The Chincoteague High School Ponies baseball team did something great this year - they played their entire schedule and were undefeated. They were named the Region 41 Baseball Champions. Yesterday, the team started in the Play-Offs - and they defeated the Middlesex Chargers by a score of 8 to 4 in the East Regional Division. Way to go, young men!! I'll definitely be yelling, "Go Ponies!"
NBC has announced their coverage of the Belmont Stakes weekend. On Friday, the NBC Sports Network will have a program beginning at 3:30 EDT - I'm not sure if there will be live racing coverage from Belmont Park, or if it will be looking at (a) previous Triple Crown winners or (b) the 13 colts that have won both the Derby and the Preakness, but not the Belmont, since Affirmed last won the Triple Crown in 1978. There are two interesting stakes race at Belmont on Friday - the New York Stakes, for fillies and mares age 4 and up, which is 1 1/4 miles on the inner turf track; and the Belmont Gold Cup Invitational Stakes being run for horses four and up, covering 2 miles on the turf. The girls' race has 8 entries, while the 2 mile race has 11 contestants.
On Saturday, there will be 10 graded stakes races at Belmont, including the Belmont Stakes. There are two Invitational races, plus the Acorn Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a one mile distance - the female portion of the Triple Crown races. NBC Sports Network will begin coverage at 2:30 EDT; then NBC will take over coverage from 4:30 until 7 p.m. (EDT); with NBC Sports Network providing another 30 minutes of coverage after the race, from 7 until 7:30. All of the other stakes races look intriguing… I just hope for zero injuries.
The draw for Belmont post positions will take place today. I'll write about them tomorrow, but it looks like a ten horse field. American Pharoah is the betting favorite, and, if he wins the Belmont on Saturday, will be the 12th Triple Crown winner in America.
At 4:30 p.m., Greenwich Mean Time, the Epsom Derby will be run in England. There are 15 entries, and the last betting odds I saw ran from 3 to 2, to 250 to 1…. Wow. Here are the runners, listed alphabetically, with their odds behind their names: Best of Times 66 to 1; Carbon Dating 250 to 1; Elm Park 7 to 1; Epicuris 25 to 1; Giovanni Canaletto 7 to 1; Golden Horn 3 to 2; Hans Holbein 12 to 1; Jack Hobbs 11 to 2; Killimanjaro 20 to 1; Moheet 40 to 1; Rocky Rider 100 to 1; Rogue Runner 100 to 1; Storm the Stars 25 to 1; Success Days 16 to 1; and Zawraq 6 to 1.
Happy betting!
Showing posts with label Golden Horn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Golden Horn. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Horses - Thoroughbreds in Particular
In six days, the world will know whether or not there is a new Triple Crown Champion in the United States. It would be nice. The last Triple Crown winner was chestnut, Florida-bred Affirmed in 1978, which was 37 years ago. In those 37 years, there have been 13 colts who won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but could not win the one-and-a-half mile Belmont Stakes in New York. American Pharoah is the current champion-in-waiting, and I would positively love it, if he wins. He has the Hyperion breeding that I love very much. And Fred Hooper was a Florida breeder, who started combining the Hyperion lines - my love to you and Hoop Jr., sir.
It seems that there will be nine opponents facing American Pahroah in the Belmont - and he has raced against eight of them in either the Derby or the Preakness. The lone new horse next Saturday will be The Truth Or Else, whom American Pharaoh defeated earlier in the year. Of course, American Pharaoh is the betting favorite. Here are the names of the other contenders: Frosted, Tale of Verve, Carpe Diem, Frammento, Materiality, Madefromlucky, Keen Ice, Mubtaahij, and The Truth Or Else. Post positions will be drawn on Wednesday for the race on 6 June.
The other horses, who have achieved winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but not the Belmont (since 1978) are: 1979 - Spectacular Bid, 1981 - Pleasant Colony, 1987 - Alysheba, 1989 - Sunday Silence, 1997 - Silver Charm, 1998 - Real Quiet, 1999 - Charismatic, 2002 - War Emblem, 2003 - Funny Cide, 2004 - Smarty Jones, 2008 - Big Brown, 2012 - I'll Have Another (did not compete in the Belmont), and 2014 - California Chrome.
Speaking of California Chrome, his owners have him stabled at Royal Ascot, where he is scheduled to run in the Prince of Wales Stakes on 17 June. Jockey Frankie Dettori took Chrome out for a spin the other day, to see if he'd like to race him. I heaven't yet heard Frankie's decision.
Also, Zenyatta, the Queen of Racing, is back in foal. She has produced two colts and a filly, Cozmic One and Ziconic, and the ill-fated Z Princess, who died from a paddock accident at the age of one. She wasn't bred last year; but this year, she was bred back to War Front, who sired her last foal, the filly. According to the veterinarians, she is now 40 days pregnant. Hip, hip, hooray!
Besides the Belmont Stakes, the Epsom Derby is being run on 6 June, in England. Their Derby race is 12 furlongs, plus 30 feet (1.5 miles plus 30 feet) - or 30 feet further than the Belmont Stakes; and their colts carry 126 pounds. There are 17 colts that are currently registered for the run. Alphabetically, they are: Best of Times, Carbon Dating, Elm Park, Epicuris, Giovanni Canaletto, Gleneagles, Golden Horn, Great Glen, Hans Holbein, Jack Hobbs, Kilimanjaro, Moheet, Prince Gagarin, Rocky Rider, Rogue Runner, Storm the Stars, and Zawraq. At the moment, Golden Horn is the betting favorite.
It seems that there will be nine opponents facing American Pahroah in the Belmont - and he has raced against eight of them in either the Derby or the Preakness. The lone new horse next Saturday will be The Truth Or Else, whom American Pharaoh defeated earlier in the year. Of course, American Pharaoh is the betting favorite. Here are the names of the other contenders: Frosted, Tale of Verve, Carpe Diem, Frammento, Materiality, Madefromlucky, Keen Ice, Mubtaahij, and The Truth Or Else. Post positions will be drawn on Wednesday for the race on 6 June.
The other horses, who have achieved winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, but not the Belmont (since 1978) are: 1979 - Spectacular Bid, 1981 - Pleasant Colony, 1987 - Alysheba, 1989 - Sunday Silence, 1997 - Silver Charm, 1998 - Real Quiet, 1999 - Charismatic, 2002 - War Emblem, 2003 - Funny Cide, 2004 - Smarty Jones, 2008 - Big Brown, 2012 - I'll Have Another (did not compete in the Belmont), and 2014 - California Chrome.
Speaking of California Chrome, his owners have him stabled at Royal Ascot, where he is scheduled to run in the Prince of Wales Stakes on 17 June. Jockey Frankie Dettori took Chrome out for a spin the other day, to see if he'd like to race him. I heaven't yet heard Frankie's decision.
Also, Zenyatta, the Queen of Racing, is back in foal. She has produced two colts and a filly, Cozmic One and Ziconic, and the ill-fated Z Princess, who died from a paddock accident at the age of one. She wasn't bred last year; but this year, she was bred back to War Front, who sired her last foal, the filly. According to the veterinarians, she is now 40 days pregnant. Hip, hip, hooray!
Besides the Belmont Stakes, the Epsom Derby is being run on 6 June, in England. Their Derby race is 12 furlongs, plus 30 feet (1.5 miles plus 30 feet) - or 30 feet further than the Belmont Stakes; and their colts carry 126 pounds. There are 17 colts that are currently registered for the run. Alphabetically, they are: Best of Times, Carbon Dating, Elm Park, Epicuris, Giovanni Canaletto, Gleneagles, Golden Horn, Great Glen, Hans Holbein, Jack Hobbs, Kilimanjaro, Moheet, Prince Gagarin, Rocky Rider, Rogue Runner, Storm the Stars, and Zawraq. At the moment, Golden Horn is the betting favorite.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Belmont Stakes, Epsom Derby
It's a wet, soggy three-day weekend and I'm at home. This is the first time in 5 years that I haven't been house-sitting on this weekend; seems strange. But that's OK - I have plenty to do to get ready to move. This is also the weekend of the Boulder Creek Festival, and Monday will see the running of the Bolder Boulder 10 K race, right in front of my apartment building. Brother-in-law Jim is supposed to be running this year, but between the weather and Kathy's illness, I don't know if he'll actually participate or not.
It's now two weeks to the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown horse races. This race is run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, over a dirt track with all of the three-year-old entrants carrying 126 pounds for a mile and a half. For the majority of these horses, this will be the longest race they will ever run in their entire life. Originally, horse racing consisted of races that were between four and six miles long. There were so many entrants (as horses didn't begin to race until they were 4 or 5 years old) that the races were run in heats, and the horse that was declared the winner of the race ended up running that distance two or three times in one day. It was a matter of stamina over the long haul. Today's horses are bred for their quickness at much shorter distances. Ah, for the "good old days" of 350 years ago....
American Pharoah is back at Churchill Downs, and is training there for the Belmont Stakes. It looks like Frosted will be joining him in the starting gate, as well as previous contestants Carpe Diem, Tale of Verve, Frammento, Keen Ice, Madefromlucky, Materiality, and Mubtaahij. Two new runners look to be Conquest Curlinate and War Story. I will be very happy if we can celebrate a twelfth Triple Crown Champion this year. And - if you're interested in the breeding of American Pharoah, check out this article in The Blood Horse, "Hail Hooper, Hyperion": http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/91940/hail-hooper-hyperion
At Belmont, it seems that Ziconic, Zenyatta's second foal, has a liking for the flashy Spanish Walk that was his mother's trademark:
It's now two weeks to the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown horse races. This race is run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, over a dirt track with all of the three-year-old entrants carrying 126 pounds for a mile and a half. For the majority of these horses, this will be the longest race they will ever run in their entire life. Originally, horse racing consisted of races that were between four and six miles long. There were so many entrants (as horses didn't begin to race until they were 4 or 5 years old) that the races were run in heats, and the horse that was declared the winner of the race ended up running that distance two or three times in one day. It was a matter of stamina over the long haul. Today's horses are bred for their quickness at much shorter distances. Ah, for the "good old days" of 350 years ago....
American Pharoah is back at Churchill Downs, and is training there for the Belmont Stakes. It looks like Frosted will be joining him in the starting gate, as well as previous contestants Carpe Diem, Tale of Verve, Frammento, Keen Ice, Madefromlucky, Materiality, and Mubtaahij. Two new runners look to be Conquest Curlinate and War Story. I will be very happy if we can celebrate a twelfth Triple Crown Champion this year. And - if you're interested in the breeding of American Pharoah, check out this article in The Blood Horse, "Hail Hooper, Hyperion": http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/91940/hail-hooper-hyperion
At Belmont, it seems that Ziconic, Zenyatta's second foal, has a liking for the flashy Spanish Walk that was his mother's trademark:
And in England, the Epsom Derby will be run on 6 June at Epsom Downs. There are currently 16 horses entered,, and the early betting favorite, Golden Horn, will have to be a supplemental entry at a cost of 75,000 pounds, if he is to participate. Another possible supplemental entry could be the filly Found. These 16 colts, in no particular order, are currently pre-entered: (1) Moheet, (2) Carbon Dating, (3) Best of Times, (4) Storm the Stars, (5) Pour Moi, (6) Epicuris, (7) Prince Gagarin, (8) Great Glen, (9) Elm Park, (10) Giovanni Canaletto, (11) Rogue Runner, (12) Zawraq, (13) Gleneagles, (14) Hans Holbein, (15) Kilimanjaro, and (16) Jack Hobbs. The Epsom Derby covers 12 furlongs plus 10 yards, or 1.5 miles and 10 yards, The colts are all assigned 9 stone, or 126 pounds.
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