With all the concerns about the quality of education in our schools these days, I always get a kick out of listening to the myriad of mispronunciations that go out over the airwaves. And nowhere are there more than on our favorite racing channel, TVG.

    I can't include the incessant bungling of Leparoux because the boobs didn't take French when they were younger. But some of the others, such as inclement, mischievous, mambo, machinations and too many others to list, make one wonder just what the analysts were doing in the classroom when they were supposed to be studying. Handicapping, I guess.

    A humorous new addition popped up in the ninth race at Finger Lakes today. The 9 horse was a New York-bred named Traipse in Utopia, not surprisingly, by Utopia out of Traipse. The TVG newbie, whose voice I had never heard before - I think his name is Scott - handicapped the race for us and called the horse Trap-see. Bingo - another name to add to the extensive bungled list. I wondered if Scott would pay attention to the track announcer and come back with the right pronunciation when it was over. 

    And presto! The announcer let us know that No. 9 was Traps in Utopia. Oh well.

    A little while later, in mentioning a horse at Presque Isle named Blichton, after our own little horse community, he called it "Blinton." When Blichton made a good run through the stretch to win the race at 6-1, the announcer called him "Blickton," and that's when Scott changed his call to Blickton, too. Better than Blinton, I guess.

    THREE STAKES-PLACED RUNNERS - Brethren didn't get a winner in four chances in Saturday's stakes races, but Pleasant Acres' freshman son of Distorted Humor did come away with three stakes-placed runners. Dunk finished second in the $100,000 Dr. Fager Stakes at Gulfstream Park and Awesome Mass did likewise in the $100,000 Desert Vixen. Both the colt and the filly were well-backed at the windows, so that was somewhat disappointing. However, there was a  good reason - the winners, Phantom Ro (by 2 3/4 lengths) and Go Astray (by 4 3/4), were overpowering. Go Astray is by Northwest Stud's Gone Astray, who had Three Rules win all three colt and gelding divisions of the Florida Sire Stakes last year, and who is not taking prisoners so far this year.

    The third stakes-placed runner for Brethren was Feisty Embrace, who went off at 7-1 in the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile Fillies and closed well to be third although never a threat to win it. However, her strong run through the stretch was impressive enough to make us believe she will get better as the races get longer.  

    WHERE ARE THE ENTRIES? - A couple of years ago, I complained in this space that the Blood-Horse was short-changing its breeders on their expensive stallion pages by not including all of a stallion's entrants under the column head "upcoming entries." I received a response a short while later from Eric Mitchell, then editor of the Blood-Horse. Eric explained that only the better races - stakes, handicaps, allowances, starters, etc. - were represented in the column, since breeders didn't want to publicize horses who were competing in the cheap claimers.

    The practice continues today and it's very disconcerting to anybody who wants to know every horse who's running by a certain stallion each day. And to blow open Eric's explanation, EVERY WINNER a stallion has, no matter how cheap the race, is listed under "recent results," right next to upcoming entries. How can a horse be too cheap so as to be excluded from the upcoming entries list, and then make it on recent results? Yul Brynner would have said 'it's a puzzlement.'  

    THE OWNERS COUNT! - And, not to let the FTBOA's Wire-To-Wire magazine off the hook, I cannot for the life of me understand how the charts from Gulfstream Park - and Tampa Bay Downs when it's open - list the winner's pedigree, trainer and breeder under the chart and leave out the owner? It makes no sense. 

    And, if the answer to the dilemma is that it's a matter of space, I offer this. There would be plenty more space if, on the page titled "Florida Stallion Progeny for (Monday) . . ." they would actually list progeny from Florida stallions, instead of including many stallions who stood in Ocala during the days of the dinosaurs but who have since moved on to other pastures. It wouldn't be quite as bad if the entries listed were old Florida-breds, but THEY AREN'T! 

    In today's entries, for example, Milwaukee Brew, who hasn't been here since the St. Louis Browns were in the American League, is listed as having Strike Me Again in the eighth at Fort Erie, and he's an Ontario-bred. I can't even remember how long it's been since Invisible Ink was here, and he has Pennsylvania-bred Invisible in the fourth at Presque Isle. It's the same for runners by Chapel Royal, Lite the Fuse, One Nice Cat, Shakespeare, Sligo Bay, Songandaprayer and Trust N Luck. All long gone, all listed with runners from other states.

    To the bigwigs at Wire-To-Wire: Nobody needs to peruse the progeny of a stallion from yesteryear who were bred somewhere else after the stallion departed. Get rid of them, then you can add the owners of Gulfstream's winners. 

    The total "credits in" and net slot revenue for South Florida's eight racinos reached new heights for the 2016-2017 fiscal year that ended on June 30. But as they say, looks can be deceiving.

    The credits in for the recently concluded period totaled more than $8.432 billion, a modest increase when compared to the previous record of $8.237 billion from the year before. However, the 2015-2016 fiscal year included the figures for Dania Jai Alai beginning six months into the session - Dania re-opened in January after a lengthy hiatus due to extensive renovations. 

    Without Dania's increase of $239 million due to its extra six months of play, the other seven were actually down slightly as a group for the first time since Hialeah became the last to enter the arena in August of 2013. Aside from Dania, only Calder Racino and Hialeah Park showed gains in wagering - perennial leader Pompano Park, Gulfstream Park, Hollywood dogs (Mardi Gras), Flagler dogs and Miami Jai Alai were down.

    Calder's credits in jumped from $991 million to $1.1 billion and slots revenue before taxes came to $78.1 million as opposed to $74.8 million the year before. Hialeah's credits went from $1.17 million to $1.24 million, and its slots revenue from $68.3 million to $73.6 million. Miami Jai Alai's credits in downturn was minimal, from $1.141 million to $1.138, but its revenue jumped because there were less winners.

    Gulfstream's revenue was down a little more than $2 million, from $48 million to $45.6 million, and Hollywood followed suit as the two continue to suffer due to their locations, just minutes apart.

    Once again, the state was the biggest winner, with the racinos donating a record $192,239,320 to the coffers, and, in return, the Tallahasseeans allowing fake news quarter horse "tracks" to prosper at the expense of the legitimate entities. 

(Next: the poker rooms).  

    What is it that European horsemen seem to have discovered that their American counterparts haven't?

    Watching our country's races on TVG often, we constantly see fractious horses who refuse to get in the gate and have to be pushed and pulled and prodded by several assistants before they'll slip into that narrow space. Then we see the ones who go berserk waiting for the race to begin and dump their riders, often getting cast in the gate or flipping over backwards, and many times wind up being scratched. During the running of races, we see riders checking badly to avoid clipping heels, and others having to swing wide while being pushed out by the horse or horses inside, and riders standing up to avoid the two in front who have come together and closed up the hole. These are not rare examples - they are everyday occurrences.

    TVG has given us the chance to watch the Europeans in action from many venues - Ascot, The Curragh, Sligo, Newmarket, Lingfield, Chester, Epsom, Goodwood and a host of others. If there's one thing we have taken away from this experience it's that we don't see horses acting up on the way to the gate, or having to be pushed into it, or leaping high into the air once they're in. And, no matter how many horses are in the race, often up to 20, there doesn't seem to be much checking and bumping and the like from start to finish.

    The European runners seem to be much more well-behaved than the U. S. horses, and the jockeys help the situation by not venturing into places where they don't belong.

    Somebody must know the answer to this dilemma. It's certainly not me.    

    MORE FROSH SUCCESS - The belated success of Florida's freshman sires has continued in July, with Pleasant Acres still leading the way by a wide margin via Treasure Beach and Brethren, and Journeyman Stud's Winslow Homer and Northwest Stud's Wrote both getting their first winners.

    Treasure Beach remains in the top six nationally after the smashing victory of Vino at Monmouth Park. The colt owned and bred by Mr. Amore Stables ran away and hid by 7 1/2 lengths in a $36,000 maiden special at five furlongs that came off the turf. Four rivals made early bids at Vino, but he was much the best over the sloppy surface, and collected $21,600 for the effort that announcer Frank Mirahmadi called "a sparkling performance." Treasure Beach has surpassed $167,000 in earnings.

    Brethren's third winner was Dunk, who had finished third twice at Gulfstream under Ramsey Zimmerman, then rolled by nearly nine lengths when paired with Emisael Jaramillo. The colt owned and bred by Arindel earned $34,000 for the score, raising his bank account to $42,400. Brethren has surpassed $102,000.

    Winslow Homer's first winner was Chloe Raven, a filly bred by Darsan who went off at 4/5 in her debut at Louisiana Downs and was all alone at the finish - by 7 3/4 lengths - in an $18,500 maiden special. Wrote's first winner was High Providence, a colt bred by Nina Camperlengo who broke his maiden in his first try at Lone Star Park at odds of 12-1, coming from off the pace to score by 1 1/2. 

    After a very slow start, the five freshman stallions at Pleasant Acres have made a huge move and taken over the top spots among Florida's first-year sires, and they appear to love Gulfstream Park.

    Last week, Seattle Treasure and Treasure for Gold won on back-to-back days over Gulfstream's grass course, giving Treasure Beach three winners and putting him on the top of the list - his earnings have surpassed $113,000. Both won in $60,000 maiden special company and collected checks of $40,000. Seattle Treasure went wire-to-wire under Carlos Olivero, holding off even-money favorite Channel Cat and Hall of Famer Javier Castellano by a length in :56.77 for the five furlongs. Treasure for Gold had to steady early with red-hot rider Tyler Gaffalione, but she inhaled the leaders in the stretch and won by a length in :56.65.

    Also in the field against Seattle Treasure was Yeehaw, a colt by another Pleasant Acres stallion, Anthony's Cross, and he finished a solid third, just a head behind the runner-up.

    Yesterday, Tip Sheet became the second winner for Brethren, another PA freshman, making Treasure Beach and Brethren the only two Florida freshmen with more than one winner. Tip Sheet, owned and bred by Arindel, raced greenly in his maiden special debut but a drop into claiming company was all he needed. He was off third under Emisael Jaramillo, went three wide on the turn and was up by three-quarters at the wire. The runner-up was pacesetter Duke of Miami, looking to become the first winner by Northwest Stud's Duke of Mischief.

    Poseidon's Warrior, who has one winner, just missed a second when Incredible Warrior lost by a nose at Prairie Meadows and he's a cinch to break his maiden shortly. 

    Pleasant Acres stallions have six of the 10 winners by Florida's freshmen so far. 

    How much money could an owner make with a horse with some main track ability, but not enough to win even small stakes, if he told the racing secretary to drop his name in the box for every turf race that comes up on the grass and has a good purse? And every time one of those races comes off the turf and suffers from a great many scratches, the owner's horse is a go.

    It may sound strange, but think of how often a scenario pops up like with the $100,000 Wild Applause Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday. There were six entered, but when the race came off the grass Lull and Rubilinda were scratched, leaving four to go after the $60,000 winner's check. The other splits were $20,000 for second, $10,000 for third, $5,000 for fourth, $3,000 for fifth and $2,000 to be split among the rest of the finishers. 

    Now, what if the owner we are talking about tells his jockey to just sit last, save his horse, and let her run the last quarter, and see what happens. The worst would be she finishes fifth and gets $3,000. But what if what happened in the Wild Applause happens?

    The favorite ($1.15-1), Rum Go with Javier Castellano, decided not to assert herself early and just jogged around for the entire mile. Super Marina, with Manny Franco, edged Bellavais ($1.25-1), with John Velazquez, by a neck to account for the first two checks.  The third horse, Talaaqy, finished 11 1/4 lengths behind in third, and she was 30 1/4 lengths ahead of the favorite, who never did get in gear. 

    So, our owner is sure to beat the favorite and get the fourth-place check of $5,000, but she has a chance to outfinish the third-place horse and get $10,000. Am I nuts? Maybe, but if I had the opportunity, I would try it. 

    How about Saturday's $100,000 Affirmed Stakes at Santa Anita. There were only four entered to take on 1/9 Battle of Midway and one of them, Arms runner, was scratched. An owner could have entered this one and been assured of at least $2,000 for fifth. Battle of Midway won by 4 1/4 over B Squared, who was 4 1/2 lengths ahead of Term of Art, who was 2 1/4 ahead of Quiet Dude, who lost it all by 11. Our phantom horse might have gotten home fourth and hit for $6,000. Maybe even third if he had some ability. 

    Just thinking.

    GIVE'EM NO QUARTER - The story of French Quarter has been told here often, but it's so unique, it continually deserves attention. Bred from the rescued 17-year-old mare Cent Nouvelles by Ocala advertising guru Kathy Taylor in 2010, the gelding by Shakespeare has been alternating races from Woodbine in the summer to Gulfstream in the winter for five years and picked up several welcomed breeder's awards for Kathy along the way. She spent a bundle caring for Frenchie and the nine she rescued when Eddie Martin Stable South went bust. 

    However, early in this Gulfstream meeting, owner Howard Walton and trainer John Mattine lost Frenchie in a claim for $62,500 and new trainer David Fawkes has taken him to new heights. In his last seven races at Gulfstream racing for both stables, Frenchie has won twice, been second three times and third twice, including a third on Saturday, and three of the placings were in non-graded stakes. The breeder's awards for the seven races come to nearly $18,000, and Frenchie appears to far be from ready to hang it up - he has been clocked in under 1:10 for six furlongs often. Maybe it's really true that everything comes to he (or she) who waits.   

    With all the attention paid to the Triple Crown and other graded races all around the country, the interesting scenarios at smaller tracks, featuring the lesser lights, mostly go unnoticed. But not for the bettors who frequent TVG daily.

    One of those races was the second at Finger Lakes on Monday. It was a $20,000 maiden claimer with several first-timers, including Poppy's Salsa, a 3-year-old son of Get Away Farm's Two Step Salsa. The colt had four workouts listed, three at three furlongs and one at four, and none were anything special. Nothing to make anyone sit up and take notice. Poppy was 6-1 in the morning line.

    Most bettors aren't paying attention to the TV when a race ends and the morning line pops up for the next race at that track. After all, there's usually 20 to 25 minutes before the next post time and plenty of time to check out the odds. On this occasion, TVG analyst Rich Perloff did notice the first flash, and casually mentioned that Poppy's Salsa was 3/5. Handicappers who do pay attention to the first flash - like me - then watched to see what transpired thereafter.

    In Poppy's Salsa's case, his odds began to slowly drift up until the field was about to enter the gate, and he was 5-1. If there was anything special somebody knew about this colt, they had made their play early.

    When the gate opened, Poppy bolted to the lead with Gerald Almodovar, and continued in front until the turn when he was joined by King of Night, a 5/2 proposition owned and bred by Live Oak Plantation. The pair went head-and-head down the lane, and at one point King of Night forged ahead by a neck. But Poppy wasn't finished - he battled back gamely and they crossed the line so close together the announcer couldn't separate them. And, a final look at the board showed Poppy was now 15-1. Incredible.

    The judges took an eternity studying the photos and finally, and rightfully, decided it was a heater. So Two Step Salsa had another winner (No. 27 this year), as did Charlotte Weber's Live Oak. Poppy's Salsa paid $13.40, $13.20 and $7.80, and the early bird bettor (or bettors) had the last laugh. (Along with anybody else who paid attention to that telling first flash). 

    THIS ONE'S CORFU - Bridlewood Farm's Corfu became the fourth Florida freshman sire to have a winner when I'm Corfu broke his maiden at Presque Isle Downs on Tuesday in his fourth start. The gelding bred by Donna Burnham had finished second in his previous start and was sent off as the 1/2 favorite as part of an entry with stablemate Chateau, both owned and trained by Wayne Rice. 

    Ronnie Allen Jr. shot I'm Corfu to the lead in the five-furlong maiden special and the gelding never looked back, scoring by 2 3/4 lengths and stopping the clock in :58.19. Chateau came on for second, 4 1/4 lengths clear of the third-place finisher, so Rice picked up two checks. He had purchased I'm Corfu for a bargain $3,500 at the OBS January sale and the gelding has now earned $24,282. 

    There are 13 Florida first-year sires and Corfu joined Currency Swap, Prospective and Treasure Beach in the one-win column.  

I remember:

    Driving down the entrance lane to Hialeah Park in late February of 1970 amid the beauteous palms and grass and flowers and wondering, "Where has this been all my life?"

    Walking into the press box and being stopped by lovely Eve Dolan, who wanted to know what I was doing there. She was skeptical of my claim that I was the new racing writer for the Ft. Lauderdale News, until veteran New York-Florida handicapper Sam Engelberg came over and bailed me out.

    Looking out the press box window and marveling at the Queen of Thoroughbred Racing - the track, the trees, the flowers, the lake, the island, the flamingos, and the Seminole Indian sitting in his canoe waiting for the seventh race, and wondering, "Where has this been all my life?" 

    Watching the keeper of the canoe paddle over to stir up those beautiful pink birds, who then waltzed their way over and around the grounds while the PA system wafted the haunting strains of "The Flight of the Flamingos."

    Sitting in at a meeting at my new newspaper, the Miami Herald, and listening to a reporter telling us that he had been on a fishing trip with the Florida Supreme Court justices, and they related that instead of Hialeah keeping the January-February "middle dates" year after year, followed by Gulfstream, they were now going to let the two tracks rotate the dates.

    Calling the New York-based trainers to get their reaction to the dates switch, and Allen Jerkens, Lucien Laurin, Johnny Campo, Woody Stephens, John Parisella, Eddie Neloy and John Nerud all expressing their surprise, and dissatisfaction.

    In one column, printing all the letters that had arrived that week - all knocking Hialeah for its high prices for valet parking, seating, food, the clubhouse, etc., and having to go to the paper after the races to explain why I had so angered Herald publisher John S. Knight, owner of the Fourth Estate stable, who brought his Palm Beach buddies to watch the races every day in his box at his favorite track.

    Having to go to the paper for explanations once again after Art Grace of the Miami News had a long preview story pertaining to the debut of the $200,000 Keeneland yearling, Mr. Prospector, and I didn't write about it. I did write about it after Mr. P broke his maiden that day.

    Walking into the jocks' room one day and having Alberto Ramos give me a horse coming up in a couple of races with Don Brumfield aboard. I headed back to the press box and on the way bumped into Carl Rosen (owner of Chris Evert) and New York Yankees' centerfielder Bobby Murcer and marked the horse on their program. Brumfield brought him home at $34 and I made a nice score - Rosen and Murcer told me later they didn't bet on him.

    Talking to Lucien Laurin on the phone and him telling me, in that wonderful French accent, about a nice colt he had ready to start named River Reach. Fortunately for me, I read a piece in the Racing Form the same day and changed the name to Riva Ridge.      

    Booking a $2 win bet from the late Joe Hirsch on Head of the River in the Everglades when I knew Riva Ridge couldn't lose. Head of the River did beat Riva and paid $19, but unbeknownst to Joe I had snuck over to the window and bet the $2.

    Looking out at the winner's circle to get a glimpse of 13-year-old guest Brooke Shields, and wondering why she was allowed to defy the state rule that you had to be at least 18 to enter a pari-mutuel facility.

    Seeing three of the great ones of the sport, Seattle Slew, Alydar and Spectacular Bid, win the Flamingo in successive years, 1977-79.  

    Driving to Hialeah with Max Hugel and David Goldman for the 2001 Flamingo, won by Frank Stronach's Thunder Blitz, not having an inkling that it would be the last time the race would be run.  

    I could go on for a month.

    Now comes the news that John Brunetti has tainted the memory and history of the Queen by turning his previously legal quarter horse meeting into a farce, like Gretna, and Hamilton Downs, and Oxford before him. Reports from down south have Hialeah running two programs of eight races a day, using a makeshift starting gate, someone yelling "go" to start the races, and fields of two being acceptable. The "crowd" for the opener on May 31 is said to have been less than a dozen.

    Equibase no longer carries the entries and results, and TVG no longer carries the races.

    Track exec John Brunetti Jr. was quoted as saying the change was made to reduce the track's racing costs. The same racing that allows Hialeah to have a casino and a poker room. 

    For the record, that casino's slot machines netted $$68.3 million in the fiscal year 2015-2016, less the $23.9 million to the state, or a profit of $44.4 million. Through April of this cycle, the casino net is $60.7 million, with $21.2 million going to the state, a profit of $39.5 million. When the figures for May and June are added, it looks as though Hialeah's take will exceed that of last year.

    As for the poker room, the first 10 months of this fiscal year have produced a revenue of $5.4 million.

    Ergo, JJB Jr.'s explanation about having to reduce costs is a joke.

    The blame for this fiasco can be laid right at the doorstep of the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering. There is no direction and no leadership as far as pari-mutuels are concerned and the only way the twisted state of affairs is going to be resolved is when the governor appoints a State Racing Commission, comprised of individuals who know and understand thoroughbreds, quarter horses, jai alai, dogs and standardbreds.

    And, 47 years after I first walked into the Hialeah press box, I wonder, "How did it all come down to this?" 

    As racing heads into June, this year's 2-year-olds have been competing for a couple of months and seven of Florida's 13 freshman sires have had at least one runner. Two of them have come up with a winner, Tigerbeach scoring at Indiana Grand for Pleasant Acres Stallions' Treasure Beach, and R Paper Chaser visiting the winner's circle at Gulfstream Park for Woodford Thoroughbreds' Currency Swap. Tigerbeach had prepped for his win by finishing second at Churchill Downs.

    Oddly enough, Woodford's Soldat is the leader on the money list even though he has yet to have a winner. He does have one on the verge, Pete Marwick, who has a third at Keeneland and a second at Belmont Park on his tab and $24,470 in the bank. Anthony's Cross (Pleasant Acres) has Yeehaw, who finished second at Gulfstream, and Bridlewood Farm's Corfu has I'm Corfu, with a second by one-half length at Presque Isle. Brethren, another from Pleasant Acres, had Feisty Embrace finish second at Evangeline Downs. 

    Perhaps the ratio of mares bred compared to 2-year-olds registered for these seven gives us a little insight as to why there are so many short fields at every track. Soldat was bred to 124 mares and has 87 registered foals, or 70 percent. Treasure Beach's number are 101-65, or 64 percent, same as Currency Swap (47-30). The other four are all in the range of 57 percent down to 51 percent. When taking into account other problems facing many of the registered foals that keeps them out of play, it's easy to see why the short fields are so plentiful.

    CHASING RAINBOWS AGAIN - The Rainbow Pick 6 jackpot at Gulfstream has reached the exciting stage once again after there was more than one winning ticket on Monday's program. The holiday pool was $205,464, and those with six winners each collected $3,715. When racing resumes on Thursday, the carryover will be a juicy $513,873.

    Red-hot Tyler Gaffalione rode four winners on the Monday card, Edgard Zayas rode three and Marcos Meneses two. That's nine of the 11 races. It's difficult to leave Tyler or Edgard off any exotic tickets because they win the most races. In the Pick 6, there were four payoffs under $10, plus Meneses' $19.80 to lead it off, and Jocelyne Gomez's $34.80 in the fourth. But Tyler brought home one winner at $4 and one at $3.40 and no doubt there were many singles in those races, allowing bettors to stretch out the ticket in the others.    

     FLAMINGOS ARE BACK - Quarter horse racing returns to Hialeah Park tomorrow for its obligatory 20-day meeting. The Flamingo track will be open Wednesdays through Sundays through June 25. 

   When California Chrome was dominating the 3-year-old ranks a few years back, co-owner Perry Martin dismissed the Triple Crown rules by advocating that if a horse didn't start in the Kentucky Derby, he shouldn't be allowed to contest the Preakness. He didn't think it was fair that the Derby winner was forced to come back in two weeks, while a bunch of rested horses could ship in to try to derail him. It never occurred to him that that was the beauty of the Triple Crown. It isn't for sissies.

    If Martin's idea had been implemented, five of the 10 entrants for Saturday's Preakness would be ineligible (Multiplier, Senior Investment, Cloud Computing, Conquest Mo Money and Term of Art). We would be faced with Always Dreaming facing Derby runner-up Lookin at Lee, fourth-place Classic Empire, seventh place Gunnevera and 11th place Hence. And, while it still might have been a competitive race in that instance, who needs it. It would have been a monumental bust for the fans, for TV and for the history of the race itself.

    Can anybody beat Always Dreaming, who is 4/5 on the morning line? Maybe. Lookin at Lee closed a ton in Louisville and he'll only have half the traffic to negotiate this time. If Classic Empire gets a good trip, who knows just how good he is? Maybe better than Always Dreaming. Gunnevera will also have less traffic to overcome with his late kick and Hence had all kinds of problems on Derby day so we can't really evaluate him.

    Of the newcomers, Conquest Mo Money might be the most interesting. First, he's the only one in the field who wasn't bred in Kentucky- he's a New Yorker. Second, his auction sheet is mind-boggling. Sold for $180,000 as a yearling at Saratoga in 2015, then for $8,500 at Keeneland November in 2016. What? And, with three victories and two seconds in five starts, including seconds in the Gr. III Sunland Derby and Gr. I Arkansas Derby, the son of Uncle Mo has earned $508,900.

    Multiplier, winner of the Illinois Derby, was purchased for $62,000 at Keeneland November, then was RNA'd twice, including at OBS April.  

    Term of Art, bred by Ocala's Mandy Pope, owner of Whisper Hill Farm, has started nine times and was seventh in the Santa Anita Derby in his last. He was a $220,000 purchase at Keeneland September in 2015. 

    Cloud Computing, a $200,000 Keeneland September product, finished third in the Gr. II Wood Memorial and second in the Gr. III Gotham. 

    Senior Investment has made eight starts, and won the Gr. III Stonestreet Lexington Stakes, but was seventh in the Louisiana Derby. He was a $95,000 purchase at Keeneland September. 

    Always Dreaming's effort in the Derby makes him look to be much the best. But looks can be deceiving.

    NEARING A MILESTONE - Three Rules will be trying to get closer to the million-dollar mark in the $200,000 Chick Lang Stakes in the seventh race on the Preakness program. The son of Northwest Stud's Gone Astray is back to where he shines - at six furlongs - after showing he's not a distance horse, at least not at this stage of his career. He drew the No. 1 post in a field of nine with Luis Saez and is 3-1 second choice on the morning line. Recruiting Ready is 8/5 with Horacio Karamanos.  

    So far, seven of Florida's freshman sires of 2017 have had at least one runner. There have been 14 runners in all, and only Woodford Thoroughbreds' Currency Swap has had a winner. The son of High Cotton is represented by R Paper Chaser, who broke his maiden in his debut at Gulfstream Park on May 10, getting 4 1/2 furlongs in :51.74, just three-fifths of a second off the track record.

    R Paper Chaser earned $19,600 for the effort and has his sire in first place on the frosh sire list. But Currency Swap has just 30 registered 2-year-olds in this crop, and several of the others have many more, so it's going to be a struggle for Currency Swap to maintain his early lead as the season develops. 

    Woodford also has the early second-place sire in the War Front stallion Soldat, who already has four runners. His Pete Marwick finished third at Keeneland on April 26 and collected a check of $4,470. 

    In third place is Pleasant Acres' Treasure Beach, whose Tigerbeach finished fourth at Keeneland on April 26 and earned $2,235, then came back and finished third at Churchill Downs on May 12 and banked another $5,600. Next comes Bridlewood Farm's Corfu, who has also raced twice and has posted a pair of fifths, good for $2,682.

    Pleasant Acres' Anthony's Cross has one runner, Seminole Charlie, who finished fourth at Gulfstream on May 3 and earned $2,000. Two other Pleasant Acres stallions, Brethren and Poseidon's Warrior, have had nothing significant as yet. 

    FIRST SW FOR OVERDRIVEN - Last year's freshman sire race was somewhat boring, mainlybecause the lsit of stallions was so small, and only Ocala Stud's Overdriven and Woodford's Biondetti accomplished much. Biondetti led Overdriven in earnings and number of winners, but that has turned around so far this year. Overdriven leads in earnings - $486,627 to $292,389 - and in winners, 17 to 14. Now, Ocala Stud's stallion has added the first stakes-winner for either. 

    Arms Runner won the $101,690 Desert Code Stakes at Santa Anita by 1 1/2 lengths with an apparent liking for the downhill 6 1/2-furlong turf course. Norberto Arroyo Jr. had him geared down the final sixteenth of a mile. Arms Runner was purchased for $525,000 at the OBS March sale last year, and he's now 2-for-2 down the hill for Rockingham Ranch. 

    Even though the final wagering numbers for the Kentucky Derby are umpteen times higher than the advance totals from Friday, those early wagers usually mirror very closely who winds up being who at 6:45 p. m. on Saturday. Based on yesterday's wagering, that might not be true today.

    Linemaker Mike Battaglia had Arkansas Derby winner Classic Empire at 4-1 overnight, followed by Florida Derby winner Always Dreaming and Sam F. Davis winner McCraken at 5-1 and Wood Memorial winner Irish War Cry at 6-1. He also had Louisiana Derby winner Girvin, Santa Anita Derby winner Gormley and Fountain of Youth winner Gunnevera at 15-1 and Blue Grass winner Irap at 20-1.

    Here's what the first returns look like: Classic Empire and Irish War Cry are both 7-1, Always Dreaming is at 11-1, Gormley and Girvin at 15-1, Gunnevera at 17-1, McCraken at 25-1, and Irap at 30-1. 

    Then, there are a couple of real surprises. Battle of Midway, the Santa Anita Derby runner-up, is 14-1 - he's 30-1 on Battaglia's line. And Practical Joke, runner-up in both the Blue Grass and Fountain of Youth, is 14-1; his line is 20-1. 

    There's been a lot of talk that the pace might not be as swift as the deep closers would like and that will compromise their chances. Phfooey. Battle of Midway went past the six furlongs in 1:10.4 on the pace at Santa Anita, and Fast and Accurate was a length off a 1:10.1 in the Spiral at Turfway. Always Dreaming and State of Honor were both stalking a 1:10.3 in the Florida Derby and Irap has been just off the pace in several races where 1:10 and change popped up on the teletimer. Irish War Cry likes to be very close to the early leaders, as does Gormley. There will be no lack of pace in this edition. 

    The "favorites" will all come down a few points before they get in the gate this evening and it will be interesting to see just who becomes THE favorite, and at what price. I have always maintained that the best bet on the first Saturday in May was an exacta box using five horses because even the favorite and second choice 1-2 often pay off well. And there are the days when one can make a big score, such as Animal Kingdom and Nehro, who combined to elate their backers (me included) at $329.80 in 2011, or when Super Saver (the second choice at 8-1) and Ice Box (the co-fifth choice at 11-1) clicked to the tune of $152.40 in 2010. Even California Chrome, the 5/2 favorite two years ago, and Firing Line, the fourth choice at 9-1, paid $72.60. The exacta prices can make your day.

    The only negative today will come after the race when the neophytes on the 6 o'clock news begin the two-week obligatory speculation about a possible Triple Crown. A positive is we'll hear Larry Collmus pronouncing Leparoux correctly. 

    MILLIONAIRE'S ROW - A few Florida-breds have a chance to become millionaires on today's Churchill Downs undercard. El Kabeir ($921,557) goes in the $500,000, Gr. II Churchill Downs Stakes (race 10), and World Approval ($953,763) and Enterprising ($774,040) in the $500,000, Gr. I Woodford Reserve Classic (race 11).

    ALSO - There are no less than 18 runners on the Churchill Downs program who sold at OBS, including Derby horses Fast and Accurate (sold for $85,000, has earned $340,362), Untrapped (sold for $125,000, has earned $259,658), and Irap (sold for $300,000, has earned $772,600).  

   CELEBRATE WITH CAMPBELL'S SOUP -  Ocala's Mark Casse has nine runners on the program, including six for Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Plantation. The Campbell's soup exec has Salute With Honor in the second race, Souper Fly Over in the fourth, Awesome Slew in the 10th (Gr. II Churchill Downs Stakes), World Approval in the 11th (Gr. I Woodford Reserve Turf Classic), Casses Story in the 13th, and Souper Wish in the 14th. Total purse money for the six races is $1,258,000. Wonder how many times Charlotte will opt to go to the paddock to watch one being saddled? There's no wondering how many times she'll visit the mutuel windows - all six. 

    BEST DERBY DAY NAME - The winner of that category is Sir Dudley Digges, in the fifth race.    

    Racing's biggest problem - short fields at too many tracks around the country - reached new heights this week with the announcement that Santa Anita has canceled Thursday's program due to insufficient entries. Not Ruidoso Downs, or Prairie Meadows, or Sunland Park, but Santa Anita, which TVG's analysts remind us every five minutes or so is "The Great Race Place."

    And it's not an aberration due to a mid-week program, based on these numbers: On Saturday, Santa Anita's 10-race card had 83 entries, for an acceptable average of 8.3 horses. However, included in the mix were two five-horse races, one of six and one of seven. The average was saved by the 10th race, which had 14 runners.

    The situation took a turn for the worst on Sunday, when the nine-race program numbered just 58 runners, an average of 6.4. Included this day were two races with four runners each and one with five.

    It wasn't any better at Aqueduct on Saturday, where the card featured 66 entrants in nine races, an average of 7.3, including one five-horse affair and two of six.

    Gulfstream Park, with its Championship meeting ended, still had 95 runners in 11  races on Saturday, an average of 8.6, despite one race with a field of five. The handle at all three tracks, naturally, feels the effects of the short fields. For instance, someone wheeling a horse in a $5 exacta in a 7-horse race expends $30, while the same bet in a 10-horse race costs $45. Multiply that by the handle lost in all the various exotics when there are short fields and it results in a serious hit on the day's bottom line.

    There seems to be a consensus of horsemen I have talked to that the increased costs of training, feed, veterinarians, vanning, farriers, etc. have knocked out much of the middle class, just like in so many other aspects in the country. At the sales, the high-end prospects are still selling en masse, but the middle-of-the-roaders are just not making it. Just check the RNAs at any of the 2-year-old sales.

    QUITE A DAY - The claiming ranks reached a new level at Tampa Bay Downs over the weekend when the 6-year-old mare Laur Net was taken for $62,500, highest claim ever at the Oldsmar track. The new owner is Ron Paolucci's Looch Racing Stables, which more than made up for the price a few hours later with a major score in the Gr. II Charles Town Classic with its purse of $1,250,000.     Paolucci's Imperative won the race by a neck and collected $732,000, while another Looch runner, War Story, finished third and took home $122,000. A third runner from the stable, Cautious Grant, wound up eighth and last and still earned $20,000, a total of $874,000 for the trio. Cautious Grant more than accomplished his purpose, though, as the 84-1 shot ran 6/5 favorite Stanford into defeat on the front end, making way for the come-from-behind 1-3 finish of his two stablemates.

    Laur Net is an Illinois-bred with a major Florida influence, by Strong Hope (formerly at Winding Oaks Farm) out of the Lucky Lionel (formerly at Franks Farms) mare Lady Lionel, and she's won 7 of 27 races. She scored by 2 1/4 lengths under Ronnie Allen Jr. with a mile on the grass in 1:36.52 and will compete next at Delaware Park.        

    Two Florida-bred 2-year-olds have made a seasonal appearance thus far, I'm Corfu, by freshman sire Corfu, finishing fifth at Keeneland and Heir Horse One, by deceased champion Wildcat Heir, finishing fifth at Turf Paradise. That will change early in the day tomorrow by way of a pair of rich filly races at Aqueduct and Gulfstream Park, both at 4 1/2 furlongs.

    The second race at the Big A is a $100,000 maiden special that has drawn a field of six, including Stream of Gold, a daughter of Get Away Farm's Two Step Salsa, one of Florida's leading sires. On Sunday, Two Step Salsa's second-leading money-earner, Classic Salsa, won at Laurel Park to gain his 11th victory in a span of 31 races, raising his lifetime bank account to $374,169. The 6-year-old doesn't appear to be slowing down, getting the six furlongs in 1:10.57 after posting fractions of :22.28, :45.66 and :57.80, and winning by 1 3/4 lengths. Classic Salsa has two victories and a third in three starts this year, and was claimed out of the race for $20,000. The consistent performer has also won at Belmont Park, Aqueduct, Pimlico, Tampa Bay Downs and Turfway Park. 

    At about the same time that the Aqueduct race goes off, Gulfstream's second will feature a field of seven fillies competing for $50,000, which includes an FOA of $5,000. The No. 1 horse is Go Astray, a daughter of Northwest Stud's highly successful Gone Astray. She's owned and bred by Ramiro Medina.

    No. 2 is Panty Hose, by Ocala Stud's Awesome of Course, owned and bred by Fred Brei's Jacks or Batter Farm. 

    No. 3 is DiMaria, a Kentucky-bred, followed by the first two runners by Pleasant Acres Stallions' freshman sire Brethren. No. 4, Minaj, and No. 5, Baylor, are both owned and bred by Arindel, one of the co-owners of the stallion by Distorted Humor who won Tampa's Sam F. Davis Stakes. 

    The 6 horse is Kentucky-bred Lounge Act, trained by the country's perennial leading 2-year-old conditioner at this time of year, Wesley Ward, and No. 7 is La Chica Ripool, the first runner by Woodford Thoroughbreds' Soldat. She's owned and bred by Carlos Munoz. 

    Another legislative update from FTBOA lobbyist Matt Bryan in Wire-to-Wire this week and, as usual, no explanation on several key issues leaves the uninitiated in the dark. Matt knows what he's talking about, the FTBOA board knows what he is talking about, but I haven't a clue because Matt doesn't adhere to one of the first things I learned when I went to work at the Long Island Press: Write it so that a little old lady in New Jersey knows what you're talking about.

    In discussing approval by the state senate of SB 8, an act relating to gaming (by a vote of 32-6), he says the senate has approved CS for SB 8, and while I'm sure many people know what CS stands for, I don't. Tell me.

    SB 8 allows for widespread decoupling, including the thoroughbred tracks. This is an absolute disgrace from a thoroughbred standpoint, even though I know for a fact Tampa Bay Downs has no intention of ending racing, decoupling or not. I am confident that as long as Frank Stronach is at the helm, that goes for Gulfstream, too. As opposed to the rest of the industry, I could not care less if dogs and jai alai frontons choose not to have a live product anymore, both entities are pretty much dead as far as fan interest is concerned. Let them end that live product, and pay a nominal sum to the facilities that stay open as a penalty. (The House Commerce Committee also approved H 7037 by a vote of 19-11. It does not allow for decoupling for any permitholder).

    Back to the Senate bill. It allows for the continued existence of the not-for-profit thoroughbred permit in Marion County. Would it have been so difficult for Bryan to mention who has this permit? I assume it's OBS, but why not tell us? The bill also creates a statewide supplemental purse pool for thoroughbred races. Just what does that entail? I'm sure most people in the business would like a clarification, I know I would.

    The bill also calls for reducing the tax rate on slot machines from 35% to 30%, and later, to 25%, and a portion of that first reduction would go to purses and breeders' awards. It's about time. The extra share of the percentages would add greatly to the purse structures and awards. However, why  couldn't Bryan reveal when the percentage would drop to 25?

    This is a big one. It would allow blackjack tables at South Florida tracks. While poker is very popular at all the facilities, it can get a little too complicated for many. No matter how many poker tournaments I watch on TV, I still can't quite get when you should go "all in."But everyone knows blackjack and the game would add tremendously to the bottom line.

    The House bill, by the way, also clarifies that slot machine gaming is not allowed outside Miami-Dade and Broward counties. However, it should be expanded in one area - to include Tampa Bay Downs. The reasons are obvious.  

    Bryan says that the House and Senate have hinted that they will convene a conference of both entities to try to come to some mutual (and mutuel) agreement. I won't hold my breath. And when and if they do come up with something, I  hope Matt doesn't expect us to understand all the nuances without some simple explanation.   

    Back in 2011, when Ocala's Martin Stables South went bust and horses of various denominations were being rescued off the farm by concerned neighbors, Kathy Taylor and her daughter Andi wound up with nine of them on their five acres-plus called Capstone. The first order of business was to feed the five starving mares, three 2-year-olds and one 3-year-old, then sell them for a ham sandwich before the ladies were eaten out of house and home.

    Kathy bred the mares to stallions whose seasons were donated by clients of her advertising business, and, in time, all had new homes ranging from Florida to a couple of time zones to the west. There was one foal, though, that Kathy kept. He was a fiesty one from day one, by Shakespeare out of the Storm Bird mare Cent Nouvelles, and Andi literally pulled him from the womb the night he was born. 

    They raised the little guy for two years, then entered him in the 2012 OBS January sale, but he didn't bring his reserve and they wound up selling him privately to Canadian owner Howard Walton, who races at Woodbine in the summer and Gulfstream Park in the winter. Now a gelding, French Quarter turned out to be a solid addition to the Walton barn, compiling a record of 7-5-3 in 33 starts and earning $243,726 before being claimed out of his last race at Gulfstream a few weeks ago for $62,500 by trainer David Fawkes.

    Of his 33 races, 22 came at Woodbine and 11 at Gulfstream and it appears Frenchie likes the southern racing strip better than the all-weather up north - he won four times over it, including the last two this season, along with a second and a third. That's six breeder's awards for Kathy, and with the recent increase in the percentages doled out by the FTBOA, the last two were blockbusters of $5,400 each. That probably just about got Kathy even for her costs of five years ago.

    Now Frenchie is in the Fawkes barn, and David is a year-round Florida resident, which has Kathy more than elated. And tomorrow, Frenchie is entered in the $100,000 Sir Shackleton Stakes at seven furlongs, a distance at which he has never won. He has one victory at five furlongs, five at six furlongs and one at 6 1/2. But he has the services of talented youngster Nik Juarez, who was aboard for his last two scores and appears to fit Frenchie like a glove.

    It's only the second time the gelding has been in a stakes race - he finished fifth in the $125,000 Jacques Cartier at Woodbine last April and collected $1,925. Morning line-maker Ron Nicoletti has him pegged as the choice at 3-1, and Kathy and Andi hope Ron is on the mark.  

    And what happened to some of the other rescued equines from five years ago? Ifoundmy Mojo, one of the 2-year-olds, started 48 times in the mid-west and compiled a record of 13-9-5 with earnings of $222,510. In 2013, the gelded son of Spanish Steps ranked 53rd in the country by number of winning races - six. The 3-year-old filly in the group was named California Quick, and she went 4-5-1 in 15 starts and collected $61,497. Hojas, a half-brother to Ifoundmy Mojo by Two Step Salsa, bred by Kathy, is now six and sports a record of 3-3-3 in 15 starts with earnings of $36,696. After a long layoff, he recently returned to the workout tabs at Los Alamitos and should be racing again shortly. 

    Kathy will also have a second major interest tomorrow in the $1 million Florida Derby with the Gone Astray colt Three Rules, who is leaving right next to favored Gunnevera on the outside and attempting to show co-owner/trainer Bert Pilcher he's good enough to shoot for the Run for the Roses. Gone Astray stands at Northwest Stud, one of Kathy's clients. 

    SHOOTING FOR THE MOON - The Rainbow Pick 6 reached $1,543,677 for today's Gulfstream program, and if it's not hit, it will jump to more than $2 million for the Florida Derby card. There are 14 races slated, including eight stakes, and the mutuel handle will be somewhere in the stratosphere, with huge guarantees in some of the major exotics. If the Rainbow isn't hit today or tomorrow, it will be given away on Sunday.  

    Several years ago, noted turf columnist Andy Beyer wrote a long piece about one of the worst "bad beats" of all time. It concerned a person (or persons) who lost out on a huge fortune in a Rainbow pick 6 because a late scratch switched more tickets onto the favorite in the race and instead of having the lone winning ticket, he (or they) merely ended up sharing a consolation prize.

    Add yesterday's Rainbow at Gulfstream Park to the list of bad beats of all time.

    The pick 6 was sailing along thusly heading into the final race: Halloween Horror won the eighth and paid $11.20, followed by Cape Force ($13.40), Classic Cotton ($26), Distinta ($25.80), and Chivalrous ($10.60). Heading into the 13th race, there were 28 live tickets, but only the five horse, Starship Zorro, had a lone ticket on him and it was going to be worth more than a million bucks. Analyst Caton Bredar informed the TVG audience of this fact just as the horses were going to the gate.

    Starship Zorro was 11-1 at post time, due to the fact that he had lost eight in a row since his last victory at Gulfstream West back in November. He did have a couple of thirds. 

    Emisael Jaramillo hustled Starship Zorro out quickly and he settled into a comfortable third in the mile and one-sixteenth race on the grass. The 7-year-old son of Giant's Causeway remained in striking position all through the backstretch, and coming to the turn Jaramillo let him loose and Starship Zorro took the lead easily, opening up by a couple of lengths. The owner(s) of the lone ticket had to be jumping out of their skin.

    Starship Zorro was still digging in gamely down the lane, but 7/2 shot Hidden Vow, an 8-year-old New York-bred gelding with Luis Saez aboard, was rolling down the outside. The two went head-and-head in the final 100 yards and at the wire, it was Hidden Vow who prevailed in a head bob.

    The pick 6 payoff to those alive with Hidden Vow was $38,321, and we can't know if those buried by the bad beat had one of those tickets or not. Hopefully, they did, and received some small consolation. But even if they did, they won't soon (if ever) get over this 'bad beat.' 

    The carryover into today's card is $765,299, and by the time the wagering ends the pool will again be well over $1 million. There was $410,662 bet into it yesterday. The bad beat victims will probably try again, assuming their hearts can stand it. 

    (Gulfstream enjoyed another big day at the windows, with the all-sources handle reaching $15,549,019). 

    If thoroughbred racing emulated the other major sports and added ear-splitting music to the fare during live action, they could have had the 1974 Bachman-Turner Overdrive smash hit "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" blaring from all speakers as today's first race was being run at Turf Paradise.

    Among the entrants in the $5,000 claimer at five furlongs was one "Bullseye," a gelded son of Perfect Mandate out of Ms Hearts N Arrows, bred in California by Old English Rancho and Berumen. What makes this tale so worthy of BTO's No. 1 song is that Bullseye is nine years old, and he was making his first career start for owner/trainer W. R. Whitehouse.

    When Whitehouse happened upon Bullseye only he and the breeders know and I'm sure we'll soon find out, but we do know the gelding was entered in the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association's Northern California Yearling Sale in 2009. He didn't bring his reserve, and was listed as a $9,200 RNA.

    Fast forward to a couple of months ago. Bullseye begins working at Turf Paradise and has five morning trials on his tab, the best one being his last, a 49-flat from the gate, 19th best of 32 that day. Not earth-shattering. 

    The gelding drew the No. 1 post for his debut with Ronald Richard as his rider. When the windows opened for the race, Bullseye took a pretty good monetary hit early, and was sitting at even money for a while. He began drifting up slowly thereafter, but when Richard settled him in the gate, Bullseye suddenly reared and his jock jumped off, while the horse turned sideways and stuck one leg over the side of the gate. 

    The assistant starter got him squared away quickly, while the vet gave him the okay. Richard hopped back on, and when they sprung the latch, the price was 4-1. Bullseye broke a tad slow, but Richard quickly sent him up on the inside to take over the lead, with the No. 2 horse,  2-1 second choice Coulson, just to his flank. Bullseye continued on the lead and the pair opened up daylight on the field, but at the top of the stretch, Bullseye opened up daylight on Coulson and the gelding roared away to score by nearly seven widening lengths. It was the stuff of which legends are made. 

    Bullseye paid $10.20, $5.60 and $3.40 and no doubt those in the know who bet all that early money made a pretty good score. As for Whitehouse, the first-place check was only $3,828 but maybe he made that much on his wagers. The next question is: how long will it be before we see Bullseye again? 

    Thanks to the Gulfstream PR department, it turns out the mystery of who hit the big jackpot last week wasn't really a mystery at all. The winning ticket, worth $324,179, was the product of a joint effort by 12 friends from "all over the place," in South Florida for an annual group outing sponsored by Jim Beam. The only mystery is how much Jim Beam was utilized after Frank Calabrese's first-timer, Nick the Cardshark, won the sixth and last race at odds of 27-1. There had been just two other live singles heading into the finale. 

    The winning 20-cent ticket cost the group just $194.40, a mere outlay of $16.20 per person, assuming each had an equal share. Art Friedman, who acted as spokesman for the 12, revealed that they make the trip every February, and two years ago, had five in a row before missing in the sixth. Friedman also made up their ticket - with 4-7-10-9-7-12 the winning combo.  

    WHAT'S IN A NAME? - Back in the old days, much of the time owners used some combination of the stallion and the mare to name their horses. That changed somewhere along the way, right about the time that Florida breeder Norman Casse began naming his using three or four words, all strung together, and the rest of the world followed suit.  

    There are clever names, boring names, and, very often, stupid names, along with names where people try to fool The Jockey Club and often get away with it, plus some pretty good steeds from the past whose monikers have been pilfered. One of those is Guadalcanal, who reappeared several years ago after his namesake competed with some success against Kelso and the other great handicap horses of the 60s.

    Today, in the second race at Parx, the winner in a photo was Ima Frayed Knot, and if that isn't one of the great ones, I don't know what is. Kudos to the person who named that 12-1 shot and to those who wagered on him. 

    GIVE ADEMAR A CHANCE - More than once in this space I have mentioned that the most under-rated jockey who competes at Tampa Bay Downs is Ademar Santos, who manages to make it into the top 10 at the track every year despite riding a long list of bums. Poor Ademar gets on horses who are 15-1, 20-1 and 30-1 more than anybody else who has a pretty good record. If you're a show bettor, he will not stop riding until the wire pops up and the number of long shots he brings in second and third is remarkable.

    His latest stats read: 148 mounts, 16 winners, 15 seconds and 13 thirds, with earnings of $212,245. Not close to Daniel Centeno, but Daniel never rides the type of horses Ademar does. On Sunday, he was aboard Coquivacoa, a 4-year-old filly by Northwest Stud's Flashstorm who had made two previous starts at Mountaineer. She was second in her debut in October, and seventh in her second try in November. 

    Ademar rushed her out of the gate from the 11 post, sat just off the pace, moved between horses on the turn and it was all over. Coquivacoa won by three lengths without anybody getting close - AND PAID $59. Good handicappers usually can flush out up and coming riders before the word gets out, but not in this case, it seems. I guess that helps me then, doesn't it? 

    Every once in a while, if one makes a habit of studying the tote board for clues to produce clever wagering, something pops up  that makes us scratch our heads. At Gulfstream Park on Sunday, Flash Jak was the morning line choice in a $6,250 claimer at six furlongs with red-hot Paco Lopez aboard. The 5-year-old daughter of Northwest Stud's Gone Astray was favored on the board from the outset mostly at just under 2-1. The second choice was Unknown, with Tyler Gaffalione. (The horse wasn't unknown, that was her name). 

    As Paco led his mare toward the gate, she had been bet down to 6/5, and Unknown was 9/5. As they were ready to break, the board changed and Unknown dropped to 6/5, while Flash Jak jumped up to 8/5. The gate opened, they broke cleanly and a few seconds later, the board made its final change: both horses were 2-1. It was one of the most bizarre odds movements I've ever seen.

    What made it more bizarre was that Paco quickly placed Flash Jak just off the pace in the two path, moved her up to the lead on the turn, and just hand rode her home to a 5 1/2-length score while looking under his arm for any competition. There was none. Unknown never got out of a gallop despite Gaffalione's urging, and she finished a distant sixth.

    Because of the strange betting pattern, Flash Jak's backers were rewarded with a juicy payoff of $6.40; Unknown's backers ripped up their tickets - she went off as the $2.30-1 second choice. Flash Jak, who was claimed out of the race, is now 7-6-3 in 30 starts and the $10,000 winner's check boosted her career total to $102,020. She's cheap, but she brings home the bacon.    

    When Street Sense used Tampa Bay Downs as his springboard to his Kentucky Derby victory in 2007, the Tampa Bay Derby was his first start of the year. The son of Street Cry defeated Any Given Saturday by a nose and set a track record of 1:43.11 for the mile and one-sixteenth.

    Street Sense went on to miss by a nose behind Dominican in the Blue Grass at Keeneland, but was easily best on the First Saturday in May, winning by 2 1/4 lengths over Hard Spun, with Curlin almost six lengths back in third. He became the first Derby winner to emanate from Oldsmar. 

    Along came Super Saver in 2010, and he made the Tampa Bay Derby his first start of the season, too. The colt by Maria's Mon didn't even win it, finishing third by half a length to Odysseus and Schoolyard Dreams. Super Saver then went the Arkansas Derby route and lost by a neck to Line of David. However, in Louisville, Calvin Borel guided him to a 2 1/2-length score over Ice Box at odds of 8-1.

    During that same season, Bold Start lowered Street Sense's track record to 1:42.83, and that mark stood until last year, when Destin lowered it by a fraction to 1:42.82. Yesterday, when McCraken overpowered eight other aspiring 3-year-olds to win the Gr. III Sam F. Davis Stakes, he took it down to 1:42.45. McCraken is a son of Ghostzapper out of the Seeking the Gold mare Ivory Empress,  owned and bred by Whitham Thorougbreds, the same people who gave us the magnificent Argentinian Bayakoa, champion older mare in 1989 and '90. 

    McCraken is now a perfect 4-for-4, and, ironically, one of his 2016 victories came in the $83,000, one-mile Street Sense at Churchill Downs, where he previously had broken his maiden by 2 1/2 lengths going 6 1/2 furlongs and later won the Gr. II Kentucky Jockey Club at 1 1/16 miles by 1 1/4 lengths. Brian Hernandez has been aboard in all four. 

    Yesterday, Hernandez did what he did in the first three, taking the colt back to seventh and letting everybody else do the heavy lifting. When he swung McCraken to the outside and turned him loose, it was never in doubt and a legitimate Derby contender was unveiled. Stella Thayer's VIP room just past the finish line was packed with Whitham family members from all over the place and they all crowded into the winner's circle to accept the extremely heavy trophy. 

    McCraken picked up another 10 points toward Derby eligibility, which is just a formality now. He'll probably hang around for the Tampa Bay Derby next month and might even make a start in April prior to heading for Louisville. The $120,000 check brought his total to $310,848.

    The runner-up in the Sam F. Davis was Tapwrit, a son of Tapit who was purchased by John Malone, owner of Bridlewood Farm, for $1.2 million at the 2015 Saratoga sale. In his September debut, Tapwrit bombed out in a 7-furlong maiden special at Saratoga, but he rebounded with a victory at Gulfstream West prior to winning the $75,000 Pulpit Stakes at Gulfstream Park. He closed nicely behind McCraken under Jose Ortiz and finished just 1 1/2 lengths behind, earning $40,000 and boosting his total to $103,902. He's also a Derby eligible, as is third-place finisher State of Honor. 

    The Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes, a Gr. III event at 1 1/16 miles on the grass, was won by favored Isabella Sings, a 5-year-old Eskendereya mare who went over the $600,000 mark for Siena Farms, winning for the eighth time in 20 starts. The third-place finisher was Lambholm South's Evidently, a 6-year-old Gr. III-winning Smart Strike mare who came from out of the clouds to nail down the show spot. She's now 3-2-3 in 23 starts with earnings of $274,823 for Lambholm owner Roy Lerman, who is also her trainer.

    Gulfstream Park was the clear winner in the battle for the betting dollar yesterday, with an all-sources handle of $15,978,605, followed by Santa Anita with $10,046,272. Tampa was right behind Frank Stronach's other track with $9,488,680, while Aqueduct, suffering from weather woes, reached just $7,169,037.    

    The Florida freshman sire list for 2017 is now up on this site, and it reveals several interesting facts, including that three of the stallions were bred to more than 100 mares.

    As of now, there are 14 stallions listed and Pleasant Acres has the most in the running for leading freshman with five, including two with blockbuster books - Treasure Beach (101) and Poseidon's Warrior (90). Then come Brethren (67), Anthony's Cross (35) and Beau Choix (17).

    Woodford Thoroughbreds will deature two frosh sires, Soldat, who leads the books with 124 mares bred, and Currency Swap (47).

    Northwest Stud has a pair of newbies with pretty good books - Duke of Mischief (57) and Wrote (50), while Ocala Stud has just one, Prospective, who has a big chance to be the Florida leader with 113 mares bred.

    The three farms with just one freshman are Bridlewood (Corfu, 55), Journeyman Stud (Winslow Homer, 53), and Hartley/DeRenzo (Rattlesnake Bridge, 64).

    Based on the number of frosh sires, and the good-sized books they bred, this will be the most contentious race for Florida in the past several years. The sire's sires include two Tapits, two Malibu Moons, a Distorted Humor, a Galileo, a Speightstown, an Indian Charlie, an Elusive Quality, a High Cotton, a Graeme Hall, a War Front, an Unbridled's Song and a High Chaparral. That's an impressive list in itself.  

    The advocates of the tired old terms "buried on the rail" and "mired on the inside" took another serious hit yesterday when Arrogate proved once again that the best place to leave from in any distance race is the No. 1 post.

    The TV analysts haven't gotten the message yet and even Bob Baffert had his concerns, but the betting public didn't. The bettors ignored the morning lines on Arrogate and California Chrome and made the former 4/5 and the latter 6/5. Like me, the betting public loves the rail.

    Granted, California Chrome had the worst of it from No. 12, but Victor Espinoza got the champ away quickly and Chromie was in a good spot as they headed down the backstretch. His failure to accelerate when Arrogate moved toward the lead nearing the turn was a major disappointment. However, nobody was going to beat Arrogate yesterday. His final time of 1:47.61 wasn't too far off the track record for a mile and an eighth - the 1:46.86 that Lea posted in February of 2014. And if anybody had been chasing him in the stretch, racing's new poster boy could have gone faster.

    In judging the success of the $12 million Stronach experiment, the place was packed to the rafters, and an astronomical $40,217,924 was wagered on the superior 12-race program, a Gulfstream record. They gave the people everything they love to bet on - seven stakes and seven grass races - and the public responded by sending it in by the bucketful.

    There will be an encore of this performance next year, without question.  

    OBS GETS IN THE ACT - And, speaking of handle, the eight pari-mutuel races conducted on the 11-race OBS Week of Champions program on Tuesday saw a total of $43,261 sent into the mutuel machines. The first seven races were of the quarter horse variety, and the eighth was the $50,000 OBS Sprint for fillies.  

    Here's a breakdown of the betting on each quarter horse race: 1 - $2,766; 2 - $3,764; 3 - $4,566; 4 - $4,218; 5 - $5,246; 6 - $4,640; 7 - $7,696. The OBS Sprint, naturally, took the most play - $10,365 - broken down thusly: win-place-show- $6,850; exacta - $3,051; and the daily double pool on races 7 and 8 - $464. The rolling daily doubles weren't too popular, lagging far behind the other pools in every race.

    The bettors were keyed in pretty well, with the win prices ranging from the low of $2.20 on Silver Wings in the seventh race to the high of $11 on Of Royal Decent in the fourth. Silver Wings paid $2.40 to place and $2.40 to show, which no doubt upset the win players.   

    Ocala Stud Farm reported that the first foal sired by The Big Beast was born in Ocala on Jan. 3 - a colt out of the Slew Gin Fizz mare Look to the Stars, who is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Isitingood. Christy Whitman is the breeder.

    The Big Beast won the Gr. I King's Bishop at Saratoga as a 3-year-old and lost the Gr. I Vanderbilt Handicap by a head the next year. He's by former Florida champion freshman sire Yes It's True and was bred to 103 mares in his first book; he stands for $6,000.  

    Ocala Stud  is the unquestioned Florida leader in the stallion department - the addition of Jess's Dream a few weeks ago boosted the farm's total to 14. Jess's Dream has a blockbuster pedigree, by Curlin out of Rachel Alexandra. Rachel Alexandra has one foal to race, Gr. I winner Rachel's Valentina, by Bernardini. Jess's Dream stands for what appears to be a bargain $5,000. The farm's other stallions with runners, High Cotton, Adios Charlie, In Summation and the rest, are all high on the state's sire lists. 

    WHERE'S THE DOUGH? - Just when you thought that, other than fake racing, everyone seemed to be getting along fairly well in Florida, comes the news that Saturday's Sunshine Millions program at Gulfstream Park will dole out just $600,000 in purse money instead of the originally announced $900,000. That's a big hit to the owners who have entries on the competitive card. Seems there's a big flap of some kind between the FTBOA and the FHBPA and the FTBOA is withholding the extra purse money. This one can't turn out well.

    Somebody forgot to tell the people at TVG about the missing $300,000, and during today's telecasts, they continued to use the $900,000 figure along with the wrong amounts on individual races.  

    GETTING CLOSER - Frank Stronach's brainchild - the Jan. 28 Pegasus World Cup - may or may not turn out to be one of the major positive stories of 2017. It's one of those deals where we won't be able to fully evaluate the ramifications until it's all over. However, the $12 million epic has been the talk of the racing world for months, and the wheeling, dealing, buying, selling, trading and leasing of probable and possible participants has kept everybody guessing and excited at the same time.

    The impending battle between Arrogate and California Chrome is great for the game, although there will no doubt be many tears shed as Chromie walks away for the final time. Every member of the ownership team that kept this great horse going should receive an Eclipse Award of Merit for service to the sport above and beyond.  

    Gulfstream Park closed out the year with a bang, eclipsing both Aqueduct and Santa Anita in the mutuels department, at the same time unveiling another Todd Pletcher 2-year-old who will quickly be added to many Kentucky Derby 'horses to watch' lists and possibly draw a little attention at the Las Vegas books.

    Gulfstream's all-sources handle Saturday was $11,760,283, compared to Aqueduct's just over $9 million and Santa Anita's nearly $9.5 million. On Sunday, Gulfstream followed it up with a handle of $8,347,916.

    The Pletcher colt who turned some heads was Battalion Runner, a Kentucky-bred son of Unbridled's Song who went wire-to-wire in a seven-furlong maiden special under Johnny Velazquez, winning in a walk by nearly nine lengths in 1:22.82. His lone previous start had come at Belmont Park back on June 3, when he finished second behind the highly-regarded Super Saver colt, Random Walk, who then went on to finish second in the Gr. III Sanford at Saratoga behind Bitumen. Battalion Runner was sent off at odds of 30 cents to a dollar in his second start, paying $2.60.

    From an Ocala standpoint, Niall and Stephanie Brennan had a good day at the Big A Saturday, as their Indian Soldier won a $25,000 claimer by three-quarters of a length. The 3-year-old gelding by Street Boss, owned and bred by the Brennans, went off at 7-1 and collected a check for $18,600.

    At Santa Anita the same day, there was a dead heat for first in the $100,00, Gr. III Midnight Lute Stakes between St. Joe Bay and Solid Wager. St. Joe Bay is a 4-year-old gelding (just turned five) by Saint Anddan out of the Honor Glide mare Dream Ride. He was bred at Ocala's Bonnie Heath Farm by Bonnie and Kim Heath, who owned and raced multiple stakes-winner Honor Glide. St. Joe Bay was ridden by veteran Kent Desormeaux, and the pair dead-heated in 1:15.03 for the 5 1/2 furlongs. 

    BIONDETTI TOP FROSH SIRE - Florida's freshman sire race was a two-horse affair from the beginning and Woodford Thoroughbreds' Biondetti was the leader in both departments that count. The son of  Bernardini edged Ocala Stud's Overdriven by number of winners, 10 to 9, and had it a little easier in the progeny earnings department, $400,000 to $335,495. 

    One of the all-time great musicals of the 20th century was "South Pacific," which featured one of the best comedy songs of all time - "There is Nothing like a Dame." This classic immediately came to mind as I read today's Blood-Horse.com piece by Jeremy Balan concerning yesterday's meeting of the California Horse Racing Board Pari-Mutuel and Wagering Committee at Los Alamitos.

    If you're too young to remember, it goes like this: "We've got sunlight on the sand, we've got moonlight on the sea. We've got mangos and bananas we can pick right off the trees. We've got volley ball and ping pong and a lot of dandy games. What ain't we got? We ain't got dames!"

     What does that have to with the California board? Well, we have leading sire lists, leading owners lists, leading trainers lists, leading jockeys lists, leading breeders lists, reports of mares bred, reports of foals, leading Beyer figures and much more. What ain't we got? We ain't got statistics or charts pertaining to many of the important areas that would make horsemen and players understand certain aspects of the game a little better. One of those areas is Advance Deposit Wagering, which was the main focus of yesterday's meeting, to which ADW operators were invited, according to CHRB chairman Chuck Winner.

    Wouldn't you like to know how much of the pari-mutuel takeout every track receives from ADW wagers and how much the ADW operators get? Or how much goes to purses, or to anything else? I know I would. But we never get to see those figures. All we get to hear is that the tracks make much less from ADWs because of what they have to give to the operators, and the operators complaining that they don't get enough for what they do. Nowhere in Balan's piece do we get a clue, and I'm not blaming him because we don't get those numbers from anyone. 

    Winner asked the ADW operators to come forward and address the group. "There are concerns - with respect to charities, with respect to the board, with respect to other aspects of the industry - what are the ADWS prepared to do?" Winner asked them. "Rather than us dictate what we think you ought to do within your licenses, it would be better if you made some recommendations to us, without telling us why you can't do those things." Nice speech, but do we have any idea what he's talking about?

    Brad Blackwell, vice-president of Twin Spires, then had a heated exchange with Winner. "California puts us at a disadvantage by strapping us with so many costs and not enough money to really do what we're able to do. If we were just operating in California, we could not justify that cost. California benefits from the costs we're incurring and we're having to make that up in other places." Again, I'd like to know more about what he's talking about so as to better understand the problems.

    Blackwell went on: "When I hear, 'Would we be better off without ADWs? I know for a fact - and this is from a company (Churchill Downs) that owns racetracks, owns a tote company, owns an ADW, owns a handicapping business - I know for a fact that, without ADW, those customers are not coming to a racetrack."

    Winner hotly disputed that statement. "You don't know that for a fact," he said. "What you know is, under the circumstances, they're going to the ADW and not going to the racetrack. If there were no ADWs, you don't know for a fact that they wouldn't go to the racetrack."

    Players in Ocala know it for a fact. I don't get to Gulfstream anymore because the 4 1/2-hour trip is just too much for my aching bones. I get to Tampa about three times each season because I get invited on certain special days. The rest of the year is spent watching TVG and wagering from an ADW account.  

    "One of the purposes of ADWs was to create more business for racing - more business for racetracks," Winner said. "That hasn't happened. It's been the opposite. The ADWs have basically cannibalized racetracks and on-track wagering in California."

    That statement is certainly not borne out by the facts. The North American handle from 1989 through 1994 was pretty much stuck in neutral at $10 billion-plus, and the advent of ADWs raised the total for nine consecutive years until it hit nearly $16 billion in 2003. It remained in the $15 billion range until the recession began wreaking its havoc in 2008.

    One major problem hurting the tracks, according to Thoroughbred Owners of California president Greg Avioli, is the number of people who frequent the tracks and still use their phones to bet. "We get essentially nothing back," He said. That brings up several sticking points. If you deny entrance to people with cell phones, will they still come back? And what about the customer who comes to the track, loses what he has in his pocket, and wants to continue betting via his ADW account? This is a complicated issue and neither side seems to have an answer suitable to both.

    Here's another area where we're all in the dark, and the talking heads in New Jersey keep talking and saying nothing that would lead us to believe them. Bart Barden, director of the U. S. exchange (exchange wagering) for Betfair, detailed the "success" of that betting platform at a recent symposium in Tucson. He said that exchange wagering increases churn while bringing new money and players into the game. Right. Cuba Gooding would have a good answer for that myth: "Show me the money."   

    It's been reiterated here often that the North American pari-mutuel handle reached a peak in 2000 when the total climbed over $15 billion for the first time and remained there for six more years, through 2007. The recession then took its toll, and in 2008, the handle dropped to $14.3 billion, then two years at below $13 billion, and in 2011, wound up at $11.4 billion. The wipeout of the middle class was, of course, a major factor in the drop.         .

    Despite the unsubstantiated tales of the younger set now being more interested in other forms of entertainment, that handle has held true for five straight years. In 2015, it was just under $11.3 billion, a 1.5% increase over the year before. Today, the figures released for the first 11 months of this year show that wagering in the United States has totaled just over $10 billion, compared to $10.675 billion in all of 2015. Adding on the final month, plus the total for the year from Canada, and the $11 billion mark is safe for another year. Whether it will ever reach $12 billion or more again is anybody's guess, but it's not going in the wrong direction at the present time.

    GET YOUR MICROSCOPES READY! - Will anybody ever be surprised at the actions of Florida's Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering? If you want to inspect the figures for the state's poker rooms, here's a hint. Using a magnifying glass doesn't help that much - a microscope would probably be better suited for the task. Whereas the table used to be fairly easy to read, it's now sprawled over the computer screen in such a manner that makes it a real chore. Even with my recent successful cataract surgery.

    The main problem, at this time of year, is that they list each venue at the left of the page, with all the info from July 1 through Oct. 31, in minute lettering. To the right, are the months of November through June, with nothing next to them - because we don't have figures for those months yet! Why doesn't someone at the Division tell the graph-maker to leave off the months that are nothing but white spaces and triple the size of the months gone by? Then add a month every 30 days and in the meantime figure out a way to solve the problem later in the season? Like, make the graph two pages!

    Anybody who is in the dark about the impact that the poker room at Oxford Downs near The Villages has made on the poker room at the former Ocala Jai Alai fronton, digest these numbers. Prior to Oxford, the former fronton enjoyed gross receipts of $3.4 to $3.6 million a year. 

    For the July 1 of 2015 through June 2016 fiscal year, the fronton's take dropped to $2,974,293. That's because Oxford opened sometime in May and handled $72,788, then came back with its first full month in June and took in $274,182, or $346,970 that would have gone - all or in part - to Ocala. The fronton, in June, while Oxford was flourishing, took in just $173,832, its lowest month in a dog's age.

    In the four months of the new fiscal year, the magnifying glass reads the score of the Oxford-Ocala game as Oxford $1,101,942-Ocala $582,596. Multiplying the Ocala receipts by three, and a low of $1.74 million means the fronton will do half of its previous best seasons. It makes it easy to understand why the new venues that are cropping up are so despised by management of those in place for years.   

    The winter racing season in Florida kicks off in earnest in the next two weeks with the opening of Gulfstream Park's Championship meeting on Saturday, Dec. 3, preceded by the Tampa Bay Downs opener just five days from today.

    There are several major stakes days scheduled in Hallandale Beach, but all eyes will be focused on Jan. 28, the day of the inaugural Pegasus World Cup, a $12 million event which California Chrome's owners have mapped out to be the final race in the unprecedented career of the world's richest equine. There are seven stakes in all scheduled for that day, including three Gr. III's, the William L. McKnight, La Prevoyante and Hurricane Bertie.

    The Dec. 3 opening features the nine races making up the Claiming Crown, worth $1.1 million. Other major stakes days prior to the World Cup are Dec. 17, when the first three graded races will be run - the Rampart, Harlan's Holiday and Sugar Swirl - and Jan. 21, which will feature five Sunshine Millions races totaling $900,000 in purse money.

    The $1 million Florida Derby is set for April 1 and there are nine stakes scheduled for that program, worth a total of $2.45 million. 

    Although Tampa opens Saturday, there will only be one other racing day in Oldsmar in November, on the 30th. In December, the track goes to a Wednesday, Friday, Saturday schedule, but will be closed on the 24th and 25th. The first stakes race is the $100,000 Inaugural, to be run on the second Saturday, Dec. 3.  

    The Sam F. Davis Stakes, to be run on Feb. 11, is a Gr. III and the first four finishers will earn Kentucky Derby points. On that program, they will also feature the Gr. III Tampa Bay Stakes on the grass and the Gr. III Lambholn South Endeavour Stakes for fillies and mares on the grass. The track's signature race, the Gr. II Tampa Bay Derby, will again be sponsored by Roy Lerman's Lambholm South on March 11. It also carries Kentucky Derby points for the first four finishers.

    April 2 is the popular Florida Cup Day, featuring six sponsored stakes races, including the usual Ocala Breeders' Sales Sophomore, Pleasant Acres Stallions Distaff Turf, Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies, and Hilton Garden Inn/Hampton Inn & Suites Sprint. Two new sponsors are aboard, EG Vodka for the Turf Classic, and 14 Hands Winery for the Sophomore Turf.  

    BIONDETTI CLOSES IN - Woodford Thoroughbreds' freshman sire Biondetti picked up his seventh winner when Pretty Nacho broke his maiden by 3 1/2 lengths at Gulfstream West yesterday for owner/breeder Thoroughbred Champions Training Center. Biondetto still trails Ocala Stud's Overdriven by one winner, but leads in the money department.   

    Wonder if Trump has a program to help bail out the die-hard favorite players who lost almost all the electoral votes over two days at the Breeders' Cup?  And that's why I love the event so passionately; the possibilities for all kinds of major scores in all the exotics are endless. 

    Of course, I never got to watch the BC to take advantage of those possibilities for the first time since its inception in 1984. I was involved in a weekend golf event (planned a long time ago) at a famed resort in Palm Harbor, and guess what. The famed resort, whose name I won't mention but they play the Valspar there, uses the magnificent cable system called Brighthouse, which doesn't carry NBC Sports Network or the two TVG channels. So, after each round, I was forced to sit in the restaurant and eat, drink and make merry with the guys. Who would believe that a major resort a straight 20-minute drive from Tampa Bay Downs wouldn't carry racing?

    Back to the BC. The Juvenile Fillies got the longshot players off with a bang Saturday when Champagne Room popped home at $69.20. She was followed by Queen's Trust ($18) in the F&M Turf, Drefong ($9.80 third choice) in the Sprint, and Obviously, who was the $9.60 favorite in the Turf Sprint, a race which featured four 6-1 shots.

    Classic Empire ($11) was the second choice in the Juvenile, and Highland Reel ($9.60) was third choice in the Turf. The latter lulled them to sleep on the front end, walking to a seven-length lead on the backstretch, then holding on to win by 1 3/4. He was ridden by Seamus Heffeman, a household name only in his own household.

    Finest City ($19.40) then captured the F&M Sprint, followed by Tourist in the Mile at $26.80. Even Arrogate's payoff of $5.40 was only second choice in the Classic behind Chromie in an epic battle. 

    Nine races, one $9.60 favorite.

    It had been no different on Friday, when Oscar Performance ($15.20) won the Juvenile Turf, and Tamarkuz ($25.80) the Dirt Mile as 7/10 Dortmund and Runhappy ran each other into the ground with fractions of :22.45 and :45.37. New Money Honey ($15) took the Juvenile Fillies Turf and the other epic battle ended with third choice Beholder ($8.60) winning the Distaff by a whisker over no-longer-unbeaten Songbird.

    To put an exclamation point on the proceedings, Frank Conversation won the last race on the program, the Twilight Derby, and paid $75.80. It may have been on omen.

    And finally, to prove once again that people no longer care about racing, Friday's attendance at Santa Anita was 45,763; Saturday's was 72,811. Friday's on-track handle was $7,178,966, off-track was $50,935,934. On Saturday, on-track reached $13,854,721 and off-track $95,201,176. Not too shabby, considering that the younger generation is off somewhere playing games on their phones and tablets and ipads, or whatever it is they're called.

    BIG BUCKS FOR BROODMARES - Bridlewood Farm continues to add expensive horseflesh to its broodmare band, haltering the Distorted Humor mare Baffled, in foal to Tapit, for $3.5 million at the Keeneland November sale. Glen Hill Farm took the Tapit mare Cassatt, in foal to Curlin, for $2.5 million.   

    The Florida freshman sire race has heated up this week, with Woodford Thoroughbreds' Biondetti catching up with Ocala Stud's Overdriven via a pair of sharp first-time turf winners at Santa Anita and Churchill Downs. Both stallions now have six winners.

    At Santa Anita, Conscripted came from dead last in a $52,000 maiden special at a flat mile on the grass, made a strong run through the stretch, and was up by a nose at the wire, clocked in 1:35.27. The colt bred by Three Lyons Racing and Jeff Heslep went off at 21-1 in his career debut and collected $31,200 for the score. 

    Clever Girl was equally as impressive in Kentucky, coming from seventh on the backstretch, splitting horses in the stretch, and drawing off to win by three lengths. The filly bred by Woodford was clocked in 1:43.90 for the 1 1/16 miles at odds of 8-1 and earned a check for $32,700 in the $58,000 maiden special. Clever Girl was a $150,000 Keeneland November weanling in 2014. 

    With three months gone in the Florida pari-mutuel fiscal year, and six months gone in New York, it appears as though we can unofficially state that the racino boom has reached its apex in both states. 

    Let's start with Florida. From the time Gulfstream Park opened its slots parlor in November of 2006, the total "credits in" from all eight South Florida venues has increased every fiscal year through the last one which ended on June 30. The total amount sent through the machines at Gulfstream, Calder, Miami Jai Alai, Flagler dog track, Hialeah Park, Pompano Park, Hollywood dog track and Dania Jai Alai for 2015-2016 was a little more than $8.23 billion. 

    Through Sept. 30, or one quarter into the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the total is $2.01 billion, and projecting that for 12 months means the current-year numbers may not quite reach last year's record. However, with nine months remaining, anything can happen.

    In New York, where the fiscal year ends on March 31, last year's contributions to the coffers came to a record $20.4 billion. The last 6 1/2 months have been pretty much on a par with last season, and the credits played number is $11.22 billion. So New York is still on track to beat its record year, but it may be close.

    Pompano Park still leads the South Florida venues by a wide margin, followed by Flagler dogs, Hialeah Park, Miami Jai Alai and Calder, in that order. Gulfstream has taken a bigger lead over neighboring Hollywood dogs strictly from the amount of play angle, but its profit margin is much smaller because the dogs have a much larger takeout - 8.20% to Gulfstream's 7.12%. Why people would subject themselves to an extra 1.08% takeout when the two facilities are two minutes apart is beyond comprehension.

    As for Dania Jai Alai, sandwiched between the others and with a limited chance for drawing players from the outer areas, play has been dismal since it reopened after spending a ton of cash and time on renovations. Even so, Dania's net slots revenue, less the 35% tax to the state, comes to $3.1 million.  

    SECOND-CROP SUCCESS - In the past 10 years, there have been precious few Florida stallions who have reached $2 million in progeny earnings as second-crop sires. Before this year, the last ones to achieve that level were With Distinction ($2.7 million) and Pomeroy ($2.1 million) in 2011. The year before, it was the incredible Wildcat Heir ($4.5 million) and Consolidator ($2 million). In 2009, Chapel Royal reached $2.9 million, but all of it came from his two first two crops of Kentuckians.

    This year, two more names have been added to the list, Double Diamond Farm's First Dude and Northwest Stud's Gone Astray. Both have a chance to add to their totals in the next 2-plus months, especially with the Breeders' Cup coming up. Gone Astray, of course, will have unbeaten Three Rules in the Juvenile, and all Florida horsemen will be watching that one.        

    For those who are old enough to remember, the great old comic Red Buttons regularly appeared on various TV variety shows, often employing the same old schtick. He would cover one ear with his hand and utter in feigned amazement: "Strange things are happening."

    Red would have been right at home today, before, during and after the running of the third race at Santa Anita. A few minutes before the start of the $50,000 down to $40,000 claiming race at six furlongs, the TVG commentators were stunned as they watched the No. 9 horse, Mt Lienster, sitting on the board at odds of 3-1. The 2-year-old by Field Commission had finished seventh in his lone start at Del Mar on Sept. 2, beaten 11 1/2 lengths with Tyler Baze aboard, at odds of 24-1. The gelding bred by Johanne Everard at Another Episode Farm in Ocala never made a semblance of a move at any time in the race, although he did show a little kick, if that's the right word, by finishing just one length out of fourth, but still 10 lengths from the winner.

    The TVGers tried to find anything that would cause Mt Lienster to be bet the way he was - his morning line odds were 20-1. They couldn't find a thing, and when the gate opened, he was down to co-favoritism at 5/2. Kurt Hoover, a pretty astute analyst, watched the betting and said a ton of money had showed up on Mt Lienster in the win pool.

    Baze rushed the gelding out of the gate first, then took back to mid-pack, but not too far off the pace. Mt Lienster came five wide on the turn, passed everybody but the other co-favorite early, then ran down his final rival to win going away by 1 1/4 lengths. He paid $7.40, $4.60 and $3.80, the place and show prices being somewhat inflated because he was hammered so hard on the win end only. Owners David Buchanan and Kendall Mann collected the winner's share - $12,945 - and who knows how much at the windows. You can bet the TVG people will go looking to trainer Gary Stute for an answer.

    One reason for the score certainly isn't that Field Commission, who stands at Solera Farm in Williston for longtime breeder Ed Seltzer, is on a hot streak. He has just 36 foals of racing age, with 32 of them 2-year-olds, and Mt Lienster became just his fourth winner. In fact, the entire group had earned $94,906 before today.

    Strange things are happening, and we can hope the TVG crew can solve the mystery.  

    Excluding the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup weekends, which provide enough excitement to last racing fans for weeks, before and during, it's possible that what the nation's tracks are providing on Saturday could be the biggest stakes day in the history of the sport. Actually, I just made that up, because I have no idea if it's true - but it very well could be. It's difficult to digest the number of stakes on tap, so many of them graded, and with a myriad of the upper echelon equines scheduled to participate.

    Let's start with New York. Belmont Park will feature three Gr. I's, the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (with Flintshire), the $400,000 Beldame and the $350,000 Vosburgh (with sensational Florida-bred X Y Jet). Add to that the Gr. II, $300,000 Gallant Bloom, and the Gr. III, $200,000 Pilgrim on the grass, and we have $1,750,000 worth of races featuring horses who will wind up contesting the Breeders' Cup.

    In California, we have five Gr. I's, all with $300,000 on the line - the Frontrunner for 2-year-olds, the Awesome Again (California Chrome and Dortmund return), the Rodeo Drive on the grass, the Zenyatta (Beholder and Stellar Wind face off again), and the Chandelier for 2-year-old fillies (Demigoddess, by First Dude, has drawn post 12). Add to that the ungraded Unzip Me for 3-year-old fillies. There's also the Oak Tree Juvenile being run at Pleasanton.

     At Churchill Downs, the spectacular sprint champ Runhappy returns in the Gr. III, $100,000 Ack Ack Handicap at a flat mile, supported by the $175,000 Lukas Classic and the $100,000 Jefferson Cup on the grass. 

    Laurel Park has a pair of $75,000 sprints, the Politely and the Challedon. Leaving from post 7 in the Challedon is Mylute, owned by Ocala's Gold Mark Farm in partnership with Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm. In Canada, the $125,000 South Ocean is for 2-year-old fillies; Ocala's Gary Boulanger goes from No. 7 with Nineteen Sixteen. The features at Hastings Park in British Columbia are the Gr. III, $100,000 BC Premier's Handicap, the Gr. III, $100,000 Ballerina, and the $50,000 CTHS Sales Stakes, one for colts and geldings and one for fillies.

    Last, but far from least, the stage is set at Gulfstream Park for unbeaten sensation Three Rules, the colt by red-hot Gone Astray who will be looking to add his name to the elite list of colts who have swept the Florida Sire Stakes. Three Rules is 4-for-4 with three stakes victories and he's been all by himself while cruising down the stretch in each race. He'll be a very short price in the $500,000 In Reality at 1 1/16 miles.

    The festivities in Hallandale Beach begin in race 2 with the $150,000 Florida Sire Meadow Star for 3-year-old fillies, followed by the $75,000 Armed Forces Stakes for 2-year-olds at a mile on the grass in race 3. 

    Race 5 is the $75,000 Mr. Steele for 3-year-olds and up at a mile on the grass, and race 6 is the $150,000 Foolish Pleasure at a mile on the main track for 3-year-old colts and geldings. It features most of the best of Ocala's young stallions - Gone Astray, Big Drama (2), High Cotton (2), Hear No Evil, Kantharos (who has left for Kentucky) and Awesome of Course.  The seventh is the $75,000 Our Dear Peggy for 2-year-old fillies at a mile over the turf course.

    The My Dear Girl is race No. 10 and among those shooting for the major shares of the $500,000 purse will be Ocalans Shadybrook Farm, Don Dizney, Bill Rainbow, Sandra Trotter and Curtis Mikkelsen. Curtis, of course, has the unbeaten filly star, Cajun Delta Dawn, the daughter of Kantharos who is also 4-for-4 and looking for a Florida Sire sweep. (Losing Kantharos to Kentucky will be felt for quite a while in Florida). That will be followed by the $75,000 Panama City at a mile on the grass and then the big one, the In Reality.

    All around, a magical day for those who wager via TV, computer, phone, tablet and whatever else they have invented for the purpose. What more could anyone ask, other than a having a nearby TV airing the Ryder Cup?  

    Rich Perloff probably has the toughest job on TVG. While he has an ongoing presence on the weekends when so often there's so much great racing (see Songbird, Nyquist and Exaggerator coming up in a few days), he also has to muddle through the agonizing telecasts by himself on Mondays and Tuesdays when he fields such questions from the viewing audience as: "Can a jockey be considered great if he doesn't win that much, or even not at all?" I kid you not, that one came up yesterday.

    But the worst part of Perloff's stay on the worst two racing days of the week is trying to make programs at Parx, Finger Lakes, Fort Erie and Zia Park sound exciting. If there's anybody who hasn't been convinced yet that there's a critical shortage of able race horses in this country, one Monday-Tuesday go-around is all one needs.

    Here's a rundown on the performance of the aforementioned tracks over the past two days.

    Parx: 62 runners in nine races on Monday (average 6.8), 74 on Tuesday in nine (average 8.2, not bad).  

    Finger Lakes: 62 runners in nine on Monday (average 6.8), 65 on Tuesday in nine (average 7.2).

    Fort Erie: 55 runners in eight on Tuesday (average 6.8).

    Zia Park: 64 runners on Tuesday in nine (average 7.1). 

    It's never been disputed that short fields cause drastic cuts in handle, and mutuel wagering over the two days was disastrous. On Monday at Parx, on-track handle was a miniscule $40,507, and we don't know what all-sources handle was because Equibase got it hopelessly wrong by showing a figure of $1,219. On Tuesday, the numbers were $53,578 and $1,272,787. It's difficult to comprehend how the track can continue to function efficiently. It must be like walking around in a cemetery at midnight. 

    Finger Lakes is no better, except that the upstate New York purses are miniscule compared to those in Pennsylvania, despite the presence of a very successful racino. On Monday, the Finger Lakes all-sources handle was $1,306,513; no on-track handle was given, which usually means it's too embarrassing to divulge. On Tuesday, it was $1,221,914.

    At Fort Erie on Tuesday, the all-sources handle was $847,862, which was monstrous compared to the debacle they call Zia Park, in New Mexico. At Zia, they aren't shy about revealing attendance - it was 194. I would guess that the on-track handle was an all-time record low for any track, anywhere, but Zia may have had some lower. The number was $16,106. I assume they save a ton on mutuel clerks and concessionaires by having just one of each. There was also an ITW figure - $3,820, and an ISW figure - $337,490.

    Disqualifications often fuel heated debates, with those betting on the horse taken down usually getting very vocal about how they were discriminated against. Sometimes, of course, a dq is so blatant, nobody can say a nasty word about the stewards.

    But, we have to remember it's not just the bettors who are affected by the dqs. The owners who get taken down lose a portion of their winnings, the trainers lose a portion of their 10 percent, as do the jockeys. And don't forget about the records of the horses.

    Last Wednesday, I witnessed a strange dq in the 10th race at Gulfstream Park, not because I think they took down a horse who didn't deserve it, but because the stewards didn't go far enough in sorting out the entire incident.

    They were racing 7 1/2 furlongs on the turf course, and in the stretch, Salutation, with Manny Aguilar, and Louie's Baby Boy, with Eddie Castro, were battling for the lead, with Conquest Goinggone, and Tyler Gaffalione, trying to catch them on the outside. Suddenly, Cornelio Velasquez came flying down outside of Conquest Goinggone, and as he was about to sweep by all three leaders, Saluation swerved to the right repeatedly and slammed Louie's Baby Boy, who was forced outward just as Terry's Charm came by. Aside from Louie's Baby Boy getting destroyed, Gaffalione had to stand up on Conquest Goinggone so as not to be crushed between Louie and Terry, and in so doing, he not only lost his irons, he lost fourth place to Matanzas Inlet, who was coming up on the inside.

    Terry's Charm went on to win the race, Salutation held on to second, Louie's Baby Boy was third, Matanzas Inlet fourth and Conquest Goinggone limped home fifth with Tyler still searching for his irons.

    The red signs all lit up, and soon the stewards rendered their decision - Salutation was disqualified from second and placed third. Since Terry's Charm won, and Matanzas Inlet came late and was nowhere near the others, it seemed like a just decision. But was it? The only ones with a legitimate beef were all the connections of Conquest. Here are the paydays each received: Terry's Charm, $21,600; Louie's Baby Boy, $7,200; Salutation, $3,240; Matanzas Inlet, $1,440; and Conquest Goinggone a measly $360, which all the rest of the finishers also got.

    First of all, if not for the infraction, Conquest would have finished no worse than fourth, so he would have collected $1,440. That's more than a thousand bucks than he got. And he might have had enough left to pass a horse or two late. The real question is, how could the stewards not drop Salutation behind Conquest since the foul against him was so blatant? I would imagine his people are wondering the same thing. 

    Finally, it would have changed the order of finish drastically as far as the mutuel payoffs are concerned, and that is a major concern. 

    IT'S ALL OVER-DRIVEN - What there was of the Florida freshman sire race this season is all but over. Ocala Stud's Overdriven picked up his fourth winner on Sept. 2 when Over Limit won at Woodbine, going wire-to-wire and scoring by three-quarters of a length in his second start. The gelding bred by Ocala Stud raced six furlongs in 1:11.24. Over Limit had won his first try, too, but was disqualified and placed second. 

    Biondetti is the only other freshman with a chance to catch Overdriven, but the Woodford stallion has just one winner, and 17 have started. 

    I don't remember just when it happened, probably about 15 years ago or so when Churchill Downs began allowing owners/trainers to pick their own post positions for the Kentucky Derby. And nobody wanted the No. 1 post, the position that, through the years, has won more races at more tracks than any other, by far.

    As soon as the trainers began expressing their disdain for No. 1, the TV types picked up on it in a hurry and started to apply it to all races at all tracks. The phrases most often heard were - and are - "mired down on the inside," and "bogged down on the rail." Me? I love the rail. Day after day, I watch the races on TVG and cash many bets on the No. 1 horses who get perfect trips at distances of a mile or more, especially on the grass. Rafael Bejarano, Joel Rosario, Javier Castellano and many more come flying down the stretch to nail the pacesetter(s), so often with the big red one on the saddlecloth. In the old days, Jerry Bailey and Pat Day were masters at it. 

    The "mired" and "bogged" comments have become everyday observations on TVG these days, by all the analysts but more by the pretty young ladies, it seems. They have apparently never bothered to check the post position stats at any racetracks, or they would see how well the No. 1 post fares. Did I mention that I love the No. 1 post?

    Prior to the Pacific Classic, the well-regarded website Horse Racing Nation had a pre-race assessment of the race and the headline "Nightmare Draw" was very prominent. "Chrome must overcome an unfavorable draw," they wrote, "as well as two formidable foes in Beholder and Dortmund." It was correct to call the latter pair formidable foes, but the nightmare draw comment was absurd. Chromie proved that in a hurry, winning by a furlong in 2:00.13 for the 1 1/4 miles, not far off Candy Ride's track record of 1:59.11. But Victor Espinoza had CC in cruise control from the sixteenth pole home or he might have come close to the record.

    (Across the country, Songbird crushed the field in the Alabama, winning by seven in 2:03 flat, with the Racing Form comment "Kept to task." Scott Hazelton on TVG must have been watching a different race, saying she was "geared down" or she could have run it two minutes flat. Scott, that's 15 lengths, in case you didn't know. Chromie was geared down, Songbird was not).  

    The bettors who pounded CC at the windows must have been unaware of the nightmare draw, because he went off at 3/5. At one time he was 1/5. 

    If you aren't prone to paying attention, watch your next distance race and see how well the No. 1 horse gets position going to the first turn while the outside horses are fanned wide and wider. Not in all cases, of course, but often enough to make it a significant factor in the running of a race.

    One final thought. Watch the head-on as the horses are about to leave the gate and you just might notice nobody leaves from the No. 1 gate anymore. They move them all out - in a big field the 1 horse might start from No. 2, and in shorter fields he might go from No. 3 or 4. There are no "rail" horses anymore. Did I mention I have a great affection for the rail?  

     So Finger Lakes has canceled tomorrow's program due to a shortage of available horses. Now, we all can understand having a shortage of horses as being a viable reason for a cancellation, it's why there's a shortage that comes into question.

    The answer, no doubt, lies in the purse structure at the upstate New York track. Last Saturday, for eight races, the total purses offered came to a miniscule $84,300. There was one starter allowance and seven claimers, mostly of the $5,000 variety, and those races each had a purse of $9,000. Horsemen cannot exist on purses of $9,000 a race. Anywhere. Not at today's prices for vets, farriers, feed, vanning, etc.

    How can a track with a successful racino possibly be paying out the way Finger Lakes does, one might ask? I can't explain it, not knowing the deal Finger Lakes has with the state. I have always assumed it's the same as the Aqueduct casino - 7.5% of the "net win" goes for purses. For the 2105-2016 fiscal year, which ended the last week of March, Finger Lakes Gaming and Race Track had a "credits played" of $1.78 billion. The net win was $131.5 million. Taking 7.5% for purses, that's just under $10 million.

    Since Finger Lakes runs for 155 days, let's take nine races a day times 155; that's 1,395 races for the meeting. Allowing $7,000 per race and the almost-$10 million is accounted for. In these calculations, each race could be enhanced by an average of $7,000, leading to the question the great Dick Young used to ask in his New York Daily News column, "What's going on here?"  

    MUSICAL ANNOUNCERS - Pete Aiello's first announcing job in Florida came at Hialeah Park for the quarter horses a few years back, when he was also the track's marketing director. Pete is now at Gulfstream Park and he has become very good at what he does. The announcing booths at major venues around the country have taken on a new look what with the retirement of Tom Durkin and the semi-retirement of Trevor Denman. Larry Collmus, now full-time in New York, is the premier race-caller in the country and deservedly so. (He knows how to pronounce Leparoux).

    Frank Mirahmadi has hooked up with Monmouth Park and he does a superior job, too. Vic Stauffer is the newbie at Oaklawn Park and Vic is good as long as he doesn't let his ego get in the way. I'm not thrilled with Michael Wrona at Santa Anita - he sounds like a Denman imitation, but not quite as good. I thought Mirahmadi was a better fit.    

    Remember in the January article in the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald when Mary Ellen Klas and Jeremy Wallace brutalized thoroughbred racing and felt compelled to add near the end of a long dissertation, "And there's one other thing nobody is talking about, slots are declining, too?" Well, Florida's fiscal year ended recently and proved once again that they know not what they speak.

    The total amount of play at South Florida's eight racinos has slowly edged upwards since Gulfstream Park became the first of its kind to begin operations in November of 2006. In the fiscal year from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015, a record $7,979,515,006 was dumped into some 7,000 to 8,000 machines available for play. In the recently-ended fiscal year, that number jumped to $8,237,416,807. For the sake of those who are mathematically challenged, the second number is about $257 million more than the first. And for the benefit of the Klas/Wallace combo, it means slots are not declining, too.

    Last year, the facilities combined for a net slots revenue of $521,670,974, with $182,584,841 going to the state for taxes in return for all the wonderful work the people in Tallahassee do for the pari-mutuel industry. This year, those numbers climbed to $537,077,173 and $187,977,011.

    Pompano Park continues to lead the league by a mile, with $1,854,138,727 in play, and revenue of $143,082,238. With $50,078,783 subtracted for taxes, the harness track wound up with a cool $93 million or so to do whatever it is one does with $93 million. Pompano's bottom line is aided greatly by its outrageous takeout rate of 9.02%, eclipsed in the south only by the 9.11% raked in by Churchill Downs/Calder. That rate is responsible for the fact that Calder ranks only fifth among the eight racinos in total play, yet comes in third with net revenue of $74,820,811 before taxes.

    Flagler dogs has the lowest takeout rate of all - 6.13% - yet was second in total play with $1,400,210,746 and revenue of more than $83 million.

    Hialeah Park's John Brunetti is doing well, too, and he needs it due to all the money he is losing on the quarter horse meetings. Hialeah has one of the best takeout rates - 6.51% - and its net revenue is $68,311,309. After taxes, John has about $44 million to help him try to lure thoroughbred racing back to the Flamingo track. And wouldn't it be nice if Gulfstream let John have the two-month Calder period for a boutique meeting while they allow the Hallandale Beach track to recover from the previous 10 months of pounding on both dirt and turf.

    Gulfstream is in sixth place in both categories, with just under $800 million in play and $48,035,102 in revenue. With $16,812,286 going to the state, there's $31.2 million left for purses and the like. 

    Once again, the numbers emanating from upstate New York belie the overstated monthly reports of the demise of the thoroughbred sport.

    Saratoga opened last week with 32,980 bodies packed into the quaint little oval far from the madding crowds and the on-track handle was $4,703,479. Added to the ISW figure of $13,059,558, the total handle reached $17,763,037 - on a Friday!

    On Saturday, attendance dropped to a mere 30,708 souls who wagered $5,039,481. Add on ISW's $18,397,671 and the big day's total was $23,437,152. Sunday's attendance jumped to 36,126; the on-track handle was $4,367,845 and ISW added $16,674,448 for a total of $21,042,293.

    There were no attendance figures listed for Monday and Wednesday (maybe they let 'em in free). Monday's handle numbers were $2,204,854 and $8,877,930, and Wednesday's $2,375,992 and $8,838,886. So, for five days, the combined handle totaled $84,540,144. That's a lot of betting from people who supposedly are leaving the game in favor of other types of more exciting entertainment.

    Florida-breds, Florida breeders and Florida stallions all played a role in each of the five days at the Spa and took home a bunch of that Aqueduct casino money, much of it coming in races on the turf.

    On Friday, Annie Rocks, a 3-year-old filly bred by Brenda Jones and Silver Oaks Farm, won a $40,000 claimer on the grass by a nose and collected $28,200 for the score. The daughter of A. P. Warrior was claimed by Ken and Sarah Ramsey. Later in the day, Market Strength, bred in Florida by Dr. Carolin Von Rosenberg, won a $40,000 maiden claimer on the grass after having finished second at Belmont Park in his last and collected $27,000 for the effort. 

    SATURDAY - Our Way, a 3-year-old Florida-bred by Tizway, won at a mile on the grass. Bred by Farm III Enterprices, the gelding earned a juicy check of $51,000. Procurement, the first of two Glen Hill Farm products to win during the week, captured a 1 1/16-mile test on the turf by 2 1/2 lengths under Javier Castellano. The 6-year-old gelding by Milwaukee Brew picked up a check for $30,000. 

    SUNDAY - Majestic Bonnie, a 2-year-old filly by Majestic Warrior, scored by a head in her career debut at 1 1/16 miles on the grass. Bred in Kentucky by the Steinbrenners' Kinsman Farm, she paid $26.60 and earned $49,800. Then, of course, the marvelous Songbird romped in the Gr. I Coaching Club of America Oaks, adding $300,000 to her coffers. The champ's dam is Ivanavinalot, the multiple stakes-winning Florida-bred mare raced by Gilbert Campbell and his Stonehedge Farm South.

     MONDAY - Pinstripe, a 3-year-old Florida-bred by Ocala Stud Farm's High Cotton, won a $25,000 claimer with 6 furlongs in 1:17.71. Bred by Marion Montanari, the colt who had won his last start at Gulfstream in February paid $4.20, earned $30,000 for the score, and was claimed away from trainer Todd Pletcher by Jason Servis.  Animal Appeal, a 4-year-old filly by Leroidesanimaux who had won her last at Belmont, won a $78,000 allowance optional claimer worth $46,800. She was bred in New York by Tony and Elisabeth Everard, owners of New Episode Farm in Ocala. Nice breeder's award coming. 

    WEDNESDAY - The second Glen Hill Farm-bred, Conscience, won a $14,000 claimer and picked up $16,800 after racing 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:17.45. The 5-year-old Indian Charlie gelding was claimed out of the race. 

    Horses sold at OBS also made a big impact at the Spa, highlighted by the smart victory of Bitumen in the Gr. III Sanford. The son of Mineshaft scored by 1 3/4 lengths and is now 2-for-2. He was a $280,000 OBS March purchase by Barry Berkelhammer, agent. 

    A great week for racing and for the Florida breeding industry.  

    Ocala Stud Farm's Kantharos enjoyed a sensational season in 2015, his second crop earnings reaching $1,780,874. No other Florida second-cropper even made it to $900,000. But, as good as Kantharos was last year, he's destined to be overshadowed this season by Double Diamond Farm's First Dude.

    The son of  Stephen Got Even was the leading Florida freshman sire last year with 16 winners and $997,148, buoyed by a registered foal crop of 98. This year, he has another 97 ready to roll, and he's already produced 36 winners from 70 starters and progeny earnings of $1,275,768. With more than 5 1/2 months remaining, and 125 colts and fillies who haven't reached the track yet, he's a cinch to go well over $2 million, a remarkable feat for a Florida stallion. Not close to the late Wildcat Heir, who racked up nearly $4.6 million in 2010, but a special year, anyway. And it's not too late for First Dude to go well beyond that with a little bit of luck.  

    In a span of 16 days since July 3, First Dude has picked up eight winners, five of them 3-year-old first-timers, plus having the 2-year-old filly Demigoddess finish third in the $125,000 Landaluce Stakes. And only two of the five won at Gulfstream, the other three came at Parx, Presque Isle and Penn National. Three allowance winners came at Belmont Park, Parx and Indiana Grande. 

    The winner at Penn National only came in a $5,000 claimer, but the effort was so stunning it needs to be noted. Foxy Gator, a 3-year-old bred by Double Diamond, stumbled at the start of a 1 mile and 70-yard maiden race, recovered and went after the leaders, went three wide on the turn, and pulled away under Erika Strunk-Miklos (I had to mention her name), reaching the wire 23 1/4 lengths in front. That's impressive at any level.

    But the recent winner who could still prove to be one of the big guns for First Dude this year is Sticksstatelydude, a 3-year-old colt who was bought for $40,000 by a large group which included Greg Burchell, the longtime broodmare manager for Frank Stronach at Adena Springs South. Burchell, who can be seen each year as one of the assistant starters for the Kentucky Derby, moved back to the Bluegrass State several years ago where he and his wife Beth opened a business. When Stickstatelydude went to the races, Greg was the trainer.

    The colt raced just three times as a 2-year-old, getting a victory and a second and finishing fourth in the Breeders Futurity. After a minor injury laid him up, he returned on June 19 to finish second at Churchill Downs, with the Burchells still listed on the ownership line, and Greg still listed as trainer. However, when Sticksstatelydude came back at Belmont on July 15, both Burchell references were gone, and Kiaran McLaughlin was listed as trainer. Apparently, Greg and Beth have sold their share in the colt.

   Like Foxy Gator, Sticksstatelydude also stumbled at the break at Belmont. But he shot to the lead, held it safely the rest of the way and cruised home by 3 1/4 lengths. Victory in the $77,000 allowance race was worth $46,200. He's now 2-2-0 in five tries with earnings of $138,400, and the best, it appears, is yet to come. Both for him and First Dude.  

    If you asked 100 hard-core gamblers to name their 10 biggest pet peeves when it comes to thoroughbred racing, you can bet it would almost be unanimous that late-changing odds would be at or near the top of every list. Nothing makes a player grumble louder than watching his 5-1 shot cross the line in front, and looking up to see the the horse is now 3-1.  

    Or 6-1 to 5/2, as it happened in the second race at Parx today. All through the betting in the $7,500 claimer at one mile, the No. 8 horse, Invocation, was heavily favored. The 4 horse, Sierra Sun, was sitting a couple of points or more under his morning line of 10-1. When the gate opened, Sierra Sun was 6-1. 

    Silvestre Gonzalez put Sierra Sun on the lead, and they continued in front all the way to the wire. I thought I saw the odds on the bottom of the screen change somewhere in the running, but didn't pay attention because I was looking for the four horses I had in the double. I did notice it at the top of the stretch when Sierra Sun was pulling away and it said "5/2" under his number. I was stunned.

    I waited for analysts Rich Perloff and Nick Hines to make a mention of it, but there wasn't a word.

    There are a great many people, myself included, who think that there are computer wizards out there who have discovered a way to get a wager down after they see who is in front, who is sitting second, and who has been left at the gate. I have NEVER seen the odds change late on a horse who has been running last all the way, other than going up, of course. Sierra Sun wound up paying $7.60, and Invocation, who had been so heavily bet for 25 minutes, was also 5/2 at the end.

    I decided to send an email to TVG, asking them to replay the race because I wanted to see just when the odds changed after the gate opened, and if it was more than once. But Perloff and Hines were more interested in getting viewers to send in questions and/or their selections for upcoming races.

    Track operators everywhere insist that they are able to monitor from where and at what time the last of the wagers come in, and it's only the lag time at changing the board that causes what appear to be past-posting bets. My thought is that hackers around the world have hacked into the computers of banks, corporations, governments, etc., and beating AmTote or any other wagering company would be a piece of cake.

    I always have to bring up the case of Gino Buccola, one of the TVG stalwarts who used to be on late in the day and at night. In one race, the winner had gone off at 5-1, and by the time they hit the wire he was in front, and at 7-1. Gino quickly jumped in and said that should show the conspiracy theorists. How wrong he was. The horse in question was off last and was still last at the top of the stretch. He made a monster move in deep stretch to win - the bets were already in and he wasn't part of them. Inadvertently, Gino had helped back the theory.

    To me, the only answer is to lock the windows when the first horse is getting in the gate. If people can't get their wagers in by that time, they need to find another pastime. Many have complained that a half hour or 25 minutes is too long between races. It's plenty of time to get a bet in.    

    WHERE ARE YOU? - The Blood-Horse freshman sire list for Florida now shows that Ocala Stud Farm's Overdriven has had his first winner, but I can't find it anywhere. Not on that list, or on Overdriven's stallion page, or Ocala Stud's website. Strange things are happening.   

    The honor of getting the first freshman winner from Florida goes to Gary D, a son of Successful Appeal who stands at I know not where. But I will find out - I think it's in Morriston. He has six 2-year-olds in his first crop and his winner was Miss Waterbug, a filly bred by Donald Ming and owned in partnership with the Rice Stable. Gary D raced in Donald Ming's colors. 

    Miss Waterburg finished eighth at odds of 26-1 in her debut at Presque Isle, then came back on June 27 and won by half a length in a $25,000 maiden claimer. She raced 5 1/2 furlongs in :54.87 and collected $9,000 for the Ming group. If all six of Gary D's runners are successful, we could celebrate the Ming dynasty. 

    FISCAL YEAR ENDS - Florida's pari-mutuel fiscal year ended yesterday and Gulfstream Park handled a solid $4,840,796 from all sources. Tampa Bay Downs, open yesterday and today to qualify for certain simulcasting purposes, had an attendance of 1,207 who wagered $80,180. ITW accounted for another $96,910 and ISW for $1,675,095, a total of $1,852,185. 

    Last Saturday, unbeaten sensation Songbird was set to make her eighth start in the Gr. II Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita. Lo and behold, my favorite newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times, opted to go with a 12-paragraph story by dog-lover Don Jensen about a mutt named Highlyclassified whose career was coming to a close at Derby Lane. We also learned in the story, by the way, that this fabulous dog had won 32 of 142 lifetime starts, and that he weighed 76 pounds. I was overjoyed to discover this information.

    Usually, in this shill's Saturday column, he closes his dog food with a final paragraph about thoroughbreds. This time it read: "Husker Magic of Abernathy kennel got her 104th career victory Thursday." (Personally, I would have thought that the dog winning 104 races was a better story). 

    Songbird may never reach the rare heights of a female like, say, Zenyatta, who won 19 in a row before losing the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic by a head to Blame. But, as she travels on that road, her story is 1,000 times more interesting and compelling than that of a dog whose sport may soon be the victim of decoupling.  

    IS THIS FAIR? - When TVG was invented, it was supposed to be this fair and impartial entity that gave both sides of the story in every case. Through the years, however, as Keeneland Sales became a major sponsor, the entire crew at TVG has been indoctrinated to mention it every time they recognize a Keeneland graduate winning a race. 

    OBS not only rarely gets a plug, but in many cases, Keeneland receives the air time even when a horse sold in Kentucky for $40,000 as a yearling, and was then pinhooked at OBS for $400,000 at two. Guys and gals, if you are obligated to mention the Keeneland connection, at least give OBS the credit it deserves, too. Remember the fair and impartial nature of the network.

    OBS did get some unpaid-for publicity this week because TVG analyst Nick Hines, as agent, was the leading buyer with nine purchases for $878,000. Nick, a former trainer, also plucked the fourth-highest purchase, $370,000, for HIP No. 484, a Candy Ride colt consigned by Bobby Dodd. Nick had some good words for OBS. 

    ARE TROTTERS STRONGER? - Speaking of number of starts, and TVG, I watched a race at Yonkers and they mentioned that the winner had gone in with 144 starts under his belt. There were a few others in the race with 127, 117 and 57 and I didn't catch the rest. How is it that the trotters can run so much more often with nobody mentioning a bounce, sometimes in two or three heats the same day? And the clocking of the second heat is just as fast as the first.

    Are the standardbred trainers better than the thoroughbreds? And I don't want to hear that they don't run as fast - their drivers are 50 pounds or more heavier than the jockeys, and they're pulling a sulky, for cryin' out loud!

    Checking the American Racing Manual, the horse with the most wins in North American racing was Kingston, born in 1884. He won 89 times in 138 starts, adding 33 seconds and 12 thirds, and earning a rousing $138,917. A horse named Hiblaze, born in 1935, is the all-time starts leader, going to the post 406 times. Are American breeders raising a bunch of 97-pound weaklings who have to send away for Charles Atlas' free book? 

    Just how strong was the Belmont Stakes day program? They bet $11,643,742 on track and another $87,211,857 off track for a total of $98,855,599. And that's without a Triple Crown possibility and without the Derby and Preakness winners facing off.

    And as if they needed any further proof at Gainesway that Tapit is a breeding monster, it was etched in stone again yesterday. Digest this: Creator wins the Belmont Stakes and its $800,000 winner's share, and Lani runs on for third, good for $150,000. Frosted runs one of the greatest Met Miles ever and takes down $670,000; Anchor Down finishes second - add another $230,000. Just for kicks, A Lot is fourth in the Gr. III Jaipur and banks $18,000 and Cupid is fifth in the Easy Goer and collects $4,500.

    That's a total of $1,872,500, as the son of Pulpit heads for another 'Leading Sire in North America' title. Tapit's stud fee for 2016 was $300,000. Could it be going higher?

    Although Creator and Destin's photo finish was the highlight of the afternoon, what more can be said about Frosted's scintillating performance in the Met. It isn't often that a horse taking the lead at the top of the stretch has enough ground left to win by 14 1/4 lengths. He was overpowering, as his near-record 1:32.73 for the mile suggests.  

    Live Oak Plantation's World Approval has turned into a formidable turf runner, finishing a solid third after leading most of the way in the Gr. I Woodford Reserve Manhattan at a mile and a quarter. The 4-year-old Florida-bred gelded son of Northern Afleet now has $673,450 in the till for Charlotte Weber, and Julien Leparoux as his most frequent pilot.

    (I loved it when it came time for Julien to announce himself on camera before the Belmont and he gave out with the old Le-paroux, as did Larry Collmus. But the TV dudes paid no heed, continuing to call him Lay-paroux or Leh-paroux. Hey, it's my own problem). 

    As the racing year nears the halfway point, the decided lack of new stallions that migrated to Ocala's thoroughbred farms for the next few seasons after the recession supposedly ended, has become clearly evident. The end-of-season freshman leaders in recent years, like Kantharos in 2014, and the trio of First Dude, Big Drama and Gone Astray in 2015, had no competition from anywhere else, and although they all fared well from a Florida standpoint, they made little impact on the national scene. 

    The situation for this year is even bleaker, with just four freshmen listed in the Florida Horse Stallion Register - Biondetti at Woodford Thoroughbreds, Overdriven at Ocala Stud, Revolving at Stonehedge Farm South and Reward the Cat at Buena Vista Farm. So far, the first three have runners, and no winners, the last hasn't had a runner yet. Based on the number of foals registered, Biondetti or Overdriven will be the 2016 frosh leader by default.

    It's interesting that Journeyman Stud's late Wildcat Heir was the Florida general sire leader by a large margin in 2011, 2014 and 2015, and he's leading by far again this year. He was second to Put It Back, by a whisker, in 2012, and to With Distinction, by a whisker, in 2013.  With Distinction had his first, and has been second three times and third once in that span. Graeme Hall, now standing in Saudi Arabia, was the only one close in all those years, with four thirds and a fifth. 

    It's also interesting that the emergence of the Ocala pinhookers as major forces at all the sales has also put the spotlight on OBS as a place to buy 2-year-olds by every fashionable stallion in the country. Whereas the April sale was once viewed as a place where one could get lucky with a $15,000 or $20,000 purchase, the prices have gone through the roof lately thanks to the superb job being done by those who buy yearlings for a nominal price and turn them into huge moneymakers.

   At the recent April sale, the catalogue pages were littered with sons and daughters of Tapit, Medaglia d'Oro, Kitten's Joy, Pioneerof the Nile, Candy Ride, Giant's Causeway, Speightstown, Scat Daddy, Malibu Moon, City Zip, Harlan's Holiday, Bernardini and Hard Spun. You might recognize those 14 stallions as the top 14 on the General Sire List as of today. You have to go to No. 15, Street Sense, to find a sire not represented in the sale.

    The prospects for 2017, however, are much more encouraging for Florida's breeders, with Joe and Helen Barbazon's Pleasant Acres Stallions in the forefront. They will have 2-year-olds at the track by six who went to stud in 2014 - Anthony's Cross, Beau Choix, Brethren, He's Had Enough, Poseidon's Warrior and Treasure Beach.   

    In addition, Adena Springs South will have two - City Wolf and Fort Larned, as will Woodford Thoroughbreds - Currency Swap and Soldat, and Northwest Stud - Duke of Mischief and Wrote. Bridlewood Farm will have one, Corfu, along with Hartley/DeRenzo, Rattlesnake Bridge; Journeyman Stud, Winslow Homer, and Ocala Stud, Prospective. 

    It will add some excitement to a division that has been less than boring for the past few years. 

    Want to know one thing that Nyquist and American Pharoah have in common? The last two Kentucky Derby winners ran the two slowest Preaknesses since Fabius was clocked in 1:58 2/5 in 1956. American Pharoah won in 1:58.46 last year, Nyquist lost to Exaggerator in 1:58.31 on Saturday.

    There are countless others who will have the answer to that riddle, but I'm not nearly smart enough. I do know that the commonly-held theory that today's horses - like today's human athletes - are bigger, faster and stronger, is a lot of baloney. I also know that Curlin popped a 1:53.46 on the board in 2007.

    The track was abominable Saturday and who knows how that affected Nyquist. But we all know that sending him out to joust with Uncle Lino in a :22.38 first quarter was suicide for both of them. I cannot comprehend what Mario Gutierrez thought he would accomplish by not just taking hold of his colt and letting him relax in second. For his part, Fernando Perez on 34-1 Uncle Lino looked like he didn't give a hoot about winning the race, he just wanted to keep Nyquist from winning it. And if that's not the case, just what the hell was he thinking? Perez could just as easily have taken back to second and let Nyquist go to the lead.

    That doesn't take away anything from Exaggerator. Kent Desormeaux gave him a Zenyatta special - sit back on the rail, come flying on the turn and swing out to the middle of the track at the top of the stretch without losing a step. It was race-riding perfection.

    And, of course, the dying sport got lucky again when a record 135,256 showed up for the festivities. It might have been much more if there hadn't been so much room taken up by raincoats and umbrellas. The handle was also a record - $94,127,434. Imagine if people really enjoyed the sport.    

    On the race itself, there was $21,739,774 wagered in the win-place-show pools; $11,464,524 in the exacta pool; $14,017,679 in the trifecta; $7,256,485 in the superfecta, and just $640,946 in the super high 5. That is some serious betting.

    Now, Nyquist has spiked a fever and it was announced today he won't be going on to the Belmont, but Derby starters Destin (6th), Suddenbreakingnews (5th) and Brody's Cause (7th), are returning after skipping the Pimlico race, along with Exaggerator, Cherry Wine and Lani. Two or three more may jump in before entry time. Let's hope the track is fast in Elmont so we can see who's bigger, faster and stronger. This time, Exaggerator will be 3/5. 

    WHERE'S THE BEEF? - I may have missed it, but I still haven't seen the story out of Oceanport, N. J. that tells how exchange wagering has revitalized the sport and saved Monmouth Park from extinction. But I'm patient.

    Opening weekend at Monmouth Park has passed, and, so far, the world of racing hasn't seen an explosion of any kind. Exchange wagering was supposed to begin in New Jersey and I haven't seen or heard a word about it. Therefore, either it hasn't begun yet, or it hasn't made an impact. I vote for the latter.

    I checked the numbers from Monmouth and found that for Saturday's opener, 11,416 people were on hand and the handle was $619,769. Off-track: $4,001,304. On Sunday, there were 7,664 at the track with a handle of $354,396. Off-track: $2,667,597. I perused the results of every race for the two days and didn't see any figures denoting exchange wagering bets.

    I have to assume, for the time being, that EW was a bust. Until someone at Monmouth Park tells us differently. I won't hold my breath. 

    FIRST FROSH STARTERS - Two of Florida's freshman sires had runners in the past couple of weeks, but without a winner as yet. Ocala Stud Farm's Overdriven's first was Faith N Hope, who debuted at Gulfstream Park on the 11th. He finished fourth at odds of 17-1 behind Bode's Dream, the first winner for Bodemeister, and earned $2,000.

    Overdriven had a second starter at Gulfstream on the 13th, and Boot N Loot finished second in a $50,000 claimer behind Saratoga Two Step, the first 2-year-old runner of the season by Get Away Farm's Two Step Salsa. Boot N Loot, bred by Tony Everard, picked up a check for $6,520.

    Two Step Salsa has been red-hot in May, getting seven winners in the first 15 days of the month. One of them was the tough sprinter Classic Salsa, who scored at Belmont Park - his ninth victory - and surpassed $340,000 in earnings. Another was Mumbles, who took what was called the Hi Lord Stakes at Assiniboia Downs, run for a ham sandwich and a large Coke. In fact, the price of a ham sandwich and a Coke was probably bigger than the purse. 

    On May 6, Stonehedge Farm South's Revolving, a son of A. P. Indy, had Maggie Laine finish fourth at odds of 5-1 at Gulfstream. He earned $1,800.  Revolving is listed with 14 foals in his first crop, while Overdriven has 59. 

    The demise of thoroughbred racing took a serious jolt in the past two days and the situation will continue for at least two more weeks as the world speculates on the possibility of another Triple Crown winner.

    Of course, there are thousands this morning who saw Exaggerator come flying down the stretch after Nyquist and are already handing him the Belmont Stakes. They figure the runner-up won't be able to get to the champ in the Preakness, because, as we know, 1 3/16 miles is shorter than 1 1/4 miles. But wait 'til he gets to that mile and a half!

    That's just what Howard Cosell was bellowing after Seattle Slew had just wrapped up the 1977 Derby, with Sanhedrin bearing down on him late. "Wait 'til he gets to the Belmont," Howard screamed into the microphone. The order of finish of that mile-and- one-halfer was Seattle Slew, Run Dusty Run, Sanhedrin. 

    Nyquist did everything right yesterday, and there are those who will say, "Well, he got a perfect trip." Yup. And great horses get perfect trips because they make perfect trips for themselves. The son of Uncle Mo has so far gotten eight perfect trips. He went in with earnings of $3,322,600, most ever by any horse running in the Derby, and came out with another $1,631,600, for a total of $4,954,200. 

    It's not like Nyquist didn't run fast - his 2:01.31 was the best since Funny Cide's 2:01.19 in 2003. American Pharoah's clocking last year was a snail's-pace 2:03.02.

    The Daily Racing Form's consensus box featured 21 selectors, and just eight of the 21 picked Nyquist. Andy Beyer, he of the infamous Beyer numbers, racing books, newspaper columns and major betting scores, picked Danzing Candy. If I had had the opportunity, I would have liked to have booked all win bets on the pacesetter since he was the first one I threw out. A quitting front-runner from the No. 20 post. What a bargain!

    Kudos must go to morning-line-maker Mike Battaglia. He has never nailed one like this in his career. He had Nyquist as the 3-1 favorite and Nyquist won. Exaggerator was second choice at 8-1 and he finished there. Creator, Gun Runner and Mohaymen were all 10-1 and Gun Runner finished third and Mohaymen fourth. Creator finished 13th but he was fouled badly. Suddenbreaking News was 20-1 and snuck in fifth, but 12-1 Destin was sixth, 12-1 Brody's Cause seventh and 12-1 Mor Spirit 10th. Making a morning line for a 20-horse Derby with lots of talent isn't easy, but Mike did a great job.

    As for the gloom and doomers? They had to be in awe as Friday's Kentucky Oaks program broke all kinds of attendance and handle records and Derby day came very close. The same should happen at Pimlico in two weeks. Is it possible the game is coming back?  

    FIRST FRESHMAN FINISHES FOURTH - The first runner for any Florida freshman sire raced Friday and finished fourth. Maggie Laine, a daughter of Stonehedge Farm South's Revolving, went off at 5-1 in her 4 1/2-furlong debut at Gulfstream and ran evenly, while never getting close to a runaway winner. She picked up $1,800. Revolving, a son of A. P. Indy, has 14 foals in his first crop.  

    I hope I don't jinx the Derby probables with this, but has anyone noticed that there hasn't been one significant defection and here we are just four days from D-Day? Usually, by this time, there have been three or four bowed tendons, or pulled muscles, or bad steps, or a fever, or something else, allowing No. 21, or 22, or 23 into the Run for the Roses.

    Every winner of every major prep is still on the list - Nyquist (Florida Derby, San Vicente, Breeders' Cup Juvenile); Destin (Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, Sam F. Davis Stakes); Outwork (Wood Memorial); Creator (Arkansas Derby); Brody's Cause (Toyota Blue Grass);  Exaggerator (Santa Anita Derby); Gun Runner (Louisiana Derby, Risen Star); Suddenbreakingnews (Southwest Stakes, 2nd, Arkansas Derby); Mor Spirit (Robert B. Lewis Stakes, 2nd, Santa Anita Derby); Mohaymen (Fountain of Youth Stakes, Holy Bull Stakes).

    Also of note is every horse listed above is a Kentucky-bred, except for Mor Spirit, who's from Pennsylvania. Nary a Florida-bred among them. And, lest somebody thinks there's an upset in order by a modestly-bred contender, here are the sires in the order the runners are listed above - Uncle Mo; Giant's Causeway; Uncle Mo; Tapit; Giant's Causeway; Curlin; Candy Ride; Mineshaft; Eskendereya; Tapit. Get the picture?

    IT MUST HAVE BEEN A JOKE - In an "are you kidding me?" follow-up to that recent article in the Tampa Bay Times in which Mary Ellen Klas and Jeremy Wallace informed us that there's one other thing nobody's talking about, "slots are declining, too," here's the latest from the Resorts World Casino New York.

    New York closed out its fiscal year on March 26 and the total amount of "credits played" reached an all-time high of $20.4 billion. The record from the 2014-2015 fiscal year was $18.3 billion. The year before it was $17 billion. So the notion that slots are declining in New York is absurd. 

    For the record, the "net win" in New York was a record $856,634,479, with 7.5% going to purses and another 1.5% to breeders' awards. 

    In this last fiscal year, the credits played was more than $400 million for just three weeks between April and Christmas. Then, it surpassed $400 million twice during the holidays, and it has been over $400 million for the last 12 consecutive weeks beginning in mid-February. Doesn't sound like they're getting tired of slots in New York, New York. 

    As for Florida, the stats that are supposed to be updated weekly haven't been updated since March 31. With the fiscal year set to end June 30, we'll have a better idea of how Florida's machines are faring when they get around to the next update. Assuming they'll get around to it. 

    Hallelujah! With one swipe of the pen, or something else, the people in New Jersey have come to the aid of the 'struggling' thoroughbred racing industry and saved it for all eternity. Exchange wagering is coming to Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands. Send out Paul Revere with the exciting news.

    How can Chris Christie's disciples be so lucky?

     I was naive enough a couple of years ago to believe that the exchange wagering issue was dead and buried. It has just been resurrected.

    I can't help quoting - from the exchange wagering story - Michael Colangelo, assistant director of projects for the University of Southern California's Sports Business Institute. (That's a job)? "The biggest issue facing the industry is replacing the older generation of fans with a younger generation of fans, but that can be difficult, especially as the younger generation wants more of an 'experience' than just horse racing," this expert on racing said. I wonder if he made that up himself or if he had help from other experts at USC?

    So, to help New Jersey dig out of its racing mess, the state will allow bettors to begin exchange wagering. "The new type of betting allows people to make multiple bets before and during a particular race."

    What they don't realize in NJ is that they are competing with Aqueduct and Belmont for on-track fans, and every track in the country with off-track fans. What they also probably don't have a clue about is that they instituted a form of exchange wagering at Calder Race Course a few years ago and it fell to earth with a resounding thud. What they also don't realize is that nobody cares about exchange wagering, except in England. They may also not realize that we are not in England 

    Need some further corroboration that the nation's top newspapers have been a principal contributor to the perception that horse racing is in decline? One need only look at the Tampa Bay Times, once looked upon as a major source of news for the thoroughbred industry.

    When the decoupling issue was stealing all the headlines several weeks and months ago, it was pretty much a fact that dogs, jai alai and trotters were the No. 1 force behind allowing the entities to discontinue their live product and remain in operation strictly as casinos. St. Pete's Derby Lane was among them, even though its handle was not that horrendous compared to many others. 

    But St. Pete's handle for Thursday night was $150,576, and, of course, somewhat better for the Friday and Saturday performances. But Tampa Bay Downs did $12.2 million on Tampa Bay Derby day! It would take a couple of months or more for Derby Lane to just equal that amount. 

    Yet, yesterday's Times had its obligatory Saturday article by Don Jensen on the pari-mutuel page devoting 13 paragraphs over 4 1/2 columns to kennel operator Mick D'Arcy taking his sixth Derby Lane distance classic title. At the end, there was this, after "HORSES." "Jockey Scott Spieth collected his 4,500th career victory Sunday aboard Aldana Gonzalez trainee Awesome Indeed at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar." (I'm glad Jensen let the people of the Bay area know TBD is in Oldsmar). 

    The Arkansas Derby was being run at Oaklawn yesterday with major ramifications for the Kentucky Derby and Jensen felt it appropriate to feature Scott Spieth's 4,500th victory - one week later - following a 13-paragraph description of a dog race. What a disgrace. And this was far from being the first instance of the 13-to-1 ratio, Jensen does it CONSTANTLY. I know, because I am a 25-year Times almost-everyday reader. 

    It has come to my attention that this writer (who feels compelled to call any horse who ever raced at Tampa a "Tampa Bay Downs graduate"), determines what will be written in this column, not the Times, or anybody else. Inquiring minds have to seriously question what his motives are, and more importantly, WHY that is his agenda. 

    I would never - in this column - accuse Don Jensen of being on the take. But if I ever ran into him in person, you can bet I would put it to him, just to judge his reaction!

    I am going to send this column to Times deputy managing editor for sports and photography Jack Sheppard, and I hope to get a response from him, or Jensen, or both.