North America Cup Elims; Fair Odds Line & Handy Links

The Cup elims have been drawn. 27 colts connections have made the $8000 starting fee payment. I have also made a Cup Champion fair odds line, based on the entries.

The fields are as follows (courtesy Woodbine Entertainment)

1st Elimination

1 - BADLANDS NITRO
2 - SANTANNA BLUE CHIP
3 - KEYSTONE HORATIO
4 - HANDS TO YOURSELF
5 - SHARE THE DELIGHT
6 - SCAPE GHOST
7 - UP FRONT HANNAHSBOY
8 - TRADE EDITOR
9 - SPACE WALK

2nd Elimination

1 - ART OFFICIAL
2 - LONESTAR LEGEND
3 - LEGACY N DIAMONDS
4 - SOMEBEACHSOMEWHERE
5 - MUCHO SLEAZY
6 - FRANKYLUVSMEATBALS
7 - ON THE BRINK
8 - IDLE HOUR
9 - SHADOW PLAY

3rd Elimination

1 - STONEBRIDGE MAGNUM
2 - DALI
3 - RUDY REDNOSE
4 - SAND SHOOTER
5 - FOUR STARZ MOXIE
6 - WARNING ZONE
7 - DALEY DEPOSIT ONLY
8 - DEUCE SEELSTER
9 - LENNON BLUE CHIP

Here is my first crack at a North America Cup XXV Fair Odds Line. We will be updating this after the eliminations.

#1 Somebeachsomewhere (50%; even)

#2 Art Official (11%; 8-1)

#3 Dali (9%; 10-1)

#4 Share the Delight (6%; 15-1)

#5 Badlands Nitro (5%; 20-1)

#6 Santanna Blue Chip (4%; 25-1)

#7 Sand Shooter (4%; 25-1)

#8 Keystone Horatio (2%; 40-1)

#9 Lennon Blue Chip (1%; 60-1)

#10 Rudy Rednose (1%; 60-1)

Field (5%: 20-1)

Cup XXV Handicapping and Betting Resources

Information: For all the news and notes on Cup XXV, including interviews and video, and historical handicapping reports from WEG's Mike Hamilton, check out Northamericacup.com. It is a vital resource if you plan to play the big Cup pools (all pools are large for this race - the largest pools of the year in Canada).

Betting the Cup: USA: Mohawk is bettable at several ADW internet platforms in the US, including national ones like Youbet.com, Twinspires.com and a couple of other smaller regional ones. The only national ADW Mohawk is not available at is Premier Turf Club, so if you are a member there, you must sign up at one of the others to be able to bet the race. We know how difficult it is to sign up for places in cyberspace for racing (and fund the accounts), so get cracking if you want to play the Cup. Canada: fans can play Cup night at Horseplayerinteractive.com, or of course head to the track, or their nearest teletheatre.

Chat Sites: To chat with other fans about the Cup, come up with a potential pick or two, or just for general interest, try Harnessdriver.com. Sign up, it's free.

Inside Info: To follow along with some owner thoughts, and perhaps some hard-to-find handicapping information regarding a horse's fitness, or connections thoughts, Andrew Cohen is blogging the next couple of weeks (he owns contender Share the Delight) at his blog. Other owners who are posting include the owners of Dali and Daley Deposit Only.

General: The Harness Edge has a bio of all the participants. Standardbred Canada has all the news and notes.

I sincerely hope that everyone enjoys Cup Week, and I offer all the owners, trainers and groom's of all of these horses my sincere best wishes. Good luck and best wishes as well to Greg, Mike, Chris and all those at WEG on a successful next two weeks. I hope their hard work is rewarded with a good crowd, great weather and a great race.

New Driver Fines Popping Up

I have noticed the past few days that some new driver fines have been popping up at Mohawk. A few have been for "talking on the track" and a couple for "not closing a hole".

Recently Standardbred Canada ran a survey about some of the things that annoy the betting public (and some horseman) regarding the way our races are run. We spoke about a couple of these here in this post.

It seems that some of the letters to the Trot editor (and some letters to the Harness Edge) were read by those in power. It does appear that this is perhaps a response to those letters.

The internet is a powerful tool. Twenty minutes ago I was asked by a company we do business with to fill out an online survey, for example. There are companies out there who supply an online web survey template for other companies to use. Companies scan blogs and chat sites (some chat sites for customers right on their websites) to see what customers are saying. Places like the Harness Edge and SC offer forms for immediate feedback on stories. It is all a click away in this day and age.

A small pebble dropped from a snow-topped mountain can turn into a snowball if enough people get behind it. We have seen that in a lot of instances in the internet age. Addressing the pebble before it becomes a snowball is something we all do in our businesses. It seems that this response echo's that racing feels the same way.

Burlington Recap

On Saturday night three divisions of the Burlington Stakes went forward at Mohawk Raceway in Campbellville. I found the races far more entertaining than I usually find them.

In division one Dali got the lead that I thought he would. But it was not a walk in the park. Luc kept him going pretty good speed, paneling back to back sub-28 quarters. At the top of the lane he looked to be perhaps beaten, but Miller’s horse Sand Shooter had not much to offer, and Stonebridge Magnum in the pocket was just keeping up. Out of the clouds came Ty Buter and Art Official, which if not for Somebeach’s effort in division two, would have easily been the talk of the evening. He flew home in a speed not seen at Mohawk, ever. He paced wide in the last three panels and clocked those in 120.3, with a 52.4 back half. Astonishing speed.

In the second division, Somebeach was, well Somebeach. Despite getting soundly stung in a 26.2 second quarter, and having to back that up with a 27.4 third quarter, he cruised home and jogged. Handicapping 101 says that if a horse is used a big quarter in the middle and gets zero rest, his last 100 yards will be slow, and he will be vulnerable. We see that every single day. That is a rule for regular horses, not this one. I also honestly thought that he would be somewhat short after seeing the fractions and knowing that they could not get proper work into him with the injury he had two weeks ago. By all reports he just went a 158 mile as a tune up. I was extremely impressed. Jeff Gillis’ horse – Santanna Blue Chip had a good tightener from the ten. I am not sure I have ever seen a horse pace sounder, or straighter. He might not be Somebeach, but he is darn good and should have a super season, as they point him to the stakes. Last night was clearly a conditioning mile.

In the last division, I expected Lonestar Legend to romp when he made the lead. It did not happen. Keystone Horatio sprang off cover and won fairly easily, defeating a tripped out Deuce Seelster. Y’know I never give Horatio too much credit. That is clearly a mistake. He is a nice horse who shows up every single week. These are the types that you look at their card, they have a mark of 151 and have made $900,000. or so. Time for me to give him the credit he deserves for being a damn nice horse.

Barring some sort of mishap, Somebeach is a clear favourite for the Cup. Fair odds? I honestly think he is even money to win the race. Big Brown was even money to win the Triple Crown after the Derby, which I thought was too low. Two races to win and even money with all that can go wrong? Not my cup of tea, but with this horse I can’t conceivably make him any higher odds. He simply looks to be everything that everyone has said – a complete and utter freak.