DRINK UP

PLATE DUST

Plate day is over, $5.4 million was bet on the Woodbine card, a shade less than last year, and the horses are settled back in their barns and regrouping.

(photo at right is HEROS REWARD winning the co-featurede SCOTTS HIGHLANDER STAKES, www.horse-races.net)


Interestingly, HARLEM ROCKER, who was a Plate favourite a long tim ago, worked on Plate day - at Belmont on the training track in 1:02 and change for trainer Todd Pletcher.
Perhaps we will see the Stronach Stable, Adena Racing Venture colt in the TRAVERS STAKES.






PRINCE OF WALES -

1 3/16 miles traditional dirt
It has been 5 years, since WANDO, that the Plate winner has gone on to win the Prince of Wales at Fort Erie.
But no horse has won the Wales after winning the Plate on Polytrack and NOT BOURBON, who has trained on dirt in Florida, will be making his dirt debut in the July 13 classic.

From DAILY RACING FORM, a list of possibilities for the 'Wales:


NOT BOURBON
SOLITAIRE
DEPUTIFORMER
EAST END TAP
MAMMA'S KNIGHT
SEBASTIAN'S SONG


PLATE DAY WINNERS


MISSION APPROVED won the Singspiel for owner/breeder William Coyro.






FROM GLOBE & MAIL TV ratings.. Sunday

Auto racing. French Grand Prix TSN 91,000 Below average for F1

Baseball. Jays-Pirates CBC 342,000 Jays' bats finally produce

Auto racing. Iowa Indy TSN 103,000 Busy afternoon

Soccer. Spain-Italy Sportsnet 816,000 Best Euro audience so far

Auto racing. Sprint Cup Series TSN 402,000 Excellent NASCAR number

Horse racing. Queen's Plate CBC 289,000 Good audience for Woodbine classic

Baseball. White Sox-Cubs Sportsnet 92,000 About right for MLB telecast




WOODBINE SCOREBOARD - TRAINERS

Name Starts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings

Steven M. Asmussen 88 15 10 11 $744,121
Scott H. Fairlie 79 14 12 10 $471,972
Sid C. Attard 96 13 13 10 $706,616
Mark E. Casse 119 12 16 17 $1,082,453
Nicholas Gonzalez 59 12 5 7 $857,818
Reade Baker 97 11 12 12 $723,166
Daniel J. Vella 72 11 12 6 $655,377
Brian A. Lynch 29 11 4 2 $946,913
Laurie Silvera 83 10 11 15 $497,887
Michael J. Doyle 90 10 9 13 $497,722
Audre Cappuccitti 81 10 8 10 $317,960
Roger L. Attfield 64 10 8 7 $1,425,926


WOODBINE JOCKEYS Name Starts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings

James McAleney 225 38 30 32 $1,993,424
Emile Ramsammy 268 35 38 37 $1,974,137
Eurico Rosa Da Silva 246 34 21 25 $1,708,799
Patrick Husbands 186 32 28 23 $1,997,482
Tyler Pizarro 221 31 27 25 $1,281,104
Emma-Jayne Wilson 253 31 26 38 $1,814,006
Jono C. Jones 204 22 27 24 $2,090,021
Chantal Sutherland 201 22 24 28 $1,107,984
Justin Stein 187 19 25 14 $829,346
David Clark 186 18 22 20 $1,151,334
Robert C. Landry 101 14 15 17 $1,017,722
Slade Callaghan 118 14 12 11 $709,720
Jerry Baird 128 14 11 16 $777,403


FORT ERIE - TRAINERS

Name Starts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings
John Simms 31 8 8 5 $78,590
Donald C. MacRae 25 8 4 3 $72,391
Nicholas Gonzalez 30 6 4 3 $60,567
Kevin Buttigieg 51 5 7 9 $59,575
Daniel Wills 20 5 4 2 $52,783
Ashlee Brnjas 11 5 1 1 $35,209
Julie Robillard 15 5 0 0 $30,284


FORT ERIE JOCKEYS
Name Starts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings
Chad Beckon 140 31 28 19 $315,204
Christopher Griffith 82 15 10 11 $155,801
Rui M. Pimentel 77 14 16 14 $170,953
Cory Clark 106 14 10 15 $153,160
Kristopher Robinson 75 12 4 10 $127,919
Daniel J. David 35 9 5 3 $89,857



BIG BROWN UPDATES

Loose shoe photo, stablemates drug-free

Owner Michael Iavarone, of IEAH, co-owners of BIG BROWN talks on its website about the barn going somewhat drug-free:

Russ Melton photo from BLOOD-HORSE
(courtesy IEAH website and Louisville Courier-Journal)

Iavarone said that although he doesn't have the complete details, he wants to follow guidelines used in Europe, which has much stricter medication rules, including a ban on treating horses with bleeder medication on race day. As in the United States, many medications can be used for training as long as they are not in the horse's system for a race. "Whatever guidelines they use in Europe are the guidelines we're going to follow," Iavarone said. "That seems to be the bellwether of the racing world."
In announcing the new approach on its Web site, IEAH said that "to the best of our knowledge, we are the first racing stable in North America to make this commitment. We encourage others to follow our lead."
At Dutrow's behest, Iavarone said he agreed to let IEAH horses race on Salix, which is the current tradename for the popular medication commonly known as Lasix. However, none of the so-called adjunct bleeder medications that are legal in many states, including Kentucky, will be used, he said.


TALK OF THE BLOCK UPDATE

Canadian-bred TALK OF THE BLOCK, who raced for Audre and Gord Cappuccitti (breeders), Sheila Mohan, Dominic Polsinelli and Ian Alderson, was recently saved from the Sugar Creek feed lot in Ohio and has a new home..
(all of this action, including the rescue of 7 other thoroughbreds can be followed at www.alexbrownracing.com on the forum/chat site):

Here is a recent post on the site:



Update on Talk of the Block aka "Studly."

I have located a boarding facility that is happy to take him!! They are very experienced in handling studs, as they stand several stallions themselves! Praise the Lord...this has not been an easy task! Studly will be going to Amethyst Acres in Buchanan, VA. He will get some down time, and then be evaluated as to what future career he will be best suited to. It was an inexpensive endeavor to save his life, but I fear the costs of boarding ($500.00/month!) and gelding him are going to turn this save into a very expensive endeavor. The issues we face in saving this horse are precisely why I beg and plead with all of my clients to GELD their horses!!! The studs dont stand a chance..they are very costly and difficult to rehab, retrain, and rehome.
-GAIL



MY POST FROM YESTERDAY..
In 24 hours, a flurry of activity including phone calls, donations and transportation, removed 8 thoroughbreds from SUGAR CREEK AUCTION house in Ohio. One of them is 'Studly' , later found to be TALK OF THE BLOCK, a son of Louis Quatorze. Talk of the Block can still be found on the Canter Ohio website actually. His last trainer/owner Arnold Allen was offered the horse for sale: MUST SELL ASAP*** Talk of the Block – Well-bred dark bay stud has a short hind sock, small star & a snip; he stands 16.0hh. Owner describes Talk as a very quiet horse that shows no studdish behavior. He is sound but needs to rest his knee after hitting it on the gate; he has no stall vices. Asking $1500. $1000 Contact Allen Arnold at 216-315-3498. Stabled in Barn 23 at Beulah Park. Talk of the Block had been pulled up in his last race in April at Beulah Park.

AND, TO GET THE BLOOD-BOILING...
Queen's Plate day + pickets = ugly

The Globe & Mail has a blog entry about experinces on Saturday experiencd by virtually everyone trying to get into the track.
Blocking every entrance from 7 a .m. were the folks from CAW unions, helping 100 security workers state their case to OLG. Yes, they stated their case on Queen's Plate day.
Many comments on this blog come from picketers it seems:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080622.
WBglobesports20080622133150/WBStory/WBglobesports