Horse Racing News is the source of thoroughbred racing information with horse racing odds, betting tips, racing picks, race results, and handicapping. Latest news and articles on top horse racing contenders, jockeys, trainers, three-year-olds, race tracks, and major stakes races such as the Triple Crown races: the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes as well as the Breeders' Cup horse races.Bernardini To Skip Belmont Stakes
Posted on Thursday, May 25th, 2006
Darley Stables has confirmed that 2006 Preakness Stakes winner, Bernardini, won’t be making an appearance in the Belmont Stakes race on June 10, the final leg of US thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown.
Read full story: "Bernardini To Skip Belmont Stakes"...
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Barbaro’s recovery good progress, Barbaro Fund established
Posted on Wednesday, May 24th, 2006
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Barbaro captured the symphaty and interest of many Americans, horse racing fan or not.
The colt suffered a life-threatening injury during Saturday’s Preakness Stakes and underwent a six-hour-long surgery. Although he came out of the operating room alive and the procedure a success, doctors say his survival is still 50-50 and infections may still occur.
His surgeon, Dr. Dean Richardson, also stressed that Barbaro’s recovery is a long-term process that will take months. But he said he was encouraged by the progress Barbaro has made so far.
"He will stay here until he is good and ready, at least for a few months," Richardson said. "He’s not out of the woods until he’s healed. How long will that take? Months.
The doctor also said that the injury being in his hind leg could be "problematic if he enters the breeding business if he has to mount a mare." But owner Gretchen Jackson declared the breeding business was secondary. She repeatedly emphasized that she wanted Barbaro to have a "pain-free life."
Meanwhile, The University of Pennsylvania announced on Tuesday that a Barbaro Fund had been established to benefit its animal hospital. According to a spokeswoman at New Bolton, the seed money was provided by an anonymous donor. The donor is believed to be the Jacksons, who have supported the hospital for years.
It was stressed during the press conference that the fund is not being used for Barbaro’s care - the Jacksons are taking care of that - but as a fund-raising mechanism for the hospital in general.
Other Web sites were also created for fans to send e-mail and good wishes to Barbaro. Here are some of the sites that has been established relating to the now beloved colt:
To send an e-mail to Barbaro at New Bolton Center:
E-Mail to Barbaro at New Bolton Center
To send an e-mail to Barbaro through the National Thoroughbred Racing Association: E-Mail to Barbaro via NTRA
To make a contribution to the Barbaro Fund:
Barbaro Fund
To send an e-mail to trainer Michael Matz and/or owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson:
United States Equestrian Federation
To send an e-mail to Barbaro at fan-based Web site:
Getwellbarbaro.com
Filed under Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Pimlico Track, Preakness Stakes | 2 Comments »
Youbet Sets Record for Preakness Race Day Horse Betting Handle
Posted on Wednesday, May 24th, 2006
Tuesday May 23, 4:50 pm ET
WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 23, 2006–Youbet.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBET - News) announced today that the company processed $4.2 million in wagers last Saturday, the day that Bernardini raced to victory in the 131st Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. The total topped last year’s record handle for the same race day by 18.5%, making it the second largest race day total - behind this year’s Kentucky Derby - in the online wagering company’s history.
Of the total that Youbet customers wagered on race day, $2.0 million went to the race card at Pimlico Race Course, a 7.6% increase over 2005 even as Pimlico’s handle from all sources on race day declined by 3.8% from the previous year. Youbet users wagered nearly $1.0 million on the Preakness itself. More than 97% of Youbet’s wagers on Saturday came from customers who live more than 25 miles from Pimlico.
International Racing Group (IRG), Youbet.com’s telephone wagering company, also had a robust race day as it handled $3.3 million in wagers, up 239%(1) from 2005. IRG contributed $1.3 million to the Pimlico pari-mutuel pool on Saturday.
"Youbet’s performance the day of the Preakness demonstrates again that online broadcasting of and wagering on live horse racing continues to grow in appeal," said CEO Charles F. Champion. "Our network puts fans in touch with the totality of our sport - from handicapping to wagering, live viewing and replays. For our customers, Youbet is the next best thing to being at the track.
"For tracks and horsemen, our network is a marketing conduit to a growing number of bettors," Champion said. "Wagering customers respond to online promotions of our racing content and a large number of people who visit our educational website are converting their casual interest in the sport into a betting interest."
Youbet signed on 2,150 new customers in the five days leading up to the 2006 Preakness, 34% of whom converted from Youbet.net, the company’s play-for-points web site launched this Spring. Deposits to Youbet advanced wagering accounts on race day were $1.25 million, 2% higher than the total from the same day in 2005. The company served nearly one-third more concurrent users for this year’s Preakness.
On a separate note, Champion said that he and the entire Youbet.com, Inc. family have been heavy-hearted this week over the fate of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. "We want the owners and trainers of this remarkable thoroughbred to know that they are in our thoughts and that we join the rest of the nation in hoping for Barbaro’s recovery from his injuries," he said.
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$616,240.00 Pick6 Carryover at Hollywood Park
Posted on Wednesday, May 24th, 2006
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There is a $616,240.00 Pick Six Carryover at Hollywood Park on Wednesday, May 24! It Starts With Race 3 at 5:23 PM (Eastern)
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Barbaro: Jogging in a 50-50 survival
Posted on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006
Dr. Dean Richardson, the chief of surgery at the George Widener Hospital for Large Animals on the campus of the New Bolton Center, put in a 16-hole locking compression plate and 23 screws into Barbaro’s right hind leg, which sustained three major fractures. The goal of the surgery was to fuse the fetlock, or ankle joint, together, so that Barbaro can bear some weight and eventually be a serviceable stallion. His racing career is over.
"All we’ve done is put the bones in a position where, over time, we hope the joint fuses," Richardson said. "We do everything technically possible to promote that fusion of the joint, but it takes months to fuse a joint."
Though the operation, which took more than six hours including pre- and post-operative care, went well, Richardson said Barbaro is far from out of the woods.
"To be brutally honest, there’s still enough chance for things going bad that he’s still a coin toss even after everything went well," Richardson said. "I’m not claiming this horse is cured."
Richardson said Sunday that Barbaro came out of his operation so well that he "practically jogged" back to his stall. Barbaro is recovering in a 14-by-14-foot climate-controlled stall in the intensive care unit of the hospital with nursing care around the clock.
"He will receive whatever it is he needs," Richardson said.
On Monday, Richardson reported that Barbaro continued to come out of the surgery well.
"He’s doing all the things a horse should do, including eating and nickering at the mares near him," Richardson said. "While we are optimistic, we remain cautious about his prognosis and are watching for signs of infection at the surgical site, laminitis and other possible aftereffects of the surgery."
Barbaro fractured his cannon bone above the ankle, the sesamoid bone at the back of the ankle, and the long pastern between the ankle and the hoof. Richardson said the long pastern bone was in "20-some pieces." Barbaro was fitted with a cast that goes from just below the hock and encloses his hoof. Richardson said he would re-assess the cast in a week to 10 days to see if it needed to be replaced.
According to Richardson, most horses who suffer this type of injury are euthanized on the racetrack. But because it was Barbaro, a Kentucky Derby winner who is worth in excess of $20 million as a potential stallion, every effort was made to try and save his life.
Richardson said he had never performed this type of surgery before.
The injury is believed to have occurred during the first furlong of the Preakness, in which Barbaro was the 1-2 favorite. Jockey Edgar Prado told part-owner Gretchen Jackson that he heard a pop and immediately pulled the colt up. It is believed that Barbaro simply took a bad step. Veterinarians don’t believe that the injury was a result of Barbaro breaking through the starting gate prior to the official start of the race.
On Monday, Prado said, "If I felt something was wrong I would have been the first person to scratch the horse. There was no indication at all that he was any different from the Derby. I still can’t believe it.”
Richardson said that when it comes to fractured cannon bones, typically there is evidence of some pre-existing condition. Regarding Barbaro, Richardson said he saw "no evidence of pre-existing injury in the cannon bone.”
Richardson said the two major concerns regarding Barbaro are infection in his injured leg and the development of the often-fatal disease laminitis in the other foot.
"Horses are very vulnerable to laminitis or a problem in their opposite foot,” Richardson said. "They don’t stay comfortable on the [injured] limb. They can develop laminitis in the opposite foot, and that can be a life-threatening problem.”
Richardson was assisted in the procedure by three additional veterinarians - Dr. Steve Zedler, Dr. David Levine, and Dr. Liberty Getman. Also in the room were two anesthesiologists, a nurse anesthetist, and two operating room nurses.
Michael Matz, the trainer of Barbaro, lives only 10 minutes from the hospital where Barbaro was operated on. He was kept up to date via telephone early in the procedure before driving over to see the final stages of the operation.
"I feel much more relieved after I saw him walk to the stall than when I was loading him in the ambulance to come up there, that’s for darn sure,” Matz said. "It was an unknown area we were going in.
I feel much more confident now; at least I feel he has a chance. [Saturday] night I didn’t know what was going to go on.”
On the fence posts outside the clinic, there were several signs of encouragement for Barbaro, including one that read "Pray for Barbaro.” In the reception are of the hospital, a bouquet of roses was addressed to "Barbaro Jackson." Barbaro is owned by Gretchen and Roy Jackson.
Filed under Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Pimlico Track, Preakness Stakes, Stakes Races, USA Horse Racing | 1 Comment »
Bernardini Wins Preakness; Barbaro Underwent Surgery
Posted on Monday, May 22nd, 2006
Undefeated and heavy favorite horse, Barbaro, was pulled out of the race after suffering injury. His absence allowed Bernardini to take the 132nd Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on Saturday. After his Preakness win, the colt is not definitely set for the Belmont Stakes in three weeks.
Read full story: "Bernardini Wins Preakness; Barbaro Underwent Surgery"...
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A festive Saturday at Lone Star Park for the Preakness Stakes
Posted on Friday, May 19th, 2006
Runaway Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, who improved his record to a perfect six wins in six starts, will strive to remain unbeaten Saturday when he headlines the middle jewel of horse racing’s coveted Triple Crown–the 131st Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. On Wednesday (May 17), he landed post No. 6 in the field of nine 3-year-olds and was made the even-money morning line favorite.
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For North Texans, the next best place to watch and wager on the Preakness is Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie. Preakness Stakes Day is always one of the busiest days of Lone Star’s 66-date Spring Thoroughbred Season, filled with plenty of fanfare.
The typical Preakness Stakes Day crowd of about 12,000 is a mix of serious horseplayers and numerous novices. Many will be cheering home Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. Others will try to beat him with one of his eight rivals: Brother Derek (3-1), Sweetnorthernsaint (4-1), Bernardini (8-1), Like Now (12-1), Greeley’s Legacy (20-1), Diabolical (30-1), Hemingway’s Key (30-1) and Platinum Couple (50-1). Together, they have a common goal: to cash a winning ticket.
At approximately 5:14 p.m. CT between Lone Star’s eighth and ninth live races, the anxious crowd will stop down and focus on the giant outdoor JumboTron as Barbaro enters the starting gate for the 1 3/16-mile Preakness–the shortest of the three races that comprise the Triple Crown.
But even before the race is run, Lone Star will be bustling with activity. In addition to 12 live races, there’ll be live music and entertainment.
Saturday marks the return of Margarita Madness in the outdoor Courtyard of Champions area, courtesy of Jose Cuervo. Patrons can enjoy ice-cold frozen margaritas while grooving to live music by Panamania from noon to 4 p.m. The Robo Surfer, a beach bum’s version of the mechanical bull, will also be on hand to simulate wave riding for courageous landlocked locals.
The featured live race is the $40,000 Connecting Terms Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf test for 3-year-olds and up that haven’t won a stakes race this year. The Donnie K. Von Hemel-trained Waupaca, a winner of this race last season and four other stakes in his five-year career, hopes to use the race as a springboard to the Grade III, $200,000 Dallas Turf Cup on June 17. The 6-year-old Forest Wildcat horse has been entered and scratched twice this season when rain forced turf races to an "off" main track.
Weather forecasts this weekend call for sunny skies with temperatures in the 90s.
The daylong betting bonanza–almost $2.3 million was bet at Lone Star last year, including $622,083 on the Preakness Stakes alone–begins early. Serious horseracing fans will get to the racetrack’s simulcast center, the Post Time Pavilion, when doors open early at 8:30 a.m., one hour before the first simulcast race from Pimlico. Grandstand gates open at 11:30 a.m. and the first live race is set for 1:35 p.m. CT (the 12th and final race is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. CT).
Patrons should call 972/263-7669 to reserve seating.
Filed under Horse Racing Industry, Pimlico Track, Preakness Stakes, Race Tracks News, Stakes Races, USA Horse Racing | No Comments »