Page 6 - August 2005 The Game

6 The Game, August 2005 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
WEG offers Canadian wagers on Balmoral Park
Palladio and Accountforthegold win out of town
Did You Know....
That the Quebec Government has announced its plan to privatize the province’s four standardbred racetracks and will likely announce the new operator by the end of this year. Finance Minister Michel Audet has called for new tenders from potential purchasers who are willing and able to demonstrate their ability to operate all four racetracks and protect 3,000 jobs in the industry. It is also a requirement that the new owner be willing to remove the Hippodrome de Montreal from its current location to an area outside of Montreal. The land where the racetrack currently sits is slated for new housing and industrial development. It is reported that Loto- Quebec will build new gambling centres at the four tracks which will house VLT machines which are expected to generate $32 million annually for the operator.
Already showing interest are Magna Entertainment, Remstar and a new player, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation may also be interested. Great Canadian Gaming Corporation recently purchased Caesar’s of Las Vegas’ two Nova Scotia casinos in Halifax and Sydney as well as the Georgian Downs racetrack/racino in Ontario.
Woodbine-based Palladio, trained by Roger Attfield and ridden by Richard Dos Ramos, won the Grade 2, $350,000 Ohio Derby, on Saturday July 2 at Thistledown Racetrack in Cleveland.
Owned by Haras Santa Maria De Araras, Palladio, a Florida-bred son of Lycius, who won the Victoria Park Stakes at Woodbine on June 10, rallied in between horses to take the 1 1/8-mile main feature.
"When I got some room, he just accelerated and I thought it would take a pretty good horse to beat him from there," said Dos Ramos. "We started bunching up at the half-mile pole. I was just hoping for a little room and we got it."
The Woodbine-based trio of Accountforthegold, jockey Ray Sabourin
and trainer Mark Casse, teamed to take the $168,400 (U.S.) New York Derby by three lengths in a stakes-record time of 1:43.78 over a fast main track on Saturday, July 16.
After breaking sharply in the 1 1/16- mile race at Finger Lakes, the bay colt set the pace just off the rail. Sabourin, in the midst of a strong season at the Toronto oval, then roused the New York-bred, sent off at 11-1, and the pair widened their lead down the lane, easily keeping their closest rival, Gold and Roses, at bay.
Accountforthegold, owned by Richard Simon is a three-year-old bay son of Successful Appeal and has won two of five starts with two runner-up finishes this season and has won three of eight career starts over two years. - Information courtesy of WEG, Media Relations Dept.
On July 5, 2005, Woodbine Entertainment entered a new era of pari-mutuel wagering by offering Canadian wagers on Balmoral Park, a Chicago-based harness track, which will be combined with
the U.S. host track's pools giving customers in both countries the same winning payout prices.
Illinois and Ohio have both approved common pools with Canada while a few other states including New York and Delaware are considering the issue. Regulators in some key racing states like Florida, California and New Jersey have said they need a number of months to amend their local regulations before accepting Canadian dollar wagers.
Northfield & Hawthorne harness tracks followed on July 6 with Arlington Park scheduled to be the first U.S. thoroughbred common pool track in late July.
Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society Recruits Marketing Firm
The Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society - Ontario Division (CTHS) has announced their partnership with CandleMaker Communications, a marketing firm which specializes in mar- keting development and video production.
CandleMaker Communications is a Mississauga based company headed by Renata Simkus and has a client list which includes Microsoft, CIBC, Maple Leaf, Quatic Industries and the Ontario Government. The company intends to
bring strong multi-media capabilities to the CTHS (Ontario), particularly in their twice-annual yearling sales.
CandleMaker Communications will also be assisting in the remodeling of the CTHS website to make it more user friendly and informative providing thoroughbred breeders with breaking news and an interactive discussion board.
For additional information contact the CTHS (Ontario) at www.cthsont.com or call 416-675-3602.
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for August 25 at the Toronto Congress Centre. The evening includes a reception, dinner and silent auction. Tickets are on sale now by calling Anna MacLeod at 905-858-3077, ext 213