Get an early look at several May horses as they run Thursday at Hollywood Park and Golden Gate. Hip 110 Miss Madavor (filly by Olmodavor) consigned by B.C.3 Thoroughbreds, Agent and Hip 68 Delta Magic (filly by Proud Irish) consigned by Tricar Stables will face off in the 3rd race Thursday at Hollywood Park. The last race on the day will include Hip 7 A Soft Breeze (filly by El Corredor) consigned by B.C. 3 Thoroughbreds. Up North action at Golden Gate finds Hip 119 Ringing Bernie (filly by Bernstein) consigned by B.C. 3 Thoroughbreds starting in the 2nd race on the day.
Nineteen year old Joe Talamo who also stars in the reality show “Jockeys” is set to make his first start in the Kentucky Derby on the presumed favorite “I Want Revenge.” I Want Revenge the son of Stephen Got Even-Meguial was the winner of the Wood Memorial Stakes G-1 and the Gothom Stakes G-3. I Want Revenge is a Barretts 2008 May 2 year old sale graduate.
“I Want Revenge”, the son of “Stephen Got Even”, who is a Barretts 2009 May Sale Graduate is likely to be the favorite at the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby. “I Want Revenge” won the Wood Memorial and the Gothem.
Four of the last fifteen Kentucky Derby winners were started (i.e. broke to ride and gotten ready to the races) or sold at Two-Year-Old in Training Sales by consignors (i.e. sellers) that will have horses in the 2009 Barretts May Sale. The only one who didn’t consign the Derby Winner to a sale (was Stephens Thoroughbreds) which prepared the home-bred BARBARO for the races for his owners. This is a very high number from the small number of consignors in the sale.
The Barretts March Sale of Selected Two-Year-Olds in Training was completed Tuesday. It was the first sale done in the renovated facility, which includes artificial grass in the outdoor ring (pictured), darker wood around the sales ring, and state of the art seating with internet access (pictured).
As expected, the sale’s numbers were down from last year, a product of the severely weakened economy. The sale topper was hip 121 (pictured), a bay colt by Tiznow out of the mare Hurricane Judy. He was calm as could be in the ring as the highest bid settled at $650,000. The winning bidder was Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables, who bid by phone through Barretts Vice President of Sales, Kim Lloyd (pictured). Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables, Inc. was the consignor. Stonestreet Stables was also the purchaser of last year’s sale topper, an $800,000 Silver Deputy filly.
Aside from the Namco arcade game that is quite pricy (and tiring), there is this:
The G1 Jockey Wii 2008 video game utilizes Wii motion sensor technology to allow you to feel a bit like a jockey - without the diet. The optional balance board, best known for its uses with the Wii Fit game, adds to the racing experience. If you really want to dress up in a jockey uniform, well…no one’s stopping you.
If that looks like too much physical exertion for you, there’s always the original G1 Jockey Wii, which only requires moving the standard “Wiimote” and nunchuk.
Unfortunately, neither Wii game has been released in the United States. They are available in Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom, but the games will not function on a US Wii system.
Two games that I personally recommend and have played extensively are G1 Jockey 3 and Gallop Racer 2001, both for Playstation 2. Both are available in US-compatible formats, but likely are only available by special order from a video game store, or online.
In G1 Jockey 3 you live the life of a flat and jump racing jockey, starting out practically begging for mounts on hopeless longshots. There’s a bottomless pit of horses to choose from, some clearly based on real-life stars, with a variety of positive and negative traits to each. You can help train the bad traits away or get your horse fit with a pre-race workout. There are even stewards inquiries and the danger of falling off your horse. The graphics are good. The horses have great muscle tone and hair mane/tail movement, but the animation is quite jerky. However, this is the most realistic horse racing game I have ever seen, and extremely addictive once you get the hang of it.
Gallop Racer 2001 takes a broader sample of the horse racing world, allowing you to breed, buy, choose races, ride, and bet your own horses. There is much more personalization to this game as you choose your own silks and name your own horses. Some of the game’s pre-made horses are based on real-life horses. Unlike G1 Jockey 3, the racing is international, with many races based on the world’s most prestigious contests, from the Kentucky Derby to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The graphics are good in this game as well, with smoother animation, though physical realism is a bit less.
Here’s a list of some horse racing games for major video game systems:
G1 Jockey 3 - Playstation 2
G1 Jockey 4 - Playstation 2
G1 Jockey 4 2007 - Playstation 2 & 3
G1 Jockey Wii - Wii
G1 Jockey Wii 2008 - Wii
Final Furlong - Wii
Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships - Playstation 2
Gallop Racer - Playstation
Gallop Racer 2001 - Playstation 2
Gallop Racer 2003 - Playstation 2
Gallop Racer 2004 - Playstation 2
Gallop Racer 2006 - Playstation 2
Fairplex Park is currently a 5/8ths mile or 5 Furlong racetrack. By the 2009 LA Country Fair, if all the various processes and timelines come together, the race meeting will be conducted on a synthetic 15/16th of a mile racetrack. Though this will cause portions of the programming on the Fair Grounds to move locations and will upset the stabling and horse show program at Fairplex during construction, the final product will be a huge benefit to horsemen, horse owners, and racing fans alike.
Due to the smaller circumference than the rest of the Southern California circuit, many trainers, owners, and jockeys use the three weeks of our meet to “take vacation” between Del Mar and Oak Tree. Though trainers like Doug O’neill and Jeff Mullins have traded training titles the past few years and horses like Lava Man and Squirtle Squirt have proven victorious on the Fairplex oval, many do not want to navigate the tighter turns and shorter stretches that our current layout provides. Thus when all is said and done, the expanded racetrack SHOULD move Fairplex Racing further into the mindsets of local trainers, owners, and jockeys and should also garner interest from outside the Golden State.
Construction could begin as early as October of 2008. At some point, a Turf Course will be added to the mix. All in all, stabling for over 2000 horses and year round training for the Southern California circuit will be at Fairplex Park.
What are your thoughts on the Fairplex Expansion? Betcha have an opinon!
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