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Sunday, November 11, 2007

Sunday Keeneland Update, with A Little Harness Racing For Good Measure

Not much has caught my eye during the Keeneland Breeding Stock Sale over the past couple of days, but some sales of interest today. Most surprising was the price brought by once-promising Queen’s Plate contender It’s A Danzig (#2585), son of Danzig out of the Gulch mare Dake; as part of the complete dispersal of Stan Fulton’s racing stable, he brought only $45,000! Considering this horse has finished in the money in 8 of 9 lifetime races (finishing a very disappointing 7th in the Plate Trial), and all losses (except the Plate Trial) were very close (from a nose to 2-1/2 lengths), he is definitely worth the price, since he is only three and not gelded (unless there is an injury involved, but he was sold as a racing prospect)! Another Fulton horse, Real Big Cozzene (#2586), a three-year-old gray gelding son of Cozzene out of the grade 2 winning Beyrouth (by Alleged), sold for a mere $25,000, pitiful consider he has raced since the catalog—finishing fifth in a 10-horse field in 9 furlong turf MSW at Churchill Downs on November 2. Both It’s A Danzig and Real Big Cozzene are trained by Rebecca Maker.

Dracken (#2322), a three-year-old full-sister to two-year-old Canadian sensation Dancing Allstar (Millennium Allstar out of the Honor Grades mare High On Believen) sold as a broodmare prospect for $40,000; she did not produce much of a race record, with only 1 win in nine starts, and earnings of only $12,959 (Canadian). A weanling half-brother (#2326) to promising two-year-old colt Shore Do (both out of the Dynaformer mare Dynashore) sold for $45,000. A weaning half-brother (#2264) to Liquidity (both out of Rahy mare Boa) was out, as was a weanling filly (#2355) by Roman Ruler out of the Foolish Pleasure mare Foolish Line.

I was watching HRTV on Saturday when the payoffs were posted for the 10th race at Dover Downs ($266,950 Matron freshman colt pace), and I still can't figure them out. The winner, 7-1 third choice Meant To Be Me, paid $17.40 win, $9.20 place, and $111.00 to show! Yes...it gets weirder. Longest shot, 66-1 Artic Stretch paid $33.00 to place and $219.80 to show, while 38-1 longshot Dontloseyourdayjob paid $143.00 to show! The 1-4 exacta paid $470.20 while the 1-4-8 trifecta paid $4486.00. The odds-on favorite Badlands Nitro went off-stride early, and finished sixth of eight. Still, Meant To Be Me ran impressively! See for yourself:

4 comments:

Alan Mann said...

Valerie - Badlands Nitro was 1-5; he tied the world record for two-year old pacers on a 5/8ths track when he qualified for this race last week. Bridgejumping on harness races can be a risky proposition indeed.

Alan Mann said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
hermanseele said...

Hi, Valerie!

Yes, I bet on Badlands Nitro to show, and yes, I lost $400!!! BUT:

I also placed a backup bet: $8 to show on Meant to be Me!!! Why I chose this third choice in the wagering -- only because when I bet, this horse was second choice in the wagering. Now, had I waited just a bit longer before betting, and taken the actual second favorite, well, let's not even think about that!!! (That horse came in last, I believe!). So, my "bridgejumping" (with a bungee cord bet on the one horse) got me $444 - $8 - $400 = $36 profit.

hermanseele said...

Should mention why I chose to bet on Badlands Nitro. Looked at the toteboard, saw what I think was $30,000 bet to show on the horse, whatever the amount it was 97 percent of all the money bet to show, figured if someone has that much confidence in Badlands Nitro, I could at least put $400 to show on the horse myself, but should have a backup bet, as these harness horses can go off stride. Meant to be Me was (evidently) meant to be my backup bet, and I got lucky.