Emerald-Based Horse to Run in Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Local 2-year-old Gallant Son, who was purchased as a yearling for $9,000 and has won four out of five career starts, is into Saturday's $2 million field because Believe in Hope is out with a fever. Full details after the jump.

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Topics: Horse Racing

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Big Brown Down

Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown has injured his hoof. And this being horse racing, where stud considerations trump all others, that means his career is over.

Topics: Horse Racing

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Longtime DRF Scribe Dennis Dodge Dead At 62

As a onetime colleague of Dennis' (I covered Fairmount Park for the Daily Racing Form), this shocking news makes my heart a lot heavier. Dennis was among the more professionally generous people I've ever come across, and he absolutely mastered his corner of the journalistic universe. Following are details of his passing, provided by Emerald Downs publicist Vince Bruun:

Dennis Dodge, the longtime Daily Racing Form columnist/handicapper in the Northwest, died suddenly Tuesday evening of apparent heart failure in Seattle. Mr. Dodge was 62. A fixture at racetracks throughout the region, Mr. Dodge was an avid enthusiast of horse racing, and his columns and handicaps were Northwest staples and widely read by fans and horsemen alike.

“We’re shocked to learn of the untimely death of Dennis Dodge,” said Emerald Downs President Ron Crockett. “Dennis had a marvelous dedication to the sport of horse racing, and he was a very fair reporter. Obviously, he will be greatly missed, and our thoughts are with his wife and family.”

Born in Silverton, Ore. on May 4, 1946, Mr. Dodge worked for Daily Racing Form for 32 years. Working in the Seattle office, he began in the statistics department in 1976, and for several years was “Sweep” in the Northwest edition of DRF. Since 1985, Mr. Dodge was the columnist/handicapper at Longacres and Emerald Downs. His wife Melissa, daughter Mary and son Sam survive Mr. Dodge, who lived in Seattle. Service arrangements are pending.

Topics: Horse Racing

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Horse Hall of Fame to Induct Four New Members

The great filly Belle of Rainier will be inducted into the Washington Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame on September 14 during the Washington Cup card at Emerald Downs. Jockey Larry Pierce, trainer Glen Williams and breeder Frank Brewster will join her as members of the Class of 2008, adding further proof to the wholly accurate notion that horse racing is a team sport. Our heartiest congrats to this splendid quartet. Full release after the jump.

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Something for Steve Ballmer to Drop a Quarter-Mil On While He Waits for the NBA's Return to Seattle

A local horse named Wasserman won the Longacres Mile this weekend at Emerald Downs, after previously-entered, bigger-name imports like Perfect Drift bowed out. For the first time in that race's history, it was announced that the winner of the Mile would automatically qualify for a birth in October's Breeders' Cup Mile. But there turns out to be a rather significant catch: Because Wasserman wasn't made BC-eligible at the time he was foaled, his connections will have to pay a $250,000 supplemental entry fee to get into the big race — and owner/trainer Howard Belvoir doesn't have that kind of cheese at his disposal, not without a benefactor, anyway. So whaddya say, Mr. Ballmer, horses over hoops to boost our civic sporting pride while you work on poaching the Memphis Grizzlies? Dropping a quarter-mil to get Wasserman into thoroughbred racing's Olympicis like the rest of us handing a homeless guy a buck-fifty for a Dick's burger. The only difference is Ballmer's investment could result in a lucrative return. It'd be a longshot, granted, but a shot worth taking.

Topics: Horse Racing

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Perfect Drift Nominated for Longacres Mile

I'm admittedly late in posting this wonderful news, but the great 9-year-old gelding, Perfect Drift, has been nominated to run in August 17's Longacres Mile. The winner will be assured a trip to the Breeders' Cup for the first time in the race's history. If he runs (there are 29 horses nominated, a field which will be winnowed to less than half that amount on Aug. 9), he will become the richest horse ($4.7 million career earnings) ever to run in the state of Washington. Here's the full list of potential entries, which includes 2006 Mile winner Flamethrowintexan, the only defending champ in the potential field.

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Douche-row Throws His Jockey Under the Bus

In a classless move that will surprise absolutely no one who's been following Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow's career, he's now blaming his jockey, Kent Desormeaux, for throwing in the towel on his steroid-addled (until New York!) Derby- and Preakness-winning colt at the top of the Belmont stretch. Tomorrow: Douche-row will blame a 16-year-old Mexican groom on the backstretch for firing a cap gun shortly before the gate bell rang, claiming that it threw off his horse's concentration.

Topics: Horse Racing

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Yet Another Reason to Root Against Big Brown

As if there already weren't enough reasons to root against Triple Crown hopeful Big Brown at Belmont on Sunday, now comes word that jockey Kent Desormeaux has ditched, well, Big Brown (UPS) in favor of Hooters as his sponsor of choice for the potentially historic race. Classy.

Topics: Horse Racing

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Three to Beat Big Brown

If he weren't such an insufferably cocky prick, Richard Dutrow would have a great riches-to-rags-to-riches story. The son of a prominent East Coast trainer, Dutrow's dad cut ties with his son after it became apparent that junior was intent on pissing away his considerable talent on weed and blow. Bottomed out and living on the Aqueduct backstretch, Dutrow picked himself up (with the help of an empathetic owner), cleaned himself off, and climbed his way back into the rarified air of trainers who've had horses poised to claim the elusive Triple Crown.

If Big Brown wins the Belmont — and, in turn, the Triple Crown — on Saturday, I'll be happy. But I'll be happier if he loses — not because I dislike Big Brown, but because I dislike Douche-row and the horse's sketchy hedge fund owner. Instead of being gracious during his quest, Douche-row has morphed ito what jockey Edgar Prado calls "the Muhammad Ali of horse racing," talking mega-smack about his opponents' relative inferiority, calling Bob Costas "babe," and wearing pink shirts.

I'll also be happy if Big Brown loses because that'll mean I'll win at the window, because I'm not so sentimental as to shoot my wad on a 2-5 fave, not in this or any other race. And here are three horses that might have a chance to do what, on paper, looks pretty impossible. But remember, this is the Belmont, folks. And remember Birdstone, the horse that edged Triple Crown hopeful Smarty Jones at the wire in 2004. The jockey aboard Birdstone was none other than Prado, who will be riding this year's second-favorite, Casino Drive. Casino Drive is undefeated in two races, and is the only horse other than the undefeated Big boy to have posted a triple figure Beyer. Plus, there's no love lost between Prado and Douche-row, who allegedly renieged on a promise to give the jockey Big Brown's mount in his three-year-old debut. That bad blood boiled to a surface after the Preakness, when Douche-row accused Prado of intentionally steering his horse into Big Brown's path to victory, which Prado categorically denied. In the Belmont, he'll have a lot more horse to muck up Brownie's trip.

But here's the scenario I'm hoping for: I'm hoping Prado and Casino Drive entice Kent Desormeaux and Brownie into a dick measuring contest about midway through the race, setting the stage for either Denis of Cork (12-1 morning line odds) or Tale of Ekati (20-1) to steal the affair. On paper, Denis of Cork seems the better wager, considering a homestretch charge in the Kentucky Derby, where he finished third, that suggested a mile-and-a-half might suit him rather well.

But while I may have some action on Corky, and fluid odds are always a factor in propositions like these, the bulk of my loot is likely to be wagered on Barclay Tagg's Tale of Ekati. The horse is 2-0 on the Belmont surface, having broken his maiden and claimed the Grade 2 Futurity there as a 2-year-old. The legendary Tagg, he of Funny Cide fame, is a Belmont expert if there ever was one (a superb 38% winning percentage theret his year); and the jockey, Eibar Coa, is no stranger to the track. Plus the horse has as close to an ideal pedigree as you're going to get out of a modern-day 3-year-old to cover this monstrous distance. In any race besides the Belmont, I wouldn't put much stock in such minutiae. But I remember Birdstone.

Topics: Horse Racing

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Mayne On Track

One of the things that's struck me about sports coverage in the Seattle area is the impressive amount of play that's given to horse racing. From KJR's brilliantly-named Win Place Show on Sunday to frequent print features like today's Gallop Poll, which features savvy commentary on the sport from current ESPN (and former KSTW) anchor and Kent native Kenny Mayne — who's in town tonight in support of his new book — we respect horse racing here more than, say, St. Louis, whose five sports radio stations devoted maybe 15 cumulative minutes per week to Fairmount Park, which was closer to downtown St. Louis than Emerald Downs is to Seattle. What's more, regular musings from the likes of the P.I.'s Larry Lee Palmer would never garner even subprime real estate in the Post-Dispatch, which does little more than run entries and results in tiny type.

Topics: Horse Racing and Media

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Rhodent Gets It Wrong

It really sucks that Eight Belles had to be euthanized after yesterday's Kentucky Derby. It sucks anytime a horse has to get euthanized after any race. There's no debating that. But it's ridiculous to essentially call for the sport of horse racing to end in the wake of the filly's death, as William C. Rhoden does in today's NYT. In his column, Rhodent compares horse racing to "bull fighting," saying it's at least as brutal as greyhound racing, and repeatedly misspells the name of Eight Belles' trainer, Larry Jones (since corrected online, but the proof is in print), referring to him as Larry James (this is why we're intentionally adding a "t" to Rhodent's last name). Per capita, horse racing is no more brutal a sport than, say, football, where young men die of heat exhaustion on a similarly irregular basis. Rhodent, who seems to repeat his "stop the madness" chorus every May or so, in between penning books that equate multi-million dollar athletes to slaves, needs to shut the fuck up. If he doesn't, he at least needs to spell the names of the people he's crucifying correctly.

Topics: Horse Racing

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Seel's Derby Preview: Year of the Ladyhorse?

Last June, the filly (horse-racing parlance for "ladyhorse") Rags to Riches shocked many observers by upsetting Curlin in the Belmont Stakes, the final jewel in the Triple Crown. Because of Rags to Riches, this year's star ladyhorse, Eight Belles, who would have been favored in the Kentucky Oaks (that's Friday's all-day drunkfest ladyhorse prequel to the annual Saturday all-day drunkfest that ensues at Churchill Downs) had she not chosen to challenge the boys, will probably surprise less people if she becomes the fourth ladyhorse to win the Kentucky Derby, and not just because of her man-eating ladyhorse forerunner.

Eight Belles is to be taken seriously in this 20-horse field because said field is one of the weakest in Derby history, top to bottom. The favorite, Big Brown, has posted far and away the best speed figures, but will be looking to beat longer historical odds than the ladyhorse even, given that he's only raced three times — and horses that race three times win in Louisville about once a century, whereas ladyhorses win about once a quarter-century. Another historical benchmark is that the horse that wins the Derby has to have posted a triple-digit speed figure (it's too complicated to explain how they come up with this figure; just take my word for it), and there are only six horses in this field who've done that, among them the ladyhorse.

The ladyhorse also has more races under her belt (9) than any of her male counterparts; and experience comes in handy when attempting to navigate one's way through the Derby's ridiculously crowded field. So, yeah, I really like this ladyhorse — but I have a feeling she's going to get overbet (her Morning Line odds are 20-1, but expect that to plummet south of 10-1 by post time), which we can blame, in part, on Rag to Riches' Belmont surprise. So I'm going to have some action on two other horses as well, and possibly three if I've won enough money and/or consumed enough hard booze during the Churchill undercard.

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Longacres Mile Now a BC Challenge Race

Fans of thoroughbred racing will know how big a deal this is: Word out of Auburn is that, for the first time in the storied event's history, the Longacres Mile will have the distinction of being a Breeders' Cup Challenge Race. What this means is that the winner of the August 17 Mile will automatically be entered into the field for the Dirt Mile at Santa Anita on October 24. More importantly, what this also means is that Emerald Downs is likely to attract its best field of high-stakes horses in, well, forever. If, like me, you'll be spending that Friday and Saturday with Tom Petty at the Gorge, this ought to motivate you to high-tail it back to town and make it a three-day bender to remember. (Do yourself a favor and take Monday off.)

Topics: Horse Racing

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Jockey Ventura Dead at 32

Per an Emerald Downs press release: Hector Ventura Jr., a former jockey at Emerald Downs racetrack, was found dead of an apparent drug overdose, according to a spokesman from the Auburn Police Department.

Ventura, who would have been 32 on Dec. 19, was discovered slumped over the wheel of his vehicle in the parking lot of an Auburn restaurant at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 5. According to paramedics summoned to the scene, Ventura had been dead at least 48 hours before discovered.

Sgt. Scott Near of the Auburn Police said an autopsy would be performed, but said foul play was not suspected in Ventura�s death. He said there was evidence that �narcotics were ingested.�

A native of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Ventura won with 365 of 2,902 career mounts with earnings of over $3.1 million. His final victory was at Turf Paradise near Phoenix last January. He missed the 2007 Emerald Downs season due to weight and health issues, although he continued to work mornings as an exercise rider.

Ventura�s best season at Emerald Downs was 2006 when he tied for eighth in wins with 37. He teamed with Handy N Bold to win four stakes at Emerald Downs in 2000-01.

Topics: Horse Racing

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Greatest Breaks His Maiden

Buying a racehorse, even with a syndicate of buddies or business associates, is about as savvy an investment as betting your 401(k) on black at the Luxor. For every story of a bunch of middle-class schmoes riding a horse like Funny Cide to Triple Crown stardom, there are hundreds more stories of railbirds who pool their resources together — only to have their pony never make it into the starting gate.

It is in this vein that I couldn't be prouder to announce that my dear boyhood friend Ryan Kane finally entered the winner's circle Sunday, as his horse, Greatest (pictured above with Kane), staged a furious homestretch comeback to win his first race in four starts over 6-1/2 furlongs at Hollywood Park with all-world jockey Garrett "Go Go" Gomez aboard. If Greatest never wins another race — and I'm betting the scrappy four-year-old gelding does — Kane and his partners have already beaten the odds.

Topics: Horse Racing

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