NA Cup Morning Lines and Beyer on Brown

The North America Cup morning lines are out.

In the first elim Badlands Nitro is listed at 8-5. In any other year (last year) Santanna Blue Chip would have been the talk of the division. He gets some respect at 2-1. Share the Delight, my pick for a good showing Cup week is third choice. Keystone Horatio just keeps winning, but is listed at 6-1. Can't take them all in this tough division I guess.

In the second elim, 2-5 is the odds on Beach. He'll probably be 1-5 with a huge minus show pool, but that is a good line. Art Official, our choice to ome second to him in our fair odds line is 5-1. Again, a good line, I believe.

In the third division Dali is listed at 8-5. That is too low for me. I would have made him 5-2. The other toughies all get listed at decent fair odds, including Sand Shooter and Rudy Rednose. I think Sand Shooter will be three lengths better this week, so I agree with that line. Rudy has some go.

The program for the good card of racing should be out today.

Beyer Has Cajones

It has been often stated that the racing press is filled with fluff, trying to support a sport that needs it, and being good "company men". Andrew Beyer did not get the memo apparently. In a DRF article on Big Brown he lets those thoughts be known.

.....the only admirable figure in the Belmont winner's circle will be Big Brown.

Snippets, on owner Mike Iavarone:

Iavarone's sudden prominence in racing underscores the weakness of the sport's regulatory system and should be a caution for any innocent who considers investing in horses. Iavarone couldn't sell a share of a 10-cent gold-mining stock without being licensed by the securities industry and making his professional history a matter of public record. But he was soliciting investments for a $100 million horse-racing "hedge fund" without disclosing his background - a fact that has sparked disbelief and derision from commentators outside the sport. John Helyar, co-author of "Barbarians at the Gate," wrote for Bloomberg.com: " 'Big Brown' has taken on a whole new meaning. It describes the . . . dung piles littering Iavarone's past."

On trainer, Richard Dutrow:

Yet even if Dutrow didn't have a single blemish on his official record, rival trainers, track officials, and bettors would still view him with suspicion. After Dutrow acquires new horses, he seemingly has the power to transform them magically. When he took over the training of Saint Liam in 2003, the colt had won only two minor races in seven starts. Under Dutrow's care he was a new horse, winning four Grade 1 stakes and the Horse of the Year title. When a trainer does this once, it's a remarkable feat. But when he improves horses dramatically on a regular basis, he will be suspected of taking some unfair edge. Dutrow does it on a regular basis. Over the past five years, the horses he has claimed have won an astonishing 35 percent of the time in the first start for his barn.

In many other countries, trainers with Dutrow's record and reputation would be booted out of the sport. In the U.S., where penalties for medication violations are usually laughable, an unsavory reputation is scarcely a handicap, because owners gravitate to high-percentage trainers. When the IEAH Stable's previous trainer was socked with criminal charges for cheating with one of the stable's horses, IEAH sought out Dutrow. And thus did he eventually get the opportunity to train Big Brown.

Love em or hate him, Beyer is certainly not there to cheerlead. He speaks his mind. For that we are lucky to be able to read him.

$60,000 win on a 2-1 shot? And a Bit More.

Well, time for a quick runner post.

In the old days we used to go bet a horse, go to the wicket and cash, or crumple it up and throw it on the floor. That's the way it was (well I guess there were bookies too, but I never met one back then). Now it is a different story. One can buy and sell horse futures on an exchange, we can bet prop bets at casino's on many things, and of course, we have the future pool bet. And sometimes they can pay big.

Back a few years ago I put $20 on Funny Cide back in January, at I think 90-1. That was a decent score, and I was a happy camper. Well, how about this. $60,000 profit on a Kentucky Derby Future bet on Big Brown.

"My friend Rob Hutcherson from Louisville, Kentucky joined me out at the Venetian. We are both very big horse racing enthusiasts and happened to bet Big Brown at his Gulfstream Allowance race on March 5th. What struck us about Big Brown is that we have never seen a three-year-old go such a quick first quarter then draw off by 10 lengths under a hand ride. The ironic part is that the race was scheduled on the turf and was switched to the main track after the rain. Big Brown was never being pointed for the Kentucky Derby and had zero graded stakes earnings which are necessary to even make the starting gate the first Saturday of May. After witnessing the most impressive race ever won by a three-year-old that day, before the results were official, we noticed he was eligible for the Kentucky Derby and ran to the window and made our $300 wager at an unheard of 200 to 1.

Nice work boys, nice work.

There is a scan of the ticket in the story.

Second, there are some folks out there, despite their love for the horse, who do not want to see the Big Brown horse win the TC this weekend. One posted something on Paceadvantage.com, showing one reason why. In this hefty stakes race the very good Commentator was ran at hard by two Dutrow rabbits in a suicidal second split, allowing St Liam a walk in the park.

Here is the race on Youtube that the poster did not like (actually this was a heavily debated race in the t-breds at the time, some calling it a dark day for racing and sportsmanship). Any comments? What do you think? Part of the game, or a torch job? If someone uses a race like this to not cheer for a guy like Dutrow do you find that justified?

I don't know what to think. Way back when, we looked at Big Brown in a post, and I do like the horse. I am not overly thrilled with the horse and I do not think he's Secretariat, but I like him. Do I think he is the horse I am looking for to finally break the Crown drought? I don't know, but one thing I know, if he wins, he deserves it. He's a horse; and he can not pick and choose who he raced against, or who his owner is, or who is trainer is. He's just a horse.

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.