gambling

Who do you like? TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack makes his picks for Breeders' Cup Saturday at Del Mar. Race 4: GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint--#10 Scylla (10-1) Scylla ran a very good second going two turns in Del Mar's GI Clement L. Hirsch, then returned to Bill Mott's Saratoga base and cut back to this distance with another solid second-place finish in the GI Ballerina just three weeks later. She's been freshened since, is drawn nicely on the outside and is more than capable of running...

Calling extreme odds changes the "Achilles heel of pari-mutuel wagering," Michael Fitzsimons, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's executive director of racing products, recently sold the audience at the Asian Racing Conference on a plan to standardize global access to the World Pool by sophisticated computer teams. "For the first time, we are proposing this year to work on the World Pool professional hubs, where we come together with operators to agree to the rules and through our smart contracts technology, we will enforce these rules no matter where the professional...

The 150th Spring Meet at Churchill Downs concluded Sunday with a record $708.3 million wagered over the 43-day meet. That broke the 2022 Spring Meet record of $614.8 million by $93.5 million. Just 10 years ago, the Spring Meet betting totaled $368.8 million. All sources handle during the six-day Derby Week (April 27-May 4) rose to $446.6 million--including $320.5 million on Kentucky Derby Day--to eclipse last year's Derby Week record of $412.0 million. The wagering increases continued throughout the final 37 days of the Spring Meet (May 9-June 30) as...

Finger Lakes-based jockey Christian J. Navarro has been suspended 30 days and fined $1,000 for alleged violations of a New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) rule that prohibits jockeys from betting on races unless they wager "through the owner of and on the horse that such jockey rides." Beyond stating that Navarro's alleged offenses occurred Nov. 22, 2023, (the closing date of last year's Finger Lakes season) details were scant on the NYSGC's online rulings portal. TDN sent a Monday afternoon email to Brad Maione, the NYSGC's communications director, asking...

TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack provides analysis for Saturday's trio of GI Kentucky Derby prep races. GI Toyota Blue Grass S. - In a race billed as a showdown between the re-opposing GII Remsen S. one-two Dornoch (Good Magic) and Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), don't look past likely third choice Just a Touch (Justify). The highly regarded bay ran to the hype with a powerful debut score for trainer Brad Cox over the promising $1.7-million KEESEP graduate Gun Party (Curlin) (he returned with another very good second-place finish Mar....

Terrence Frank, the top rookie contestant at the National Horseplayers Championship, will be honored with the James Nace Trophy. The 25th edition of the Championship, presented by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, begins Friday, March 15 and continues through Sunday, March 17. "Receiving the Jim Nace Trophy is a great honor and a moment II'll cherish, but it's also a reminder of the journey ahead," said Frank. "The pursuit of excellence doesn't stop with an award; it's an ongoing process of learning, adapting, and thriving amidst the challenges." "To all...

Three days after a New Jersey federal judge ordered a class-action lawsuit filed in 2021 by a group of bettors against Bob Baffert to be transferred to a federal court in Kentucky, the legal team for the Hall-of-Fame trainer filed a motion seeking the reassignment of the case to a different, specific Kentucky judge who last summer dismissed a similar case against Baffert. Baffert's Feb. 23 filing in United States District Court (Western District of Kentucky) asked for the reassignment based on the following reasoning: "The Plaintiffs in this case...

TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack provides his analysis for Saturday's quartet of GI Kentucky Derby prep races. GIII Holy Bull S. - Last year's jaw-dropping GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) finds a perfect landing spot to launch his sophomore season versus seven overmatched rivals. Not worth trying to beat him here, even if he's closer to 1-9 than his 3-5 morning-line quote. I can't see him defeating the recently crowned 2023 champion 2-year-old, but how about Domestic Product (Practical Joke) to...

Joseph "Kevin" Costello of Downers Grove, Ill. bested a total of 127 entries to take home the top prize in the National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Qualifier held Saturday at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Costello hit the Pick 6 at Gulfstream Park that placed him over the top for the top prize money of $3,000. Costello had already qualified twice for the NHC Finals, the maximum number of seats for the final prize money in Las Vegas set for March 2024. So, his seat was allotted to the fifth-place finisher as the top...

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) voted to approve temporary licenses for sports wagering operators and service providers, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Tuesday. A temporary license grants up to one year of operation in the state while under continued review. With the approval of these licenses, Kentucky bettors now know the retail facilities where they can place a sports wager and which mobile applications will be licensed in the state. "The countdown continues as we move closer to sports wagering with retail locations opening in just 16 days," said...

It was back in 2004 that Brent Sumja made a career decision. He was among the leading trainers in Northern California, but wasn't following his true passion. That was playing the horses. So he disbanded his stable and set out to be a professional handicapper. It went well. He played the races regularly and also focused on the handicapping tournaments. In 2014, Sumja won five tournaments in a four-month span from May to September to clinch the title of 2013 Daily Racing Form NHC Tour Champion and the first prize...

With the opening day of sports betting just three weeks away, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has provided a timeline of key dates, including that betting will officially start at 10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Sept. 7, for in-person bets at licensed retail facilities. A list of approved retail facilities and mobile applications will be released Aug. 22, following the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) meeting. "The countdown is on. We are just three weeks away from sports wagering in Kentucky," said Gov. Beshear. "We are ready to deliver the quality...