Friday's Breeders Cup Results

First and foremost, my prayers and thoughts are being sent to racing analyst Bob Neumeier and his family.  According to the Boston Globe, the venerable handicapper suffered a stroke on 29 October and is in the hospital.  Neumy, I always loved to hear you and Mike Battaglia trading wit and opinions during the Breeders Cup coverage, as well as the Triple Crown coverage.  I hope you're back on the job and joking on camera again - very soon!  Consider yourself embraced.
    Even though the Breeders Cup did not sponsor the Marathon race, the city of Las Vegas put up a guaranteed purse of $200,000 for the horses that like to run all day.  I was very happy to see the 1 and 3/4 dirt race on the program at Santa Anita today - again, my only complaint is that it was not sponsored by the Breeders Cup this year.  A field of nine, including Argentina-bred Big Casanova, the alternate entry for the BC Classic tomorrow, left the gate in good order.  The horses ran at a good, steady clip, but Cary Street was trailing by 12 lengths (or more) through most of the race.  Irish Surf, the betting favorite, stayed close to the leaders and paced them.  with 5/8 mile to go, Cary Street started to roll - he charged past the rest of the horses and won easily, going away, by almost 10 lengths, and under a hand ride.  Irish Surf finished second, and Patrioticandproud got up for third. Sky Kingdom came up for fourth, and Big Casanova, who had led for a bit, faded to fifth place.  It was a beautifully run race!  Cary Street, a 5-year-old bay gelding by Smarty Jones, paid $7.80 on a $2 win ticket...
   For the actual Breeders Cups races, my picks were so-so....   Faithful Creek was added to the entries in the Juvenile Turf after the scratch of Aktabanay, so a full field of 14 colts were on the grass course.  I had chosen Aktabantay as one of my picks, and with his scratch, I switched to Luck of the Kitten - which turned out to be very nice for me.  Hootenanny, under the ride of Frankie Dettori, won the race; so that $2 got me $14. Luck of the Kitten came in second, which got me $9.20.  Daddy D T placed third, and paid $11.  I bet $2 on an exacta with Hootenanny first and Luck of the Kitten second - that won me $100.  My other picks did not fair as well - Wet Sail finished last; Imperia was tenth; and the roan colt Danny Boy was in eighth place. I came out ahead with $113.20 (betting$10).
  In the Dirt Mile, Goldencents, the betting favorite for the mile race at 3 to 5, and defending champion, made history by repeating his win.  He's the  first horse to win the Dirt Mile Breeders Cup twice.  He is also being rewarded for his efforts by being retired to stud at Spendthrift Farm.  Tapiture finished a strong second, and Pants on Fire was in third.  My four picks in this race finished in second, third, fourth (Bronzo), and last - Vicar's In Trouble.  Vicar's In Trouble was lame at the end of the race, and was vanned back to his barn.  He suffered a condylar fracture in his left fore during the race, and will have a vacation before returning to the races.  I placed $2 bets in this race - Goldencents paid $3.40; Tapiture paid $3.80; and Pants on Fire paid $4.  The exacta paid $14.20; and the trifecta paid $71.  I spent $8, and received back $7.80 - so a loss of 20 cents.
  The Juvenile Filly Turf was also a wide open race - fourteen contenders arrived on the track, but one of my betting choices, Lady Zuzu, was scratched by the veterinarian before entering the starting gate.  I lost $6 on this race.  The winner was Lady Eli, with Sunset Glow in second, Osaila in third, and Prize Exhibit coming in fourth.  On a $2 bet, Lady Eli paid $6.80, Sunset Glow paid $5.20, and Osaila paid $3.60.  Money bet on Lady Zuzu was returned.  The exacta paid $35, and the trifecta paid $65.90.  I had chosen four fillies - the three who ran finished in third, fourth and fifth places.  But I had only placed bets "to win" in this race.
  After the Breeders Cup Distaff, winning jockey Rosie Napravnik surprised everyone (except her husband, horse trainer Joe Sharp) by announcing her retirement from racing after this year's Breeders Cup.  The reason is a happy one - she and Joe are expecting their first child.  Congratulations, Rosie and Joe!  But, back to the horses...  I figured that Untapable, Rosie's mount, would be the betting favorite for the race, and she was.  I placed 4 $2 bets to wins and lost another $8.  Untapable was unstoppable in the Distaff, with Don't Tell Sophia in second, and Iotapa in third.For $2 bets, Untapable paid $5.20, Don't Tell Sophia paid $4.60, and Iotapa paid $4.  The exacta paid $27, and the $2 trifecta paid $150.40.  The four horses I bet on finished in the last four positions in a field of eleven - so my choices in the Distaff were rotten.