racing.

He won the Edgar Allan Poe Award of the Mystery Writers of America three times and was made a grand master, the group’s highest honor, in 1996.

“I never really decided to be a writer,” he wrote in his autobiography, “The Sport of Queens,” “I just sort of drifted into it.”

We’re all glad he did.

We’ll all remember his hero, Sid Halley…. created by Dick Francis.

Rest in Peace man.

Yahoo! Looks Like We Might See Some Improvements in Wyoming’s Struggling Horse Racing Business

Corruption in Ireland; How Serious is the Irish Horse Racing Regulator?

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