Harness Racing Blog

This week we are a bit busy at Harnesslink so this Recap only summerizes the top news from Harnesslink.com over the past 7 days. We’ll be back to your normal programming next week.

This week Harnesslink published 217 stories - The below are the top 10 in no particular order:

From Harnesslink

• Win a copy of ‘100 Years in Harness’, Harnesslink - Worldwide
  Be in to win ‘100 Years in Harness’, the new book by Hoof Beats Executive Editor Nicole Kraft. The book is a photographic journey showcasing the beauty and historical significance of harness racing in the U.S. from 1900 through 1999, through the lenses of USTA photographers.
• For whom the bell tolls - Patty Hogan, Carol Hodes - US
  These nice early spring days, when Patty Hogan strolls across Red Valley Road, which separates her home from Fair Winds Farm, she is accompanied by a pair of dogs, a giant black Lab named Harley and a golden retriever named Rock.
• Strangles case in Pukekohe, Garrick Knight - NZ
  A situation involving equine distemper or ’strangles’ is being monitored closely by authorities in Pukekohe after a horse returned from a spell to the stable of trainer Jeff Crouth showing signs of the affliction.
• Vicki has done Peter Cowan proud, Don Wright - NZ
  The late Peter Cowan must have been looking down on his widow Vicki when she staged her debut as a trainer at the Timaru meeting today Sunday 11 May. Believe it or not, she enjoyed a 100 percent winning strike rate with her two runners Toria’s Secret and Uroc Amy, her first two runners, today.
• Cambridge Raceway gears up for Jewels day, Cambridge Raceway - NZ
  With just over two weeks to go until the biggest and richest harness race meeting ever held in the Waikato, excitement is mounting at the Cambridge Raceway. On Saturday 31st May the Cambridge-TeAwamutu Harness Racing Club hosts the $1.5million Harness Jewels.
• Drunk charged with racing couple’s death, Alan Hardie - AU
  In an article by Alan Hardie from The Maitland Mercury, charges have been laid against a 41-year-old woman for the deaths of the Maitland harness racing couple Peter and Cheryl Lowe while under the influence of alcohol.
• Injury forces Blacks A Fake scratching, Marshall Dobson - AU
  The immediate future of Inter Dominion superstar Blacks A Fake is in jeopardy. A winner of more than $2.8million in stakes, the seven-year-old has been scratched from this Friday night’s Gold Coast Bulletin Cup.
• Older stars visit the Big M, Derick Giwner, Handicappers Edge - US
  I know I promised a follow-up to my last column ‘How to make your own morning line,’ but I had a lot to say on this week’s big races at The Meadowlands – AJ Cutler Memorial and Graduate. So, rather then give you a novels worth of writing this week, I decided to put the morning line column on the backburner for two more weeks. Be sure to look for it.
• Horses to Watch at the Meadowlands, Derick Giwner - US
  This list is designed to provide horses who had tough trips, traffic trouble or looked impressive in their recent start. Always consider whether each horse is at a competitive level and if their price warrants a play before wagering in their next start. Horses which were listed the previous week and did not race will remain listed for a second week.
• Stunnin’ Cullen too good in front, Don Wright - NZ
  Stunin Cullen laid strong claims to being the country’s best juvenile pacer when he scored a trades manlike all the way success in the $220,000 PGG Wrightson Sales Series Open Pace (1950 metres) at Addington today.

Music Video for an original song, “Harness the Dream.”

Over on Harnesslink we are running a competition where you can win a copy of Nicole Kraft’s new Book ‘100 Years in Harness’. Kraft is executive editor of Hoof Beats Magazine, and the book makes use of the USTA photo archive to journey through harness racing in the 20th century.

To win simply let us know what you think was the best moment in harness racing between 1900 and 1999. We will decide the best one and the winner will have the book shipped to them anywhere in the world.

You can comment on the article directly (registration required), or you can post your pick below and we will simulcast it on Harnesslink.

P.S. At the time of writing there is only one comment, so you could have a 50% chance of winning!

Pull the Pocket’s been ranting, and he makes a lot of sense. His latest post Only in Racing explores the strange predicaments that arise in the racing industry. A couple of good ones:

We think rebated players stick their rebates in a sock.

We call our customers “disgruntled gamblers”.

We charge people for racing data and past performances. Like McDonald’s charging $2 to look at their menu.

Check out the post here

A few other OIHR’s and OIR’s stolen from the internet are below. Please note these were simply selected because they contained the terms OIHR and OIR, but they do give some insight into the industry:

Only in harness racing would we let a ridiculous situation like this occur. I recently paid a gentleman to write a program for my company with my company’s data. If he comes back and asks me to give him $50 a month for it, I will tell him to go jump in the lake.

Only in harness racing do we put our top performers in detention because their numbers are too high. Take peoples’ livelihood away and tarnish/ruin their reputations forever before they are charged with anything! The ORC or any racing Commission has no right!! This is Canada and the last time I looked in our system you are innocent… until… proven guilty.

Only in racing do guys become superstars at the snap of a finger. It’s chemicals and painkillers. Cheating works, and honesty is finishing a distant second

Horse racing is the only sport that seems like it TRIES not to reach it’s audience. Could you imagine if the only NBA basketball that came on TV was at 11am? Could you imagine trying to sign up for an online casino and being told “we can do blackjack, but if you like poker you are SOL”. Only in horse racing do we trip over our own feet.

Only in horse racing would it be a novel concept that the price of the product has something to do with a business’s success or failure. For decades, leaders of the industry thought that whenever they needed revenue, they could raise takeout with impunity. Track owners would say: Nobody is going to notice if an exacta pays $78.60 instead of $83.20. So over the years, takeout crept up, up, up.

Only in horse racing can this beauty be tarnished by a brutal reality in the blink of an eye.

On Saturday we turned a blind eye to tragedy. This is the only sport where the winners weep with joy, while a competitor’s horse lie dying on the track. The viewing audience got very little coverage on Eight Belles’ tragic death. Instead we saw the victors celebrating, in a moment that was more fit for mourning.

Only in horse racing can an average Joe race against the Queen, Sheiks and racing’s elite and beat them, because nobody knows where the next John Henry, Seattle Slew or Real Quiet is going to come from

Do you have any of your own “OIR” thoughts? Let us know below in the comments.

Below is what happened in harness racing this week, as reported on Harnesslink and from other places across the web.

From Harnesslink

• Auckland Reactor sold for a staggering $4m, Don Wright - NZ and North America
  Described by driver and co trainer Mark Purdon as the best horse he has been associated with, champion 3 Year Old pacer Auckland Reactor has been sold to a group of North American owners and breeders for a staggering $4 million NZ (3.5M US).
• Police search farm after positive tests, Racing Commission - US
  Racing Commission Executive Director Frank Zanzuccki announced today that a Racing Commission investigation has resulted in the first positive test results obtained under the state’s recently-expanded testing protocols aimed at detecting the use of performance-enhancing substances in race horses.
• Somebeachsomewhere wows observers, Greg Blanchard - CA
  The much anticipated debut of star pacer Somebeachsomewhere took place this morning (May 5th) at Mohawk Racetrack and the statuesque colt did not disappoint, turning in an effortless-looking 1:51.1 mile during the qualifying session.
• Death of Harold Park looms strongly - AU
  IT has been Sydney’s home of harness racing since 1902 but Harold Park could be up for sale as soon as August. More than 100 years of tradition is likely to end after the NSW Harness Racing Club yesterday confirmed that an independent report supported the sale of Harold Park.
• Ex Small pair racing well in US, Garrick Knight - NZ
  On speed and historical performance, Winforu (7h In The Pocket-Beheliem) is perhaps the best horse to leave our shores for America in the past few years and he is starting to show his worth for new owner Joe Muscara.
• Art Major latest star for Romola Hanover, Frank Marrion - NZ
  Art Major is clearly on course to become one of the hottest sires in the business in both hemispheres. The one time racing contemporary of Mach Three, McArdle and Red River Hanover in what was obviously a great crop of colts, was last year’s leading sire of juveniles in America with his first crop, and his progeny have also been very much to the fore in both America and Australasia at the yearling sales.
• Make money… Just for hitching your sulky? - Chris E. Wittstruck - US
  While critical matters perpetually threaten our industry, it is often the more mundane issues that evoke the most impassioned and divergent opinions. One such issue is the question of whether harness racing’s traditional purse distribution formula should be tweaked so as to benefit the connections of those horses finishing up the track.
• McCedes Ryder’s McHopeful in Creek & Classic, Carol Hodes - US
  Whether or not McCedes is the Mercedes of pacers remains to be seen. The bay gelding has a spot on the Meadowlands starting gate in the $225,000 Berry’s Creek Final on May 10, 2008, the first major stakes of the year for three-year-old pacers.
• Take the morning line and shove it, Derick Giwner - US
  One of the most important things a handicapper can do while studying the past performances is throw out the morning line. Since I have heard people confuse this fact in the past, let’s go over what the morning line is geared to represent. The morning line is simply one person’s opinion as to how the betting public will see the race.
• Horses to Watch at the Meadowlands, Derick Giwner - US
  This list is designed to provide horses who had tough trips, traffic trouble or looked impressive in their recent start. Always consider whether each horse is at a competitive level and if their price warrants a play before wagering in their next start. Horses which were listed the previous week and did not race will remain listed for a second week.

United States

• Six horses in NJ test positive for EPO, USTA
• Artificial turf considered for Saratoga track, dailygazette.com
• Tragedy strikes pacer at Monticello, Times Herald-Record
• New York Officials Working to Save OTB, Blood Horse
• Observers: Harness racing safer, timesleader.com
• New North American Cup Website (Direct link)
• Track owner emerges in casino debate, The Boston Globe
• Racing’s Rudderless Ship, The Rail, NY Times
• Eight Belles Hysteria Unfortunate, Andrew Cohen’s First Over

Canada

• Moncton picked as site for New Brunswick’s first casino, The Canadian Press
• Giant Diablo Gets Elitlopp Invite, Standardbred Canada
• When Did We Lose Our Way? Pull the Pocket
• Somebeachsomewhere……. Wow! Pull the Pocket
• EPO in New Jersey - Ernest Adam, Pull the Pocket
• How To Fix Breeding And Help Horse Racing Immensely, Cangamble
• Horseracing ready to return to Regina area, group says, cbc.ca
• Update On Grand River Accident, Standardbred Canada
• The View (Darryl Kaplan), Standardbred Canada
• Do We Need Halifax, Standardbred Canada
• How Sudbury Downs has changed; A look back as racing is set to return for another year, The Sudbury Star

Australia

• Gawler’s last lap, Herald
• Menangle setting pace for the future, Illawarra Mercury
• Harness racing decision disappointing, Ken Jasper (State member for Murray Valley)
• Blacks A Fake back at Albion Park Saturday! Australian Harness Racing
• Quest For Gold Not All That Expensive, Australian Harness Racing
• Big Weekend For Breeders Crown Hopefuls, Australian Harness Racing

New Zealand

• Auckland Reactor sold to U.S. syndicate, Michael Guerin for the Harness Racing Weekly
• Fresh Lizzie ready for big payday, NZ Herald
• Reid runners have Jewels in sight, NZ Herald
• Mare closer to fulfilling Jewels dream, NZ Herald
• New Zealand Racing Board confirms 2008/09 racing calendar, Thoroughbred News
  

From the Harness Racing Blog Network

• The crazies have swarmed, No Form Reversal
• Harness Racing in Pictures - The Finnish Racehorse Edition, Main Blog

[Click here to start a free Blog on our network]

It’s time for another special edition of Harness Racing in Pictures. If you missed last ones there was the Black & White Edition and A Tribute to the Mobile Starting Gate.

This week we are looking at some cool pictures of Finnish Horses found via flickr. Special thanks to rozpravka who took all of the following photos. Click the read more link under the first image to see the rest of the pics.

Opal Viking

Read more…

(Apologies for missing the recap last week, it was Anzac Day last week which is a public holiday in Australia and New Zealand.)

Below is what happened in harness racing this week, as reported on Harnesslink and from other places across the web.

From Harnesslink

• NJ OTWs try to be ‘Favorites’, Carol Hodes - US
  Off track wagering facilities in New Jersey are not your father’s OTBs. The image of grungy street-corner off track betting parlors [OTB] that are typical of the New York City landscape are among the obstacles that confronted Favorites at Woodbridge, which opened last October, and Favorites at Toms River, which debuts on April 29, 2008.
• A reason for Auckland Reactor’s greatness, Don Wright - NZ
  One of Canterbury’s most established and respected trainers might have come up with one reason why Auckland Reactor is sweeping all before him in a seemingly one horse race for Horse of the Year honours.
• Sensational sectionals for Auckland Reactor, Don Wright - NZ
  Power house second season pacer Auckland Reactor took another step towards Horse of the Year honours when he extended his unbeaten sequence to 11 in the $50,000 Southern Supremacy Stakes (2700m) at Ascot Park in Invercargill today Saturday 26 April.
• Favorites at Toms River nearing completion - US
  New Jersey’s third off-track wagering site, Favorites at Toms River, is nearing completion just in time for the Kentucky Derby.
• Big week for Bettor’s Delight - NZ
  An interesting statistic on the back of Arden’s Darling (Bettor’s Delight – Achieve A Dream) winning the PGG Sales Series 2YO Fillies Final on Friday night (April 25) at Alexandra Park.
• Big turnout at Peter Cowan’s funeral, Don Wright - NZ
  You’ve got to hand it to racing men and women when it comes to extending the hand of support and friendship to others in their darkest hour of grief. I was reminded of this again today Wednesday 30 April while attending the funeral service in Christchurch of Peter Cowan who died last week of a heart attack after his aorta was ruptured.
• Horses to Watch at the Meadowlands, Derick Giwner - US
  This list is designed to provide horses who had tough trips, traffic trouble or looked impressive in their recent start. Always consider whether each horse is at a competitive level and if their price warrants a play before wagering in their next start. Horses which were listed the previous week and did not race will remain listed for a second week.
• Take the morning line and shove it, Derick Giwner - US
  One of the most important things a handicapper can do while studying the past performances is throw out the morning line. Since I have heard people confuse this fact in the past, let’s go over what the morning line is geared to represent. The morning line is simply one person’s opinion as to how the betting public will see the race.
• Memories of Maurice McTigue (vid), Frank Marrion - NZ
  It wasn’t the sort of Cup that most would have expected Roman Gladiator to win during his stellar younger racing days, but last Saturday’s $30,000 Southern Country Cups Final at Ascot Park capped what has been a welcome return to form for the now 7-year-old.

United States

• Where was the USTA at the Montreal Conference?, First Over
• One week, two conferences, no sense, First Over
• Gaming groups to woo New York today, Thoroughbred Times
• Postponements irk horsemen, Bangor News
• Vernon Downs faces $20,000 state fine, UTICAOD.com
• Simulcast bill passes in Minnesota, USTA
• Kentucky International Equine Summit Speakers Call for Unity, EQUISEARCH.COM
• Hazel Park has new plan to draw in visitors, Detroit Free Press
• Proposed bill to find new casino locations, Philly.com
• International Equine Summit opens, USTA
• The new face of the equine owner, USTA
• Illinois lawmakers ponder legalizing Internet horse wagers, AP
• Trotters a family affair, MassLive.com
• Enough Talk Could Be Talking Elitlopp, The Harness Edge

Canada

• Wagering Conference - Ideas & Thoughts, Pull the Pocket
• Maritime harness racing expands drug testing, CBC Canada
• Standardbred Wagering Conference News Centre, Standardbred Canada

Australia

• Parklands Redevelopment on Gold Coast, Australian Harness Racing
• Unlucky, but no Derby final spot, Sydney Morning Herald
• Betting turnovers fall short of budget, thewest.com.au
• Preview of new paceway Menangle Park, Wollondilly Advertiser

New Zealand

• Bookies go into meltdown as Auckland Reactor bolts in, NZ Herald
• Trainer turns to Houdini trick in bid for Cup, NZ Herald
• New Stables going well at Addington, NZ Trot Guide
• Rugby, racing - in a room with a view, NZ Herald

From the Harness Racing Blog Network

• The final nail, No Form Reversal
  Does anyone remember (approx 20 yrs ago) when a couple of “geniuses” in charge of disparate harness tracks (I remember one was the now defunct Laurel Raceway-Md.) decided they would stop allowing their bettors to know the post positions of the horses until after the betting was closed for each race. Betting on horse racing without knowing the post positions-BRILLIANT!!! How did that idea work out, by the way?
• Final Field Opening Markets Alexandra Park Friday, Harness Odds
• Share The Data and Spread the Word, Main Blog
  

[Click here to start a free Blog on our network]

At Harnesslink, we like to get information out there. We build stuff that we can share, that anybody can use and that’s open and free. In the last year we have built a harness racing search engine “On the Bit” that searches close to 1000 harness racing websites worldwide.

We also built the Harnesslink newsreel, which is a little gadget anybody can put on their website and have news about anything appear straight on their site.

Here’s an example of the Newsreel that Kentuckiana Farms might want to add to their website:

The point of this post is not to promote our stuff though. The question is why isn’t anybody else doing this? Why do racetracks have to employ someone to copy and paste entries and results onto their websites? Those in charge should provide the data so that anybody can tap into it and have it appear automatically on their website.

The same goes for video.

Why isn’t every major race up on YouTube the moment it’s finished? We have uploaded a few videos there and to date they have received 29,956 views! That’s 96 views per day, and we have less then 20 videos there. What would happen if every major race was up there as soon as it finished?

One last point.

At Harnesslink we get sent press releases about races all the time. If this industry was really up with the play the releases would contain the code to automatically display the video of the race online. People want to see the race, the technology is there, it’s not complicated and it will help to promote harness racing.

So why isn’t this data available? Is it ignorance, protectionism, or something else?

Those of you that have been following harness racing online might have noticed there has been a bit of a kerfuffle over the high take out rates in Ontario.

With that in mind I decided it was my responsibility to add some value to the conversation. So the below harness racing track take out table is the result of a stolen table (thanks Kimberly!) and a quick email to the Harnesslink programmer to magically make the table sortable. Click titles at the top of the column to sort the data:

Read more…

It’s time for another special edition of Harness Racing in Pictures. If you missed the first one it was A Tribute to the Mobile Starting Gate.

This week we are taking a look at some black and white photo’s, most are thanks to kate.heather’s photo stream on flickr.

Read more…