Before They Were Stars

Not every horse name is unique. Over time, many horses have had their names repeated, but once that horse has not raced or been bred for five years, or been dead for five years, that name is eligible to be used again (unless it winds up on the permanent name list). This has led to several famous horses having their names used before.

Orb, the winner of the 2013 Kentucky Derby, has his name on the permanent list, by virtue of his Derby win. Less well known is the Orb before him, a lowly 1-21 plug whose only lifetime win came in a $12,500 maiden claiming at Bay Meadows:
http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=4464170&registry=T

However, because he had not raced since 2002, and the more famous Orb was born in 2010, that name was eligible for use.

There's also the I'll Have Another whose lone lifetime wins came at Suffolk Downs in March 1995: http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=1293609&registry=T
And the lowly maiden Street Sense:
http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=1042033&registry=T
And the Super Saver who was beaten by 17 lengths in his only start:
http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=4307510&registry=T
Going beyond Kentucky Derby winners, we'll find Gemologist. Better kown as the name of the 2012 Wood Memorial winner, the name was used for a a mediocre claimer based at Finger Lakes:
http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=4445515&registry=T
Laughing is better known as a multiple graded stakes winning turf star. Once, the name belonged to this horse who ran all over:
http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=5686995&registry=T
And Einstein, now known as a hard-knocking turfer, was once the name of this midwestern claimer:
http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=1391150&registry=T

Of course, it goes the other way, too. Dollar Bill only won one graded stakes (2000 Kentucky Jockey Club), but he always picked up checks in major stakes in 2001 and 2002. Unfortunately, he died in 2004, enabling this horse to run under his name: http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=8087012&registry=T

So just remember: even if your horse is no good, he could have the name of a superstar someday.

Good Stuff at Portland Meadows Today

Today at Portland Meadows was Oregon Championship Day. While it was a fine sporting day, the payouts were not that great.

Race 4- Thinkin' of Girls, $3.60
Race 5- Jet Set Kitten, $2.40
Race 6- Maddie's Girl, $2.20
Race 7- Kenzie Carolina, $2.60 (rolling $1 pick 3 paid $1.90)
Race 8- General Jay, $3.60
Race 9- Midda's Gold Touch, $3.80 (25 cent pick 5 paid $4.13)
Race 10- Jack the Pirate, $2.20 ($1 double paid $2.40, $1 pick 3 paid $6.50, $1 pick 4, paid $8.10).

Seven straight odds on favorites. Good times.

The Pick 6- An Archaic Wager

It's known as the ultimate jackpot wager in horse racing. For many years, the pick 6 has been considered the ultimate handicapping test; a wager requiring the bettor to pick six consecutive winners. It's been famed for its blockbuster payouts- which have reached seven figures in the past- and its massive carryover pools: one such carryover at Hollywood in 2007 reached more than $3,000,000. 

Once, its revered status was well founded. Now? Not so much.

The main problem with the pick 6 is its minimum wager- $2. When created, this made sense; after all, the win-place-show minimum is $2. The problem with this is that bettors have to spend ludicrous amounts of money just to have a fighting chance. Using two horses in each race, for example, doesn't sound like much coverage. In the pick 6, however, this ticket costs $128. Using three in each race is a prohibitive $1,458. And even then, in a wide open sequence with big fields, that's not very comforting coverage.

Nowadays, pick 4s and pick 5s with 50 cent minimums are common. The aforementioned two horses in every race combination in a pick 5 costs just $16- certainly enough for a player to have an OK chance without breaking the bank. A $1,000 play in a pick 5 could cover 2,000 different combinations; the same in a pick 6 covers only 500. 

Sure, the opportunity for million dollar payouts isn't really there with 50 cent wagers. I say, who cares? Those big scores were mere pipe dreams for most players- it would often take a combination of big longshots and odds-on favorites going down. With 50 cent bases, bettors can spend less than $100 to have a very good chance of collecting a few hundred dollar payouts.

And bettors have shown their preference for pick 4s and 5, and increasing disdain for pick 6s. Ten years ago at Aqueduct- November 15, 2003- the pick 6 pool was $89,800. On November 9, 2013, the pool was just $48,228. The late pick 4, by contrast, handled $409,677- almost doubled from ten years ago, and with a smaller minimum base (disclaimer: the 2013 pool was seeded with house money). The pick 5 that day handled $218,724 with no seeding- four and a half times the pick 6 pool. 

Bettors have spoken: the pick 6 is no longer what it used to be, and for good reason. With smaller bases, bettors have better chances to make scores without breaking their bankrolls.

When Is The Best Not the Best?

It's about this time of the year in horse racing- year end award time! The Eclipse Awards, as they're known, honor the best in racing. One of these awards, for 2yo Male, generally goes to the winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile by default. Most of the time, this makes sense- 2 year olds only run for half the year at most, and don't have as many opportunities to run in big races. The Juvenile, as such, carries much more weight than other BC races.

This year's winner is overwhemlingly likely going to be New Year's Day, the winner of the BC Juvenile. Is he the best 2 year old, however? Probably not.

Going into the Juvenile, New Year's Day's resume was pretty skimpy, with only a maiden win to his credit. With the Juvenile field not coming up very strong, he was sent off at the moderate price of 10/1. He won by sneaking up a ridiculously clear rail to practically ensure an Eclipse by default.

However, one could make the case the actual best 2 year old male in the country wasn't even at the race. Honor Code, who will be running in the Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct in about 2 weeks, broke his maiden at Saratoga by closing from an incredible 23 lengths back. In the Champagne Stakes, he was extremely wide going into the stretch, only to miss by a short neck. His connections, however, decided to pass up the Juvenile out in California, instead keeping him on the East Coast.

The horse who beat him in the Champagne, Havana, stylishly broke his maiden at Saratoga, too, and was the favorite in the Juvenile. He finished second, while on a fast pace and wide, losing much more ground than New Year's Day.

OK, well, if New Year's Day might not be as good as some of the east coast 2 year olds, surely he's the best of the west, right? That might not be true either.

This Sunday at Hollywood Park, Shared Belief won the Hollywood Prevue Stakes in dominating style. He stalked the leader, shook off the challenge of the heavily hyped Kobe's Back, and won by an impressive eight lengths. He's scheduled to run next in the Cashcall Futurity at Hollywood- a race New Year's Day's people have little interest in- so he could pad his resume even further.

So, even though New Year's Day might not be in the top three of two year olds in terms of raw ability, he'll walk away with an Eclipse Award, and promptly be rewarded with a whole lotta hype going into next year. Such is the way the world turns, I suppose.

-John Piassek

Hello People

Let this be known as the day, November 11, 2013, in which the greatest blog ever created came into fruition. Well, not really. But hopefully, it will be.

In any case, this is where I will post my thoughts about my favorite thing in life, Thoroughbred horse racing, plus other stuff about life and other things. Hopefully, I won't forget about it, but if I do, feel free to complain to me, lest you be missing out on my marvelous insight.

Anyway, watch this playlist. It's good stuff: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcoDHFPJl580SRrUP2Eejch884ihgIpS_&feature=mh_lolz

-John Piassek