“Zenyatta Wins Horse of the Year” plus 1 more

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 07:11 PM PST

(AP) MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - This time, Zenyatta beat Blame.

Zenyatta won Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards on Monday night, besting the only horse ever to beat her on the track.

The award caps a remarkable career for the popular Zenyatta, one of the sport's greatest mares. She was 19-0 before losing her final race to Blame in the Breeders' Cup Classic last November.

Zenyatta's three-year body of work and charismatic personality swayed voters her way. She cost owners Jerry and Ann Moss only $60,000 when they purchased her as a yearling in 2005, and she went on to win 13 Grade 1 stakes, including five last year.

Zenyatta was runner-up for Horse of the Year in 2008 and 2009. She's now at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky awaiting her first breeding date, with the stallion to be announced soon.

The Eclipse Awards are voted on by the National Thorougbhred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.

Other winners included Todd Pletcher as outstanding trainer, Ramon Dominguez as outstanding jockey, WinStar Farm as outstanding owner and Adena Springs as outstanding breeder.

Pletcher finished far ahead of the runner-up, Zenyatta trainer John Shirreffs, 168 votes to 28. Dominguez finished ahead of runner-up Garrett Gomez, 124-60. WinStar Farm edged Jerry and Ann Moss 100-81.

Blame was chosen top older male and Zenyatta top older female. Other winners:

2-Year-Old Male: Uncle Mo

2-Year-Old Filly: Awesome Feather

3-Year-Old Male: Lookin At Lucky

3-Year-Old Filly: Blind Luck

Female Sprinter: Dubai Majesty

Male Sprinter: Big Drama

Male Turf Horse: Gio Ponti

Female Turf Horse: Goldikova

Steeplechase Horse: Slip Away

Apprentice Jockey: Omar Moreno

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Youngstown-area developer wants to build Ohio's 8th horse racing track

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 05:07 PM PST

Published: Monday, January 17, 2011, 8:00 PM Updated: Monday, January 17, 2011, 11:49 PM

A Youngstown-area developer plans to begin seeking approval Wednesday from the Ohio Racing Commission to build Ohio's first horse racing track in 50 years with the hopes that the state will soon allow them to have video slot machines.

In a time when Ohio's horse tracks have been hard-hit by declining revenue, Brad Pressman, a partner with the Mahoning Valley Development Group, is proposing to build the the state's eighth horse track.

But Pressman acknowledges that a thoroughbred track by itself would not be enough. He believes that the Mahoning Valley region of about 1 million residents can support a $300 million entertainment complex that will offer a hotel, golf course, shops and, he hopes, a Las Vegas-style casino with video slot machines.

"The casino, obviously, is a big part of the project," Pressman added.

The Ohio horse racing industry has struggled in recent years, so much so that five of the state's seven tracks have been sold within the last year to national gaming companies.

Like Pressman, they're all betting that Ohio will allow gambling at the tracks in the form of video slot machines. But the possible eight "racinos," race tracks combined with casinos, added to four voter-approved casinos is a lot of Vegas-style gambling for a state that now has nothing.

The hopes of getting video slot machines now rests with Gov. John Kasich, whose spokesman said Monday that the governor "just doesn't have a firm black-and-white stance on it." Former Gov. Ted Strickland fell short of implementing a plan to allow the slots before he left office earlier this month.

"He's looking at it," Nichols said.

Meanwhile, the gaming companies are positioning themselves for what they hope will be good news.

Penn National Gaming has bought two horse tracks near Columbus and Toledo, the cities where the gambling company is building voter-approved casinos. And Harrah's Entertainment, which will manage Dan Gilbert's Cleveland and Cincinnati casinos, recently purchased Thistledown.

Gilbert's gaming company, Rock Ventures, has a contingency agreement to buy a piece of the North Randall track.

Track owners are hoping that adding video slot machines, referred to as "expanded gaming," will help the struggling horse racing industry compete against neighboring states such as Pennsylvania and Indiana, which have added slot machines.

Ohio hasn't been drawing as many big-name horses as surrounding states because of their larger purses, according to Dave Basler, the executive director of the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. Basler's group represents thoroughbred owners and trainers.

"They get a better caliber horse due to purses that are sometimes as much as four times what they are in Ohio," Basler said. "So wagering suffers."

For example, betting at the state's three thorough-bred tracks fell 13 percent from 2009 to 2010, from $143 to $125 million. The state's four other tracks saw losses as well, Basler said.

Last week, in announcing that its $45 million purchase of River Downs Race Track in Cincinnati had been approved by the Ohio Racing Commission, Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. said that it would quickly revitalize the track as "a new gaming, racing and entertainment destination" if slot machines were approved.

Pinnacle operates seven casinos in Louisiana, Missouri, Indiana and Nevada.

Penn National also cited the possibility of slot machines at Beulah Park near Columbus as one of its reasons for purchasing the track, according to a company press release.

News researcher JoEllen Corrigan contributed to this story.

Horse Racing

Monday, January 17, 2011