Klein Racing’s Pinch Hit and jockey Jon Court raced along unhurried near the back of the field for most of the $100,000 Dogwood Stakes Sept. 23 at Churchill Downs, but showed an impressive rally in the stretch and held on to win by a neck.
Monthly Archives: September 2017
Run Away Wins Unconventionally in Barretts Juvenile
When asked how he felt aboard Kaleem Shah’s heavily favored Run Away in the turn of the $100,000 Barretts Juvenile Sept. 23 at Los Alamitos Race Course, jockey Flavien Prat didn’t get out a word as much as he let out a sound.
Rivelli, Valdivia Repeat With Titles at Arlington
Trainer Larry Rivelli and jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. proved to be a potent force, leading the the Arlington International Racecourse meet that concluded Sept. 23.
Tequilita Stalks and Pounces to Win Charles Town Oaks
Dorothy Matz’s homebred Tequilita took a significant step down in class and took advantage Sept. 23 in the $300,000 Charles Town Oaks (G3).
Rock Steady: Gun Runner Works Bullet Five Furlongs
The full display of Gun Runner’s good vibes came during his outing with stablemate Gettysburg Sept. 24, as the 4-year-old colt put in his typically rock-solid work, with a five-furlong bullet in :59 4/5, fastest of 47 drills at the distance.
Highway Star Runs Down Carina Mia in Gallant Bloom
Chester and Mary Broman’s homebred Highway Star ran up to grade 1 winner Carina Mia in the stretch and managed to get a neck in front at the wire of the $300,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap (G2) Sept. 24.
Saxon Warrior Takes Beresford, Earns KY Derby Points
Undefeated in two starts so far, Saxon Warrior won the Sept. 24 Juddmonte Beresford Stakes (G2) at Naas and earned 10 points on the new European Road to the Kentucky Derby.
Untrapped Gives Asmussen First Oklahoma Derby Win
It was Steve Asmussen and Ricardo Santana Jr.’s day Sept. 24 at Remington Park and the cherry on top came with an 11-1 upset in the $400,000 Oklahoma Derby (G3).
Fourstar Crook Kicks Clear in John Hettinger
Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables, and Gary Aisquith’s Fourstar Crook ran down Tizelle and Barrel of Dreams in deep stretch to score by 3 1/2 lengths in the ninth running of the $125,000 John Hettinger Stakes.
Champagne Room Cruises to Remington Park Oaks Victory
Trainer Peter Eurton wanted a good race for champion Champagne Room for her first start in nearly eight months, but it was also important she had some left in the tank afterward.
Evin Roman, Doug O'Neill Win Titles at Los Alamitos
Apprentice jockey Evin Roman earned his second consecutive Los Alamitos Race Course riding title, while training honors went to Doug O’Neill, as the Los Angeles County Fair meet concluded Sept. 24.
Keeneland to Host Public Celebration of Penny Chenery
Memorial service will be held Monday, Oct. 9, at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion.
Lightning Box expands Omni-Channel scope with William Hill
Supplier extends partnership with leading UK operator
Sydney, 25th September 2017 – Specialist slots supplier Lightning Box has strengthened its partnership with William Hill after being commissioned to develop more omni-channel content.
The Sydney-based studio will develop two more exclusive titles following the successful launch of their popular online games Silver Lion Deluxe and Panda Pow Deluxe in retail.
Tailored versions of the slots have featured consistently in the operator’s top 10 performing games, proving popular with players throughout their 2,300 Licenced Betting Offices and over 9000 machines.
Lightning Box expands Omni-Channel scope with William Hill
Supplier extends partnership with leading UK operator
Sydney, 25th September 2017 – Specialist slots supplier Lightning Box has strengthened its partnership with William Hill after being commissioned to develop more omni-channel content.
The Sydney-based studio will develop two more exclusive titles following the successful launch of their popular online games Silver Lion Deluxe and Panda Pow Deluxe in retail.
Tailored versions of the slots have featured consistently in the operator’s top 10 performing games, proving popular with players throughout their 2,300 Licenced Betting Offices and over 9000 machines.
Successful summer for Better Collective with six acquisitions to expand fast-growing European presence
25th September, 2017 – Better Collective, the world’s leading provider of betting tips, bookmaker information and gambling tools, has overseen a successful summer of acquisitions to further grow the brand.
With a total of six acquisitions in the past few months, Better Collective has made real strides in expanding their global presence.
SportsFreunde, Wettportal, spielautomaten-online, Pull Media, Casino Lounge, and Where-to-bet have all become part of the family, with a further 45 employees being added to the multinational Better Collective organisation.
The UK, France, and German speaking markets were earmarked as major markets for Better Collective at the start of the summer.
Pragmatic Play hires new marketing lead
Victoria Bonner joins from NetEnt
Malta, 25 September 2017 – Award-winning slot developer Pragmatic Play has strengthened its executive team with the appointment of Victoria Bonner as its Head of Marketing.
Victoria, who took up her role in June, has over a decade of marketing experience with five years in iGaming and joins from NetEnt, where she led game launch events, customer days, and conference showcases at expos including ICE Totally Gaming, EiG, and G2E.
Her previous experience stems from the financial and technology sectors, having worked across PR and marketing roles for companies including Royal Bank of Scotland, Google, and Microsoft. At university, she was also a gaming pioneer, having developed and managed the largest online Monopoly gaming league in the world.
UltraPlay strengthens Marketing team with new promotions
Online gaming provider UltraPlay has announced the promotion of its Chief Marketing Officer Mario Ovcharov to Chief Commercial Officer.
Having been in the online gaming industry for more than 5 years, Ovcharov has contributed to the company’s firm positioning on the global market as the leading eSports betting and iGaming platform provider. With his leadership capabilities and constant efforts to expand UltraPlay’s business opportunities, the company has reached the next milestone by recording unprecedented increase of its business partners and clients, performing on core markets.
In his new role, Ovcharov will deliver strategic leadership to define the commercial path to growth and profitability of the company. He will also be leading the marketing and sales processes in terms of reaching company’s strategy for revenue growth as well as positioning the company and its advanced betting solutions on new markets.
Following the new appointment, Ovcharov said: “I am delighted to be taking up this new challenge and will continue to do my best to offer our clients and partners next level of betting solutions. UltraPlay has this rare combination of talented people, cutting-edge technology, and passion for betting – a solid ground for further development and innovation.”
Universal lodges a patent breach suit vs. Okada firm
Japan gaming firm Universal Entertainment Corp. has filed a JPY100 million (US$890,684) suit against casino mogul Kazuo Okada for the failure of his privately held companies to pay patent licensing fees to the company.
Universal announced before the Japan Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (Jasdaq) on Friday that they have brought Nevada-based Aruze Gaming America Inc. (AGA) before the Tokyo District Court in Japan.
The gaming conglomerate has pointed out that AGA, which makes casino slot machines and electronic table games, continues to “violate an agreement that it has executed with the Company to pay it patent licensing fees for Company-held patents by not paying said fees whatsoever.”
It also made a clarification that Universal “has no capital relationship” with AGA since their supposed shares in the latter are in fact wholly owned by Kazuo Okada.
Dragon Corp. wants to bring blockchain to Macau’s casino floors
Cryptocurrency in the gaming sector has largely been limited to online gambling. Until recently, that is.
Now, a gaming company in Macau is looking to finally integrate digital currencies like Bitcoin and its underlying technology, blockchain, into the world’s largest gaming hub. Dragon Corp. recently partnered with Thai-based Wi Holding to sell digital tokens via an initial coin offering (ICO) in a bid to raise $500 million, CNBC reported.
The ICO will see junket operators offering credit on behalf of the casino operators, according to the report. The money raised from the sale will help fund the construction of 1,600-square-meter floating Dragon Pearl Casino Hotel, which is expected to make its way to Macau from Norway by 2019.
Wi Holding CEO Chakrit Ahmad told the news outlet that ICO investors will basically become “a shareholder in a junket, utilizing blockchain technology, getting revenues from that, and plugging that back into the token.”
Leechiu: Online gaming sector is the second largest PH office space occupant
The online gaming sector is providing a lifeline to the Philippine office space segment as the demand for business process outsourcing (BPO) softens.
In the latest real estate market call, Leechiu Property Consultants reported that the online gambling sector is now the second largest occupier of office space in Metro Manila after the BPO sector.
Data showed that office space grew by 3.6 percent to 653,589 sqm in August 2017 against the 630,000 sqm posted last year.
“There is strong office take-up in 2017 despite the softening of the IT-BPM demand,” the property consultancy said. “Demand for Service Offices/Co-working spaces increased significantly as some multinational companies seek to manage capital expenditure, increase work mobility, and take advantage of flexible lease terms.”