The horse who ended the dominance of Ben’s Cat in the $100,000 Jim McKay Turf Sprint at Pimlico Race Course May 19 was taking a pretty significant step down in class.
Monthly Archives: May 2017
Vertical Oak Gets Her Way in Miss Preakness Stakes
J. Kirk and Judy Robison’s Vertical Oak made the most of out of her setup at Pimlico Race Course Friday when she overtook My Miss Chiff a furlong out and kicked clear by 3 3/4-lengths in the six-furlong Miss Preakness Stakes.
Actress Announces Presence in Black-Eyed Susan
Actress, a homebred Tapit filly raced by Gary and Mary West, came flying from far back to break her maiden in the 1 1/8-mile test for 3-year-old fillies by a head.
Doyle Brunson, Age 83, Plans to Play in World Series of Poker 2017
Doyle Brunson has made an announcement on Twitter that will make many in the poker community happy. ‘Texas Dolly,’ one of the greatest poker players of all time, subtly (and […]
The post Doyle Brunson, Age 83, Plans to Play in World Series of Poker 2017 appeared first on .
Hanson Relishes Classic Run With Lookin At Lee
Lookin At Lee has become the horse of a lifetime for Hanson, a native of Everett, Wash., who has been breeding and racing Thoroughbreds for more than 30 years.
Shaman Ghost Shines for Stronach in Pimlico Special
Homebred grade 1 winner Shaman Ghost took his skills to Maryland and gave owner Frank Stronach a thrill on the state’s biggest racing weekend.
Hanson's Unwavering Faith in Lookin At Lee
Lookin At Lee has become the horse of a lifetime for Hanson, a native of Everett, Wash., who has been breeding and racing Thoroughbreds for more than 30 years.
Curlin Colt Tops Midlantic Pinhook Prospects
A Curlin colt who was one of the fastest workers during the under tack show is also the highest-priced previously purchased offering at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale of 2-year-olds in training.
Terra Promessa Cruises to Allaire DuPont Victory
Stonestreet Stables’ homebred Terra Promessa showed May 19 that she’s not just a horse for the course at Oaklawn Park.
Justin Bonomo Drops Twitter PokerStars Bombshell, Claims Loophole is Leaking Money
Justin Bonomo, never one to hold his tongue on controversial issues affecting the poker universe, thinks PokerStars is letting players win money without doing a thing but register for tournaments. […]
The post Justin Bonomo Drops Twitter PokerStars Bombshell, Claims Loophole is Leaking Money appeared first on .
In Excess Connected to Past Two Kentucky Derby Winners
For the second year in a row, the late In Excess—a former juggernaut on the California stallion scene–has figured in the first three generations of a Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (G1) winner.
Sharp's Pinhooking Group Remains Grounded
Despite knocking it out of the park with a modestly-priced colt sold at public auction for seven figures, a pinhook partnership put together by Paul Sharp and Liz Crow will remain grounded and not get too carried away with its instant success.
Family’s lottery lawsuit shows why tigers eat their young
A EuroMillions lottery jackpot winner’s story goes a long way toward explaining why tigers eat their young.
This week, The Sun reported on the “fury” of some UK National Lottery players over the fact that the jackpot has rolled over nine times without being claimed by a winner. The prize currently stands at £22.9m for Friday’s draw.
Lottery operator Camelot made jackpots harder to win one year ago by adding 10 balls to the original 49, which it claimed would boost interest by allowing the jackpot to climb to Powerball-worthy heights, but which also reduced the odds of winning the jackpot from from one in 14m to one in 45m.
Frankly, given the ‘monkey’s paw’ legacy of many lottery winners, we’re not sure winning a lottery jackpot is worth the bother. That legacy wrote another sad chapter this week after a UK judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by a son against his lottery winning father.
Int’l online operators take bigger bite of Swedish gambling market
Sweden’s gambling market reported flat spending in the first quarter of 2017, as declines at locally licensed operators offset gains at their internationally licensed online competitors.
Figures released Thursday by Sweden’s Lotteriinspektionen gaming regulator show the country’s overall gambling market enjoying turnover of SEK 5.4b (US $617.2m) in the three months ending March 31. The sum is just 0.2% higher than the same period last year.
However, internationally licensed online gambling operators that serve the Swedish market saw their share of the pie rise by 13% year-on-year to SEK 1.25b. At the same time, Swedish-licensed operators reported turnover falling 3% to just under SEK 4.2b.
The local decline was even more pronounced at the state-owned online monopoly operator Svenska Spel, which reported sales falling 5% to SEK 2.16b. The poor showing was entirely due to its land-based operations, which declined 9% year-on-year, while online gambling operations improved by 6%.
Are You Kidding Me Stands Out in Eclipse
In a field of nine older horses for the $175,000 Eclipse Stakes (G2), Ronald Kirk, John Bates, and Michael Riordan’s multiple graded stakes winner Are You Kidding Me stands out as the one to beat May 20 at Woodbine.
Unbridled Redux
That Always Dreaming came home on top in the Derby might not have surprised handicappers. However, the result underscored the importance of this rapidly emerging branch of a line which is often misidentified as that of Fappiano, sire of Unbridled.
Noble Bird Scratched From Pimlico Special
John Oxley’s Noble Bird has been scratched out of May 19 Pimlico Special Handicap (G3), a race he captured last season by 11 1/4 lengths.
Bacta launch #Tickets2wishes as part of Rays of Sunshine campaign
The charitable trust formed by UK trade association, bacta, has set itself an ambitious target of increasing its contribution to children’s charity, Rays of Sunshine to over £500,000 by the end of 2017. The target, which equates to an additional £190,000, will be boosted by #Tickets2wishes, a simple and fun initiative designed primarily for the association’s FEC members.
#Tickets2wishes is administered by bacta in aid of Rays of Sunshine, the charity which helps grant wishes to children living with a serious or life-limiting illness. #Tickets2wishes encourages customers to donate left over redemption tickets into a special merchandised tube: the operator matches the amount and then passes it on to bacta, who in turn donate it to Rays of Sunshine.
Bacta vice president, James Miller, who helped pioneer the concept and has raised £10,000 to date, said: “We wanted to do something that would help make happy memories for families who may not be having such a fun time at the moment. #Tickets2wishes seemed like the perfect way for us to help raise money for Rays of Sunshine and, at the same time, engage with our customers and the community at large. This is all about friends and family having fun together.”
He added: “From our experience, #Tickets2wishes also represents an excellent opportunity for businesses and the industry, to benefit from positive PR and extend their social media profile. It’s very important to promote the positive fundraising stories on social media: it has helped to raise the profile of Rays of Sunshine and shown the positive side of the industry, it’s a great partnership and very fulfilling for everyone involved – the charity, the venue, the customers, the industry and most importantly, the individual recipients and his/her family. We urge all operators of redemption machines to participate in this fun, easy, fundraising opportunity, and in the process help brighten the lives of children who are less fortunate.”
Final Track Visit for Always Dreaming; Gunnevera Strong
The half-moon was still high in the sky when Always Dreaming went to the track at Pimlico Race Course at 5:30 a.m. the morning of May 19, putting in his final exercise in preparation for the following day’s Preakness Stakes (G1).
Cherry defers Nasdaq Stockholm listing
Swedish online betting operator Cherry AB has temporarily deferred its plan for a Nasdaq Stockholm as it tries to finalize its integration with Malta-based sports betting operator ComeOn.
The company announced in a press statement that it will move the listing in Nasdaq from AktieTorget by the end of summer this year. It assured investors that the listing remains to be a high priority of the firm.
“Due to the recently completed and significant acquisition of Come On Malta Ltd, and the work with finalizing the integration that has been ongoing since July 2016, Cherry has decided to postpone the application for uplisting to Nasdaq Stockholm until after the summer,” the company said. “The company is in a strong position in relation to the uplisting and the preparations continue with high priority. The decision allows the company to focus on finalizing the integration with ComeOn, and also the latest acquisition of the game development company Highlight Games that was communicated to the market last week.”
Last year, Cherry acquired ComeOn to boost its Nordic market presence. ComeOn holds licenses in Malta, the UK and Curacao, and operates brands including ComeOn.com, Mobilbet.com, CasinoStugan.com, folkeautomaten.com, Suomikasino.com, GetLucky.com and Kasyno.pl. The sites boasted a combined active customer list of over 133k as of December 2015.