Posted: 25 Dec 2010 10:43 PM PST

HORSE RACING: Jockey could spend brunt of his time racing in SoCal.

Here's some news that might temper some of that holiday cheer for many local jockeys and their agents - Garrett Gomez may be sticking around a while longer this year rather than leaving Southern California when Keeneland opens in April.

Since Gomez hooked up with agent Ron Anderson five years ago, the 38-year-old Duarte resident has ridden at Santa Anita during the winter, relocated to Keeneland and Churchill Downs in the spring, moved his tack to the New York circuit during the summer and then ridden the fall meets at Keeneland and Churchill Downs before returning for the tail end of Hollywood Park's autumn meet.

But Gomez's two youngest children, 9-year-old Jared and 7-year-old Amanda, are getting older now and forcing the two-time Eclipse Award-winning rider to make a difficult decision - spend more time at home with his family or chase the elite horses all over the country.

"The last couple of years, my kids are getting bigger and now they have a life," Gomez said on the eve of today's opening day at Santa Anita. "My little girl rides in (horse) shows every weekend, and now it's not just bringing the wife and kids back. Now you're trying to pick up horses, the dog and everything else. It don't work like that. We got to visit here and there sporadically, but there are times we really need to see each other and sometimes it's not doable. It's very frustrating.

"I'd like to be able to stay in California because this is home, this is where my family is. But come April, some of the good horses are other places. Sometimes at that time of year for some reason the racing kind of takes a little step down for a while around California. I'm always chasing the good horses and you hate to not go out and do what you're capable of doing.

"We're just going to play it by ear and see what happens. Hopefully, the racing will stay good enough around here where we're able to stay around."

Anderson said he and Gomez will sit down sometime in late February and sort things out.

Two big factors in the decision might be how well Santa Anita's new dirt main track is received and the number of top local Kentucky Derby hopefuls Gomez can land between now and the Santa Anita Derby on April 9.

"I would say any jockey in the whole country would do (Gomez's past schedule) if they could," Anderson said. "Not many, if anybody else, can do that and still excel everywhere they go."

In the meantime, Gomez will focus first on trying to match Laffit Pincay Jr. with his fifth consecutive national earnings title. Bill Shoemaker holds the record with seven consecutive.

"It's pretty good company to be in," Anderson said.

Gomez, who won his fourth Shoemaker Award at this year's Breeders' Cup by riding three winners, trailed Ramon Dominguez by more than $500,000 at the beginning of the week with five racing days left in 2010.

Gomez, who won the title last year over Julien Leparoux by winning the final race of 2009, is named to ride in all four of today's stakes races, including the Steve Asmussen-trained Thiskyhasnolimit in the $250,000 Grade I Malibu.

"We're racing for enough money, it's just a matter of getting it done," Gomez said. "We'll be fighting all the way through the beginning of the year to try to get it, and when the end of the year comes we'll be fighting for another one."

If there's one thing Gomez knows how to do besides win races, it's how to fight. He had to battle through lots of pain at Churchill Downs last month in order to fulfill his Breeders' Cup riding commitments after injuring his right shoulder in a spill the day before the World Championships began.

Gomez said he didn't think he'd be able to continue on the second day after riding in the Turf Sprint. Lucky for him, he had a few races off and was able to get some ice on it and receive treatment. Two hours later, he was ready to go.

"When I first came back from the grass sprint race, I thought I might not be able to do it because I had no strength in my arm," he said. "It hurt to do any real movement with it."

A few days later, an MRI on the shoulder revealed two hairline fractures.

"It was probably one of the worst things I've ridden through," Gomez said.

But he was good enough to guide Blame to an upset victory over previously unbeaten Zenyatta in the $5million Breeders' Cup Classic.

It didn't surprise Anderson.

"Dr. Robert Kerlan claimed that jockeys were the best athletes in the world, and he treated football, basketball, baseball (players), and golfers," said Anderson, who booked mounts for Jerry Bailey and Gary Stevens before going to work for Gomez. "I mean, he treated a lot of athletes and probably would have as good a line as anybody on that."

Gomez didn't recall receiving any negative mail after beating the most popular horse in America, but it probably hurt his standing among some.

"Nobody wanted to see her get beat," Gomez said. "I think I lost all my women fans. She was quite the ambassador for the game, andto see her go down in thelast start of her career was quite disappointing to alot of people. I just happened to be on the horse that did it to her."

Gomez admits he's biased when it comes to the topic of Horse of the Year, but he made a strong case for Blame.

"I watch some of the people on TVG and I kind of scratch my head because they're like, `Well, who would you vote for?' and four of the five are voting for Zenyatta," he said. "I'm thinking, `OK, how's that work?' If you put stats down and (consider) head-to-head battles, I mean to me it's cut and dry. The way I look at it, it's what they did in racing (and) not what they did for the sport of racing.

"I feel bad, because this mare has done so much. I mean, how does a horse go 19 for 20 and never win Horse of the Year? In all honesty, I felt last year she was Horse of the Year. She showed up on the big day and did what she was supposed to do. The other horse (Rachel Alexandra) did a lot too early on in the year, but she didn't show up for the Breeders' Cup. (The vote) kind of left me scratching my head."

But Horse of the Year is out of Gomez's control. He doesn't have a vote, so he'll concentrate on things that are within his control, including another earnings title and adapting to Santa Anita's new dirt surface.

So far, he loves it.

"It's unbelievable how good it looked with all the rain we've had," Gomez said after visiting Santa Anita this week. "It wasn't even like a sloppy race track. It looked like it rained about a half an inch. I was there at 6:30 in the morning, and I walked up and I couldn't believe what I saw."

If all goes well, Gomez will be seeing a lot more of the whole Southland racing scene in 2011.

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Horse racing losing patrons to casinos

Posted: 26 Dec 2010 08:21 PM PST

The horses prick up their ears as a flamingo hue bleeds into the dawn sky. They chortle through their velvet nostrils. They nod their silky heads. The sun is rising at Calder racetrack and the horses are ready to run.

Eddie Plesa, trainer of thoroughbreds, moves around the barn with a brisk gait, from tack room, to office, to stalls. He talks to riders, grooms, jockey agents, a veterinarian and a blacksmith while overseeing a routine that never changes. There are poultices to be applied, flanks to be rubbed and a hopeless case named Malini, who runs like he's in quicksand, to be shipped to a farm.

In Calder's backside village, Barn 74 is the home of Edward Plesa Stables, symbolized by the black diamond P. Every day for 40 years his horses have run around the track and walked around the shedrow, generation after generation of winners and losers, round and round.

``How'd you go, Pete?'' he asked an exercise rider aboard To Heir Is Human.

``Real smooth, boss,'' Pete Shelton said after galloping the gelding through a workout.

Plesa, 59, started hot-walking horses and filling bags of clover for 50 cents when he was 5 years old. His father was a jockey and one of the first trainers at Calder. His wife's father was a jockey, and her brothers are trainers.

Plesa's daughter, studying equine science at the University of Kentucky, longs to become a trainer. But he hopes she finds a different passion.

His livelihood, and a way of life, is vanishing.

GLORY DAYS

The sport of kings once had a regal atmosphere to match the magnificence of the animals. Presidents and playboys, moguls and movie stars came to tracks in jackets and ties and fancy dresses to watch Man O'War, Citation, Secretariat. They sat in their name-plated boxes and dined at the Turf Club. Aristocrats owned horses as a hobby.

These days, tracks across the country are in trouble. Maryland racing, which includes the Preakness Stakes, was ready to shut down Dec. 31 until the governor orchestrated a Dec. 22 deal that includes state bailout money. In South Florida, Hialeah, once a jewel, was closed for eight years; it's trying to revive with unfashionable quarter horse racing. Gulfstream's corporate owner, which also owns Santa Anita and Pimlico, was in bankruptcy and lost $23 million on racing last quarter.

At Calder, the motley crowds are as small as the prize purses. Maybe 2,000 spectators in T-shirts and baseball caps watch races that pay $12,000. The grandstand is empty except for a few senior citizens. The wagering clerks and food stand workers have a faraway gaze as they wait for a customer to place a bet or buy a slice of pizza. The silence is broken by gray-skinned bettors cursing at TV screens simulcasting races from other deserted tracks.

Outside, the patchy grass of the once-lush paddock is ringed by wilting impatiens. Worthless tickets skitter in the breeze. The bugler's tune echoes across the finish line.

``It's a dying sport,'' Plesa said. He closes his eyes for a second, and tries not to sound wistful. ``It hurts to see how this place has deteriorated.''

But stroll 50 yards away from the racetrack into the year-old Calder Casino and it's like leaving a dilapidated amusement park and entering a swanky nightclub.

The floors are lined with thick, colorful carpet. The lighting is soft and low. Pop music is pumped throughout the warehouse-sized room. There are free soft drink stations, plus the Twin Spires Tavern and Front Runners Café. Employees are attentive, perky.

Horse-racing bills advance to full Assembly

Posted: 25 Dec 2010 06:07 PM PST

Horse-racing bills advance to full Assembly

Potential new revenue stream for purses at Monmouth Park, Meadowlands

BY DAN HOWLEY Staff Writer

Alegislative package aimed at keeping the horse-racing industry at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford and Monmouth Park in the borough afloat has advanced to the state Assembly.

The bills, which were approved and moved forward by the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee, call for the creation of new revenue opportunities, which lawmakers hope will eliminate the racing industry's reliance on state subsidies.

"This is certainly going to help us develop the beginning of what we hope will be a revenue stream that … will keep New Jersey racing alive," said John Forbes, president of the West Long Branch-based New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.

Monmouth Park racetrack is designed for use by thoroughbred racers only.

"We think that these are good measures that can contribute to some revenue stream for purses, which is essential," he added.

One of the bills, A-3498, approved by the full Assembly on Dec. 13, authorizes Internet wagering by residents of eligible United States jurisdictions on in-state horse races.

According to Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-12th District), the legislation will have a "substantial impact [on Monmouth Park]." Beck was a sponsor of the Senate's version of the off-track wagering legislation.

"The biggest issue horse racing has is that its product isn't distributed well," Beck said. "In other words, if you want to wager on a horse race, you … need to go to the track or a casino. And so you don't have a lot of opportunities to participate in horse racing.

"Off-track wagering [is] a way to raise a lot of revenue for the industry and indeed will lead to it being self-supporting. So that bill in particular is really critical to the industry and its future frankly," Beck said.

The legislation still awaiting approval by the full Assembly includes the following bills that were passed by the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee. If the Assembly speaker posts them, they

will go to the full Assembly for approval.

• Assembly bill ACR-167, which allows for wagering at Atlantic City casinos and

horse racetracks on sporting events.

• Assembly bill A-2570, which authorizes Internet wagering at Atlantic City casinos by state residents and persons located out of the country. A portion of the revenue generated through the Internet wagering will be allocated to the New Jersey Racing Commission for the benefit of the racing industry. That appropriation will lapse after

one year.

• Assembly bill A-3200, which permits racetrack permit holders to provide a single pari-mutuel pool for each running or harness horse race run

• Assembly bill A-3531, which dedicates revenue derived from sales tax to provide incentives for the breeding and development

of certain racehorses in the state.

Forbes said he welcomes the bills that provide the racing industry with new revenue streams; however, he is on edge about the bill allowing sports betting at casinos

and racetracks.

"The sports betting issue seems to be something that the casino industry is interested in nationally, because they are, of course, at war with each other from state to state.

"It's direct competition for the gaming dollar, and if racing receives a piece of that, then that would be good for racing. But if racing doesn't receive any revenue stream from a sports-betting scenario, … it would

negatively impact us," Forbes said.

Of particular interest to Forbes is a portion of the legislation that authorizes exchange wagering, which allows bettors to bet against each other on the outcome of a

particular race at fixed odds.

"We have seen the [exchange wager] model work well in Europe," Forbes explained. "It's a little bit of a mixed bag because we are not able to make a decent projection of what kind of revenue stream

it will produce.

"Exchange wagering," Forbes said, "is a little different in that the money doesn't go into a huge pool. It's a variant of parimutuel racing, but it is basically individual

against individual."

Monmouth Park currently offers parimutuel wagering, which allows bettors to

bet against each other in a pool.

The new legislation permits racetracks to provide a single pari-mutuel pool for

each race run.

However, while the legislation could help the racing industry, Forbes said, it does

little to address one of its main problems.

"The essence of our issue is that casino gaming in New Jersey has devastated the

racing industry," Forbes said.

"When [neighboring states] have legalized casino gaming, they have made sure that their racing industries receive a revenue stream, so that casino gaming and racing …

would survive," he explained.

"Those legislators recognized that the racing industry in those states was a vital industry."

Yet, Forbes said he is still thankful that the Legislature has begun looking into possible ways to save the state's racing industry.

"Suffice it to say, we appreciate that the Legislature is cognizant of the fact that the racing industry is an over $1 billion industry, economic impact-wise to the state," he

said.

"Racing pays the state somewhere around $160 million of tax money … and since the state through the Sports and Exposition Authority runs racing, they have a shortfall in the operation of the sports authority.

"But to do away with racing would lose the state $160 million of tax revenue," Forbes said.

Horse Racing

Sunday, December 26, 2010

“Horse racing jockey Gomez contemplates running in place for 2011” plus 2 more

“Horse racing jockey Gomez contemplates running in place for 2011” plus 2 more

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