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September 09, 2009

“I’ll never invest in a thoroughbred horse again, ever.”

By Dave Briggs

“I’ll never invest in a thoroughbred horse again, ever.”

 

New owner vows never to buy another thoroughbred.
 
 
Craig Henderson’s pulse was racing as he raised both fists in triumph to the harvest moon looming over the Mohawk winner’s circle. It’s too bad stories like his come along only once in a blue moon.
 
After years of owning a handful of thoroughbreds, the first standardbred Henderson (above right) bought is undefeated freshman pacing filly Put On A Show, the winner of the $810,300 Shes A Great Lady on Sept. 5 at Mohawk.
 
That victory alone was enough for him to forget about the runners.
 
“I’ll never invest in a thoroughbred horse again, ever. This is the most surreal day of my life. I’m totally blown away,” he said emphatically.
 
Such is the glory of a major stakes victory and the magic of beginner’s luck.
 
It was veteran owner Richard Young (above left) of Florida — the man who has named such horses as Sing Fat Lady, Elephants Can Fly, Geckos Can Talk — who convinced Henderson to give standardbred ownership a try.
 
“I said that harness racing was more fun. They race more often and it doesn’t cost as much to get in. They cost as much to keep,” Young said.
 
That’s the practical side of the argument, of course. But just how powerful an elixir is winning a stakes race with your first horse? Henderson is adamant he’s going to reinvest every penny he’s made back into the game, with Young as his partner. To date Put On A Show has earned just shy of $500,000 in only five starts.
 
“The good news is, we’re going to be partners for a long time because I’m going to put all my money back into other horses,” Henderson said.
 
Which truly is good news for racing in a time when the sour economy has weakened both some owners’ resolve and wherewithal to reload.
 
How I wish we could bottle it.

 

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September 08, 2009

The Ballad of Dirty McGirky

By Dave Briggs

The Ballad of Dirty McGirky

 

 

The Ballad of Dirty McGirky and more Post Parade Magic starring Billy 0'Donnell and Jackie Mo.
 
 
 
Favourite answers from past Post Parades
 
Bill O’Donnell (above, April 15, 2004):
What other moment in your life comes closest to the feeling you get winning a big stakes race?
“It’s x-rated.”
 
What’s the biggest practical joke you ever pulled?
“One of the ones was on Jack Moiseyev. One time we came up to London from New Jersey for Doug Brown’s Easter Seals charity events at Western Fair. Jack didn’t know anyone up here so he asked to look at a program. After looking at it awhile, he said, ‘Who’s this Dave Wall guy? He’s all over the program.’ I said, ‘Oh, that guy. They call him Dirty McGirky. He’s a nasty son-of-a-bitch. He’s dirty and rotten, especially if there’s a new guy coming in.’
Mike Saftic was with us and he was playing right along, too. We all had lunch together — Wall was there, too — and afterward Jack says, ‘That guy seems okay to me.’ I said, ‘Don’t let him fool you, When he gets on the track he’s as dirty as they come. Watch out.’
“So, I tell Wally and he’s in on it and during the post parade he comes up behind Jack and tries to scare him. In the race going into the first turn, Jack’s on the inside, I’m behind him and Wally comes right up on the outside of Jack and Jack looks over and yells at Wally, ‘Get away from me you bastard. I’ve heard about you.’”
 
 
 
Mark Ford (above, May 13, 2004):
What drives you crazy?
“Being unjustly portrayed as the villain.”
 
If you could pick one super power to have, what would it be?
“The ability to make people evaporate.”
 
 
The Commish
Everyone gets the “If you were the Commissioner of all of harness racing...” question. Here’s the best responses.
 
 
Ian Fleming (above, Aug. 20, 2009):
“Encourage people to cut back on their grumbling. Racing isn’t the only tough business out there. In Clinton, we have three variety stores. It’s similar to the horse business, very long hours. The one I go to is run by a family that is happy, all the time. They are gaining customers, all the time. We have to fight about some things, but surely not everything.”
 
 
 
 
John Campbell (above, April 28, 2005):
“Universalize our rules on racing, medication, everything. We should have universal rules, especially between Canada and the United States. The whipping rule is one of the biggest things and the pylon rule. To me, it is ludicrous when a guy is sitting in a simulcast parlour and the two biggest simulcasting outlets, Woodbine and the Meadowlands, have different rules on whipping and pylons violations.”
 
 
Charlie Leerhsen (above, June 12, 2008):
“Order every track to send a bus to local colleges every Friday and Saturday night, to bring the kids to the track. But I would charge students for the bus ride and charge them to get in the track. If you think you’re going to draw more people by charging nothing, you don’t know human nature.”
 
 
Handicapping Challenge
Post Parade subjects set the odds when asked the “chances the following will occur in the next 10 years”
 
Betting on harness racing will reverse the current trend and start rising?
Ron Gurfein (March 20, 2008) — “It has already. We’ve hit rock bottom. Now the trick is to keep the trend going up for awhile.”
Moira Fanning (Oct. 18, 2008) — “2-1. Ontrack betting? 50-1”
Hugh Mitchell (Nov. 27, 2008) — “100-1.”
Kelly Spencer (Jan. 5, 2009) — “2-1”
Chris Roberts (Jan. 22, 2009) — “3-1”
Chuck Keeling (March 26, 2009) — “10-1”
Hec Clouthier (Feb. 12, 2009) — “4-1”
 
 

 

 

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September 04, 2009

Market this: get your circus off the tarmac so I can see the post parade

By Merv Oswalt

Market this: get your circus off the tarmac so I can see the post parade

I always thought marketing was what Bernie does on Saturday mornings when she gets up at the crack of dawn to pick and paw at fresh fruits and vegetables. Apparently not.

I’m told that marketing is the reason why I have to listen to a half-baked stand-up comedian or some blockhead in a cowboy hat do an impersonation of some rattle-and-bang rock band between races.

If I’ve never heard of the supposedly famous version how much do you think I want to see the knock-off making a racket? They could have Mel Torme himself and I still wouldn’t want him singing while I’m trying to watch the post parade.

I remember when entertainment at the track was watching the light bulbs flash as the odds changed on the toteboard. That was nice. There was mystery, suspense, intrigue and interactivity — everything you could ask for. I could be entertained for hours.

Now, they play “Let’s Make A Deal” in front of the grandstand all night long and sometimes even rope the poor drivers into the act. I want my driver focused on bringing home my 6-1 shot in the next race, not urging me to pick what’s behind door #2.

My racing buddy Carl just got back from visiting his sister Shirley in Indianapolis. He told me, if you can believe it, some redheaded whippersnapper threw Mardi Gras beads at him at the track down there and another guy winked at him. For the love of Christmas, what’s going on here??

My son Robbie says that all this stuff is just trying to ‘grow the game’. I told him, ‘You know what Del Miller did to grow the game? He built a racetrack, that’s what he did.’

“Whatever,” Robbie said, rolling his eyes, as he left to put his name in for the third round of Let’s Make A Deal.

I have no son.

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