Penn National Mile 2013 - Visit

The visit to Penn National Racecourse for the Penn mile - the half a million dollar turf mile race for 3 yrs in North America (or at least USA), was a great success. I got to take along with me several friends who were all new to horse racing and one of them showed avid interest in handicapping and also ended up placing some bets.

Here is a clip from the start of the race...

The start of the Penn Mile Race

Of course, he played big longshots and unfortunately for us, the race he bet went to the favorites in 1-2 positions. Rydilluc came first, the odds on Charming Kitten (who came 2nd) were only moderate (The other fav Noble Tune did not fire). Still, it was a fun day to be out enjoying the great weather in Hershey PA area. The track saw a good turnout of people and the track side food was quite good. I had an odd combination of food - ice cream, really good potato chips and beer. Ok ok not so healthy.. but then I cook healthy food all the time, so I took a break today!

It was cool to see Johnny Velazquez, Joel Rosario and easily identify them. I could not identify Edgar Prado (but of course, I have never seen many pics of him for some reason!). I missed seeing Javier, Luis Saez and others as I was staring at the form.

I did however, get to see a jockey objection and disqualification, so I got to see good variety at the track!

A quick clip of the horses racing down the stretch at the finish!

Without much ado, here are some pics!

  

Dirt track, and beyond that was the turf track , Spectator standing close to finish line - staking out a good location

Post parade before Race 2, I think.

  

 Dirt track with the toteboard and results monitor.

 

Rydilluc with Edgar Prado (left)  - Charming Kitten (with Joel Rosario (right)

Rydilluc, winner of the 0.5 Million Penn Turf Mile

Friends, i am in the black shirt

The Capitol Building - at night - Harrisburg PA

Preakness 2012 Replay (Overhead) and how USA, Canada, Mexico connect to IHA

The Preakness 2012 is over and now all sights are firmly set at the Belmont Stakes in the horseracing world (in Northern America at least!), with high hopes on I'll Have Another to pull off a memorable Triple Crown -after over 34 years since Affirmed won in 1978 And what a beautiful way the three countries of the continent connect behind this horse! Congratulations to Mario Guttierez, trainer Doug O'Neill and his team, and to the owner and rest of the connections!

                      Canada - as the owner of the horse is Canadian businessman J. Paul Reddam,  
                      Mexico - as the country of origin for "Marvelous" Mario, the pilot of this superb horse and the original buyer/ Mr. Davila (a neat story about him here) and
                      USA - that's where the Triple Crown happens!

So there is lot of goodwill going and cheering going on from all three places. Below you will find a reply of the Preakness 2012, as an overhead video (courtesy NBC) with analysis from their commentators. I am not allowed to embed it, so I am just pointing you to the link

(it has a 30 sec commercial in the beginning)

Check out this great MSN video: Overhead replay of the Preakness

Kentucky Derby 138 - this Saturday!

The post positions are drawn!

Most of the horse are shipped in and turning in their workouts!

The Excitement is in the air!!

This Saturday, it will be the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby, an awesome spectacle of pageantry, fun and raw power of intelligent animals!


YES IT IS GOING TO BE DERBY DAY SOON!


And with that comes a great chance to make some cool cash while getting entertained.. and playing your skill and luck.


(Or, you could also lose some cash, but you will still get entertained, guaranteed!)


If you want to play the horses on Derby day, you can do so online!


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Racing Updates

So my weekend hobby is turning to be Horse racing and playing the odds.

This is  how it worked out this weekend.

I betted on five different races:
Came out tops in 3 of them. In one race, I lost some money and in one I just made my money back. Overall, my bankroll improved slightly, but more importantly I learned some key lessons about not playing too many exotics/not diversyfying too much and about not meddling with good analysis at the last moment. They key race was of course, the Met mile at the Belmont.


I had bet $3 dollars (PLACE) on Rodman in the Met mile classic - but scratched the bet at the last few minutes - and missed out on a good good payout. :(. Oh well.

I did bet a Place on Tizway too in the same race and that paid good! My place on exotic box using Caixa & Aikenite as well as a Win bet on Caixa did not pay :( . Aw shucks.

Why I went LONG on VRTX Pharma (Verrtex)

Got approval for Hepatitis C drug.

Good pipeline on Cystic fibrosis root cause treatment - Ataluren VX770. NDA filing probably in late 2011.
VX770 also may address other mutations etc.

VX809 in Phase II. Vertex receive a five year grant of $75 million for VX661 studies.

I have a gut feeling that there may be some surprise findings (positive) down the line which would help more. (Source - Chemical Engineering News)

Just like my gut feeling on Astrology and Shackleford paid off in a money double at the Preakness. (I also betted on Animal Kingdom). Note that I bet "show" on all 3 - a very conservative bet. Even still I made a double trying horse race wagering the first time ever. (results)
Shackleford paid $27.20, $10.20 and $6.80.
Animal Kingdom returned $4.20 and $3.60. Astrology paid $8 to show.

Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2011/05/21/2727378/shackleford-wins-preakness-animal.html#ixzz1NBrkZPBe

Disclosure - Note: I also bet on Mucho Macho Man to place, but I lost all my money on that one. In all, 3 out of 4 horses were in the money - and I feeling GOOD.

off topic: BELMONT

My EARLY PICKS for BELMONT (if these horses run) -date stamped - May 23
MUCHO MACHO MAN
SANTIVA
ASTROLOGY or ANIMAL KINGDOM

Mucho Macho Man lost his left front shoe in the Preakness, she said. In the Louisiana Derby, he lost his right front shoe at the start.
At the Fair Grounds, where Mucho Macho Man won the Risen Star and finished third in the Louisiana Derby, he was wearing shoes secured to the hooves in the standard way, with nails. He wore glue-on shoes in the Kentucky Derby, in which he finished third, and Preakness.
“He’s got to be doing something,’’ Ritvo said. “I haven’t had a horse pull a shoe for three or four years, and now I’ve got two in three races. I think he’s snatching himself coming out of the gate. I think he’s so excited to get out of the gate that he’s springing before his front feet are gone. He’s not a nervous horse. It’s got to be something. I’ve got to figure out what happened and when he lost it.”
LINK



http://www.drf.com/news/preakness-winner-shackleford-likely-face-animal-kingdom-again-belmont-stakes

• Mucho macho man lost his right front shoe (fixed with nails) in the Derby. In Preakness he lost his left front shoe (fixed wih glue on). Either way, i think his odds may go down but if his shoe stays on, there is a large chance of him winning the Belmont - in my wild opinion.
• The news shills are not talking much about other horses as of now. It is all about Shackleford,Animal Kingdom etc. I feel that Shackleford being an early leader, may have a disadvantage in the Belmont -as it is the longest course at 1 1/2 miles. Who knows maybe his team might not even run him!
  

Details on Belmont: http://www.belmontstakes.org/belmont-stakes-contenders/

Belmont Facts

Main Course: 1 1/2 Miles
Last Turn to Finish on Main Track: 1,097 feet

Preakness Facts
Main Course: 1 3/16th mile.

Kentucky Derby 
Main Course: 1 1/4 mile