HORSE RACING

[Lumi]

HORSE RACING
TODAY AT SANTA ANITA PARK

By Richard Eng

Post Time 1 p.m.

Race 1 - 1 1/8th miles (turf, rail at 30 feet), Purse $45,000, Maiden special weights, 4-year-olds and up

Milyone - With the turf rail out 30 feet, this speedball should just roll early; blinkers on, catch me if you can.

No Stadium - Was too close to the pace in last and not covered up; suspect Alex Solis will not make that mistake again.

Long Shot - Champ Pegasus

Race 2 - 1 mile, Purse $21,000, Maiden claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds

Familiar Shine - Tepid chalk in a dismal looking affair; speed to lead, may hang on in a no passing zone race.

Cookie Rules - Odd to see Garrett Gomez riding in a cheap maiden claimer; not as much to choose from in SoCal.

Long Shot - Quietly Waiting

Race 3 - 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $46,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

A Clever Ten - Should get a perfect stalking trip behind the speedball Quid Non; can wear that one down late.

Quid Non - Should just bust a move and play catch me if you can; has yet to win over SA Pro Ride synthetic.

Long Shot - Blame the Wine

Race 4 - 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 30 feet), Purse $38,000, Claiming $50,000, Fillies, 4-year-olds

Salty Sarah - Was flattered when Coatcheck Girl won right back; tactical speed to protect her inside post.

Dash Dot Dash - Speedy sort is turning back in distance; figures to stalk and pounce on the speed late.

Long Shot - Wake Me Now

Race 5 - 6 furlongs, Purse $25,000, Claiming $25,000, 3-year-olds

Really Uptown - Like the turn back in distance where he'll be closing late; should see plenty of pace to chase.

Eternally Fast - Speedball won and is dropped in class; typically a red flag move, but we'll have to see.

Long Shot - Espresso Springs

Race 6 - 1 mile (turf, rail at 30 feet), Purse $45,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds

Excusemecomingthru - Interesting price horse has a lot of early speed; with the turf rail out 30 feet, just go baby go.

Alphie's Bet - Logical chalk ran a much improved ran last time on the stretch out; adds blinkers on for more focus.

Long Shot - Working Capital

Race 7 - 1 1/16th miles, Purse $48,000, Optional claiming $40,000, 4-year-olds and up

Brenthurst - Sharp MSW win 2 back; was beaten only 4-lengths in the Sir Beaufort, gets class relief facing easier.

Acclamation - Big class relief from a trio of graded stakes; he's quick but not big on winning, short price today.

Long Shot - Snowmaster

Race 8 - 6 furlongs, Purse $18,000, Maiden claiming $32,000, 3-year-olds

Roos On the Loose - May be overlooked from the clever Blake Heap barn; expect speed and plenty of it.

Move On Up - Logical chalk off a decent debut, sure to get overbet; flattered when Crazy Good won next out.

Long Shot - Rocky Ice

Best Bet - A Clever Ten (race 3)

Santa Anita Thursday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 16/7/$46.20; Long Shots, 7/0/$0; Best Bet, 1/0/$0

Santa Anita Totals - 245/66/$447.40; Long Shots, 122/17/$175.60; Best Bets, 15/8/$34.80

SIMULCAST PICK OF THE DAY - #4 January Gent (3/1) in race 7 at Aqueduct. For scoring purposes, we'll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Thursday, Corredor Dela Isla ran out at Tampa Bay. Stats - 15/10/$62.60

 

[Lumi]

RICHARD ENG: Plenty riding on Magna's deal to appease creditors
A decision came down this week that will affect the horse racing industry much more so than who -- Rachel Alexandra or Zenyatta -- wins Horse of the Year.

Magna Entertainment Corp. has reached a deal with creditors, to whom it owes hundreds of millions of dollars, to maintain control of its main assets, namely Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park, Golden Gate Fields and XpressBet. MEC has sold, or will sell, Remington Park, Lone Star Park, Thistledown, Pimlico and Laurel to raise cash. U.S. bankruptcy court must still sign off on the deal.

MEC is run by Frank Stronach, whose skill in operating a profitable car parts business has not translated into heading a horse racing empire. To call MEC an abject failure would be charitable.

The racing industry has banked its short-term growth on gaining slot machine legislation. MEC, despite having state approval for slots at its tracks in Florida, Maryland and Oklahoma, is no closer to breaking even than NASA is to landing a man on Mars.

Should horse racing be happy that Stronach remains one of its most vital power brokers? That depends. Few have as much passion and determination as Stronach. But his lack of common sense and disconnect with fans and horsemen has led to this financial abyss.

Look at Pennsylvania, where Philadelphia Park and Penn National are working fast to set up money-making on-track slot operations. Gulfstream, Laurel and Pimlico, despite similar opportunities, are spinning their wheels. If not for the debacle of Aqueduct not yet having slots, more attention would be paid to MEC's slot failures.

If Stronach deserves to be cut some slack, it's because he is never afraid to think outside of the box. I just wish his new ideas were on target. Remember the Horse Wizard slot machine? Millions of dollars were wasted building a device that was a bad idea from day one.

I'd always thought that MEC had parts that if pieced together properly could work: a betting platform in XpressBet, a tote company in AmTote, a network in HRTV, a signature event and profit center in the Preakness, slots approval in multiple states and some historic, marquee racetracks.

Yet somewhere among wasteful spending, bad ideas and a lack of common sense combined with a poor economy and competition eating away at horse racing's gambling base, it's come to this.

But, believe me, we should be rooting for MEC to succeed, because way too much has been invested.