Horse Race Handicapping College - Thoroughbred Horse Racing - Curlin + 1 Year = Z Fortune?

Kentucky Derby Countdown:

22 Days Until May 3rd and the 134th Kentucky Derby

Thoroughbred Horse Racing - Curlin + 1 Year = Z Fortune?

One year after guiding Curlin to victory in Oaklawn Park's Arkansas Derby (G2), jockey Robby Albarado is approaching Saturday’s edition of the $1-million race with a different perspective.

Albarado will ride Z Fortune for the first time in the 1 1/8-mile race for three-year-olds. Steve Asmussen trains Z Fortune and Curlin, the 2007 Horse of the Year and champion three-year-old male.

“What a difference a year makes in the Arkansas Derby,” Albarado said. “The only thing that’s the same is I’m riding a horse for Steve. But unlike last year, this is a wide-open race with no standout.”

Zayat Stables’ Z Fortune enters off a fifth-place finish in the Rebel Stakes (G2) on March 15 at Oaklawn. The Siphon (Brz) colt made his first two starts of the year at Fair Grounds, and won the Lecomte Stakes (G3) on January 12 prior to finishing second to leading Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) contender Pyro in the Risen Star Stakes (G3) on February 9.

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Horse Race Handicapping College - Horse Racing Film..."The First Saturday in May"

Kentucky Derby Countdown:

23 Days Until May 3rd and the 134th Kentucky Derby

Horse Racing Film..."The First Saturday in May"

Brad and John Hennegan love horse racing so much they quit their jobs to make a movie about it. For a year, the Hennegan brothers followed six horse trainers from different backgrounds but all with the same goal -- a spot in the 2006 Kentucky Derby.

Now, after snagging awards at film festivals and sponsorship from Churchill Downs, their independent film, "The First Saturday in May" will soon be seen in movie theaters nationwide.

"Across the country, people know what the Kentucky Derby is but they really don't know how horses get there," Brad Hennegan said in a phone interview from Los Angeles. "So we wanted to make kind of 'Hoop Dreams' at the race track."

"The First Saturday in May" will have its Louisville premiere Sunday with a special screening at the Louisville Palace. Beginning April 18, it will run for two weeks at Stonybrook Cinema De Lux 20, 2745 S. Hurstbourne Parkway.

The brothers from Huntington, N.Y., practically grew up at the race track thanks to their father, who worked for the New York Racing Association.

Brad Hennegan, 36, spent the last decade working in television for companies such as College Sports Television and the Independent Film Channel. John Hennegan, 39, enjoyed successful careers in radio and television before he decided to delve into film development and production. "The First Saturday in May" is the first feature-length film for the brothers.

"We wanted to do our small part to help grow the sport of horse racing," Brad Hennegan said.

The film features a behind-the-scenes look at horses like Brother Derek, Lawyer Ron, Jazil and, of course, the late, great Barbaro. The documentary includes never-before-seen footage of the thoroughbred who captured Kentucky Derby 132, then captured the hearts of racing fans during his fatal battle with a broken leg.

Brad Hennegan stresses, however, that "The First Saturday in May," is a movie about people.

"It just happens to be set at the greatest race in the world -- the Kentucky Derby," he said. "If you're a horse racing fan and you wanted to tell a friend, 'This is why...

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Horse Race Handicapping College - Horse Race Traffic and a Stumble

Kentucky Derby Countdown:

24 Days Until May 3rd and the 134th Kentucky Derby

Horse Race Traffic and a Stumble

Afleet Alex has a very strong performance in 2005 at the Preakness. Elected to move from the rail to the middle of track and ran into traffic. Disaster was averted out of the final turn, and then he pulled away down the stretch and took the wire.

I have personally seen horses stumble out of the gate and go on to win, but have never seen a horse stumble late in the race and finish strong and win. Awesome!



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Horse Race Handicapping College - That is Why They Call it a Horse Race

Kentucky Derby Countdown:

25 Days Until May 3rd and the 134th Kentucky Derby

That is Why They Call it a Horse Race

The "top seeds" apparently used up all their good fortune in the NCAA basketball tournament, leaving nothing for the favorites in weekend Kentucky Derby prep races.

In the semifinal round of Derby preps in California, Kentucky and Illinois, the favorites went down to defeat, clouding rather than clarifying the picture for the Run for the Roses, now just four weeks down the road.

As the dust cleared, however, it was apparent Santa Anita Derby winner Colonel John was the best Derby prospect on the West Coast. And Tale of Ekati re-emerged as an East Coast contender with an upset win in the Wood Memorial. Florida Derby winner Big Brown and Louisiana Derby winner Pyro -- both idle during the weekend -- remain the favorites for the May 3 Kentucky Derby.

In Saturday's $750,000 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in New York, one-time overwhelming Derby favorite War Pass was the odds-on favorite as he tried to atone for a last-place finish in his last outing, the Tampa Bay Derby, which ended his undefeated string at six. Indeed, War Pass ran very well and led most of the way in the Wood, only to lose by a 1/2 length in the final strides to Tale of Ekati, who himself was rebounding from a poor effort in his last start.

War Pass may have been compromised by pace pressure from Inner Light, entered as a "rabbit" for stablemate Court Vision.

Under jockey Edgar Prado, Tale of Ekati, a Kentucky-bred son of Tale of the Cat, stalked the pace set by War Pass and Inner Light, then slipped through inside War Pass to steal the victory, running 1 1/8 miles in 1:52.35. Court Vision nipped Giant Moon for third while Inner Light faded to finish last.

Tale of Ekati, trained by Barclay Tagg, won the Futurity at Belmont Park last fall before turning in a dismal performance in the Monmouth Park slop in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile -- won by War Pass. In his first start this year, the colt finished a well-beaten sixth in the Louisiana Derby -- a race he obviously needed.

"We always thought he was a good horse," Tagg said, adding Tale of Ekati had some issues getting out of the gate in his last race. "We still felt good about him and we worked out some of those issues in the gate. He showed up today big time."

All of the top three likely would have enough graded stakes earnings to get into the Kentucky Derby field. Nick Zito, who trains War Pass, said the Derby still is in the picture. "If War Pass has a good month," Zito said, "we'll see if he can make it to the Derby."

In Saturday's $750,000 Santa Anita Derby, Colonel John came along in the final sixteenth to pass the tiring leaders and win by 1/2 length over Bob Black Jack, with Coast Guard Third. The favorite, El Gato Malo, who finished second to Colonel John in their last start, finished fifth Saturday. Another Derby hopeful, Yankee Bravo, got home fourth.

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From my perspective, Pyro is the handicapping favorite, but Colonel John was quite impressive in the Santa Anita Derby and should see plenty of pre-race action by many horse race handicappers.

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Horse Race Handicapping College - Thoroughbred Horse Racing and Wireless

Kentucky Derby Countdown:

26 Days Until May 3rd and the 134th Kentucky Derby

Thoroughbred Horse Racing and Wireless

Although horse race handicapping and wagering on horse racing continues to be legal, other forms of online waging and gambling continue to have interpretation problems.

Being able to police this multi-billion dollar industry is a problem that corrupt politicians will never be able to solve.

Add wireless to wagering and you will undoubtedly cause those same politicians to spend sleepless nights trying to funnel the funds into their own pockets.

Thank goodness they kept their sticky fingers off of horse racing for you and me, but rest assured someone in Washington is getting some kickbacks from other forms of gambling. How do spell Indian Reservations?

Online horse race wagering is legal; however, gambling continues to be a vice mostly pushed to the sidelines. It pops up with a vengeance in places like Las Vegas and on Indian reservations, but there are plenty of outlets waiting with open arms for those who want more.

Gambling surged lock-in-step with the Internet explosion, only to be banned in the summer of 2006. The new federal legislation expanded a 1961 law that prohibits gambling over telephone lines to include the Internet, wireless and other technologies. It bans payments to offshore casinos and outlaws all forms of online gambling.

The focus is on the money that changes hands with financial institutions. Companies have continued to find new ways to transfer money, typically offshore.

Like everything the Internet breathed new life into on the PC, mobile has followed behind. Music, television, films and so much more have began to find their groove in wireless (albeit some much more successfully than others), but will gambling come to the small screen in a big way?

The fact is, it’s already arrived, but again, pushed even further to the sidelines. Although some companies offer betting through mobile WAP sites and downloadable applications, wireless and gambling veterans doubt it will have much success stateside.

"I’m just not sure. I don’t see an eager public. The public has most betting accessible to them already and then the sports betting would be limited," said William Thompson, a gambling consultant and professor at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Sports betting is the most likely format to see any interest on mobile, said Thompson, who also goes by the name "Billy Gamble." Lotteries would be another venue for potential success on mobile, but it’s unlikely to take off, he said.

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For me, I will continue my horse race handicapping and wagering online. The payoffs can be very nice, if you have the proper education.

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