TRC THOROUGHBRED NOTEBOOK

November 2, 1995

News and notes from around the Thoroughbred racing world, compiled by Thoroughbred Racing Communications, Inc. (TRC) (212.371.5911..)

$64 MILLION WAGERED ON BREEDERS' CUP
Total wagering on the seven Breeders' Cup Championship races last Saturday was $64,075,209. This figure includes $56,821,892 bet at the 756 simulcast and off-track betting locations across the United States and Canada. Last year, a total of $78,224,530 was wagered.

At Belmont Park, a crowd of 37,246 wagered $7,590,334 on the Breeders' Cup races. Among simulcast sites, Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, Calif., and its intertrack system led the way with $7,238,926 wagered on the Breeders' Cup races and the Breeders' Cup Pick 7. Santa Anita was followed by Keeneland and its satellite locations with $5,633,758; Hawthorne and its affiliates at $4,439,319; New York OTB, $3,191,970; and Calder and its sites with $3,133,249.

A total of $3,169,020 was wagered on the Breeders' Cup Pick 7. There were 81 winning tickets, which returned an average of $22,000. There were also 2,959 consolation tickets purchased with six-of-seven winners, which averaged a return of $200.

'With the national decline of on-track attendance and handle, we recognized before the year's event that there would probably be a decrease in the volume of wagering on the seven championship races,' said James E. Bassett III, president of the Breeders' Cup Ltd. 'However, the Breeders' Cup Championship continues to be racing's largest betting day in North America. We has a superlative day of racing at Belmont Park and we look forward to another successful Breeders' Cup in 1996.'

KEENELAND'S FALL MEET ENDS WITH RECORD HANDLE
Total wagering on Keeneland's 16-day fall meet rose by 67 percent over the same period last year. The mutuel handle was $66,999,992, and average of $4,375,000 daily, set an all-time record at the Lexington, Ky., racetrack. Out of state simulcasting played a significant role in the handle record, as New York, Illinois and Florida contributed $19.5 million to the total, as outlets in those states simulcast full-cards from Keeneland.

On-track handle and attendance decreased slightly compared to 1994 figures. On-track, $19,047,677 was wagered, an average of 1,190,480 daily, which reflected a 4.3 percent decrease over 1994. Bad weather during the first nine days of the meeting was seen as the determining factor for the slight declines in on-track handle and attendance.

BLOOD-HORSE MAGAZINE GOES ON-LINE
The Blood-Horse has developed an new interactive site on the World Wide Web dedicated to sharing news and information about Thoroughbred racing and breeding. The on-line magazine will compliment the existing weekly publication which has been in existence since 1916. Internet users can access the site at www.bloodhorse.com.

'It is increasingly evident that the future of publishing will involve more than putting ink on paper,' said Stacy V. Bearse, president and CEO of The Blood-Horse. The new information service represents a fundamental new direction in magazine publishing. Electronic distribution channels, made possible by revolutions in the computer and communications industries, are providing traditional publishers with exciting new ways to deliver their products to readers,' Bearse continued. 'In conventional publishing, we create thousands of paper products which are mailed to individual readers. With this new publishing concept, we create a singe virtual product and invite readers to access it via computer. It doesn't matter where the readers lives -- in Lexington, London or Hong Kong -- he or she can now read their weekly Blood-Horse at 9:00 a.m. each Wednesday morning.'

Expedited delivery is only one feature of the new medium. The Blood-Horse Interactive is a true multi-media product with text, photographs, audio and visual presentations. The new web site includes industry news and analysis, stud news and sire rankings, complete coverage of public auctions, race charts, a calendar of events, and editorial and commentary pages. In addition, the site will include The Daily Edition, a Virtual Farm Tour of key Thoroughbred facilities, a buyers' section, e-mail reader correspondence, verbatim transcripts of major industry presentations, press releases and more.

GOLFER BISZANTZ BUYS KENTUCKY FARM
Gary Biszantz, CEO of Cobra Golf, recently purchased the 82-acre Due Process Farm north of Lexington, Ky., from New Jersey financier Robert Brennan. The purchase price was not disclosed. The facility has been renamed Cobra Farm, after the golf equipment company, one of the largest in the world. Biszantz has been involved in racing and breeding Thoroughbreds for nearly 40 years. He currently campaigns the two-year-old stakes winner Cobra King.

LUKAS VOTED HORSEMAN OF THE YEAR BY KY THOROUGHBRED OWNERS
Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas has been voted Horseman of the Year by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners, Inc. Lukas, winner of a record-setting five consecutive Triple Crown races, will be honored by the group on Nov. 14 in a banquet to be held at the Kentucky Derby Museum, Louisville, Ky. Tickets to the event are $60 and include dinner. (For additional information, call John Schneider at (606) 423-1144.)

HBPA GETS ON THE NET
The National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association can be found on the Internet, on the World Wide Web site American Horsemen On-Line. HBPA members will now have immediate access to newsletters, press releases and membership information. The site also has an e-mail site which can be accessed. (For further information, please call 305-935-4700.)

NEW YORK JOCKEYS HEAD TO JAMAICA
New York-based riders Diane Nelson and Katy Sweeney will participate in the Red Stripe International Jockeys' Championship at Caymanas Park Racetrack in Jamaica on Saturday, Nov. 4. Nelson and Sweeney will represent the United States in the four-race competition against riders from Canada, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The four races carry purses totaling $1.1 million.

Points will be earned based on each rider's placings in the races. A total team score will be calculated and the winning team will receive a gold medal and $6,000; the second-place team will win $2,500 and a silver medal; the third-place team will earn a bronze medal and $1,500. In addition, each rider will earn the regular 10 percent commission for finishing first through fourth in each race.

RACING ON THE AIR
Nov. 2 'Racehorse Digest,' 1:30-2:00 a.m., ESPN
Nov. 4 'Racehorse Digest,' 6:00-6:30 a.m., ESPN
Nov. 8 'Racehorse Digest,' 3:30-4:00 p.m., ESPN
Nov. 9 'Racehorse Digest,' 1:30-2:00 a.m., ESPN
Nov. 11 'Racehorse Digest,' 6:00-6:30 a.m., ESPN

RACING TO HISTORY
Nov. 2, 1968: John Nerud-trained Dr. Fager, carrying 139 pounds, won the last race of his career, the seven-furlong Vosburgh Handicap at Aqueduct, by six lengths. Dr. Fager was subsequently named champion handicap horse, champion sprinter, turf champion and Horse of the Year.

Nov. 2, 1985: Trainer D. Wayne Lukas won his first Breeders' Cup race, the Juvenile Fillies, with Twilight Ridge, whose entrymates Family Style and Arewehavingfunyet finished second and eighth, respectively.

Nov. 2, 1991: Dance Smartly won the Breeders' Cup Distaff and passed Lady's Secret as racing's all-time leading female Thoroughbred money-earner, with $3,083,456.

Nov. 5, 1988: Miesque became the first horse to win two consecutive Breeders' Cup Championship races when she won the Breeders' Cup Mile at Churchill Downs.

Nov. 5, 1988: Julie Krone became the first female jockey to compete in the Breeders' Cup when she rode Darby Shuffle to a second-place finish in the Juvenile Fillies race.

Nov. 5, 1988: Ogden Phipps's four-year-old filly Personal Ensign concluded her racing career with a 13-for-13 lifetime record when she edged Winning Colors by a nose to win the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs. She was the first American racehorse to retire undefeated in major competition since Colin in 1908.

Nov. 5, 1988: By winning the $3 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs, Alysheba became North America's richest racehorse, retiring with earnings of $6,679,242.

Nov. 6, 1973: Secretariat was paraded before 33,000 fans at Aqueduct, as his final appearance at a racetrack before retirement to stud at Claiborne Farm.

Nov. 6, 1993: The Breeders' Cup was simulcast to England for wagering purposes for the first time.

Nov. 6, 1993: Lure became the fourth horse to win consecutive Breeders' Cup events when he won the Breeders' Cup Mile. The three other runners with consecutive victories were Miesque, Bayakoa (ARG) and Morley Street (IRE), the latter a two-time winner in the steeplechase division.

Nov. 9, 1957: Wheatley Stable's Bold Ruler, with Eddie Arcaro aboard, won the Trenton Handicap in a wire-to-wire victory over Gallant Man and Round Table in a three-horse race. Bold Ruler was subsequently named Horse of the Year off this performance.

Nov. 9, 1972: Secretariat worked seven furlongs in 1:25 4-5 at Garden State Park in preparation for the final race of his two-year- old season, the Garden State Stakes on Nov. 18.

Nov. 9, 1988: Laffit Pincay Jr. became the second jockey in history to win 7,000 races when he won the seventh race at Hollywood Park aboard Phone Bid.

Nov. 10, 1978: Jockey Patrick Valenzuela won his first career race, aboard Parker Petite, at Sunland Park, New Mexico.

Nov. 10, 1984: The inaugural Breeders' Cup, seven races valued at a total of $10 million, was run at Hollywood Park. The highlight of the Breeders' Cup races, the $3 million Classic, pitted Wild Again, Gate Dancer and Slew o' Gold, who was the odds-on favorite despite having a well-publicized hoof injury. After a furious drive to the wire, which involved considerable bumping among the three horses, Wild Again prevailed, but Gate Dancer was disqualified from his second-place finish for interference and was placed third, behind Slew o' Gold.

Nov. 11, 1973: Secretariat was flown to Claiborne Farm to begin his stud career.

Nov. 11, 1978: At age four, 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew won his last race, the Stuyvesant Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack, by 3 1-4 lengths.

WEEKEND STAKES
SATURDAY
Pocahontas Stakes, 2yo fillies, $100,000, 1M, Churchill Cara Rafaela, runner-up in the Oct. 28 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, heads a field of 11. Joining her will be Classy 'n' Bold, still undefeated after withdrawing from the Breeders' Cup due to a cough. Birr, who has been beaten in her last three races by Lukas's Breeders' Cup fillies, Cara Rafaela, Tipically Irish and Golden Attraction, will try again.
Budweiser B.C. H., 3&up;, $100,000, 1 1/16M, Beulah
California Jockey Club H., 3&up; (f&m;), $100,000, 1 1/8M (T), Grade III, Bay Meadows
Linda Vista Breeders' Cup H., 3yo fillies, $100,000, 1 1/16M, Grade III, Santa Anita
Northern Dancer Stakes, 3yo, $100,000, 1 1/8M, Laurel
Ontario Fashion H., 3&up; (f&m;), $75,000, 6F, Grade IIIC, Woodbine

SUNDAY
Iroquois Stakes, 2yo, $100,000, 1M, Grade III, Churchill
Sir Barton S., 3yo (c&g;), $75,000, 1 1/16M, Grade IIIC, Woodbine
Volante Handicap, 3yo, $125,000, 1 1/8M (T), Grade III, Santa Anita


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