“Local horse racing still on track” plus 1 more |
| Local horse racing still on track Posted: 23 Feb 2011 01:09 AM PST Horse racing appears to have moved out of the starting gate for this year's Northwest Montana Fair, even though it's not clear yet how the funding will play out for two days of racing. Mike Tatsey, vice chairman of the Montana Board of Horse Racing, along with local race organizers Janis Schoepf and Debbie Cunnington, met Tuesday with the Flathead County commissioners to gauge county support for horse racing. While the commissioners offered general support, they told racing representatives they need to meet with the Fair Board and Fair Manager Mark Campbell to solidify this year's race program. It's up to the Fair Board to commit money to racing, they said. "You need to sit down and hash out a working agreement," Commissioner Dale Lauman said. "And I think you can work out a real good relationship. I think [racing] can be successful." Local organizers are way ahead of where they were a year ago when they got the horse racing program back on track after a five-year hiatus. Last year Schoepf and Cunnington applied for race dates after the deadline and thus weren't able to get any financial support from the state. That will change this year. The state board recently took over simulcast horse racing when Montana Entertainment's license expired. A percentage of the simulcast earnings go toward paying the race purse in Kalispell. Scotty's Bar is the local venue for simulcast racing. "The state board would be able to put up at least a day's worth of purses, and we pay for the [jockey] insurance," Tatsey said. Rising insurance costs for jockeys was one of the key reasons the county put horse racing out to pasture in 2005. Ryan Sherman, executive secretary of the state Board of Horse Racing, sent a letter to the commissioners this week, noting the success of last year's restarted race program at the Northwest Montana Fair. In two days of racing, more than $103,000 was wagered on 16 races offered. "That was an average handle of $51,500, one of the best averages for racing in Northwest Montana for many years," Sherman said. The board saw a statewide handle of $1.4 million last year, an increase of $421,000 over 2009, thanks in part to the return of live racing on the west side of the state, he said, asking for Flathead County's support. "We do understand that counties can't justify financially supporting a whole race meet as it once did," Sherman said, urging the commissioners to continue building on the partnership formed between the fair and local race organizers last year. Campbell said he's finishing up the fairgrounds budget for the 2012 fiscal year that begins July 1. "We need to sit down and see what [their] needs are," Campbell said. "The Fair Board would love to have this organization continue. Racing is a good part of the fair program." The state board has approved horse racing for Aug. 20-21 at the Kalispell fairgrounds. With racing programs still are up in the air in Great Falls and Missoula, it's possible Kalispell could pick up some extra state money, and even an extra afternoon of racing if Great Falls were to bow out of racing, Schoepf said. She told the commissioners that just a little financial help and access to county equipment they weren't allowed to use last year would go a long way toward making horse racing profitable. The 2010 races in Kalispell were privately funded with a huge commitment from the Flathead business community. Schoepf said she's still $3,000 in the hole from last year but is working with creditors to get the remaining bills wrapped up. The investment paid off for the fair, though, with fair attendance numbers that were up 56 percent over 2009. Two days of racing were credited with bringing in more than 10,000 spectators. "It stood on its own two feet," Schoepf said about the Kalispell races. "It's obvious we're viable for the fair." Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Horse Racing: Zenyatta & Rachel Alexandra Bred for 2012 Foals Posted: 23 Feb 2011 03:16 PM PST  Matthew Stockman/Getty Images This week was a one of note in horse racing as multiple Eclipse Horse of the Year winners were bred. With a week like this, I say we just skip the rest of 2011 and skip right on ahead to January of 2012 when these foals will be born. If the mares are lucky enough to get in foal on the first try, they can carry the foals to term. 2009 Eclipse Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra, was bred to 2007 & 2008 Eclipse Horse of the Year, Curlin, on Monday at 9AM EST at Lanes End Farm. The horses, owned by Jess Jackson, won the 2007 and 2009 runnings of the Preakness Stakes and the 2008 and 2009 runnings of the Woodward. Curlin also won the 2008 Breeders' Cup Classic and Dubai World Cup. They have a combined record of 35 starts, 24 wins, seven second place finishes and two third place finishes for $14,008,530 in earnings with wins in 12 Grade Ones. Also, 2010 Eclipse Horse of the Year, Zenyatta, was bred to 2006 Eclipse Male of the Year and runner-up Horse of the Year, three-year-old Bernardini, on Wednesday at 8AM EST at Darley Stud. Zenyatta won the 2008 Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic and 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic during a 19-race winning streak before finishing second in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic to Blame (the same position Bernardini finished in 2006 to Invasor). The pair has combined to have a record of 28 starts, 25 wins, and two second place finishes for $10,365,060 in earnings with wins in 17 Grade Ones. Both mares will be checked to make sure they are in foal 14 to 16 days after their breedings and, if all goes well, they will foal in 11 months. Just like their fan-based on-track rivalry, there is sure to be many discussions about what mare will foal first, and who should be the better foal. It will be years before the foals step onto the track, but they will have eyes on them every step of the way. This article is What is the duplicate article? Why is this article offensive? Where is this article plagiarized from? Why is this article poorly edited? This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| You are subscribed to email updates from horse racing - Yahoo! News Search Results To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment