All posts by cactus SON

40 Days of Durkin, Breeder's Cup, Horse Racing

40 Days of Durkin: Friday August 1, 2014

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In honor of Tom Durkin’s retirement from race calling on August 31, we are taking a look back at 40 of his most memorable calls–one for each day of the 2014 Saratoga meet.

With the Lure Stakes coming up on Saturday at the Spa, today we look at Durkin’s call of Lure’s second consecutive Breeder’s Cup Mile Victory in 1993. Lure overcame serious post and traffic trouble for a speed horse to win convincingly.

Don’t stop watching after the wire, the best part of Durkin’s call comes after the finish with “And Mike Smith is pumped up and why not”

 

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40 Days of Durkin, Horse Racing, Saratoga

40 Days of Durkin: Thursday July 31, 2014

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In honor of Tom Durkin’s retirement from race calling on August 31, we are taking a look back at 40 of his most memorable calls–one for each day of the 2014 Saratoga meet.

In anticipation of the great stakes races this weekend, we give you what we consider Durkin’s best call of the historic Test Stakes. (And in this bro’s opinion, Durkin’s best call EVER). The 2002 Test, which ended with an epic stretch duel between You and Carson Hollow, is a memorable race within itself. But Durkin’s call made it all the more memorable.

The race pitted speed vs. rally and the old guard (Bailey) v. the new guard (Johnny V.). And in the imortal words of Durkin, it ended in “a photo finish that doesn’t deserve a loser”.

 

 

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Horse Racing, Saratoga, Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday: Spring/Summer 2002 – When I knew it was it was all over

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This is the year I really got hooked on horse racing for good. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked it before then. I attended my first Travers at 7, to see Chris McCarron win on Deputy Commander in 1996. I cried the year before because my dad wouldn’t take me to see Thunder Gulch. I was in the Gulfstream Park Turf Club at age 6 weeks. Belmont Park, the day before the Belmont at 5. My 10th birthday present was a trip to the Breeders Cup in 1999 to see Cat Thief upset the star studded field in the Classic. I liked horseracing well enough by 2002. But that year really cemented it in my soul.

Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Spring/Summer 2002 – When I knew it was it was all over →

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Belmont, Horse Racing, Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday: Belmonts Past – How to make Friends at the Belmont

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One of the best things about going to the races, other than the potential to walk away with a bag of cash, is the ability to meet and talk to new friends. Although this is the sport of kings, there are people from all walks of life at the track, especially on a big day like Belmont Stakes Day. Some of these people you want to make friends with, others you want to stay away from and others you might just want to stand around, to get the benefits of friendship without the burdens. I have a real-life example of each of these people from previous Belmont Days, and advice about how to make the right call about your contact with them. Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Belmonts Past – How to make Friends at the Belmont →

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Belmont

Throwback Thursday: Belmont Stakes 2008 — Of Realized Dreams and Flying Sushi

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Throwback Thursday last week was about failed Belmont dreams. This week’s is about Belmont dreams coming true. The year is 2008. Most of you will wonder: why 2008?  Didn’t Big Brown get routed and basically pulled up in the stretch of the Belmont, failing to achieve Triple Crown glory? So why is it a year of dreams coming true? Because at a racetrack, and with gamblers, one man’s defeat is another man’s victory. Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Belmont Stakes 2008 — Of Realized Dreams and Flying Sushi →

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Belmont

Throwback Thursday: My Belmont Heartbreak, Smarty Jones

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Having lived through eight Derby-Preakness winners, and attending four of those Belmonts, I had choices for my most heart-breaking Belmont. However, one stands out as the most devastating to myself and the sport. In 2004 Smarty Jones took America and the first two legs of the Triple Crown in a tour de force. But before that, he dominated the trio of traditional preps at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas (the Southwest, the Rebel and the Arkansas Derby). He came into the Belmont undefeated, the first horse to do so since Seattle Slew. Continue reading Throwback Thursday: My Belmont Heartbreak, Smarty Jones →

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Handicapping

Hold Your Horses: Advanced Deposit Wagering, The Dormant Commerce Clause and New York’s Market Origin Fee

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The New York State Legislature passed a bill last year, which requires “multi-jurisdictional account wagering providers” (MAWPs) to pay a “market origin fee” on all wagers made by New York residents who use the MAWPs’ wagering services, regardless of whether the wager is made on a New York track or a track in another state. The market origin fee requires the MAWPs to pay 5% of each wager made by a New York resident who has an account with the MAWP to the “market origin account” maintained by state racing commission. The question remains: is this constitutional?  Continue reading Hold Your Horses: Advanced Deposit Wagering, The Dormant Commerce Clause and New York’s Market Origin Fee →

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