IN THE MIDDLE

SOLITAIRE OUT, PEWTER IN
Fort Erie rider Beckon gets chance on speedball Pronger


Queen's Plate winner Not Bourbon drew post 7 for the 73rd edition of the Prince of Wales Stakes to be run at Fort Erie Race Track on Sunday afternoon.

The second jewel in the Triple Crown of Canadian racing will be the 8th race on Sunday. Post time for the race is 4:49pm.

A field of 8 will race 1 3/16 miles on the main dirt track for a total purse of $500,000. The winner's share of the purse is $300,000.

The field:

PP Horse Jockey Trainer Odds

1 Deputiformer/Jerry Baird/Mike DePaulo/4-1

2 Pronger/Chad Beckon/Mike DePaulo/20-1

3 Took the Time/Patrick Husbands/Mark Casse/8-1

4 Harlem Rocker/Eibar Coa/Todd Pletcher/2-1

5 East End Tap/Elvis Trujillo/Reade Baker/20-1

6 Pewter/Richard Dos Ramos/James Bond/20-1

7 Not Bourbon/Jono Jones/Roger Attfield/7-5

8 Sebastian’s Song/David Clark/Alec Fehr/20-1



MORE UPDATES -

SOLITAIRE NOT IN PRINCE OF WALES...trainer Jim Bond will send only the speedy sprint winner PEWTER to the Fort Erie race..


UPDATE...UPDATE...

NOT BOURBON had his typical get-ready-to-win workout when he sizzled 4 furlongs in 47.20 (BULLET) BREEZING this morning on Polytrack at Woodbine....





THE PRINCE OF WALES - 73RD RUNNING

SUNDAY JULY 13
1 3/16 MILES


The draw for posts is later this afternoon at Fort Erie and NOT BOURBON, the Queen's Plate champ is expected to meet 7 or 8 rivals, several that he dusted in the Plate.

His main rivals will be HARLEM ROCKER and SOLITAIRE (if he comes).



REMEMBER some of these weird and wacky WALES?

2006 - Malakoff is the best but he is disqualified. Plate winner Edenwold placed 4th.

2002 - Le Cinquieme Essai, later a confirmed grasser, wins at 6 to 1.

1999 - The filly Gandria beats Plate winner Woodcarver.

1992 - Benburb grabs a hold of the slop and beats Alydeed in one of the biggest upsets of the last 50 years.


PLATE WINNERS 7 for last 20 editions, more than 30%.
But lately, the Plate winners have had tough luck:

EDENWOLD, WILD DESERT, NIIGON, DANCEETHRUTHEDAWN, WOODCARVER, VICTOR COOLEY, etc.


Stay tuned for post postion update later today...



$49,000 CARRYOVER IN PICK 7 TONIGHT AT WOODBINE

What kind of repercussions will that have on the betting?


The PICK 7 has only been won once since the meeting began in April and it is growing again, now up to $49,000.

Today's BRISNET HANDICAPPER'S EDGE NEWSLETTER has some interesting stats on the WOODBINE MEETING so far.

Favourites are winning at 30% (a bit below the normal) and the average win odds is over 6 to 1.
The average PICK 4 PAYOFF is $4,811.71.

read more..
http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/editorial/full_edition.cgi


As for THE PICK 7 tonight..


RACE 2- $12,500 claiming, small field. This race is actually not as simple as the 6-horse gathering may suggest. LITTLE SPEED in the field at 1 1/16 miles but SWEETLITTLESOLDIER rallied just off a slow pace to win her latest. Well spotted by Willie Armata. GROWLING is the price play on a predictaed bounce-back to a 56 Beyer Figure (higher?)

RACE 3- That giant thunderstorm last night puts this turf race in jeopardy. On either surface, GRAZETTES LANDING will be odds on for Eugene Melnyk. he's been freshened 5 weeks since a 2 turn maiden test. On turf, respect COOM.

RACE 4- Turf could be a bit giving for the 1st running of the REPERCUSSION STAKES (it is a prep for the 6 furlong Royal North and thus was named for Royal North's dam). Tough 6 1/2 furlong dash as most ran big,big races last time.
GLITTER ROX had a stunning workout on July 2 since the big bounce in the Tattling Handicap, QUEELE BEAUTE goes for red hot Roger Attfield barn, ONE ACROSS needs to time her move better and BECKY SHARP just won a stake.

RACE 5- $20K claiming, non-winners of 2; ugly race, ANGELS LUCKY DAY and CATERINAMARIA.

RACE 6- Hot Sid Attard barn drops C R DREAM for her 3rd race off the layoff. LET'S KEY her.

RACE 7- Classy older guys for $40K. What do you do with stakes winners SKIP CODE and EXECUTIVE CHOICE? Is OMAGGIO long gone on the lead?

RACE 8 - maidens $12,500. Ugh. LEMON TWINS way overdue...ALEX'S JOKE plunges in class again.

Enter THE SCORE'S CONTEST for winners...

http://thescore.123racing.ca/



WOODBINE ENTERTAINMENT GETS TAX BREAK

According to reports in various papers this morning, the city of Toronto's economic development committe yesterday approved $120 million in tax breaks over 20 years for WOODBINE ENTERTAINMENT for its development of WOODBINE LIVE! with the Cordish Company from Baltimore.

WOOBINE LIVE! is the $750 million baby with stores, bars, shops and a water area/ic rink that will provide jobs for construction and later for employment.

There was some discussion about the jobs being mostly minimum wage which raised concerns to local activists.

The area in which Woodbine is located is not know as the safest in the Great Toronto area.

From the GLOBE AND MAIL this morning..

"Mayor David Miller strongly supports the project.

"You sit there with a parking lot or you have a magnificent entertainment destination with 6,000 jobs," he said. ""



CONFIRMED...

ASMUSSEN LOSES VINERY HORSES



RAYPUCLICK'S PAULICK REPORT reports that Vinery has moved all of its runners that were with Steve Asmussen to other trainers:


Tommy Simon’s Vinery Stable has moved 21 horses from the barn of trainer Steve Asmussen, not long after an allegation of a positive test for traces of the therapeutic anesthetic lidocaine from an Asmussen-trained horse that won a maiden race at Lone Star Park in Texas May 10.
Tom Ludt, general manager of Vinery, confirmed the move to the Paulick Report but would not comment on why the change was made. Ludt said the horses have been distributed among the half-dozen other trainers Vinery employs: Josie Carroll, Larry Jones, Doug O’Neill, Todd Pletcher, Michael Stidham and Michael Trombetta.
Jones is currently awaiting results of a split sample in the wake of an alleged positive test in one of his horses that raced in Delaware for the therapeutic bronchodilator clenbuterol, a Class 3 drug according to the Association of Racing Commissioners International.
Asmussen received notice from the Texas Racing Commission late last month that Timber Trick, a 2-year-old filly owned by Gainesway Stable, tested positive for lidocaine, a Class 2 drug that can be used as a “blocker” but also is found in many non-pharmaceutical products. Texas prohibits any trace of the drug in test samples and is classified as a "zero tolerance" state. Asmussen has retained the legal services of prominent owner Maggi Moss, a trial attorney who put her law practice on hold several years ago to concentrate on her racing stable.
According to the Association of Racing Commissioners International database, Asmussen has a total of 74 rulings involving him, including a number of medication violations, dating back to 1990. He served a six-month suspension in late 2006-early 2007 for a mepivacaine positive in one of his horses racing in Louisiana.

By Ray Paulick


CURLIN IN MAN O' WAR ON SATURDAY AT BELMONT

With his owners cleared to race in new York, CURLIN will race in th Man o' War against Red Rocks and Better Talk Now and others in the Grade 1 Man o' War Stakes on Saturday, the first turf test for the Smart Strike colt.

Entries will be taken tomorrow.



RITZ CLUB FESTIVAL MEETING AT NEWMARKET

Raining at Newmarket today for the first of a few cards of racing at Newmarket.
The feature today is the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes for fillies and mares, 3yos & up, at 1 mile. DARJINA, 2nd in the Queen Anne at Ascot is the favourite over HEAVEN SENT.

The Storm Cat 2yo filly HEART SHAPED is the favourite in the Group 2 Cherry Hinton Stakes.


DELAWARE CARD ON SATURDAY

Canadian-bred MAREN'S MEADOW, a 3yo filly by Meadowlake bred by Josham Farms, is in the $500,000 Delaware Oaks, Grade 2 on Saturday.
The Larry Jones trainee is one of 2 entered in the race for the trainer (Proud Spell, off that botched race in the Mother Goose) is also entered.

In the Delaware Handicap, SPRING WALTZ, not Canadian-bred but a Stronach Stables filly out of the top mare Relaxing Rhythm, is in post 10 in the 11-horse field.


Delaware Oaks (G2)
July 12, $500,000, f, 3yo, 11⁄16m, Delaware Park, 4:02 PM ET

PP Horse Sire Jockey Wt. Trainer

1. Weathered Key Contender A. R. Napravnik 120 Karl M. Grusmark
2. Maren’s Meadow Meadowlake Gabriel Saez 120 J. Larry Jones
3. African Violet Lemon Drop Kid Cornelio H. Velasquez 116 H. Graham Motion
4. French Kiss Hussonet Joe M. Johnson 116 Gary G. Hartlage
5. Snowy Elegance Snow Ridge Harry Vega 116 Eberd Estrada
6. Proud Spell Proud Citizen Gabriel Saez 122 J. Larry Jones
7. Shes All Eltish Eltish Eddie Castro 120 Martin D. Wolfson
8. Cape Cod Lady Yonaguska Pablo Morales 116 Rodolfo Garcia


BUFFALO MAN AT BELMONT TODAY

FROM BRISNET.COM..

A solid field of sprinters will contest Wednesday's $75,000 Inside the Beltway S. over six furlongs on Belmont Park's inner turf course. SALUTE THE COUNT (Count the Time), runner-up in the Jaipur S. (G3) and Aegon Turf Sprint (G3) in his last two, will square off against Jaipur fourth TRUE TO TRADITION (Rahy), the undefeated FEROCIOUS FIRES (Lite the Fuse), Grade 3 winner BUFFALO MAN (El Prado [Ire]) and Red Wing Dream S. winner EMIRATES TO DUBAI (Storm Cat).




AND...WHAT BECAME OF THOSE RACEHORSES THAT GO TO CALGARY CHUCKWAGONS?

FROM TODAY'S VANCOUVER SUN..


They'rrrre offff'

The chuckwagon race, a Calgary Stampede fixture since the early 1920s, provides the ultimate in cowboy teamwork

Barry Cooper, Special to the Sun

Of course, it's dangerous. Four wagons and 32 horses clipping along at 60 kilometers an hour could hardly be anything else. But only a prissy puritan would find the danger that accompanies excitement objectionable. As for the horses, they are mostly thoroughbreds whose time on the race track circuit is over, but their genetic love of running is as strong as ever. As they stand there in the infield, held barely under control by the outriders, you don't have to be an old-time cowboy to tell they're just rarin' to run.

So what about those who are so ready to accuse the human athletes of recklessness and cruelty? As driver Jim Nevada said of those who criticize the sport for endangering the horses, "We don't pay four or five thousand dollars for a horse and try to kill it. You don't win money if you don't take care of your horses. We're drug tested, both us and the horses. Those horses would be in a dog-food can or on a plate in France, if it wasn't for racing."

So when you listen to Joe Carbury, in his last year as the voice of the Rangeland Derby, give his throaty cry, "and they'rrrre offff," the entire grandstand and thousands more watching on TV can thank Guy Weadick and his marketing genius for this iconic Calgary event.